Romansh language take along' or Italian "andare via" 'to go away', the large number in Romansh suggests an influence of German, where this pattern is common. However, prepositional verbs are also common in the (Romance) Lombard language spoken in the bordering Swiss and Italian regions. The verbs "far cun" 'to participate' or "grodar tras" 'to fail' for example, are direct equivalents of German "mitmachen" (from "mit" 'with' and "machen" 'to do) and "durchfallen" (from "durch" 'through' and "fallen" 'to fall'). Less integrated into the Romansh verbal system are constructions following the pattern of "far il" ('doing the') + a German infinitive. Examples
Romansh language "Banitsch" 'cart used for moving dung', and "Pon" 'container made of wood'. In areas where Romansh either is still spoken or has disappeared recently, Romansh words are even more common in the local dialects of German. The influence of German has been seen in different ways by linguists and language activists. The Italian dialectologist Ascoli for instance described Romansh as "a body that has lost its soul and taken on an entirely foreign one in its place" in the 1880s. This opinion was shared by many, who saw the influence of German as a threat to and corruption of Romansh,