Editing Romansh language (section)

=== Official status at the federal level ===
The first Swiss constitution of 1848, as well as the subsequent revision of 1872, made no mention of Romansh, which at the time was not a working language of the Canton of the Grisons either. The federal government did finance a translation of the constitution into the two Romansh varieties Sursilvan and Vallader in 1872, noting, however, that these did not carry the force of law.{{sfn|Lechmann|2004|p=183}} Romansh became a national language of Switzerland in 1938, following [[1938 Swiss referendums|a referendum]]. A distinction was introduced between "national languages" and "official languages". The status of a national language was largely symbolic, whereas only official languages were to be used in official documents, a status reserved for German, French, and Italian. The recognition of Romansh as the fourth national language is best seen within the context of the "[[Spiritual defence]]" preceding World War II, which aimed to underline the special status of Switzerland as a multinational country. Additionally, this was supposed to discredit the efforts of Italian nationalists to claim Romansh as a dialect of Italian and establish a claim to parts of the Grisons.{{sfn|Lechmann|2004|p=503}} The Romansh language movement led by the [[Lia Rumantscha]] was mostly satisfied with the status as a national but not official language. Their aims at the time were to secure a symbolic "right of residence" for Romansh, and not actual use in official documents.{{sfn|Lechmann|2004|p=506}}

[[File:Euler-10 Swiss Franc banknote (front).jpg|A 6th-series 10-[[Swiss franc]] bill, the first to include Romansh|thumb]]

This status did have disadvantages. For instance, official name registers and property titles had to be in German, French, or Italian. This meant that Romansh-speaking parents were often forced to register their children under German or Italian versions of their Romansh names. As late as 1984, the Canton of the Grisons was ordered not to make entries into its corporate registry in Romansh.{{sfn|Lechmann|2004|p=191}} The [[Swiss National Bank]] first planned to include Romansh on its bills in 1956, when a new series was introduced. Due to disputes within the Lia Rumantscha over whether the bills were to feature the Sursilvan version "{{lang|rm|Banca nazionala svizra}}" or the Vallader version "{{lang|rm|Banca naziunala svizzra}}", the bills eventually featured the Italian version twice, alongside French and German. When new bills were again introduced in 1976/77, a Romansh version was added by finding a compromise between the two largest varieties Sursilvan and Vallader, which read "{{lang|rm|Banca naziunala svizra}}", while the numbers on the bills were printed in Surmiran.

Following [[1996 Swiss referendums|a referendum]] on March 10, 1996, Romansh was recognized as a partial official language of Switzerland alongside German, French, and Italian in article 70 of the [[Federal constitution of Switzerland|federal constitution]]. According to the article, German, French, Italian, and Romansh are national languages of Switzerland. The official languages are declared to be German, French, and Italian, and Romansh is an official language for correspondence with Romansh-speaking people.<ref>See art. [http://www.admin.ch/ch/f/rs/101/a4.html 4] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110212055734/http://www.admin.ch/ch/f/rs/101/a4.html |date=2011-02-12 }} and [http://www.admin.ch/ch/f/rs/101/a70.html 70] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101207032648/http://www.admin.ch/ch/f/rs/101/a70.html |date=2010-12-07 }} of the 1999 Swiss Federal Constitution.</ref> This means that in principle, it is possible to address the federal administration in Romansh and receive an answer in the same language.{{sfn|Furer|2005|p=40}} More precisely, under section 2.6.3 of the Federal Act on the National Languages and Understanding between the Linguistic Communities, Romansh speakers may address the administration in any variety of Romansh, though they will receive a response in Rumantsch Grischun.<ref>{{Cite web |title=CC 441.1 Federal Act of 5 October 2007 on the National Languages and Understanding between the Linguistic Communities (Languages Act, LangA) |url=https://www.admin.ch/opc/en/classified-compilation/20062545/index.html |access-date=2020-12-11 |website=www.admin.ch}}</ref>

In what the Federal Culture Office itself admits is "more a placatory and symbolic use"<ref>{{Cite web |first=Isobel |last=Leybold-Johnson |date=September 21, 2006 |title=Official Romansh still has some way to go |url=http://www.swissinfo.org/eng/top_news/detail/Official_Romansh_still_has_some_way_to_go.html?siteSect=106&sid=7056834 |access-date=2008-09-01 |website=[[Swissinfo]] |archive-date=2007-09-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927215521/http://www.swissinfo.org/eng/top_news/detail/Official_Romansh_still_has_some_way_to_go.html?siteSect=106&sid=7056834 |url-status=dead }}</ref> of Romansh, the federal authorities occasionally translate some official texts into Romansh. In general, though, demand for Romansh-language services is low because, according to the Federal Culture Office, Romansh speakers may either dislike the official Rumantsch Grischun idiom or prefer to use German in the first place, as most are perfectly bilingual. Without a unified standard language, the status of an official language of the Swiss Confederation would not have been conferred to Romansh. It takes time and needs to be promoted to get implemented in this new function.{{sfn|Cathomas|2012|pp=57–58}}

The [[Swiss Armed Forces]] attempted to introduce Romansh as an official language of command between 1988 and 1992. Attempts were made to form four entirely Romansh-speaking companies, but these efforts were abandoned in 1992 due to a lack of sufficient Romansh-speaking non-commissioned officers. Official use of Romansh as a language of command was discontinued in 1995 as part of a reform of the Swiss military.{{sfn|Lechmann|2004|p=154}}