Ligurian language

Ligurian / Genoese
lìgure, zeneize
Pronunciation[ˈliɡyɾe], [zeˈnejze]
Native toItaly, Monaco, France
RegionItaly
 • Liguria
 • Southern Piedmont
 • Southwestern Lombardy
 • Western Emilia-Romagna
 • Southwestern Sardinia
France
 • Southeastern Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
 • Southern Corsica
Native speakers
600,000 (2002)[1]
Early forms
Dialects
Official status
Official language in
 Monaco (as Monégasque)

 Italy

 Liguria
Language codes
ISO 639-3lij
Glottologligu1248
Linguasphere& 51-AAA-og 51-AAA-oh & 51-AAA-og
Ligurian is classified as Definitely Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger
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Ligurian (/lɪˈɡjʊəriən/ lig-YOOR-ee-ən;[2] endonym: lìgure) or Genoese (/ˌɛnˈz/ JEN-oh-EEZ;[3] endonym: zeneise or zeneize)[4] is a Gallo-Italic language spoken primarily in the territories of the former Republic of Genoa, now comprising the area of Liguria in Northern Italy, parts of the Mediterranean coastal zone of France, Monaco (where it is called Monégasque), the village of Bonifacio in Corsica, and in the villages of Carloforte on San Pietro Island and Calasetta on Sant'Antioco Island off the coast of southwestern Sardinia. It is part of the Gallo-Italic and Western Romance dialect continuum. Although part of Gallo-Italic, it exhibits several features of the Italo-Romance group of central and southern Italy. Zeneize (literally "Genoese"), spoken in Genoa, the capital of Liguria, is the language's prestige dialect on which the standard is based.

There is a long literary tradition of Ligurian poets and writers that goes from the 13th century to the present, such as Luchetto (the Genoese Anonym), Martin Piaggio [it; lij], and Gian Giacomo Cavalli [it; lij].

A man speaking Ligurian, recorded in Italy
  1. ^ Ligurian / Genoese at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015) (subscription required)
  2. ^ "Ligurian". Dictionary.com Unabridged (Online). n.d.
  3. ^ "Genoese". Dictionary.com Unabridged (Online). n.d.
  4. ^ "Genoese". Omniglot. Archived from the original on 2020-11-15.