Corsican language

Spoken in

• Indo-European languages Italic languages Romance Languages Italo Romance Languages Central Italian Corsican

Sardinia

Co

Cos

Cos

Corsican ( Corsican corsu, Sassaresisch and Galluresisch cossu ) is the original language spoken by the inhabitants of the Mediterranean island of Corsica Romanesque idiom. Language Structurally it more accurately belongs to the group of Romance languages ​​or dialects italo and is particularly closely related to the Tuscan Italian dialect and the nordsardinischen Sassaresisch and Galluresisch. The latter are often viewed as even more varieties of Corsican as the Sardinian. Corsican has been displaced to a large extent by the official language is French.

Status and classification

In France, Corsican has the status of a recognized regional language and can - but need not - be taught in Corsica as a school subject and used as a language of administration. Thus, all place names are virtually bilingual as on the entire island. However, the use of Corsican as a written language is (still) low. Here clearly dominated the French, which is the only official language of the island.

At the 1981 re-opened University of Corsican Corti is, however, remarkably, compulsory subsidiary subject in all fields of study. Also, you can there Corsican language and culture both as a bachelor as well as master degree show. The University is known worldwide as the only one is even taught at the part on Corsican.

The language code according to ISO 639-1 and ISO 639-2 cos co.

In Sardinia Sassaresisch and Galluresisch shall also be deemed accepted by the Regional Government. Again, there are partly bilingual signposts.

Language or dialect?

Sometimes Corsican, however, regarded as a variety within the central Italian, especially the Tuscan. The reason is that the Tuscans, which has long prevailed in Corsica, had enormous influence on the local language. In addition, the Corsican was originally used only in oral communication. He was the Italian opposite as the font and roof language. Under this aspect could ( and can ) Corsican well be considered as a dialect.

Later, under French rule, it was then, however, to their own way of writing, so that the specificity and diversity of the Corsican language in vocabulary, pronunciation and grammar from the standard Italian and the Tuscan could be made and solidified significantly. This fact raises the Corsican turn from the concept of dialect and feeds it (closer ) on the language provides, the presence of a ( normalized ) written language here but an important demarcation point dar.

Corsican can be in its issue of recognition as a separate language compare with the Maltese, which is " only " a dialect of Arabic was just once, but today is considered as a separate language. A comparison with the Portuguese is not far off, which developed out of the Galician out.

As a "compromise" to this status issue, the current Corsican may also be referred to as a cultural dialect or language development.

Kinship and language comparison

To the previously described strong language systematic connection to the Tuscan should be noted that this is mainly on the northern dialects of Corsica ( corsu supranu or called cismuntincu ) applies, while the southern ( corsu Suttanu or pumuntincu ) particularly closely with the spoken in northern Sardinia dialects Sassaresisch ( sassaresu ) and Galluresisch ( gadduresu ) are related. This is referred to frequently by the Sardo - Corsican varieties or transitional dialects. Similarities, the language of Corsica also with the Sicilian and Roman. Through the many u - as well as any regional sch- sounds become audible in common with the (European) Portuguese (eg identical pronunciation kors portu and port. postage - port, sch- sound before " t":. .? Kors Cumulus stà port Como está -. How are you? )? . Nasals reinforce this impression and remember at the same time to the French language. For example, sounds the number word cinquanta (fifty) as a mixture of the well -written word Italian and French cinquante: / ʧiŋ'kwɑta /. Generally speaking, that Corsican compared to standard Italian has a darker sound, but on the other hand, melodic, softer sounds. The Corsican vocabulary is generally close to the Italian extremely, while a number of words seem more French or borrowed from the French. Other terms are again typical Corsican:

In the vocabulary you will find yourself with the Romanian certain similarities (eg, the words Dunde ( kors. ) or undi ( sat / gall ) and unde (Romanian ) - where ( out );. In both languages. Teatru - Theatre).

