Italo-Dalmatian languages

The Italo-Dalmatian languages, or Central Romance languages, are a group of Romance languages of Italy, Corsica, and, formerly, the Dalmatian Coast of Croatia.

Italo-Dalmatian can be split into:^[2]

• Italo-Romance, which includes most Italian languages.
• Dalmatian Romance, which includes Dalmatian and Istriot.

The generally accepted four branches of the Romance languages are Western Romance, Italo-Dalmatian, Sardinian and Eastern Romance. But there are other ways that the languages of Italo-Dalmatian can be classified in these branches:

• Italo-Dalmatian is sometimes included in Eastern Romance (which includes Romanian), leading to: Western, Sardinian, and Eastern branches.
• Italo-Dalmatian is sometimes included in Western Romance (which includes the Gallic and Iberian languages) as Italo-Western, leading to: Italo-Western, Sardinian, and Eastern branches.
• Italo-Romance is sometimes included in Italo-Western, with Dalmatian Romance included in Eastern Romance, leading to: Italo-Western, Sardinian, and Eastern branches.
• Corsican (from Italo-Dalmatian) and Sardinian are sometimes included together as Southern Romance, or Island Romance, leading to: Western, Italo-Dalmatian, Southern, and Eastern branches.

Languages

Based on mutual intelligibility, Dalby lists four languages: Corsican, Italian (Tuscan–Central), Neapolitan–Sicilian, and Dalmatian.^[3] A more detailed account of the languages and dialects includes:

Dalmatian Romance

• Dalmatian language, spoken in the Dalmatia region of Croatia. Became extinct in the 19th century
  • Regional varieties of Dalmatian: Ragusan, Vegliot, Zara
• Istriot, spoken on the Istrian peninsula of Croatia, Slovenia, and Italy. Istriot is sometimes considered not to belong to Italo-Dalmatian.

Italo-Romance

• Tuscan: this includes Standard Italian and various forms of Regional Italian
  • Corsican is related to Tuscan, with dialects of Gallurese and arguably of Sassarese
• Central Italian, or Latin–Umbrian–Marchegian, includes the varieties of Romanesco and Marchigiano
• Southern Italian, spoken in central–southern Italy
  • Neapolitan, spoken in and around Naples, and the region of Campania
  • Abruzzese
  • Apulian
  • Basilicatan–Lucanian
  • Molisano
• Sicilian: spoken in Sicily; a small portion of southern Campania; central and southern Calabria; and the Salento peninsula of southern Apulia.
• Some Italian linguists group the Gallo-Italic languages with Italo-Romance.^[4]

Judeo-Italian

Judeo-Italian languages are varieties of Italian used by Jewish communities, between the 10th and the 20th centuries, in Italy, Corfu and Zante.

Italo-Romance languages and dialects

There are four main groups of Central-Southern (Centro-Meridionale) Italian dialects or languages:

• Tuscan and Corsican (It. Toscano e Corso): group of dialects spoken in the Italian region of Tuscany, and the French island of Corsica.
  • Northern Tuscan dialects:
    • Florentine (It. Fiorentino) is spoken in the city of Florence, and was the basis for Standard Italian.
    • Other dialects: Pistoiese; Pesciatino or Valdinievolese; Lucchese; Versiliese; Viareggino; Pisano-Livornese.
  • Southern Tuscan dialects:
    • Dialects of Aretino-Chianaiolo, Senese, Grossetano.
  • Corsican, spoken on Corsica, is thought to be descended mainly from Tuscan.^[5]
    • Gallurese and Sassarese, spoken on the northern tip of Sardinia, can be considered as dialects of Corsican.
• Central Italian, or Latin-Umbrian-Marchegian dialects: mainly spoken in the regions of: Lazio (which includes Rome); Umbria; central Marche; a small part of Abruzzo and Tuscany.
  • Romanesco, spoken in Rome and Lazio.
  • Castelli Romani: spoken in the Castelli Romani, in the Provence of Rome, Lazio.
  • Tuscia or Viterbo: spoken in the Province of Viterbo, Lazio.
  • Ciociaro: spoken in Ciociaria, in the Province of Frosinone, Lazio.
  • Umbrian (It. Umbro): spoken in Umbria.
  • Central Marchigiano: spoken in central Marche.
  • Sabino: spoken in the city of L'Aquila (Abruzzo) and the Province of Rieti (Lazio).

• Southern Italian, or the Neapolitan language, is spoken in: southern Marche; southern Lazio; Abruzzo; Molise; Campania (including Naples); Basilicata; and the north of both Apulia and Calabria.
  • Campano dialects of Neapolitan (It. Napolitano), Irpino, Southern Laziale: spoken in Naples and Campania; and southern Lazio.
  • Abruzzese-Southern Marchigiano: spoken in the Abruzzo region and southern Marche region.
  • Molisan (It. Molisano): spoken in the Molise region.
  • Lucanian (It. Lucano): spoken in the region of Basilicata, also known as Lucania.
  • Pugliese, or Apulian: spoken in the northern region of Apulia (It. Puglia).
  • Cosentino, also known as or Northern Calabrian (It. Calabrese Settentrionale):^[6] spoken in the Province of Cosenza, in northern Calabria.
• Extreme Southern Italian, or the Sicilian language (It. Siciliano), is spoken on the island of Sicily; and in the south of both Calabria and Apulia; and some of Campania.
  • Sicilian, spoken on the island of Sicily: Western Sicilian; Central Metafonetica; Southeast Metafonetica; Ennese; Eastern Nonmetafonetica; Messinese.
  • Sicilian dialects on other islands: Isole Eolie, on the Aeolian Islands; Pantesco, on the island of Pantelleria.
  • Calabro,^[6] or Central-Southern Calabrian (It. Calabresi Centrale e Meridionale):^[6] dialects are spoken in the central and southern areas of the region of Calabria.
  • Salentino, spoken in the Salento region of southern Apulia.
  • Southern Cilentan (It. cilentano) (sometimes classified as a Campano dialect): spoken in southern tip of Cilento, which is southern Province of Salerno, in the Campania region.

In addition, some Gallo-Italic languages are spoken in Central-Southern Italy.

See also

• Languages of Italy
• Italian language
• Regional Italian

References