Cimbrian language

Cimbrian
zimbar, tzimbar, tzimbris
Native toItaly
Native speakers
400 (2000)[1]
Official status
Recognised minority
language in
Language codes
ISO 639-3cim
Glottologcimb1238
ELPCimbrian
Historical (yellow) and current (orange) distribution of the Cimbrian dialects.

Cimbrian (Cimbrian: zimbar, IPA: [ˈt͡simbɐr]; German: Zimbrisch; Italian: cimbro) is any of several local Upper German varieties spoken in parts of the Italian regions of Trentino and Veneto. The speakers of the language are known as Zimbern in German.

Cimbrian is a Germanic language related to Bavarian most probably deriving from a Southern Bavarian dialect. It is also related to the Mòcheno language. Its many essential differences in grammar as well as in vocabulary and pronunciation make it practically unintelligible for people speaking Standard German. Even many people speaking Bavarian have problems. The use of Italian throughout the country and the influence of nearby Venetian have both had large effects on the number of speakers of Cimbrian throughout past centuries. This effect has been large enough to cause Cimbrian to be deemed an endangered language.

  1. ^ "UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in danger". www.unesco.org. Retrieved 2018-01-14.