Supriya Ghosh (Editor)

Gallurese dialect

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Native to
  
Italy

Recognised minority language in
  
Sardinia (Italy)

Native speakers
  
100,000 (1993)

Regulated by
  
No official regulation

Gallurese dialect

Region
  
Gallura, northeastern Sardinia

Language family
  
Indo-European Italic Romance Italo-Dalmatian Tuscan Corsican Gallurese

Gallurese (gadduresu) is an Italo-Dalmatian Romance lect spoken in the region of Gallura, in the northeastern part of Sardinia. It is often considered a dialect of Corsican, or even a transitional language between Corsican and Sardinian.

Contents

Gallurese's morphology and vocabulary are close to those of Corsican, in particular with the southern dialects of Sartene and Porto-Vecchio, 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, spoken in the area of Sassari, shares similar transitional traits between Tuscan, Corsican and Sardinian.

Typical constitutional elements of Gallurese

  • the plural form of nouns in -i (ghjanni or polti 'doors') like in Corsican and Italian, and not 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.

    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.

    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, promoted under the Aragonese rule to repopulate an area devastated by famine and pandemics, were crucial in the formation of a slightly hybridized version of Corsican.

    References

    Gallurese dialect Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA