The language of Sicily
Today in Sicily most people are bilingual and speak both Italian and Sicilian, a distinct Romance language. Many Sicilian words are of Greek origin, while smaller numbers of other loan words are from Norman, Arabic, Catalan, Occitan, Spanish and other languages. Other dialects of Sicilian, or those very closely related to it, are also spoken in southern Calabria, Salento and Lower Cilento.
Sicilian was an early influence in the development of standard Italian, although its use remained confined to an intellectual elite. This was a literary language in Sicily created under the auspices of Frederick II and his court of notaries or Magna Curia which, headed by Giacomo da Lentini, also gave birth to the Sicilian School, widely inspired by troubadour literature. It is in this language that appeared the first sonnet, whose invention is attributed to Giacomo da Lentini himself. Sicilian was also the official language of the Kingdom of Sicily from 1300 to 1543.
Prior to the 20th century, large numbers of Sicilian people spoke only Sicilian as their mother tongue, with little or no fluent knowledge of Italian. Today, although not officially recognized by the Italian Republic, the Sicilian language is described as "a stable indigenous language of Italy" by Ethnologue and is recognized as a minority language by UNESCO. It has also been identified as a language by the Sicilian Region. Even so, Italian continues to be the sole official language recognized by the Italian Republic and predominates in the public arena, being used as everyday language in the daily lives of many Sicilians.
The Siculo-Arabic dialect was a vernacular variety of Arabic once spoken in Sicily and neighbouring Malta between the end of the ninth century and the mid to late thirteenth century. The language became extinct in Sicily, but in Malta it eventually evolved into what is now the Maltese language.
The Siculish dialect is the macaronic "Sicilianization" of English language words and phrases by immigrants from Sicily to the United States in the early 20th century. Forms of Siculish are also to be found in other Sicilian immigrant communities of English-speaking countries, namely Canada and Australia. A surprising similarity can often be found between these forms, through either coincidence, trans-national movements of Sicilian immigrants, or more likely, through the logical adaptation of English using linguistic norms from the Sicilian language.
Ethno-linguistic minorities
There are two main historical ethno-linguistic minorities in Sicily, the Lombards of Sicily and the Arbëreshë:
The Lombards of Sicily are a linguistic minority living in Sicily who speak Gallo-Italic of Sicily, an isolated group of Gallo-Italic languages found in about 15 isolated communities of central eastern Sicily. Forming a language island within the Sicilian language, it dates back to migrations from Northern Italy to central and eastern Sicily about 900 years ago, during the Norman conquest of Sicily. Because of linguistic differences among the Gallo-Italic dialects of Sicily, it is supposed that there were different immigration routes. From Piedmont, Liguria, Emilia, and Lombardy they began to spread south between the 11th and 14th centuries. The most important areas where the Gallo-Italic of Sicily is spoken are Acquedolci, Montalbano Elicona, Novara di Sicilia, Fondachelli-Fantina San Fratello and San Piero Patti (Province of Messina), Aidone, Nicosia, Piazza Armerina and Sperlinga (Province of Enna).
The Arbëreshë people settled in Southern Italy in the 15th to 18th centuries in several waves of migrations. They are the descendants of mostly Tosk Albanian refugees of Christian faith who fled to Italy after the conquest and subsequent Islamisation of Albania by the Ottoman Turks in the Balkans. They speak their own variant of the Arbëresh language. There are three identified Arbëreshë communities in the province of Palermo. The areas are: Contessa Entellina, Piana degli Albanesi and Santa Cristina Gela; while the varieties of Piana and Santa Cristina Gela are similar enough to be entirely mutually intelligible, the variety of Contessa Entellina is not entirely intelligible. The largest centre is Piana degli Albanesi which, besides being the hub of religious and socio-cultural communities, has kept their unique features intact over time. There are two other communities with a strong historical and linguistic heritage.
