The

official language An official language is defined by the Cambridge English Dictionary as, "the language or one of the languages that is accepted by a country's government, is taught in schools, used in the courts of law, etc." Depending on the decree, establishmen ...

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

is French. Monégasque, a variety of Ligurian, is the

national language '' '' A national language is a language (or language variant, e.g. dialect) that has some connection— de facto or de jure—with a nation. The term is applied quite differently in various contexts. One or more languages spoken as first languag ...

of the Monégasque people. However, it is the primary language of very few people. There are several other languages spoken in addition to French and Monégasque, including Italian and English.

French

French is the only official—and by far the most common—language in Monaco, a result of the role

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

has had over the

microstate A microstate or ministate is a sovereign state having a very small population or land area, usually both. However, the meanings of "state" and "very small" are not well-defined in international law. Some recent attempts to define microstates ...

, since the annexation of the

County of Nice The County of Nice (; ; Niçard ) was a historical region of France and Italy located around the southeastern city of Nice and roughly equivalent to the modern arrondissement of Nice. It was part of the Savoyard state within the Holy Roman Emp ...

, which surrounds Monaco, in 1860.

Monégasque

Monégasque is the traditional national language of the Monegasque people (who represent only 21.6% of the total populationMonaco IQ (English language)
referencing Chapter One o
Files and Reports&InfoSujet=General Population Census 2008&6Gb, 2008 census (gouv.mc not an English source)
). It is a dialect of Ligurian, and is somewhat similar to

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

. Because the Monégasques are a minority in Monaco, their tongue was threatened with extinction in the 1970s. However, the language is now being taught in schools. In the old part of Monaco, the street signs are marked with Monégasque in addition to French. During his accession ceremonies in 2005,

Albert II, Prince of Monaco Albert II (Albert Alexandre Louis Pierre Grimaldi; born 14 March 1958) is Prince of Monaco, reigning since 2005. Born at the Prince's Palace of Monaco, Albert is the second child and only son of Prince Rainier III and Princess Grace. He attend ...

, made a speech to his people in Monégasque.

Italian

Standard

is also a major language in Monaco. Italian nationals make up 19% of the total population. Italian was the ancestral language of the ruling

House of Grimaldi The House of Grimaldi is the Dynasty, reigning house of the Monaco, Principality of Monaco. The house was founded in 1160 by Grimaldo Canella in Genoa and became the ruling house of Monaco when François Grimaldi, Francesco Grimaldi captured Mo ...

, and was the official language of Monaco until 1860, when it was replaced by French. This was due to the annexation of the surrounding

to France following the

Treaty of Turin (1860) The Treaty of Turin (; ) concluded between France and Kingdom of Sardinia, Piedmont-Sardinia on 24 March 1860 is the instrument by which the Duchy of Savoy and the County of Nice were annexed to France, ending the centuries-old Italian rule of th ...

. Italian is also spoken by

Caroline, Princess of Hanover Princess Caroline of Monaco (born 23 January 1957) is Princess of Hanover by marriage to Prince Ernst August. As the eldest child of Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, and Grace Kelly, she is the elder sister of Albert II, Prince of Monaco, and ...

and her children Andrea Casiraghi,

Charlotte Casiraghi Charlotte Marie Pomeline Casiraghi (born 3 August 1986) is a Monégasque model, socialite, equestrian and journalist. She is the second child of Caroline, Princess of Hanover, and Stefano Casiraghi, an Italian industrialist. She is eleventh in ...

and

Pierre Casiraghi Pierre Rainier Stefano Casiraghi (born 5 September 1987) is the younger son and youngest of three children of Caroline, Princess of Hanover, and her second husband, Stefano Casiraghi. He is the maternal-line grandson of Rainier III, Prince o ...

, as her late husband was Italian.''Biographie de Stefano Casiraghi''.
/ref>

English

There is also an

Anglophone The English-speaking world comprises the 88 countries and territories in which English is an official, administrative, or cultural language. In the early 2000s, between one and two billion people spoke English, making it the largest language ...

community in Monaco (8.5% of which are from the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

or the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, with English-speakers from other nations as too insignificant and thus listed within the category of "other," below), in addition to English-speaking tourists visiting the city.

Princess Grace Grace Patricia Kelly (November 12, 1929 – September 14, 1982), also known as Grace of Monaco, was an American actress and Princess of Monaco as the wife of Prince Rainier III from Wedding of Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, and Grace Kelly, th ...

was born an American, and all three of her children (including the reigning Prince) grew up speaking English among other languages.Grace Kelly's last interview, 22 June 1982, on ABC's 20/20
/ref> The current

princess consort of Monaco Princess is a title used by a female member of a regnant monarch's family or by a female Monarch, ruler of a principality. The male equivalent is a prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been u ...

, Princess Charlene, is a native English speaker, having been born a

Rhodesian Rhodesia ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state, unrecognised state in Southern Africa that existed from 1965 to 1979. Rhodesia served as the ''de facto'' Succession of states, successor state to the ...

in what is now

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

Occitan

Occitan Occitan may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania territory in parts of France, Italy, Monaco and Spain. * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania administrative region of France. * Occitan language, spoken in parts o ...

('' Lenga d'òc'') has also traditionally been spoken in Monaco, particularly when it covered a larger geographical territory, but is rarely used today.

Other

Intemelio Intemelio is a Ligurian dialect spoken historically from the Principality of Monaco to the Italian province of Imperia. History Since the Renaissance the Ligurian language was spoken in all the territories of the Republic of Genoa; in the wes ...

is a Ligurian dialect spoken historically from the Principality of Monaco to the Italian province of

Imperia Imperia (; or ) is a coastal city and ''comune'' in the Regions of Italy, region of Liguria, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Imperia, and historically it was capital of the ''Intemelia'' district of Liguria. Benito Mussolini create ...

References

{{Languages of Europe