Sicilian language

Sicilian (, ; ) is a Romance language that is spoken on the island of Sicily and its satellite islands.
It belongs to the broader Extreme Southern Italian language group (in Italian ).

''Ethnologue'' (see below for more detail) describes Sicilian as being "distinct enough from Standard Italian to be considered a separate language", and it is recognized as a minority language by UNESCO. It has been referred to as a language by the Sicilian Region. It has the oldest literary tradition of the Italo-Romance languages. A version of the '' UNESCO Courier'' is also available in Sicilian.

Status

Sicilian is spoken by most inhabitants of Sicily and by emigrant populations around the world. The latter are found in the countries that attracted large numbers of Sicilian immigrants during the course of the past century or so, especially the United States (specifically in the Gravesend and Bensonhurst neighborhoods of Brooklyn, New York City, and in Buffalo and Western New York State), Canada (especially in Montreal, Toronto and Hamilton), Australia, Venezuela and Argentina. During the last four or five decades, large numbers of Sicilians were also attracted to the industrial zones of Northern Italy and areas of the European Union.

Although the Sicilian language does not have official status (including in Sicily), in addition to the standard Sicilian of the medieval Sicilian school, academics have developed a standardized form. Such efforts began in the mid-19th century when Vincenzo Mortillaro published a comprehensive Sicilian language dictionary intended to capture the language universally spoken across Sicily in a common orthography. Later in the century, Giuseppe Pitrè established a common grammar in his ''Grammatica Siciliana'' (1875). Although it presents a common grammar, it also provides detailed notes on how the sounds of Sicilian differ across dialects.

In the 20th century, researchers at the Centro di studi filologici e linguistici siciliani developed an extensive descriptivist orthography which aims to represent every sound in the natural range of Sicilian accurately. This system is also used extensively in the Vocabolario siciliano and by Gaetano Cipolla in his ''Learn Sicilian'' series of textbooks and by Arba Sicula in its journal.

In initially 2017, with an updated version in 2024 the nonprofit organisation Cademia Siciliana created an orthographic proposal to help to normalise the language's written form. This orthography was used by the organisation in their collaboration with Google to bring the Sicilian Language to Google Translate. Their "Manifesto" currently has been signed by many towns and cities of Sicily demanding official status for the languag

There are currently proposals in the Sicilian Regional Assembly to include Sicilian in the list of the Italian Law n. 482 of 1999


The autonomous regional parliament of Sicily has legislated Regional Law No. 9/2011 to encourage the teaching of Sicilian at all schools, but inroads into the education system have been slow. The CSFLS created a textbook "Dialektos" to comply with the law but does not provide an orthography to write the language. In Sicily, it is taught only as part of dialectology courses, but outside Italy, Sicilian has been taught at the University of Pennsylvania, Brooklyn College and Manouba University. Since 2009, it has been taught at the Italian Charities of America, in New York City (home to the largest Sicilian speaking community outside of Sicily and Italy) and it is also preserved and taught by family association, church organisations and societies, social and ethnic historical clubs and even Internet social groups, mainly in Gravesend and Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. On 15 May 2018, the Sicilian Region once again mandated the teaching of Sicilian in schools and referred to it as a language, not a dialect, in official communication.
The language is officially recognized in the municipal statutes of some Sicilian towns, such as Caltagirone and Grammichele, in which the "inalienable historical and cultural value of the Sicilian language" is proclaimed. Furthermore, the Sicilian language would be protected and promoted under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (ECRML). Although Italy has signed the treaty, the Italian Parliament has not ratified it. It is not included in Italian Law No. 482/1999 although some other minority languages of Sicily are.

Ethnologue report

Other names

Alternative names of Sicilian are , , and . The first term refers to the fact that a form of Sicilian is spoken in southern Calabria, particularly in the province of Reggio Calabria. The other two are names for the language in Sicily itself: specifically, the term originally describes one of the larger prehistoric groups living in Sicily (the Italic Sicels or ) before the arrival of Greeks in the 8th century BC (see below). It can also be used as a prefix to qualify or to elaborate further on the origins of a person, for example: Siculo-American () or Siculo-Australian.

Dialects

As a language, Sicilian has its own dialects in the following main groupings:
*Western Sicilian (Palermitano in Palermo, Trapanese in Trapani, Central-Western Agrigentino in Agrigento)
*Central Metafonetic (in the central part of Sicily that includes some areas of the provinces of Caltanissetta, Messina, Enna, Palermo and Agrigento)
*Southeast Metafonetic (in the Province of Ragusa and the adjoining area within the Province of Syracuse)
*Ennese (in the Province of Enna)
*Eastern Non-Metafonetic (in the area including the Metropolitan City of Catania, the second largest city in Sicily, as Catanese, and the adjoining area within the Province of Syracuse)
*Messinese (in the Metropolitan City of Messina, the third largest city in Sicily)
*Eoliano (in the Aeolian Islands)
* Pantesco (on the island of Pantelleria)
*Reggino (in the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria, especially on the Scilla– Bova line, and excluding the areas of Locri and Rosarno, which represent the first isogloss that divide Sicilian from the continental varieties).

