, states =
Northwest Italy
Northwest Italy ( it, Italia nord-occidentale or just ) is one of the five official statistical regions of Italy used by the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), a first level NUTS region and a European Parliament constituency. Northwes ...
, region = Central and eastern
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographi ...
, speakers = 60,000
, ref =
, date = 2006
, familycolor = Indo-European
, fam2 =
Italic
, fam3 =
Romance
Romance (from Vulgar Latin , "in the Roman language", i.e., "Latin") may refer to:
Common meanings
* Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings
* Romance languages, ...
, fam4 =
Italo-Western
Italo-Western is, in some classifications, the largest branch of the Romance languages. It comprises two of the branches of Romance languages: Italo-Dalmatian and Western Romance. It excludes the Sardinian language and Eastern Romance.
Italo ...
, fam5 =
Gallo-Romance
The Gallo-Romance branch of the Romance languages includes in the narrowest sense the Langues d'oïl and Franco-Provençal. However, other definitions are far broader, variously encompassing the Occitano-Romance, Gallo-Italic, and Rhaeto-Romanc ...
, fam6 =
Gallo-Italic
The Gallo-Italic, Gallo-Italian, Gallo-Cisalpine or simply Cisalpine languages constitute the majority of the Romance languages of northern Italy. They are Piedmontese, Lombard, Emilian, Ligurian, and Romagnol. Although most publications def ...
, isoexception= dialect
, glotto = none
![Linguistic map of Italy](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/Linguistic_map_of_Italy.png)
Gallo-Italic of Sicily ( it, Gallo-italico di Sicilia) is a group of
Gallo-Italic languages
The Gallo-Italic, Gallo-Italian, Gallo-Cisalpine or simply Cisalpine languages constitute the majority of the Romance languages of northern Italy. They are Piedmontese, Lombard, Emilian, Ligurian, and Romagnol. Although most publications def ...
found in about 15 isolated communities of central eastern
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographi ...
. Forming a
language island
A language island (a calque of German ''Sprachinsel''; also language enclave, language pocket) is an enclave of a language that is surrounded by one or more different languages. The term was introduced in 1847. Peter Auer, Frans Hinskens, Paul Ker ...
in the otherwise
Sicilian language
Sicilian ( scn, sicilianu, link=no, ; it, siciliano) is a Romance language that is spoken on the island of Sicily and its satellite islands. A variant, ''Calabro-Sicilian'', is spoken in southern Calabria, where it is called Southern Calabro ...
area,
it dates back to migrations from
northern Italy
Northern Italy ( it, Italia settentrionale, it, Nord Italia, label=none, it, Alta Italia, label=none or just it, Nord, label=none) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. It consists of eight administrative regions ...
during the reign of
Norman
Norman or Normans may refer to:
Ethnic and cultural identity
* The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries
** People or things connected with the Norm ...
Roger I of Sicily
Roger I ( it, Ruggero I, Arabic: ''رُجار'', ''Rujār''; Maltese: ''Ruġġieru'', – 22 June 1101), nicknamed Roger Bosso and The Great, was a Norman nobleman who became the first Count of Sicily from 1071 to 1101. He was a member of the H ...
Ann Katherine Isaacs, ''Immigration and emigration in historical perspective'', Edizioni Plus, Pisa 2007, p, 71.
/ref> and his successors.
Towns inhabited by the new immigrants became known as the "Lombard communities" ( la, oppida Lombardorum, scn, cumuna lummardi). The settlers, known as the Lombards of Sicily
The Lombards of Sicily ( it, Lombardi di Sicilia) are an ethnolinguistic minority living in Sicily, southern Italy, speaking an isolated variety of Gallo-Italic languages, the so-called Gallo-Italic of Sicily.
History
The origins of these commu ...
, actually came principally from the Aleramici
The House of Aleramici were a medieval Italian noble family of Frankish origin which ruled various northwestern counties and marches, in Piedmont and Liguria from the tenth to the 14th centuries.
