French languageFrench (français or langue française) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. Like all other Romance languages, French and its closest relatives—the langues d'oïl, historically spoken in northern France and southern Belgium—descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. It was influenced by native Celtic languages of Northern Roman Gaul and by the GermanicFrankish language of the post-Roman Frankish invaders.
Nasal vowelA nasal vowel is a vowel that is produced with a lowering of the soft palate (or velum) so that the air flow escapes through the nose and the mouth simultaneously, as in the French vowel /ɑ̃/ or Amoy[ɛ̃]. By contrast, oral vowels are produced without nasalization. Nasalized vowels are vowels influenced by nearby sounds. For instance, the [æ] of the word hand in English is affected by the following nasal consonant.
LlanitoLlanito or Yanito (Spanish pronunciation:) is a form of Andalusian Spanish heavily laced with words from English and other languages, such as Ligurian; it is spoken in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. It is commonly marked by a great deal of code switching between Andalusian Spanish and British English and by the use of Anglicisms and loanwords from other Mediterranean languages and dialects. Llanito has been described as "Gibraltar's dying mother-tongue".
GenoaGenoa is the sixth-largest city in Italy and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria. As of 2026, 566,247 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 820,691 inhabitants, more than 1.5 million people live in the wider metropolitan area stretching along the Italian Riviera.
PhonologyPhonology (formerly also phonemics or phonematics) is the branch of linguistics that concerns how languages organize the foundational elements that make their words. In spoken languages, these are phonemes like vowel and consonant sounds that affect meaning. Examples of this effect can be found in comparisons of English words like bat and gnat. In sign languages, these are components of signs such as hand shape and location.
Il Secolo XIXIl Secolo XIX (Il Secolo Decimonono) is an Italian newspaper published in Genoa, Italy, founded in March 1886, subsequently acquired by in 1897 from Ansaldo. It is one of the first Italian newspapers to be printed in colour. On 16 January 2006, its 129th anniversary, the local radio "Radio 19" was launched (receivable also on the Metropolitana di Genova). In 1997, Il Secolo XIX had a circulation of 127,825 copies. The 2008 circulation of the paper was 103,223 copies.
LiguriaRegion of ItalyRegion in ItalyLiguria ( , Italian:; Ligurian: Ligûria; French: Ligurie) is a region of north-westernItaly; its capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apenninesmountain range and is roughly coextensive with the former territory of the Republic of Genoa. Liguria is bordered by France (Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur) to the west, Piedmont to the north, and Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany to the east.
ChiavariChiavari (Italian pronunciation: [ˈkjaːvari]; Ligurian: Ciävai [ˈtʃaːvaj]) is a seaside town and municipality in the Metropolitan City of Genoa in the region of Liguria in Italy. As of 2025, with a population of 27,442, it is the 3rd-largest municipality in the metropolitan city and the 7th-largest in Liguria. It has a beachside promenade and a marina and is situated near the river Entella.
PortoriaPortoria (Portöia /puɾˈtɔːja/ in Ligurian) is a central district of Genoa, administratively included in Municipio I Centro Est. It was one of the sestieri into which the city of Genoa was anciently divided. Its name is linked to the revolt against the Austrians on December 5, 1746, which began with the famous Balilla episode.
GibraltarGibraltar ( jih-BRAWL-tər, -BROL-, Spanish: [xiβɾalˈtaɾ]) is a British Overseas Territory and city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the Atlantic Ocean (Strait of Gibraltar). It has an area of 6.8 km2 (2.6 sq mi) and is bordered to the north by Spain (Campo de Gibraltar). The landscape is dominated by the Rock of Gibraltar, at the foot of which is a densely populated town area.
Prestige (sociolinguistics)Prestige in sociolinguistics is the level of regard normally accorded a specific language or dialect within a speech community, relative to other languages or dialects. Prestige varieties are language or dialect families which are generally considered by a society to be the most "correct" or otherwise superior.
Ligurian languageLigurian ( ; endonym: lìgure) or Genoese ( ; endonym: zeneise or zeneize) is a Gallo-Italic language.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.