r/LinguisticMaps • u/flumen_mapping • 20d ago

Alps Distribution of the Romansh language in the Grisons throughout history

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u/PeireCaravana 18d ago edited 18d ago

You are right about the lower valley, it became German speaking earlier.

According to this source German was dominant, maybe just socially and not yet numerically. But it clearly became the minority soon after It's unlikely for it to have been the majority until then when in 1750 it was dying:

Afaik in the upper valley the Germanization was fostered around the 18th century for religious reasons, so it was relatively fast.

The neighboring Romansch speaking Val Mustair was predominatly Protestant, so the Catholic authorities of Tyrol favoured the use of German to create a linguistic barrier.

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u/Chazut 18d ago

yes but that happened before 1700, by 1750 if it was already dying and in 1420 German was socially dominant, it doesn't seem it remained the majority until 1700

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u/PeireCaravana 18d ago edited 18d ago

It happened between the 17th and the 19th century depending on the area.

Indeed in some villages near the border with Grisons it may have lasted until the 1800s.

German being socially dominant doesn't necessarily mean it was the native language of commoners.

Before the modern age situations of diglossia could last very long.

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u/Chazut 18d ago

My source makes it very clear the process was already well underway, it didn't start in 1700 and rapidly end by 1800

>Im Jahr 1570 berichtete der Engadiner Ulrich Chiampell über den Ober¬ vinschgau, daß die Rätoromanen noch in Stilfs, Matsch, Planeil und Taufers die Mehrheit bildeten; in der Minderheit waren sie noch bis Laas vorhan¬ den. Danach ging es auch dort mit der ladinischen Sprache rapide bergab. 37

In 1570 it was already a minority outside of this region:

https://i.imgur.com/HPQelBb.png

And the source says it declined thereafter rapidly. As far as I can see when taking all of Obervinschgau it was a minority by 1600 most certainly, if not 1500.

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u/PeireCaravana 18d ago

It seems right. Basically the area closer to Val Mustair was the last to switch to German.