Corsican language

Corsican
Corsu, Lingua corsa
Native to	France, Italy
Region	Corsica, northeastern Sardinia (Gallura)
Native speakers	402,000 (2001)
Language family	Indo-European Italic Romance Italo-Dalmatian Italian (Tuscan)[1] Corsican
Writing system	Latin script (Corsican alphabet)
Official status
Recognised minority language in	France
Regulated by	No official regulation
Language codes
ISO 639-1	co
ISO 639-2	cos
ISO 639-3	Variously: cos – Corsican proper sdn – Gallurese sdc – Sassarese
ELP	Corsican
Linguasphere	51-AAA-p
Corsican dialects

Corsican (Corsu or Lingua Corsa) is a Romance language spoken on the island of Corsica (France), together with French, which is the official language. Similar languages are also spoken on the nearby island of Sardinia (Italy), in the city of Sassari and the historical region of Gallura. Corsican is similar to the dialects of Central Italy, particularly in Tuscany. Corsican is spoken by almost 35% of people in Corsica.

According to its UNESCO classification, the Corsican language is now in danger of becoming extinct. The language is separated into two dialects, "Northern Corsican", spoken in the Bastia and Corte areas, and "Southern Corsican", spoken around Sartene and Porto-Vecchio. The dialect of Ajaccio has been described as in transition. The dialects spoken at Calvi and Bonifacio are like the Genoa dialect, also known as Ligurian.

In the Sardinian region of Gallura, including the town of Tempio Pausania, and on the island of La Maddalena "Gallurese" is spoken. The Corsican language is very important for the Corsican culture, because it is really rich in proverbs.

1. ↑ Harris, Martin; Vincent, Nigel (1997). Romance Languages. London: Routlegde. ISBN 0-415-16417-6.