Languages and cultures of Italy

[Foxy]

Dialects and languages... Let's clarify what is the difference!

Dialect (or dialetto) is a loan from Greek, dialèktos, that means "speaking colloquial". A dialect is a regional or a territorial idiom that has not the status of official language, becouse a dialect is not considered "worthing it".

Not all the idioms spoken in Italy are considered dialects. Some are classified as official languages of a given territory. These languages are called minoritarian languages and are taught in schools. In front of the Italian Law dialects, instead, are considered only variations of Standard Italian, even if only Tuscan dialects are effectively variations of Italian.

Dialects are relegated at the status of informal/colloquial languages, many of them are at risk of estinction. In many areas of Italy to speak dialect is considered voulgar or a clear sign of rudeness.

Moribound languages

UNESCO published an Atlas of all the languages going to disappear in the world. In Italy it signaled 31 languages at risk of extinction. These languages are:

Alemannic - Southern variety of German, spoken mostly in Switzerland and Lichtenstein but also in various towns of Northern Italy, near the Swisse border. Vulnerable.
Algherese Catalan - Eastern variety of Catalan, spoken in Sardinian town of Alghero. Definitely endangered.
Alpine Provençal - variety of Provencal spoken in North-West Italy, mostly in the Alpin area.
Arbëresh - Or "Italian Albanese", variety of Albanese spoken by Albanian refugees arrived in Italy after the Ottoman Domination and after Skanderbeg's death.
Bavarian - variety of Southern German spoken in Sudtirol
Campidanese - variety of Sardinian spoken in central and southern Sardinia.
Cimbrian - variety of Southern German spoken in the Community of the Seven Cities (Veneto and Trentino). The community bore after migrations from Bavaria happened in Middle Age.
Corsican - romance languages spoken, in Italy, in the province of Sassari, Sardinia.
Emilian-Romagnol - dialect divided in 9 idioms or subdialects spoken in the region of Emilia Romagna belonging to the Gaulish-Italic family.
Faetar - Francoprovencal enclave sited in Apulia, south-east Italy, spoken in the villages Faeto and Celle di San Vito.
Francoprovençal
Friulian
Gallo-Sicilian
Gallurese
Gardiol - occitanian enclave sited in Calabria, South-West Italy.
Griko (Calabria) - creol language of Calabria - a mix of Greek and Italian - existing in Italy since the ancient Greek domination, reinforced by the immigrations from Greece of Middle Age.
Griko (Salento) - Griko spoken in Puglia.
Ladin
Ligurian
Logudorese
Lombard
Mòcheno - germanic language derived from medieval High German, arrived in Italy after migrations happened in Middle Age.
Molise Croatian - slavic language of Croatian origin spoken in three cities of Molise (Central-South Italy). The language contains no Turkism, it demonsters that the Croatian community arrived in Molise probably during the XVI century.
Piedmontese
Resian - slavic idiom of Slovenjan origin spoken in some areas of Friuli Venezia Giulia (North-East Italy). The community that gave birth to Resian were probably a Eastern Slavic tribe arrived from Poland or Slovakia, as it is demonstered by the affinities that Resian has with Russian.
Romani - indoarian language spoken by the gispies of Italy, mostly Romas and Sintis.
Sassarese
Sicilian

[Foxy]

TEXT IN MORIBOUND LANGUAGES:

Serenade in Griko:

ENGLISH VERSION:
I always think of you becouse I love you, my soul, and everywhere I'll go, in everything I'll be swept, everywhere I'll be, I'll bring you forever in my heart.

GRIKO VERSION:
Evò panta se sena pensèo,
jatì sena fsichì mu gapò,
ce pu pao, pu sirno, pu steo
stin kardìa mu panta sena vastò.

Paternoster in Molise Croatian:

Tata naš


Tata naš, ka jesi na nebu,
da bi bija sfe sfeti jima tvoj,
da bi doša tvoj kraljar,
da bi sa čila ono ka hoš ti,
na nebu a zgora sfita.
Daj nami naš kruh saki dan
a jam nami naše duge,
kaka mi hi jamivama drugimi.
A nomo nasa čit past na tendacijunu,
ma zdriš nasa do zlo.

Amen

PATERNOSTER IN CIMRBIC

Ugnar Bàatar, ba pist in hümmel, zai gahòlighet dar dain naamo, as khèmme dar dain Regno, zai gamàcht bia du bill, bia in hümmel, azò in d'èerda. Ghitzich hòite 'z ùgnar proat bon allen taaghen, borghit ozàndarn d'ügnarn zünte bia bràndare borghéban bèar hatzich offèndart, mach as bar net bàllan in tentziùum, ma liberàrzich bon allen bèetighen. Amen

COMMON WORDS IN MOCHENO

griasn greetings
guetmeurng good morning
i hon de gearn I love you

PATERNOSTER IN ALGHERESE CATALAN



Pare nostre, que sés al cel,
sigui santificat lo tou nom.
Vengui a mosaltres lo tou regne.
Se faci la tua voluntat,
com al cel així en terra.
Dóna-mos avui
lo pa nostre de cada dia.
I perdona-mos los nostres pecats,
així com mosaltres
perdonem als nostres enemics.
No mos deixis caure en temptació,
i Ilibra-mos de cada mal.[1]

ANCIENT SONG IN RESIAN:

ENGLISH VERSION:
Mount Canin is very high
when we arrived on its pick
little birds were still dreaming
I had a look around
to see if there was something better
there are only stones and rocks
I looked in the back
to see if there was something better
there was only water and pebbly shore

RESIAN VERSION:
Da öra ta Ċanïnawa

Na jë pur pali visoka
Ko won na wor sowa došly
Šċalë utïċaci so snuwali
Ja si polednol ta nu së
Za vïdët ċi tu jë bujë
Jë mokoi skala ano rob
Ja si polednol nu tu-w-dnö
Za vïdët ċi tu jë bujë


Jë mokoj wöda ano prod

PHRASES IN ARBERESHE:



Falem - Hello
Si je? - How ae you?
Flet Arberisht? - Do you speak Arbereshe?
Nge ndelgova - I did not understand
Ku ndodhe? - Where are you from?

