The Rumantsch language
The English translation of the name Rumantsch is "Romansh" and in German it is called "Rätoromanisch". In French it is referred to as "rhéto-roman" or "le Romanche".
Julius Caeser, in his book, "de Bello Gallico" wrote about the Roman empire's battles with the Rhettii, who were a tribe living in the regions of North East Switzerland, Western Austria and North Eastern Italy. The Rhettii, or Rhaetians as they are known today, were eventually conquered by the Romans in 15 BC. For more than 400 years, the Rhaetian lands were under the control of the Romans until they were eventually driven out by the southwards expansion of the Germanic Allemannic tribes.
Over the period of Roman occupation the original Rhaetian language was absorbed into the Latin dialect of the Roman administrators and colonists. Today the language is known as Rumantsch ("Romansh" / "Rhätoromanisch" / "rhéto-roman").
Rumantsch is only spoken in Switzerland, primarily in the canton of Grabünden and the number of speakers has continually decreased until today only about 0.48% of people in Switzerland consider it as their home language. The dominance of Swiss German and Italian have to a large extent displaced the language and have influenced it as well. Rumantsch is protected in Switzerland and is considered an official language of the country.
Similar languages are found in Austria, where it is referred to as Ladinisch, and in North Eastern Italy, where it is known as Furlan, Furlanisch or Friaulisch. It may be that these once were the Romanised dialects of tribes covering the whole area.
For anyone who had latin at school, it would be interesting to hear the language being spoken as it gives some indication of the way that Latin dialects might have sounded. It is a smooth listenable language, which lends itself to musical expression.
Despite the small speaking population, young Rhaetians are writing new music ranging from ballads, pop music, jazz and hip hop in their own language. Here are a few examples for listening.
Mattiu Defuns
Mattiu Defuns is a young singer and composer who grew up in the Rhine valley in Ault da Darvella - Trun. He has written and a produced a number of very listenable songs and a small sample of videos is given here. Rail tour guests will recognize the scenery.
Ura (Time) - by Mattiu Defuns
This is a song about time (Ura) and it encourages us to make the most of every moment, to hold on to the minutes and seconds and then to let them go. The rhythm of the song and the time signatures speak about passing seconds and hours.
Stagiuns (Seasons) - by Mattiu Defuns
This is an environmental song which highlights our need to protect the beautiful environment which we have - "We only have one world." The verses are sung in Rumantsch and the choruses in English. Mattiu's sister provides the backing vocals.
Vallada (Valley) - by Mattiu Defuns
In this song we hear the proudness and love for his valley. We also hear "mia patria", my homeland, which is the Rhine valley. The scenery in the video will be very familiar.
Many of the songs of Mattiu Defuns are available on YouTube and on mx3.
Acavoce
Acavoce was an acapella group which performed for more than 20 years and has now recently retired. The group was based in Domat-Emms near the Rhine confluence and was characterised by being extremely multilingual in the songs which they presented. They sang in German, Swiss German, French, Italian, English and Romansh.
Neu e mira (come and see) - by Acavoce
This is a christmas song in Rumantsch in which we hear the words "Neu e mira" in the chorus. This means come and see and it refers to the glow in the sky from the bright star announcing the birth of the christ child.
Rumantsch dialects
Although there are not many speakers of Rumantsch, there are five distinct dialects of the language in canton Graubünden. These dialects are divided into Rhine dialects (more German influenced), and Engadine dialects (more Italian influenced).
Rhine dialects
Sursilvan: The most common of the dialects is found in the Surselva area of the Vorderrhein Valley. Around 60% of the population considers it their primary language.
Sutsilvan: Only a small percentage of the 1,000 people in the Hinterrhein Valley still speak their dialect of Rumantsch. It is the least spoken dialect.
Surmiran: This version is spoken in the Albulatal and Vaz/Obervaz area.
Engadine dialects
Puter: Spoken in the Upper Engadine Valley, it is the primary language of 30% of the area's residents. The worde"puter" refers to porridge eaters because the people in the St Moritz Engadine valley had a taste for porridge.
Vallader: Spoken in the Lower Engadine Valley, it is the second most popular dialect and nearly 80% of the population there considers it their primary language.
Rumantsch Grischun
Rumantsch Grischun is a fusion of the various dialects that was developed during the 1980s to unify and simplify the interaction between the dialects. It has however been somewhat controversial and has not really been universally accepted.