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Rumantschia

At cantonal level since 1880/1892 and at federal level since 1938, Romansh has been, in formal terms at least, on an equal footing with the other official languages in the Grisons/Swiss national languages. The Romansh population may use its mother tongue when speaking to federal, cantonal and communal authorities. The official replies are written in Rumantsch Grischun by the Federation and the Canton and in a specific idiom by the municipalities.
In the following the use of Romansh on 3 different administrative levels will be depicted (Federation, Canton, Region):
At federal level Romansh is visible in the Swiss passport, the identity card and on the treasury notes of the franc. Moreover, the federal homepage is Romansh. As far as administration is concerned, social and cultural organizations use the Romansh language in brochures, flyers, websites,… . Public services as the post or the SBB (Federal Railways) use Romansh now and again.
At cantonal level the language law of the Canton Grisons regulates the usage of Romansh (see legal matters). Romansh is official and school language in monolingual municipalities (municipalities with at least 40% of people belonging to the same language group); multilingual municipalities have to make an adequate usage of Romansh. In multilingual municipalities the lessons are bilingual or in Romansh.
Private local companies use Romansh now and again. They use it above all for advertising purposes. In church, which plays an essential role in most municipalities, Romansh is spoken. The mass is always said in Romansh in Romansh municipalities, in multilingual municipalities, on the other hand, it is said in Romansh and German alternately.
Public services as the Rhaetian Railway or tourist offices sometimes use Romansh for communications, advertising brochures and information.
Romansh culture is manifold. It ranges from theatre, choirs and village bands to adult education, libraries and other public or private events.