[Foxy]

GERMANS:

Autonomous Province of Bozen



Flag of the Germanic Community of Walsers of Piemonte



Walsers of Valle D'Aosta


Walsers of Alagna Valsesia:



SLOVENJANS:

Slovenian Community



FRENCH:

Francoprovencal Community



FRIULANS/FURLANS

Community of Furlàns:

LADINS

Ladin Community:



ALBANIANS

Flag of Italian-Arbereshe



Sicilian-Albaneses

[Foxy]

CATALANS

Catalan Community of Alghero


OCCITANS



SARDINIANS



OTHER FLAGS NOT AVAILABLE YET

[Foxy]

Although the number of dialects is far higher, they can be grouped in macro-varieties according to phonetic characterists.

NORTHERN GROUP

This group is since the 20th century considered a Western Romance group.
It is divided in various sub-groups: Gaulish-Italic, Venetic and Istriotic.

TUSCAN GROUP

CENTRAL SOUTHERN GROUP
Conservative group, gemination of consonants <b> and <dz> between vowels.

SOUTHERN GROUP
Characterized by the weakening of atone vowels, especially of the finals often pronunced like a <schwa>, graphically written like a <e> with Umlaut.

SICILIAN GROUP
Comprising Sicilian, Calabrian and Salentine.
Characterists:
Latin finals e/i -> i
preromance final o -> u
Latin or other LL-> DD
Total absence of mute vowels and of schwa.
Sounds TR, STR and DD realized retroflexive.

SARDINIAN GROUP


MACROGROUPS DIFFUSION:


DIALECTS AND LANGUAGES:

[Comte Arnau]

Links to a few online dictionaries/lexicons/glossaries:

Algherese Catalan - Standard Catalan - Standard Italian

http://algueres.net/

Friulian - Italian - Slovenian - German - English - Spanish - French

http://www.friul.net/multilingue/

Genoese - Italian

http://www.paroledigenova.net/

Standard Ladin - Ladin varieties - Italian - German

http://dls.ladintal.it/

Piedmontese - Italian

http://www.piemonteis.com/

Sardinian - Italian - French - English - German - Spanish

http://www.ditzionariu.org/home.asp

Sicilian - Italian

http://www.scicli.com/siciliano.php

Venet

http://www.dizsionario.org/dizsionario.php

General: Italian - Dialetti

http://www.dialettando.com/

[Ushtari]

Nice thread! its very interesting to see how the language of arbreshet have developed comparing to that in Balkan. One can see its heavily affected by Italian. A thing that i noticed also is the standard Albanian "GJ"(expressed like in english "jail"), while arbreshet pronounce it like g+j only, ie literally(at least they did on a youtube clip i saw about them).

[Comte Arnau]

CATALANS

Catalan Community of Alghero


OCCITANS

Just one remark. That flag is for all Catalans, not only Algherese. I think that, since L'Alguer is a town, they're represented by the coat of arms that you posted before in the Algherese Paternoster.

As for the Occitan flag, I'd say that's the pro-independence one. (I say this just because of the star. The same happens in Iberia: when you see a star on the flag of Catalonia, Galicia, Asturias or Aragon, it represents secessionist aspiration.)

[Comte Arnau]

Three songs:

Sardinian: Terra mia (Land of mine)
[YOUTUBE]_OrMsjgSrfk[/YOUTUBE]

Friulian: Il cil sore Udin (The sky upon Udine)
[YOUTUBE]pG2ypErRzII[/YOUTUBE]

Algherese Catalan: Oh Alguer Alguer!
-- To an ear from Barcelona, it sounds heavily Italianized but cool. I even have trouble catching a few words.
[YOUTUBE]cBeqhSfvUvc[/YOUTUBE]

[Foxy]

A VIKING TRIBE SURVIVES IN ITALY

The origin of the Cimbric community (from a TV news in Cimbric language, Italian subtitles).

[YOUTUBE]0XaoXezj-bc[/YOUTUBE]

Translation in English:
Many people think they were similar to these warriors History says that Cimbri, called Kimbròi by Ancient Romans, came down from Himmerland, in the Jutland of modern Denmark, in the 2nd century b.C., fighting against the Legions of the Roman Republic of half Europe, and entering endly in Italy, where they were defeated near Vercelli.
The survivors, together with their families, took refuge on the mountains, where they lived for still a lot of time. Some say that it was these colonies to give birth to the modern Cimbric communities of Lessinia and of the 7 Cities, where there still is trace of the language of these warriors.

Alghero, Catalan fortress of Sardinia

Alghero, a little brand of grave on the Western side of Sardinia, guests a permanent Catalan delegation, rapresentative of the Catalan government. Catalans and Aragoneses have occupied for 4 centuries the area, transforming Alghero, city founded by Pisans, in a Catalan fortress. The purpose of the Catalan delegation is to help the conservation of the Catalan language and culture of Alghero. The delegation also tries to enforce the commercial relations between Alghero and Spain. Today Alghero is partner-city of : Balaguer, Tarragona - both in Catalogna -Palma de Mallorca and Encamp (Andorra).

[YOUTUBE]Ey70KSKbKZQ[/YOUTUBE]