History
The founder of the family was William I of ...
fiefdoms of southern Montferrat
Montferrat (, ; it, Monferrato ; pms, Monfrà , locally ; la, Mons Ferratus) is part of the region of Piedmont in northern Italy. It comprises roughly (and its extent has varied over time) the modern provinces of Alessandria and Asti. Mo ...
, comprising today south-eastern Piedmont
it, Piemontese
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
, demographics1_title2 ...
and north-western Liguria
Liguria (; lij, Ligûria ; french: Ligurie) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is ...
, "Lombardy" being the name for the whole of northern Italy during the Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
. In addition to a common place of origin, the colonizers brought their Gallo-Italic languages
The Gallo-Italic, Gallo-Italian, Gallo-Cisalpine or simply Cisalpine languages constitute the majority of the Romance languages of northern Italy. They are Piedmontese, Lombard, Emilian, Ligurian, and Romagnol. Although most publications def ...
. These languages added to the Gallic influence of the developing Sicilian language (influences which included Norman
Norman or Normans may refer to:
Ethnic and cultural identity
* The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries
** People or things connected with the Norm ...
and Old Occitan
Old Occitan ( oc, occitan ancian, label=Occitan language, Modern Occitan, ca, occità antic), also called Old Provençal, was the earliest form of the Occitano-Romance languages, as attested in writings dating from the eighth through the fourteen ...
) to become the Gallo-Italic of Sicily language family
A language family is a group of languages related through descent from a common ''ancestral language'' or ''parental language'', called the proto-language of that family. The term "family" reflects the tree model of language origination in hist ...
.
History
Although Roger I took 30 years to take complete control of Sicily (from 1061 to 1091), by 1080 he had effective control of much of the island. During this conquest, some areas of central Sicily became depopulated as some, but far from all, of its Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
population was expelled. Roger and his Norman successors encouraged migration to the region, especially by those closely allied with the Latin Church
, native_name_lang = la
, image = San Giovanni in Laterano - Rome.jpg
, imagewidth = 250px
, alt = Façade of the Archbasilica of St. John in Lateran
, caption = Archbasilica of Saint Joh ...
. Much of the migration was from northern Italy, particularly from his wife's family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
holdings in Piedmont
it, Piemontese
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
, demographics1_title2 ...
and Liguria
Liguria (; lij, Ligûria ; french: Ligurie) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is ...
.
Areas spoken
The languages are spoken primarily in the following areas:
* Province of Messina
Messina (, ) was a province in the autonomous island region of Sicily in Italy. Its capital was the city of Messina. It was replaced by the Metropolitan City of Messina.
Geography Territory
It had an area of , which amounts to 12.6 percent o ...
: Acquedolci
Acquedolci ( Sicilian: ''Acquaduci'') is an Italian town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Messina in Sicily.
Its name, that can be translated in English as "sweet waters", probably came from the fresh water springs which are part of th ...
, Montalbano Elicona
Montalbano Elicona ( Sicilian: ''Muntarbanu'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Messina in the Italian region Sicily, located about east of Palermo and about southwest of Messina on the Nebrodi mountains at the bord ...
, Novara di Sicilia
Novara di Sicilia ( Gallo-Italic of Sicily: Nuè; Sicilian: ''Nuvara'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Messina in the Italian region of Sicily, located about east of Palermo and some southwest of Messina.
Novara di ...
, Fondachelli-Fantina
Fondachelli-Fantina is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Messina, Sicily, southern Italy. Situated between Novara and Francavilla di Sicilia, in the southern Peloritani mountains, it is above sea level. The community border ...
San Fratello
San Fratello (Gallo-Italic: San Frareau, Sicilian: ''Santu Frateddu'', Greek and Latin: ''Apollonia'', Medieval Latin ''Castrum S. Philadelphi''), formerly San Filadelfo, is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Messina in the ...
and San Piero Patti
San Piero Patti ( Sicilian: ''San Pieru Patti'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Messina in the Italian region Sicily, located about east of Palermo and about southwest of Messina.
