Ir cun velo

I found a postcard addressed to me in the mailbox this evening. It had been there for a couple of days, I think. (So has, for no discernable reason, a steak knife. I left that in the mailbox.) The photo on the postcard -- an actual photo instead of some generic postcard from someplace -- depicts a tropical area with some palm trees and fluffy white clouds in the blue sky. It looks very green and lush.

But then I flipped it over to figure out who sent it. Not only was there no name, but also no English, except for my address. It was sent from Portland, Or. At first, I thought it was Italian -- Latin-based, at any rate. I could pick out a few words here and there. So I start typing it into Babelfish, select Italian to English, and hit the button. As suspected, it only returns every five words or so, as many online translators tend to do (because they don't fully conjugate verbs or decline nouns).

So then I Googled the first few lines and ended up at the website ch.ch. If you go to the site, which is a Swiss governmental site, you can navigate in five languages: German, French, Italian, Romansch, and English. In short, the selection on my postcard is (get ready for this, linguistics nerds) in Romansch, and describes some cycling regulations. No name or return address or anything.

Ir cun velo: Cura ch'ils uffants accumpleschan la vegliadetgna da scola pon els ir cun velo en il traffic sin via. In'examen na sto normalmain betg vegnir fatg. Tuttina valan las reglas da traffic er per ciclistas e ciclists.
Vignetta da velo: Tgi che va cun velo sto avair in'assicuranza da responsabladad. Questa vegn fatga cun la cumpra dad ina vignetta da velo. Ins survegn ella sin la posta, en il commerzi da velos e tar divers auters posts da vendita. La vignetta vala mintgamai dals 1. da schaner fin als 31 da matg da l'onn suandant. Ella po vegnir messa sin in auter vehichel. In fegl d'infurmaziun en connex cun la vignetta da velo chatt'ins sin la pagina d'internet da l'uniun dals uffizis per il traffic.

Cycling: When children reach school age, they are allowed to cycle in road traffic. Generally speaking, they do not need to pass a test. However, traffic regulations also apply to cyclists.
Bicycle tax sticker: All cyclists need to take out third party liability (TPL) insurance cover which comes with the tax sticker (known as a "vignette" in Switzerland). This is obtainable from post offices, bicycle shops and many other points of sale. The sticker is valid from 1 January to 31 May of the following year and can be transferred to another bicycle. A factsheet on bicycle tax stickers can be found on the website of the Association of Road Traffic Licensing Departments.

It's the funniest and most exciting snail mail I've ever gotten.