History

Early influences

Because Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea and many peoples have passed through it (Phoenicians, Ancient Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans, Vandals, Jews, Byzantine Greeks, Arabs, Normans, Swabians, Spaniards, Austrians, Italians), Sicilian displays a rich and varied influence from several languages in its lexical stock and grammar. These languages include Latin (as Sicilian is a Romance language itself), Ancient Greek, Byzantine Greek, Spanish, Norman, Lombard, Hebrew, Catalan, Occitan, Arabic and Germanic languages, and the languages of the island's aboriginal Indo-European and pre-Indo-European inhabitants, known as the Sicels, Sicanians and Elymians. The very earliest influences, visible in Sicilian to this day, exhibit both prehistoric Mediterranean elements and prehistoric Indo-European elements, and occasionally a blending of both.

Before the Roman conquest (3rd century BC), Sicily was occupied by various populations. The earliest of these populations were the Sicanians, considered to be autochthonous. The Sicels and the Elymians arrived between the second and first millennia BC. These aboriginal populations in turn were followed by the Phoenicians (between the 10th and 8th centuries BC) and the Greeks. The heavy Greek-language influence remains strongly visible, while the influences from the other groups are smaller and less obvious. What can be stated with certainty is that in Sicilian remain pre-Indo-European words of an ancient Mediterranean origin, but one cannot be more precise than that: of the three main prehistoric groups, only the Sicels were known to be Indo-European with a degree of certainty, and their speech is likely to have been closely related to that of the Romans.

Stratification

The following table, listing words for "twins", illustrates the difficulty linguists face in tackling the various substrata of the Sicilian language.

A similar qualifier can be applied to many of the words that appear in this article. Sometimes it may be known that a particular word has a prehistoric derivation, but it is not known whether the Sicilians inherited it directly from the indigenous populations, or whether it came via another route. Similarly, it might be known that a particular word has a Greek origin but it is not known from which Greek period the Sicilians first used it (ancient Magna Grecia or the Byzantine period), or once again, whether the particular word may even have come to Sicily via another route. For instance, by the time the Romans had occupied Sicily, the Latin language had made its own borrowings from Greek.

Pre-classical period

The words with a prehistoric Mediterranean derivation often refer to plants native to the Mediterranean region or to other natural features. Bearing in mind the qualifiers mentioned above (alternative sources are provided where known), examples of such words include:
* – " spiny broom" (a thorny, prickly plant native to the Mediterranean region; but also Greek and may in fact have penetrated Sicilian via one of the Gaulish languages)
* – "to dam or block a canal or running water" (but also Spanish "to muddy")
* – "ripples caused by a fast running river"
* – "landslide of rocks" (cf. Greek χαλάω (khaláō) "loosen, drop", verb borrowed into Latin, widespread in Romance languages)
* – "stalk or stem of a fruit etc." (ancient Mediterranean word ''rak'')
* – "crag, cliff" (but also Greek , Latin and Catalan ).

There are also Sicilian words with an ancient Indo-European origin that do not appear to have come to the language via any of the major language groups normally associated with Sicilian, i.e. they have been independently derived from a very early Indo-European source. The Sicels are a possible source of such words, but there is also the possibility of a cross-over between ancient Mediterranean words and introduced Indo-European forms. Some examples of Sicilian words with an ancient Indo-European origin:
* – "mulberry" (similar to Indo-European ''*h₁rowdʰós'', Romanian and Welsh "red, crimson")
* – "not well developed" (similar to Lithuanian with a similar meaning and Old High German "short")
* – "multitude, vast number" (from Indo-European ''*h₁we -'' "water").

Greek influences

In 535, Justinian I made Sicily a Byzantine province, which returned the Greek language to a position of prestige, at least on an official level. At this time the island could be considered a border zone with moderate levels of bilingualism: Latinisation was mostly concentrated in western Sicily, largely among the upper class, whereas Eastern Sicily remained predominantly Greek.

The following Sicilian words are of a Greek origin (including some examples where it is unclear whether the word is derived directly from Greek, or via Latin):
* – "to fool around" (from , which also gives the Sicilian words: and "stupid"; but also Latin and Spanish )
* – "pitcher" (from ) (cognate of Maltese ''buqar'', Italian ''boccale'')
* – "water receptacle" (from ; but also Latin ) (cognate of Maltese ''bomblu'')
* – "basket" (from ; but also Latin )
* – "boy" (from ; but also Latin ''carus'' "dear", Sanskrit "amiable")
* – "earthworm" (from )
* – "cherry" (from ; but also Latin ) (cognate of Maltese ''ċirasa'')
* – "icon, image, metaphor" (from ; but also Latin )
* – type of bread (from ; but Latin )
* – "flower pot" (from ; but also Latin )
* – "cradle" (from )
* – "to stun, amaze" (from )
* – "to eat" (from )
* – "to knock" (from )
* – "small, young" (from )

Germanic influences

From 476 to 535, the Ostrogoths ruled Sicily, although their presence apparently did not affect the Sicilian language. The few Germanic influences to be found in Sicilian do not appear to originate from this period. One exception might be or "to hawk goods, proclaim publicly", from Gothic "to give a signal". Also possible is "diagonal" from Gothic "slanting". Other sources of Germanic influences include the Hohenstaufen rule of the 13th century, words of Germanic origin contained within the speech of 11th-century Normans and Lombard settlers, and the short period of Austrian rule in the 18th century.