San Piero Patti borders the follow ...
* Province of Enna
Enna ( it, Provincia di Enna; Sicilian: ''Pruvincia di Enna''; officially ''Libero consorzio comunale di Enna'') is a province in the autonomous island region of Sicily in Italy.
It was created in 1927, out of parts of the Provinces of Caltanise ...
: Aidone
Aidone (Gallo-Italic of Sicily: ''Aidungh'' or ''Dadungh''; scn, Aiduni) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Enna, in region of Sicily in southern Italy. The extensive archaeological site of Morgantina is on a ridge close to the town.
...
, Nicosia
Nicosia ( ; el, Λευκωσία, Lefkosía ; tr, Lefkoşa ; hy, Նիկոսիա, romanized: ''Nikosia''; Cypriot Arabic: Nikusiya) is the largest city, capital, and seat of government of Cyprus. It is located near the centre of the Mesaor ...
, Piazza Armerina
Piazza Armerina (Gallo-Italic of Sicily: ''Ciazza''; Sicilian: ''Chiazza'') is a ''comune'' in the province of Enna of the autonomous island region of Sicily, southern Italy.
History
The city of Piazza (as it was called before 1862) developed d ...
and Sperlinga
Sperlinga is a comune in the province of Enna, in the central part of the island of Sicily, in southern Italy. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("the prettiest villages in Italy").
Geography
Sperlinga is at about above sea level, o ...
Other linguistic communities also existed in:
* Province of Messina: Roccella Valdemone
Roccella Valdemone ( Sicilian: ''Rascidda Vaddemuni'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Messina in the Italian region Sicily, located about east of Palermo and about southwest of Messina.
Roccella Valdemone borders the ...
, Motta d'Affermo
Motta d'Affermo ( Sicilian: ''Motta d'Affermu'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Messina in the Italian region Sicily, located about east of Palermo and about west of Messina.
Motta d'Affermo borders the following municipali ...
and Castel di Lucio
Castel di Lucio (Sicilian language, Sicilian: ''Castiddruzzu'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Messina in the Italy, Italian region Sicily, located about southeast of Palermo and about southwest of Messina. Castel di Lucio bor ...
* Province of Enna: Enna
Enna ( or ; grc, Ἔννα; la, Henna, less frequently ), known from the Middle Ages until 1926 as Castrogiovanni ( scn, Castrugiuvanni ), is a city and located roughly at the center of Sicily, southern Italy, in the province of Enna, towering ...
, Pietraperzia
Pietraperzia ( Sicilian: ''Petrapirzia'') is a ''comune'' in the province of Enna, in Sicilian region of southern Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. I ...
, Agira
Agira (; Sicilian language, Sicilian: ''Aggira'', grc, Ἀγύριον) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Enna, Sicily (southern Italy). It is located in the mid-valley of the River Salso River, Salso, from Enna. Until 1861 it was cal ...
, Leonforte
Leonforte (''Liunforti'' in sicilian) is an Italian ''comune'' with a population of 14,046 in the Province of Enna, Sicily. The town is situated 22 km from Enna, in the centre of the Erean Mountains at 600 metres a.s.l.
History
The ancie ...
and Cerami
Cerami ( Sicilian: ''Cirami'') is a ''comune'' in Sicily, southern Italy, part of the Province of Enna. The town itself is perched on a mountaintop above sea level. A river also named Cerami flows through this area.
Cerami produces cereals, ...
* Province of Catania
The Province of Catania ( it, Provincia di Catania; scn, Pruvincia di Catania) was a province in the autonomous island region of Sicily in southern Italy. Its capital was the city of Catania. It had an area of and a total population of about 1, ...
: Caltagirone
Caltagirone (; scn, Caltaggiruni ; Latin: ''Calata Hieronis'') is an inland city and ''comune
The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administ ...
, Militello in Val di Catania
Militello in Val di Catania ( Sicilian: ''Militeḍḍu'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Catania in the Italian region Sicily, located about southeast of Palermo and about southwest of Catania, on the last slopes ...
