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 the "Gasetta Romontscha" in the Surselva, the "Fögl Ladin" in the Engadine, "Casa Paterna/La Punt" in the Sutselva, and "La Pagina da Surmeir" in the Surmeir. Due to financial difficulties, most of these merged into a pan-regional daily newspaper called "La Quotidiana" in 1997. This newspaper includes articles in all five dialects and in Rumantsch Grischun. Apart from "La Quotidiana", "La Pagina da Surmeir" continues to be published to a regional audience, and the "Engadiner Post" includes two pages in Romansh. A Romansh news agency, the Agentura da Novitads Rumantscha, has been in existence since 1997. Several Romansh-language magazines are