Vallader

Vallader (Vallader, Sursilvan, Puter, Surmiran, and Rumantsch Grischun: ''vallader'' ; Sutsilvan: ') is a variety of the Romansh language spoken in the Lower Engadine valley (''Engiadina Bassa'') of southeast Switzerland, between Martina and Zernez. It is also used as a written language in the nearby community of Val Müstair, where Jauer is spoken. In 2008, schools in the Val Müstair switched from Vallader to Rumantsch Grischun as their written language, but switched back to Vallader in 2012, following a referendum.

The name of the dialect is derived from ''val'' 'valley'. It is the second most commonly spoken variety of Romansh, with 6,448 people in the Lower Engadine valley (79.2%) naming Romansh as a habitually spoken language in the census of 2000.

Romansh can be separated into two dialect groups: Rhine dialects (Sursilvan, Sutsilvan and Surmiran) and Engadine dialects (Vallader and Puter).

A variety of Vallader was also used in Samnaun until the late 19th century, when speakers switched to Bavarian. The last speaker of the Romansh dialect of Samnaun, Augustin Heiß, died in 1935.

For a long period of time, the oldest written form Puter held much prestige with its name. It was used as the language of the aristocratic Engadine tourist region near St. Moritz (San Murezzan). It was used most widely in the 19th century. Vallader has since become more important.

The dialect Jauer, is actually a variety of Vallader spoken in Val Müstair. It is almost only spoken there, and is virtually never written.

Classification

Puter and Vallader are sometimes referred to as one specific variety known as Ladin, a term which can also refer to the closely related language in Italy's Dolomite mountains also known as Ladin.

They are also considered Engadine dialects, since they are spoken in the area of the Engadines.

Vallader shares many traits with the Puter dialect spoken in the Upper Engadine. On the lexical level, the two varieties are similar enough to have a common dictionary. Puter and Vallader share the rounded front vowels and � which are not found in other Romansh varieties. These sounds make written Ladin easily distinguishable through the numerous occurrences of the letters and .

Phonological differences

In Vallader, the clitics are almost always well preserved, and there are no clustered forms that are known. On the other hand, Puter still preserves the clitic system completely.

Compared to Puter, Vallader spelling reflects the pronunciation more closely.

Another difference is that one class of verbs end in ''-ar'' in Vallader, whereas the ending in Puter is ''-er''. The differences in verb conjugation are more divergent however, as can be seen in the simple present of ''avair'' 'to have':

Impersonals

In Vallader, impersonals are formed using a third person singular reflexive verbal clitic. This is an important detail derived most likely from Italian. This is also possible in Puter.

Geographic distribution

Vallader, being one of the five dialects, is mainly used in the Val Müstair and Engadine regions. The name comes from the term "valley" so it's only right that it is found in these regions full of valleys.

As you can see on the map provided below, Vallader is used much more widely to the North East of Graubünden. This distinct difference in blue shades shows the areas of Upper and Lower Engadines. The Lower Engadin, as the chart suggests, speaks Vallader. In the Upper Engadin, Puter is spoken.

A larger issue at hand for the minority Vallader speakers is not only the use of Bavarian, High and Swiss German, but also the division of Romansh. This is especially evident for speakers of the Vallader dialect; since Puter is so closely related in both location and language, it makes the slight differences more cumbersome.

Dialects

While written Vallader is standardized, speakers employ local dialects in oral use. Differences in speech often allow people to pinpoint the home village of another speaker. For example, the word ''eu'' 'I' can be pronounced as [], [], [], [], [] and [], depending on the local dialect.

The dialect of the Val Müstair, Jauer, is distinguished through the ending ''-er'' instead of ''-ar'' for verbs of the first conjugation, and by the placement of stress on the penultimate syllable of these verbs. In addition, stressed /a/ is diphthongized in Jauer. All three traits can be seen in the verb 'to sing', which is ''chantàr'' in Vallader but ''chàunter'' in Jauer.

It is an important fact to keep in mind that Jauer is almost exclusively spoken. Vallader is not only the preferred written form, but it is also the most widely used one.

Official status

As stated earlier, in 2008, schools in the Val Müstair switched from Vallader to Rumantsch Grischun as their written language. When they switched back to Vallader in 2012 following a referendum, it showed that Vallader is in danger but is still without a doubt seen as a (if not the most) reliable language, especially for writing. Since Jauer is used almost solely for speech, this allows more room for Vallader to exist as more of an entity in the world of writing.

It is the second most widely used variety of Romansh, with 6,448 people in the Lower Engadine valley (79.2%) naming Romansh as a habitually spoken language in the census of 2000. This area is the main driving force behind keeping Vallader relevant.

Literature

The first written document in Vallader is the psalm book ''Vn cudesch da Psalms'' by Durich Chiampell from the year 1562.

Other important authors who have written in Vallader include Peider Lansel, Men Rauch, Men Gaudenz, Andri and Oscar Peer, Luisa Famos, Cla Biert, Leta Semadeni and Rut Plouda-Stecher.

The songwriter Linard Bardill also employs Vallader in addition to German and Rumantsch Grischun.

Sample

The fable The Fox and the Crow by Jean de La Fontaine in Vallader, as well as a translation into English, the similar-looking but noticeably different-sounding dialect Puter, the Jauer dialect, and Rumantsch Grischun.

References

Literature

* Gion Tscharner: ''Dicziunari – Wörterbuch vallader-tudais-ch/deutsch-vallader'' Lehrmittelverlag Graubünden 2003. (Vallader-German dictionary)
* M. Schlatter: ''Ich lerne Romanisch.'' (Vallader), 9th edition 2003.
* G. P. Ganzoni: ''Grammatica ladina.'' Uniun dals Grischs und Lia Rumantscha 1983 (Vallader grammar written in French).

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Romansh dialects
Languages of Switzerland
Val Müstair
Valsot
Zernez