Romansh Language and Culture

30 April 2022

About one-third of all speakers of the Romansh language now live outside the canton of Les Grisons/Graubünden.

The (travelling) exhibition aims to inform the other language communities of the country (German, French and Italian) about this language and culture and enlarge the network of speakers of Romansh.

Even with only basic knowledge of Latin, German, French and/or Italian one can understand at least the meaning of some quotes.

Even with only basic knowledge of Latin, German, French and/or Italian, one can understand at least the meaning of some quotes.

Some personalities contributed to the exhibition in their Romansh idiom:

“Rumauntsch nun es be üna lingua. Rumauntsch es ün’identited supplementera”(Annina Campell);”Rumantsch monta per me: mond, mitos, malancuneia, famiglia, cuntrada, semi, vischnanca, cant e cor”(Giovanni Netzer); “Da giuven al gimnasi da Losanna ha il romontsch levgiau a mi igl access al spazi da cultura franzos”(Reto Gurtner);”Il rumantsch è  per mai insatge total normal. Tuna da pauc ? Na! Tge datti pli impurtant per ina lingua che normalitad? ” (Ladina Heimgartner).

(See for the translation: www.dicziunari.ch).

The exhibition is aimed at a broad public and covers various historical, literary, linguistic, social and cultural aspects of this language and its five main dialects.

The exhibition “Rumantsch è...” (www.rumantsch-e.ch) opened in September 2021 in the House of the Cantons (Haus der Kantone/Maison des Cantons) in Bern as part of the Conference of Cantonal Governments (Konferenz der Kantonsregierungen, KdK).

From mid-December 2021, the exhibition was on show at the City Hall in Chur and Lucerne. From 19 April to the end of May, it can be seen in the Romanesque Seminar at the University of Zurich and elsewhere.

(Source and further information: www.ub.uzh.ch).