Sursilvan dialects (Romansh) Sursilvan dialects (Romansh) Sursilvan ( or "romontsch sursilvan" [ʁoˈmɔntʃ suʁsilˈvan]) is a group of dialects of the Romansh language spoken in the Swiss district of Surselva. It is the most widely spoken variety of Romansh with 17,897 people within the Surselva District (54.8%) naming Romansh as a habitually spoken language in the Swiss census of 2000. The most closely related variety is Sutsilvan, which is spoken in the area located to the east of the district. The name of the dialect and the Surselva District is derived from "sur" 'above' and "selva" 'forest', with the forest in question being the
Romansh language named should hold no weight against all the disadvantages that come from such an isolated and uneducated language. According to Mathias Kundert, this quote is a good example of the attitude of many German-speakers towards Romansh at the time. According to Mathias Kundert, while there was never a plan to Germanize the Romansh areas of Grisons, many German-speaking groups wished that the entire canton would become German-speaking. They were careful however, to avoid any drastic measures to that extent, in order not to antagonize the influential Romansh minority. The decline of Romansh over the 20th century can be seen through