The community of the Greeks of Messina (or Siculo-Greeks) speaks modern Greek with some elements of the ancient Greek language spoken in the island, and Calabrian Greek. The Greek community was reconstituted in 2003 with the name of "Comunità Hellenica dello Stretto" (Hellenic Community of the Strait).
Sicilian was an early influence in the development of standard Italian, although its use remained confined to an intellectual elite. This was a literary language in Sicily created under the auspices of Frederick II and his court of notaries or Magna Curia which, headed by Giacomo da Lentini, also gave birth to the Sicilian School, widely inspired by troubadour literature. It is in this language that appeared the first sonnet, whose invention is attributed to Giacomo da Lentini himself. Sicilian was also the official language of the Kingdom of Sicily from 1300 to 1543.
Prior to the 20th century, large numbers of Sicilian people spoke only Sicilian as their mother tongue, with little or no fluent knowledge of Italian. Today, although not officially recognized by the Italian Republic, the Sicilian language is described as "a stable indigenous language of Italy" by Ethnologue and is recognized as a minority language by UNESCO. It has also been identified as a language by the Sicilian Region. Even so, Italian continues to be the sole official language recognized by the Italian Republic and predominates in the public arena, being used as everyday language in the daily lives of many Sicilians.
The Siculo-Arabic dialect was a vernacular variety of Arabic once spoken in Sicily and neighbouring Malta between the end of the ninth century and the mid to late thirteenth century. The language became extinct in Sicily, but in Malta it eventually evolved into what is now the Maltese language.
The Siculish dialect is the macaronic "Sicilianization" of English language words and phrases by immigrants from Sicily to the United States in the early 20th century. Forms of Siculish are also to be found in other Sicilian immigrant communities of English-speaking countries, namely Canada and Australia. A surprising similarity can often be found between these forms, through either coincidence, trans-national movements of Sicilian immigrants, or more likely, through the logical adaptation of English using linguistic norms from the Sicilian language.
Ethno-linguistic minorities
There are two main historical ethno-linguistic minorities in Sicily, the Lombards of Sicily and the Arbëreshë:
The Lombards of Sicily are a linguistic minority living in Sicily who speak Gallo-Italic of Sicily, an isolated group of Gallo-Italic languages found in about 15 isolated communities of central eastern Sicily. Forming a language island within the Sicilian language, it dates back to migrations from Northern Italy to central and eastern Sicily about 900 years ago, during the Norman conquest of Sicily. Because of linguistic differences among the Gallo-Italic dialects of Sicily, it is supposed that there were different immigration routes. From Piedmont, Liguria, Emilia, and Lombardy they began to spread south between the 11th and 14th centuries. The most important areas where the Gallo-Italic of Sicily is spoken are Acquedolci, Montalbano Elicona, Novara di Sicilia, Fondachelli-Fantina San Fratello and San Piero Patti (Province of Messina), Aidone, Nicosia, Piazza Armerina and Sperlinga (Province of Enna).
The Arbëreshë people settled in Southern Italy in the 15th to 18th centuries in several waves of migrations. They are the descendants of mostly Tosk Albanian refugees of Christian faith who fled to Italy after the conquest and subsequent Islamisation of Albania by the Ottoman Turks in the Balkans. They speak their own variant of the Arbëresh language. There are three identified Arbëreshë communities in the province of Palermo. The areas are: Contessa Entellina, Piana degli Albanesi and Santa Cristina Gela; while the varieties of Piana and Santa Cristina Gela are similar enough to be entirely mutually intelligible, the variety of Contessa Entellina is not entirely intelligible. The largest centre is Piana degli Albanesi which, besides being the hub of religious and socio-cultural communities, has kept their unique features intact over time. There are two other communities with a strong historical and linguistic heritage.
The community of the Greeks of Messina (or Siculo-Greeks) speaks modern Greek with some elements of the ancient Greek language spoken in the island, and Calabrian Greek. The Greek community was reconstituted in 2003 with the name of "Comunità Hellenica dello Stretto" (Hellenic Community of the Strait).
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