Gallurese () is a Romance

language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of ...

from the Italo-Dalmatian family spoken in the region of Gallura, northeastern Sardinia. It is sometimes considered a

dialect The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of linguistic phenomena: One usage refers to a variety of a language that ...

of southern Corsican or a transitional language between Corsican and Sardinian. "Gallurese International Day" () takes place each year in

Palau Palau,, officially the Republic of Palau and historically ''Belau'', ''Palaos'' or ''Pelew'', is an island country and microstate in the western Pacific. The nation has approximately 340 islands and connects the western chain of the Ca ...

( Sardinia) with the participation of orators from other areas, including Corsica. Gallurese morphology and vocabulary are close to southern Corsican, especially the dialects of Sartene and Porto-Vecchio, whereas its phonology and syntax are similar to those of Sardinian.Atti Convegno Lingua Gallurese, Palau 2014
/ref> One third of Gallurese vocabulary is also influenced by Logudorese Sardinian,

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid ...

, and Spanish. The Sassarese language, spoken in the area of Sassari, shares similar transitional traits between Tuscan, Corsican and Sardinian but, in comparison with Gallurese, is definitely closer to the Logudorese dialects of Sardinian.

History

The most ancient literary sources in Gallurese date back to the early 17th century, mainly as poetry and religious odes. Some late Middle Age fragments suggest that the formation of the language could be dated to the early 15th century. The origin and the development of Gallurese are debated.

Max Leopold Wagner Max Leopold Wagner (17 September 1880, Munich – 9July 1962, Washington, D.C.) was a German philologist and ethnologist, particularly known for his studies on the Sardinian language. He also carried out pioneering research on the Spanish lang ...

and

Maurice Le Lannou Maurice Le Lannou (8 May 1906 – 2 July 1992) was a French geographer. 1906 births 1992 deaths École Normale Supérieure alumni Academic staff of the Collège de France French geographers Members of the Académie des sciences morales e ...

argued that successive migration waves from Southern Corsica, promoted under the Aragonese rule to repopulate an area devastated by famine and pandemics, were crucial in the formation of a transitional language.

Typical constitutional elements of Gallurese

*the plural form of nouns in ''-i'' (''ghjanni'' or ''polti'' 'doors') are like in Corsican and Italian, and not as in ''-s'' like in Sardinian (''jannas'', ''portas''), French, Spanish, Catalan, etc. * Latin 'll' has become ''-dd-'' (like ''casteddu, coraddu'' 'castle', 'coral'), the same as in Sardinian, southern Corsican and Sicilian (but ''castellu, corallu'' in northern Corsican); *''-r-'' modified to ''-l-'' (''poltu'' 'port', while ''portu'' in Corsican and Sardinian); *''-chj-'' and ''-ghj-'' sounds (''ghjesgia'' 'church', ''occhji'' 'eyes'), like in Corsican, while Sardinian is ''cresia, ogros''. * articles ''lu'', ''la'', ''li'', like in ancient Corsican dialects (''u'', ''a'', ''i'' in modern Corsican, ''su'', ''sa'', ''sos'', ''sas'' in Sardinian);

Relation to Corsican

Gallurese is classified by some linguists as a dialect of Corsican, and by others as a dialect of Sardinian. In any case, a great deal of similarity exists between Southern Corsican dialects and Gallurese, while there is relatively more distance from the neighbouring Sardinian varieties. Concluding the debate speech, the Sardinian linguist Mauro Maxia stated as follows: The Regional Government of Sardinia has recognized Gallurese, along with Sassarese as separate languages, distinct from Sardinian.

Sample of text

An excerpt from a hymn dedicated to the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...

References

External links

*Maxia, Mauro
''Studi sardo-corsi: Dialettologia e storia della lingua tra le due isole''
Accademia della Lingua Gallurese; Istituto di Filologia (2010).

* Von Wartburg, Walther. ''La fragmentation linguistique de la Romania''. Paris, Librairie C. Klincksieck, 1967. {{Romance languages Sardinian language Corsican language Languages of Sardinia Languages of Italy Dialects of Italian