Gallurese () is a Romance

dialect A dialect is a Variety (linguistics), variety of language spoken by a particular group of people. This may include dominant and standard language, standardized varieties as well as Vernacular language, vernacular, unwritten, or non-standardize ...

of the Italo-Dalmatian family spoken in the region of

Gallura Gallura ( or ; ) is a region in North-Eastern Sardinia, Italy. The name ''Gallùra'' is allegedly supposed to mean "stony area". Geography Gallùra has an area of . It is from the Italian peninsula and from the French island of Corsica. ...

, northeastern

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...

. Gallurese is variously described as a distinct southern

of Corsican or transitional language of the

dialect continuum A dialect continuum or dialect chain is a series of Variety (linguistics), language varieties spoken across some geographical area such that neighboring varieties are Mutual intelligibility, mutually intelligible, but the differences accumulat ...

between Corsican and Sardinian. "Gallurese International Day" () takes place each year in

Palau Palau, officially the Republic of Palau, is an island country in the Micronesia subregion of Oceania in the western Pacific Ocean. The Republic of Palau consists of approximately 340 islands and is the western part of the Caroline Islands ...

(

) with the participation of orators from other areas, including Corsica. Gallurese is generally considered a southern Corsican dialect, sharing close resemblance in morphology and vocabulary with the dialects of Sartene and

Porto-Vecchio Porto-Vecchio (, ; or ; , , or (South)) is a commune in the French department of Corse-du-Sud, on the island of Corsica. Porto-Vecchio is a medium-sized port city placed on a good harbor, the southernmost of the marshy and alluvial east ...

on Corsica, whereas its phonology and syntax are similar to those of Sardinian. One third of Gallurese vocabulary is also influenced by Logudorese Sardinian, Catalan, and Spanish. The

Sassarese language Sassarese (natively or ; ) is an Italo-Dalmatian languages, Italo-Dalmatian language spoken in coastal areas of northeastern Sardinia, Italy. Closely related to Gallurese dialect, Gallurese and Corsican language, Corsican, it has its roots in ...

, spoken in the area of

Sassari Sassari ( ; ; ; ) is an Italian city and the second-largest of Sardinia in terms of population with 120,497 inhabitants as of 2025, and a functional urban area of about 260,000 inhabitants. One of the oldest cities on the island, it contains ...

, 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 and Maurice Le Lannou argued that successive migration waves from Southern

Corsica Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...

, 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 was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

Notes

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 Definitely endangered languages