Islands in the Sky: Ladin, Romansh and Friulan

A Baha'i prayer translated into four Rhaeto-Romance traditions demonstrates the rich linguistic diversity of this sparsely-populated region. Exhibits 1 and 2, classified as dialects of Romansh, reflect both independent evolution and German and Italian influences:

1.) Jeu dun perdetga, o miu Diu, che Ti has creau mei per renconuscher Tei e per adurar Tei . (Sursilvan Romansh)

2) Eau fatsch testimoniaunza, o mieu Dieu, cha Tü am hest creó per At recugnuoscher e per At adorer. (Upper Engadine Romansh)

Friulan, from Italy's Udine Province, is heavily influenced by Italian:

3) O fâs testemoneance, ô Diu gno, che Tu tu mi âs fat vivi par cognossiTi e adorâTi.

A Ladin tradition from midway between the two majority-language communities bears the imprint of both:

4) Eu sun perdütta, o meis Dieu, cha Tü m'hast creà per At cugnuoscher e per T'adorar.

Rhaeto-Romance speakers are having a harder time staking out an identity than most minority peoples. Tiny populations are a hallmark of their culture. Only 1% of Switzerland speaks Romansh, though it is an official language, and only 23% of the canton in which Romansh speakers are most numerous. Distance and dialect further divide them; some groups number less than a hundred. In a region where telephone and electricity are not guaranteed, Web presence is problematic. Taken together, these challenges make it very hard for the Internet to support Rhaeto-Romance tongues as strongly as it has other minority languages.

So Rhaeto-Romance Web resources are hard to come by. The best I've found to date are Switzerland's Lia Rumantscha page and Il linguatg retorumantsch sin l'Internet, a personal page apparently updated infrequently, since many of the links are dead. Worldlanguage Software offers browser utilities and Mac fonts for Rhaeto-Romance languages.

In this day of mass media and international tourism, insularity is breaking down even in the "Tyrolian Galapagos." More than most, Rhaeto-Romance languages face a stiff challenge to their survival.

This article available from Suite 101 World Languages: www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/world_languages

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