Romansch

English

Alternative forms

• Romanche, Romansh, Rumansch, Rumantsch

Etymology

Borrowed from Romansch romansch, romontsch, rumantsch et al., from Medieval Latin rōmānicē, from Vulgar Latin rōmānicē (“in the Roman manner; in a Romance language”, adverb), from Latin rōmānicus. Perhaps influenced by the Germanic suffix seen in English as -ish (German -isch, -sch). Doublet of romance.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ɹə(ʊ)ˈmanʃ/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ɹoʊˈmænʃ/, /ɹoʊˈmɑnʃ/

Proper noun

Romansch

1. (broad sense) Synonym of Rhaeto-Romance
   • [ 1892, Chambers's Encyclopædia: A Dictionary of Universal Knowledge: New Edition: Vol. VIII.: Peasant to Roumelia, p. 779, s.v. Romansch:

     Romansch (Ger. Churwalsch, from the town of Chur), a name applied to the Romance dialect, or rather agglomeration of cognate dialects, spoken from the Grisons to Friuli on the Adriatic. ]

2. (strict sense) A Rhaeto-Romance language (or dialect continuum) spoken in the Graubünden/Grisons canton of Switzerland; it is one of the four official languages of Switzerland.

Usage notes

• Some writers have restricted the term "Romansch" to western dialects (as opposed to Ladin in the east), while others have used it more broadly to indicate all Rhaeto-Romance languages.

Quotations

• 1776, Joseph Planta, An Account of the Romansh Language. By Joseph Planta. Read at the Royal Society, Nov. 10, 1775, London, p. 1f. and 14 (books.google):

  This language is called Romansh, and is now spoken in the most mountainous parts of the country of the Grisons, near the sources of the Rhine and the En.

  May we not hence conclude, that as the Romansh has never been used in any regular composition in writing till the sixteenth century, nor affected by any foreign invasion or intimate connexion, it is not likely to have received any material change before the period of its being written?

Holonyms

• (strict sense): Rhaeto-Romance

Translations

the Romance language

• Armenian: ռետոռոմաներեն (hy) (ṙetoṙomaneren), ռումանշ (ṙumanš), ռոմանշ (hy) (ṙomanš)
• Bulgarian: ретрома́нски m (retrománski)
• Catalan: romanx (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 羅曼什語／罗曼什语 (luómànshíyǔ), 羅曼什語／罗曼什语 (Luómànshíyǔ)

• Czech: rétorománština (cs) f
• Danish: rætoromansk n
• Dutch: Reto-Romaans (nl) n
• Esperanto: romanĉa, romanĉa lingvo (with the definite article la (eo))
• Estonian: retoromaani
• Finnish: retoromaani (fi)
• French: romanche (fr) m
• Friulian: romanç, rumanç
• German: Bündnerromanisch n, Rätoromanisch (de) n (strict sense)
• Hungarian: romans (hu)
• Ido: Romancha (io)
• Irish: Raeta-Rómáinsis f
• Italian: romancio (it) m
• Japanese: ロマンシュ語 (ja) (romanshu go)
• Latin: lingua Rhaetica f
• Marathi: रोमांश f (romāuśa)
• Navajo: Wóómąsh bizaad
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: retoromansk (no) m

  Nynorsk: retoromansk m

• Polish: romansz (pl) m
• Portuguese: romanche (pt) m
• Romanian: retoromană (ro) f
• Romansch: rumantsch (Rumantsch Grischun, Surmiran, Vallader), romontsch (Sursilvan), rumàntsch (Sutsilvan), rumauntsch (Puter)
• Russian: рома́ншский m (románšskij), реторома́нский (ru) (retorománskij)
• Scots: Romansh
• Spanish: romanche (es) m
• Swedish: rätoromanska (sv) c
• Welsh: Románsh

See also

• Friulian
• Ladin
• Rhaeto-Romance

Further reading

• Ethnologue entry for Romansch, roh ⁠

Anagrams

• chromans, monarchs, nomarchs