Romansh language of Grisons, and is a working language in various districts and numerous municipalities within the canton. The first Swiss constitution of 1848, as well as the subsequent revision of 1872, make no mention of Romansh, which at the time was not a working language of the Canton of Grisons either. The federal government did finance a translation of the constitution into the two Romansh varieties Sursilvan and Vallader in 1872, noting however that these did not carry the force of law. Romansh became a national language of Switzerland in 1938, following a referendum. However, a distinction was introduced between "national
Romansh language objects and ideas were introduced. Romansh speakers often simply adopted the German words, such as "il zug" 'the train' or "il banhof" 'the train station'. Language purists attempted to coin new Romansh words instead, which were occasionally successful in entering popular usage. Whereas "il tren" and "la staziun" managed to replace "il zug" and "il banhof", other German words have become established in Romansh usage, such as "il schalter" 'the switch', "il hebel" 'the lever', "la schlagbohrmaschina" 'the hammer drill', or "in schluc" 'a sip'. Especially noticeable are interjections such as "schon", "aber" or "halt", which have become established in