Area of Romansch usage

Google made language customizations to its interface to appeal to the 35,000-strong community in the mountains of southeastern Switzerland. The Romansch language, a direct derivative of Latin, can now be used to "tschertgar" (search) the web. For Google the move may be less "sa divertier," (to have fun) and more "seser" (to sit) on many smaller markets to win affinities strong enough to defend share against oncoming competitors MSN and Yahoo.

The Swiss have long protected the language by favoring it with various laws, for instance forcing schools to include it in curricula and putting the language on currency.

Google reportedly hired Swiss students to help in its translation efforts. Romansch is one of five official languages in Switzerland, which includes German, French, Italian and money.