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 Sursilvan in the west and the dialects of the Engadine in the east, with Sutsilvan and Surmiran forming a transition zone between them. The Engadinese varieties "Putèr" and "Vallader" are often referred to as one specific variety known as "Ladin" (rm. ), which is not to be confused with the closely related language in Italy's Dolomite mountains also known as Ladin. Sutsilvan and Surmiran are sometimes grouped together as Central Romansh (rm. "Grischun central"), and then grouped together with Sursilvan as "Rhenish Romansh" (in German, "Rheinischromanisch"). One feature that separates the Rhenish varieties from Ladin is the retention of the