Rhaeto-Romance languages

As Romansh - sometimes alpenromanisch - is a group of Romance languages ​​in Switzerland and Italy referred to, namely Romansh ( in the Swiss canton of Grisons ), Dolomitenladinisch ( in the Dolomites ) and Friulian ( in Friuli ). The question whether these three languages ​​that have no coherent language area form a genetic unit within the Roman was discussed long and is not decided until today. Of the opponents of this unit is usually the term " Ladino " rejected as a collective term of three languages ​​, he is instead used exclusively for the Grisons Romansh. The name Romansh naturalized itself only about a mid-19th century. It goes back to the name of the Roman province of Raetia.

Questione Ladina

The discussion of the nature and degree of relationship of these three languages, is the core of the Questione Ladina. For simplicity, let the opposing positions described as follows:

• There is a genetic unit of Romansh languages ​​, Dolomitenladinisch and Friulian, ie a unità ladina. Romansh then referred to a clearly defined genetic subunit of Romansh.
• Such genetic unity does not exist, since the three dialect groups have no common innovations and defining linguistic features that distinguish it sufficiently from other Romance varieties. Romansh then merely referred to a residual group alps Romanesque varieties that are not dialect one of the great Roman Culture Languages ​​Italian or French. ( For some authors, the term loses its justification. )

You can view the three Romansh idioms that have no coherent language area, the remainder being dialects of Latin of the Roman province of Raetia, which assign to any other Romance language or dialect can classify as their ( French, Italian). In fact, the Romansh dialects developed largely independently of the adjacent Roman culture and languages ​​were with these since Roman times only slightly or not interacting.

In a narrower sense " Romansh " refers exclusively to the Grisons Romansh, where the alpine Lombard dialects of the southern valleys of Grisons Bergell, Poschiavo, Misox and Calanca are not mitgemeint. In this article, Romansch languages ​​are considered in a broader sense, without thereby come to a decision on the question of the genetic unity of the three languages ​​or dialect groups.

Structure

The three Romansh languages ​​have - apart from the question of their genetic unit - following dialectal outline on:

Romansh

• Sursilvan ( Sursilvan ), formerly also " Obwaldisch "
• Sutselvisch ( Sutsilvan )
• Surmeirisch ( Surmiran )
• Oberengadinisch ( computer )
• Unterengadinisch ( Vallader ) Münstertalisch ( Jawor ) ( sub- dialect)

Ladin

• Mareo / Badiot ( Ennebergisch / Abteitalisch )
• Gherdeina ( Grödnerisch )
• Fascian ( Fassanisch )
• Anpezan ( Ampezzanisch )
• Fodom ( Buchensteinisch )

Friulian Friulian or ( Furlan )

• Zentralfriaulisch, spoken in the province of Udine
• Nordfriaulisch spoken in Carnia
• Southeast Friulian, spoken in Bassa friulana and in the area around the river Isonzo
• Westfriaulisch, spoken in the province of Pordenone

A preliminary phylogenetic classification, which is based on a basic vocabulary analysis identified a primary split between Romansh in Switzerland and Ladin in Italy. Furthermore, the analysis shows a secondary separation within Switzerland between Engadinisch and the other Romansh languages. In Italy, also shows a secondary separation, apparently due to the Dolomites Mountains, the Ladin divided into a northern and a southern branch, Friulian is assigned to the southern branch.

In this study, the divergence of the Romansh language of their ancestors reconstructed lexical average is about 7 %. This corresponds to a time depth of about 500 years, when the ( controversial ) glottochronologische decay rate of 14% per thousand years is true. However the earliest existing alpine Romanesque text is a bit old and dated to about 1200.