Language/Romansh/Vocabulary/Basic-phrases-in-Romansh
Tgau Polyglots!😊
Welcome to our "Rare languages" series lesson.
Today we are going to talk about the Romansh language.
Romansh is a Romance language spoken in the Swiss canton of Grisons (Graubünden). It is one of the four national languages of Switzerland, with around 40,000 native speakers. The language is not one unified language, but rather a collection of 5 idioms: Puter, Vallader, Sursilvan, Sutsilvan and Surmiran. There are some similarities between them, but many differences too. Whilst a Vallader speaker in the lower Engadin may understand most of what is said by a Puter speaker in the Upper Engadin, there are often spelling and pronunciation differences. Differences between other idioms of Romansh are more extreme, with wholesale differences in vocabulary.
Please find below some basic phrases and interesting videos.
Feel free to complete this wiki page if you think it could be improved!
Survival phrases in Romansh
| English | Rumantsch (Romansh) |
|---|---|
| Cheers! | Eviva! Puter: Viva! |
| Do you speak English? | Discurras ti englais? Puter: Discuorrasch tü Inglais? |
| Do you speak Romansh? | Discurras ti rumantsch? Puter: Discuorrasch tü Rumauntsch? |
| Do you understand? | Chapeschas ti? |
| Excuse me | Perdunai |
| Fire! | Fieu! |
| Good afternoon | Buna sera |
| Good afternoon/evening | Buna sera |
| Good morning | Bien di Puter: Bun di |
| Good night | Buna notg Puter: Buna nott |
| Goodbye | Chau Puter: Arrivai |
| Hello | Ciao or Allegra |
| Help! | Agid! Puter: Agüd |
| Hi! | Tgau! |
| How are you? | Co vai? Puter: Tuot in uorden? / Tuot bun? |
| How do you say ... in Romansh? | Co ha ... num per rumantsch? Puter: Scu as disch … in Rumauntsch? |
| How much is this? | Con cuosta quei ? |
| I don't understand | Jau na chapesch betg |
| I love you | Jeu carezel tei Puter: Eau t’am (Eau is pronounced “aya” to rhyme with slayer). |
| I understand | Jau chapesch |
| My name is ... | Jeu hai num ... |
| New Year greetings | In bien niev onn |
| Over there | Vi leu |
| Please | Per plaschair |
| Please say that again | Pudessas ti repeter quai? |
| Please speak more slowly | Pudessas ti discurrer pli plaun? |
| Pleased to meet you | Fa plaschair |
| Reply to 'How are you?' | Fitg bain, grazia. E ti? Puter: Fich bun, grazcha. E tü? |
| Reply to thank you | Anzi |
| Sorry | I ma displacha |
| Thank you | Grazia Puter: Grazcha |
| Welcome | Bainvegni |
| What's your name? | Co haveis vus num? |
| Where's the toilet / bathroom? | Nua è tualetta? |
| You're welcome | anzi |
Videos
About the Romansh language
Man speaking Romansh
Romansh - Rumantsch
Romansh: Switzerland's Mountain Language