Italian Graubünden

Geschichte

The Italian Graubünden or Italian Grigioni is the region of the Canton of Graubünden, Switzerland where Italian and Lombard are spoken.Located in the southernmost part of the canton, it includes the districts of Moesa and Bernina, and the municipalities of Bivio in the Albula district and Bregaglia in the Maloggia district. It has a population of about 15,000 inhabitants, of which over 85% speak Italian or Lombard.GeographyThe three regions that make up the Italian Graubünden are separated by mountains, isolated from the rest of the canton as well as from each other. Because of their remoteness and the lack of economic possibilities, emigration has traditionally been a serious issue, and even today more than half of the people born in the Italian Graubünden live and work outside of the region in the predominantly Italian-speaking canton of Ticino.EducationIn previous years, the importance of Italian in the canton has been at a decreasing rate, especially in the two regions farther from Ticino. This was believed to be caused by the immigration of germanophones in traditionally Italian-speaking areas, the spread of German language mass media and the absence of secondary schools teaching in Italian in Graubünden. However, due the increase use of Standard Italian in education, improvements in the use of Italian media, and special education opportunities for Italian speakers has improved the lives of Italians in the region. This has led to limited contact with German speakers outside Italian areas.