Information about the Romansh Community

Today, Romansh has 40,039 speakers (L1 and L2 combined). There are a number of instutions that have been established by the Romansh language authority, Lia Rumantscha, to support and encourage the learning of the language. Unfortunately, it's losing steam due to the rising interest in German and Italian due to their international importance in comparison to Romansh. (8)

Annually, the Swiss government allocates $4 million to preserve the language and promote the usage of Romansh.

Since the 15th century, literature has been published in Romansh, a tradition that has continued until today. Many authors either translate or publish original works in the language, which adds to the vitality and usage of the language. Additionally, many radio and television stations have a scheduled portion of their daily programming in Romansh. (10). 

With the government and community support, most to all of the Romansh speaking communities have options to educate their children in the language by means of Romansh-speaking schools, multiple language schools, or schools that provide Romansh language classes in a Italian/German language curriculum. (11)

Lia Rumantscha

Since 1919, Romansh speakers have benefited from having their own language authority, Lia Rumanstcha. They perform a multitude of tasks including language preservation initiatives, promoting bilingual schools, and providing services for speakers. Currently they are working on three main initiatives for the future of Romansh:

1. Romansh school of the future -  Lia Rumantscha is attempting to update curricula and modernize their support of bilingual schools to develop alongside the modern student. 

2. Municipal mergers and their opportunities for Romansh - Many communities in Switzerland are undergoing mergers and different government changes. As these communities may include Romansh speakers, Lia Rumantscha is working to ensure that these speakers continue to have government support to use their language. 

3. Romansh in the diaspora - Many Romansh speakers are now located outside of their traditional Romansh homelands. Lia Rumantshca is committed to providing support to these people so that they may continue to practice their language. (5)

Romansh Media

As a response to new interests in the language (at both the community and federal level), many media sources have been providing material in Romansh. Notable Swiss television station, Radiotelevisiun Svizra Rumantscha, provides many videos, podcasts, music, and articles in Romansh. (3)

http://www.rtr.ch/

Additionally, many literary works have been either published in Romansh or translated into the language. This allows for many native speakers to choose to function in Romansh rather than an L2 to take in content and media for their daily lives.