Media: AP: Google to offer Rumantsch service
| Submitter: |
Stephen Anderson
|
| Submitter Email: | stephen.anderson@yale.edu |
| Linguistic Field(s): |
General Linguistics |
| Media Body: |
The story below recently appeared on AP. They don't say which of the five existing 'Romansch' standards (six, if you count the cross-dialect form 'Rumantsch Grischun') Google is using. They also have the figures wrong: the number of speakers is more like 60,000. For more information on the situation of the language, see http://www.liarumantscha.ch/de/actualitads/rumantsch04_r.pdf -- a brochure prepared by the Lia Rumantscha. June 9, 2005 | Bern, Switzerland -- Not many people have heard of Romansch. But in the future, those looking for Web sites in Switzerland may find themselves trying to decipher this Latin-linked language. That's because Google Inc., the Internet's leading search engine provider, is now offering its service in Romansch, a language spoken by just 35,000 people in the mountains of southeastern Switzerland, the company said Wednesday. The Swiss government has passed laws to protect the minority Romansch language, such as requiring its use in schools and on bank notes, but speakers will now have the opportunity to 'tschertgar il web' -- or search the Web -- in their native language. Though the interface is in Romansch, results aren't limited to the language. Nonetheless, the initiative has been welcomed by Romansch groups, who have been seeking ways to keep their dwindling language alive. Romansch, a direct descendant of Latin and one of Switzerland's four official languages, has struggled to cope with encroachment of German. -- Stephen R. Anderson Professor of Linguistics, Psychology and Cognitive Science Yale University |
| Issue Number: | 16.1836 |
| Date Posted: | June 10, 2005 |
