languages but rather Italian dialects. They used this hypothesis as an argument to claim the territories for Italy where these languages were spoken. From a sociolinguistic perspective, however, this question is largely irrelevant. The speakers of Romansh have always identified as speaking a language distinct from both Italian and other Romance varieties. Furthermore, unlike Friulian, Ladin, or Lombard, Romansh is located north of the German-Italian linguistic border, and German has influenced the language much more than Italian has. Dialects Romansh comprises a group of closely related dialects, which are most commonly divided into five different varieties, each of which has developed a standardized form. These regional standards are referred to as idioms in Romansh to distinguish them from the local vernaculars, which are referred to as dialects. These dialects form a dialect continuum without clear-cut divisions. Historically a continuous speech area, this continuum has now been ruptured by the spread of German, so that Romansh is now geographically divided into at least two non-adjacent parts. Sursilvan (Sursilvan: ; derived from the name of the Surselva region, which itself is derived from sur 'above' and selva 'forest') – spoken in the Vorderrhein (Sursilvan: Rein Anteriur) valley, including the Lumnezia, Foppa, and Cadi. It is the most widely spoken variety, with 17,897 people or 54.8% within its historical region (including Imboden/Plaun, where Sursilvan is written but Sutsilvan spoken, with the exception of Sursilvan-speaking Flims/Flem) naming Romansh as a habitually spoken language in the Swiss census of 2000. Sutsilvan (Sutsilvan, Rumantsch Grischun: sutsilvan; Vallader: suotsilvan; Putèr: suotsilvaun; derived from sut 'below' and selva 'forest') – spoken in the Hinterrhein (Sutsilvan: Ragn Posteriur) valley, including Schams/Schons, Domleschg/Tumleastga, and Heinzenberg/Mantogna. In Imboden/Plaun, with the exception of Sursilvan-speaking Flims/Flem, they speak Sutsilvan but write Sursilvan. Sutsilvan is the least widely spoken Romansh variety, with 1,111 people or 15.4% within its historical area (excluding Imboden/Plaun) naming Romansh as a habitually spoken language. It has become extinct across much of its historical area since the turn of the 20th century. Surmiran (Surmiran: surmiran; derived from sur 'above' and meir 'wall') – spoken in the Gelgia and Albula/Alvra valleys, including Surses and Sutses. Romansh was named by 3,038 people within the historically Surmiran-writing area (44%) as a habitually spoken language in the census of 2000. Putèr (Romansh: ; probably originally a nickname derived from put 'porridge', meaning 'porridge-eaters') – spoken in the Upper Engadine (Putèr and Vallader: Engiadin'Ota), as