, Mirabella Imbaccari
Mirabella Imbaccari ( scn, Màcara, Latin: ''Imachara'' and ''Imacara'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Catania in the Italian region Sicily, located about southeast of Palermo and about southwest of Catania.
Mirab ...
, San Michele di Ganzaria, Paternò
Paternò ( scn, Patennò) is a southern Italian town and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Catania, Sicily. With a population (2016) of 48,009, it is the third municipality of the province after Catania and Acireale.
Geography
Paternò ...
, Randazzo
Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta.
Randazzo ( scn, Rannazzu) is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Catania, Sicily, southern Italy. It is situated at the northern foot of Mount Etna, c. northwest of Catania. It is the nearest to ...
and Bronte
* Province of Syracuse
The Province of Syracuse ( it, provincia di Siracusa; scn, pruvincia di Sarausa) was a province in the autonomous island region of Sicily in Italy. Its capital was the city of Syracuse, a town established by Greek colonists arriving from Corinth ...
: Ferla
Ferla ( Sicilian: ''A Ferra'') is a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Syracuse, Sicily (southern Italy).
The Necropolis of Pantalica, part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of "Syracuse and the Rocky Necropolis of Pantalica" is situated betw ...
, Buccheri
Buccheri is a town and ''comune'' in the Province of Syracuse, Sicily (southern Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the ...
and Cassaro
Cassaro ( Sicilian: ''Càssaru'', in the local dialect: ''Càssuru'') is a town and ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Syracuse, Sicily (Italy). The name is originally from the Arabic word القصر (''al-Qasru'') meaning "the castle." ...
* Province of Caltanissetta
The Province of Caltanissetta ( it, provincia di Caltanissetta; scn, pruvincia di Nissa or ; officially ''Libero consorzio comunale di Caltanissetta'') is a province in the southern part of Sicily, Italy. Following the suppression of the Sicilia ...
: Butera
Butera ( Sicilian: ''Vutera'') is an Italian town and a ''comune'' in the province of Caltanissetta, in the southern part of the island of Sicily. It is bounded by the ''comuni'' of Gela, Licata, Mazzarino, Ravanusa and Riesi. It has a populatio ...
and Mazzarino
* Province of Palermo
The Province of Palermo ( it, provincia di Palermo; Sicilian: ''pruvincia di Palermu'') was a province in the autonomous region of Sicily, a major island in Southern Italy. Its capital was the city of Palermo. On 4 August 2015, it was replaced ...
: Corleone
Corleone (; scn, Cunigghiuni or ) is an Italian town and ''comune'' of roughly 11,158 inhabitants in the Metropolitan City of Palermo, in Sicily.
Several Mafia bosses have come from Corleone, including Tommy Gagliano, Gaetano Reina, Jack Dragn ...
and Vicari
Vicari is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Palermo in the Italian region Sicily, located about southeast of Palermo. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 2,997 and an area of .All demographics and other statistics ...
In some of these towns, the northern Italian influence on the local varieties of Sicilian is marked; in others, the Lombard communities did not influence the local dialect. Similar communities have survived outside Sicily in Basilicata
it, Lucano (man) it, Lucana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 =
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographics1_title1 =
, demographics1_info1 =
...
in southern Italy, which was subject to similar influences; the dialects spoken there are known as Gallo-Italic of Basilicata
The Gallo-Italic of Basilicata ( it, Gallo-italico di Basilicata) is a group of Gallo-Italic dialects found in Basilicata in southern Italy, that could date back to migrations from Northern Italy during the time of the Normans.
These dialects ...
.
Bibliography
*F. Piazza, ''Le colonie e i dialetti lombardo-siculi'', Catania, 1921.
*Illuminato Peri, "La questione delle colonie lombarde di Sicilia", ''BSSS'' 57, 3-4 (1959), pp. 3–30.