Many Germanic influences date back to the time of the Swabian kings (amongst whom Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor enjoyed the longest reign). Some of the words below are "reintroductions" of Latin words (also found in modern Italian) that had been Germanicized at some point (e.g. in Latin to in modern Italian). Words that probably originate from this era include:
* – "to work in the fields" (from ; but other possible Latin derivations)
* – "to watch over" (from )
* – "forest, woods" (from ; note the resemblance to Anglo-Saxon )
* – "to wag, as in a tail" (from )
* (terracotta jug for holding water; from Old High German )
* – "to save money" (from Old High German )

Arabic influence

As the power of the Byzantine Empire waned, Sicily was progressively conquered by Saracens from Ifriqiya, from the mid 9th to mid 10th centuries. The Emirate of Sicily persisted long enough to develop a distinctive local variety of Arabic, Siculo-Arabic (at present extinct in Sicily but surviving as the Maltese language). Its influence is noticeable in around 300 Sicilian words, most of which relate to agriculture and related activities. This is understandable because of the Arab Agricultural Revolution; the Saracens introduced to Sicily their advanced irrigation and farming techniques and a new range of crops, nearly all of which remain endemic to the island to this day.

Some words of Arabic origin:
* – "to embellish" ( "precious, beautiful") (Cognate of Maltese ''għażiż'', meaning "dear")
* – "snail" (from , Tunisian ; but also Greek . Cognate of Maltese ''bebbuxu)''
* – "jar" ( ; but also Latin )
* (measure for liquids; from Tunisian )
* (Sicilian ricotta cake; from , chiefly North African; but Latin "something made from cheese". Cognate of Maltese ''qassata'')
* – artificial pond to store water for irrigation (from Tunisian . Cognate of Maltese ''ġiebja'' and Spanish )
* – "sesame seed" (from Tunisian or . Cognate of Maltese ''ġunġlien'' or ''ġulġlien'' and Spanish ).
* – "leader" ( . Cognate of Maltese ''ras'' "head")
* – "canal" (from . Cognate of Spanish ''acequia'' Maltese ''saqqajja'')
* – "saffron" (type of plant whose flowers are used for medicinal purposes and in Sicilian cooking; from . Cognate of Maltese ''żagħfran'' and English ''Saffron'')
* – "blossom" ( . Cognate of Maltese ''żahar'' and Spanish )
* – "muscat of Alexandria" (type of dried grape; . Cognate of Maltese ''żbib'')
* – "market" (from ; but also Aragonese and Spanish . Cognate of Maltese ''suq'')
* (the northern gate of Agrigento; "Gate of the Winds").
* ''Gisira'' – "island" ( ''jazīra''. Cognate of Maltese ''gżira'') ''(archaic)''

Throughout the Islamic epoch of Sicilian history, a significant Greek-speaking population remained on the island and continued to use the Greek language, or most certainly a variant of Greek influenced by Tunisian Arabic. What is less clear is the extent to which a Latin-speaking population survived on the island. While a form of Vulgar Latin clearly survived in isolated communities during the Islamic epoch, there is much debate as to the influence it had (if any) on the development of the Sicilian language, following the re-Latinisation of Sicily (discussed in the next section).

Linguistic developments in the Middle Ages

By AD 1000, the whole of what is today Southern Italy, including Sicily, was a complex mix of small states and principalities, languages and religions. The whole of Sicily was controlled by Saracens, at the elite level, but the general population remained a mix of Muslims and Christians who spoke Greek, Latin or Siculo-Arabic. The far south of the Italian peninsula was part of the Byzantine empire although many communities were reasonably independent from Constantinople. The Principality of Salerno was controlled by Lombards (or Langobards), who had also started to make some incursions into Byzantine territory and had managed to establish some isolated independent city-states. It was into this climate that the Normans thrust themselves with increasing numbers during the first half of the 11th century.

Norman and French influence

When the two most famous of Southern Italy's Norman adventurers, Roger of Hauteville and his brother, Robert Guiscard, began their conquest of Sicily in 1061, they already controlled the far south of Italy (Apulia and Calabria). It took Roger 30 years to complete the conquest of Sicily (Robert died in 1085). In the aftermath of the Norman conquest of Sicily, the reintroduction of Latin in Sicily had begun, and some Norman words would be absorbed, accompanied with an additional wave of Parisian French loanwords during the rule of Charles I from the Capetian House of Anjou in the 13th century.
* – "to buy" (from Norman French , French ; but there are different varieties of this Latin etymon in the ''Romania'', cf. Old Occitan )
* – "to hide" (Old Norman French , Norman French /, Old French

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