Romansh language develop. During the 19th century the area where the language was spoken declined, but the Romansh speakers had a literary revival and started a language movement dedicated to halting the decline of the language. In the 2000 Swiss census, 35,095 people (of whom 27,038 live in the canton of Grisons) indicated Romansh as the language of "best command", and 61,815 as a "regularly spoken" language. In 2010, Switzerland switched to a yearly system of assessment that uses a combination of municipal citizen records and a limited number of surveys. Based on this yearly system, the number of people aged 15
Romansh language be seen as an advantage in being open to cultural elements from both sides. This position is also shared by several contemporary authors in particular from the Surselva, such as Arno Camenisch, who makes heavy use of Germanisms in his works. Romansh had a rich oral tradition before the appearance of Romansh writing, but apart from songs such as the "Canzun da Sontga Margriata", virtually none of it survives. Prior to the 16th century, Romansh writings are known from only a few fragments. The oldest known written records of Romansh dating from the period before 1500 are: The first substantial