U.S. English Foundation Research
SWITZERLAND
Language Research
5. Costs: What does it cost in terms of money, time and government resources to police the country's language restrictions?
Updated (February 2005)
A SINGLE ROMANSH LITERARY FORM TO BE INTRODUCED BY 2024
After years of controversy the Swiss canton of Grischun (Graubünden/Grigioni) has finally passed a law that allows for a gradual introduction of one single Romansh literary form by 2024.
Romansh (Rumantsch) is one of the three surviving Rhaeto-Romanic languages, besides Ladin and Friulian, still used in the Southern Alpine region. Currently it is spoken in a few valleys in Grischun where it has the status of an official language.
Due to the remoteness of Romansh settlements and their relative distance from each other, the dialects vary considerably. The representatives of the Romansh umbrella organization, "Lia Rumantscha", believe that continuous demise of Romansh language speakers, confirmed by the latest census, is to a large extent caused by the absence of a common literary language. However, the campaign for introduction of the common literary form has been criticized by those who fear the loss of unique linguistic diversity in Romansh Grischun. They consider many of the most archaic European dialects to be endangered.
Although the new common literary language called "Rumantsch Grischun" has already been developed in the 70s and 80s, a serious concept for its introduction in schools and public administration was tabled only in 2003.
An initial proposal has been revised repeatedly to accommodate concerns of various interest groups and affected parties. Rumantsch Grischun will now be introduced over a substantially longer period of time than initially proposed while the use of the new common Romansh language will be limited to its written form. Educational institutions may continue to use a local dialect as their spoken language, particularly at primary level.
The total cost of the project, due to commence in 2007, is estimated at around 10 million Swiss francs, of which two thirds will be provided by the federal government.
Source: Eurolang News, Biel/Bienne, January 17, 2005, by Peter Josika, http://www.eurolang.net/news.asp?id=4879
Top of page |
