Swiss Ambassador to China Jürg Burri at the opening ceremony of the Romansh language week Photo: Courtesy of the Swiss Embassy in China

The Swiss Embassy in China recently launched the first-ever Romansh language week, the fourth national language of Switzerland, aiming at promoting Switzerland's linguistic and cultural diversity. 

The event, which was attended by over 100 guests, included a dialogue on the Romansh language and culture by Swiss artist Not Vital and Andreas Gabriel, Secretary General of the Lia Rumantscha, the leading organization in charge of Romansh promotion. 

Swiss Ambassador to China Jürg Burri said that multilingualism is part of Swiss DNA and contributes to Switzerland's cultural diversity.

"In addition to our annual Italian, French, and German language weeks, I am happy to see the realization of the first Romansh Week in China to showcase the importance of multilingualism for our national cohesion," said Ambassador Burri at the opening ceremony. 

There were also lectures at the Beijing Foreign Studies University and dialogues at the Tsinghua University, as well as the guests' visits to the Swiss School Beijing. 

The week also features a Romansh crash-course video series and other forms of digital content to be launched on social media. The aim is to showcase Switzerland's multilingual culture in China.

This year marks the 85th anniversary since Romansh became Switzerland's national language in 1938. 

There are five different dialects in Romansh, each of which has its own grammar and vocabulary.