History

The only gradually passing through Latinity concluded on the basis of the common pre-Roman (including Libyan, Phoenician, Etruscan ) substrate, the islands of Corsica and Sardinia to a language area together and oriented Corsica to Central and Southern Italy. The linguistic unit with the neighboring island of Sardinia broke from the 9th century, when both islands came under different political influence. Corsica was first in the sphere of Markgrafentums Tuscany one ( from 828 ), followed, in 1077, followed by the Pisans. After the Battle of Meloria ( 1284) Pisa lost the island to Genoa. The linguistic " Toskanisierung " Corsica Genoese held during the period of (1284-1768), since Genoa used the Tuscan -based written language. As a 1768 Corsica to France passed, began the cultural and linguistic " Frenchification " of the island.

1852, the Italian literary language was banned from all official sectors. This and the introduction of compulsory education (1882 ) were among others actions that led to the strengthening of the French and the weakening of the Corsican language ( and Italian ). The disappearance of Italian as a font and identity- cultural language brought in the second half of the 19th century its own, based on the Corsican dialect sense of identity, the language reflected in the increasing production of Corsican, mostly literary texts. This first flowering of the Corsican language in written texts, which can be called from a socio- linguistic aspects as " pre- construction " did not take place in the context of institutionally steered, said planning activities.

In the 1920s, learned the will to expand the Corsican as a written language, a political reinterpretation, in the founding of themselves for the onset of Corsica autonomy Party " Partitu corsu d' azzione " which was reflected. This political organization went out of the circle to the newspaper " A Muvra " ( The mouflon ) shows that " corsisme " with their ideological counterpart to the more Francophile oriented " cyrneisme " almanac " Annu Corsu " (later Année Corse) was formed.

In 1973, Jean Rocchi the scola aperta, voluntary summer schools for children who wanted to learn the forbidden in school Corsican. Corsican was the identity of the Corsicans an important symbol. 1974 Corsican has been recognized by the French Republic in the context of the amendment of the Loi Deixonne as a regional language and is now taught to a limited extent in the schools. Since 1989, the Corsican has the status of the French language equal administration; However, many Corsicans aim to further institutionalization and thus a situation of official bilingualism.

Number of speakers

The information on the numbers of speakers of Corsican vary greatly. It is estimated for example, that there are in Corsica itself about 100,000 speakers; join 33,000 who live in mainland France. Adding to the Speaker of the Gallura (100,000 ) as well as those of Sassaresischen ( up to 150,000 ) are added ( although this is disputed), this results in a total number of speakers of 383,000 in France and Italy. Estimates of over 400,000 speakers worldwide are therefore extremely generous.

The number of speakers is declining, due to the dominance of the French language in education and in business. But the Corsican is far less acute risk than other minority languages ​​in France, as the Corsican in contrast to, for example, Breton or Lorraine still has a lot of young speakers. Furthermore, there is a very marked Corsican identity. The UNESCO classified the Corsican as " potentially endangered language ".

Structure of the Corsican

Morphology and Syntax

The definite article is as in almost all Romance languages ​​to the Latin demonstratives ille, illud, ILLA.

The indefinite article is un for masculines, feminines for una or un ' at beginning with vowel feminine nouns.

The personal pronouns loud eo / EIU, tù, ellu / ella, noi, voi, elli / dt for elle " I, you, he / she, we, you, they ( masc ) / they (fem. ) ". As in standard Italian, the setting of the pronoun is not obligatory: parlu " I speak ". The pronoun is used for emphasis: eo parlu "I speak (not you ) ."

The main Auxiliarverben are "his" and eat Ave and " have ". They serve primarily to the formation of the perfect tense. As already evident from these two verbs, the infinitive has lost its typical Latin -RE - ending in Corsican. In addition to the Perfect there is, as in all the Romance languages ​​and dialects an imperfect, in the spoken Corsican one uses the present tense for the future.

The Corsican has as Standard Italian ( Tuscan ) and ( ostromanische ) Romanian sigmatic no plural forms. Masculine words usually end in-u and form the plural in-i: lettu, letti (bed, bed ). Feminine words usually form the singular and the plural in-a -e: scala, scale (stair, stairs ). Words that end in-e can be masculine or feminine and form the plural in-i or ( in the north) -e: noce, noci / noce ( walnut, nuts ).

Introductory Literature / Phrase

• MARCHETTI, Pascal Le Corse de poche, Éd. Assimil, Chennevières -sur- Marne, 2005.