*Giorgio Piccitto, "Testi aidonesi inediti o ignoti", ''L'Italia dialettale'' 25, n.s. 2 (1962), pp. 38–100.
*G. Petracco, "Influenze genovesi sulle colonie gallo-italiche delle Sicilia?", ''BCSic'' 9 (1965), pp. 106–132.
*Giovanni Tropea, ''Il vocabolario siciliano manoscritto inedito di Giuseppe Trischitta da Furci Siculo'', in: ''Saggi e ricerche in memoria di Ettore Li Gatti'', 3 voll. BCSic ollettino del Centro di studi filologici e linguistici siciliani (Palermo) 6-8 (1962).
*IDEM, "Un dialetto moribondo, il gallo-italico di Francavilla Sicula", ''BCSic'' 9 (1965) pp. 133–152.
*IDEM, ''La letteralizzazione dei dialetti gallo-italici di Sicilia'', in: ''Lingua parlata e lingua scritta'', Convegno di studi 9-11 nov. 1967. BCSic 11 (1970) pp. 453–479.
*IDEM, "Effetti della simbiosi linguistica nella parlata gallo-italica di Aidone, Nicosia e Novara di Sicilia", ''BALI'' ollettino dell'Atlante Linguistico Italiano n.s. 13-14 (1966), pp. 3–50.
*IDEM, ''Parlata locale, siciliano e lingua nazionale nelle colonie gallo-italiche della Sicilia'', in: ''Atti del 3° Convegno Nazionale della Cultura Abruzzese; del VI Convegno del CSDI; del 948° Circolo Linguistico Fiorentino''. Vol. II: Linguistica. Vol. III: Dialettologia, Pescara, Istituto di Studi Abruzzesi. ''Abruzzo'', Rivista dell'Istituto di Studi Abruzzesi, (Pescara) 8, 1-3 (Gennaio-Dicembre 1970).
*IDEM, "Testi aidonesi inediti", ''Memorie dell'Istituto Lonmbardo di Scienze, Lettere e Arti'', Milano, 33, 5 (1973).
*IDEM, ''Considerazioni sul trilinguismo della colonia galloitalica di San Fratello'', in ''Dal dialetto alla lingua'', Atti del IX Convegno per gli Studi Dialettali Italiani. Lecce, 28 settembre - 1 ottobre 1972. Pisa, Pacini, 1974.
*IDEM, "Italiano di Sicilia", ''L'Orizzonte'', 4, Palermo, Aragne, 1976.
*IDEM, ''Testi sanfratellani in trascrizione fonetica'', in: Vittore Pisani ''et alii'' (ed.), ''Italia linguistica nuova e antica''. Studi linguistici in memoria di Oronzo Perlangèli, 2 vol., Università degli Studi di Bari, Facoltà di Magistero, Galatina, Congedo Editore, 1976–1978.
*IDEM, ''Vocabolario siciliano'', fondato da Giorgio Piccitto, 4 voll. Catania-Palermo, Centro di Studi Filologici Siciliani, 1977, 1985, 1990, 1997.
See also
* Lombard languages
Lombard (native name: ,Classical Milanese orthography, and . , Ticinese orthography. Modern Western orthography. or ,Eastern unified orthography. depending on the orthography; pronunciation: ) is a language, belonging to the Gallo-Italic family ...
* Western dialects of Lombard language
Western Lombard is a group of dialects of Lombard, a Romance language spoken in Italy. It is widespread in the Lombard provinces of Milan, Monza, Varese, Como, Lecco, Sondrio, a small part of Cremona (except Crema and its neighbours), Lodi ...
* Gallo-Italic of Basilicata
The Gallo-Italic of Basilicata ( it, Gallo-italico di Basilicata) is a group of Gallo-Italic dialects found in Basilicata in southern Italy, that could date back to migrations from Northern Italy during the time of the Normans.
These dialects ...
Notes
External links
Ethonologue about Western Lombard which includes Gallo-Italic of Sicily
{{Romance languages
Gallo-Italic languages
Languages of Sicily