Gallurese

Gallurese
Gadduresu
Native to	Italy
Region	Gallura, northeastern Sardinia
Native speakers	(100,000 cited 1993)
Language family	Indo-European Italic Romance Italo-Dalmatian Tuscan Corsican Gallurese
Official status
Official language in	Sardinia
Regulated by	No official regulation
Language codes
ISO 639-3	sdn
ELP	Gallurese Sardinian
Linguasphere	51-AAA-pd
Languages and dialects of Sardinia

Gallurese (gadduresu) is an Italo-Dalmatian Romance language spoken in the northeastern part of Sardinia. It is often considered as a variety of Corsican, or a transitional language between Corsican and Sardinian. The language takes its name from the region of Gallura.

Grammatical structure, pronunciation and many terms reflect a certain closeness to Corsican, showing many similarities with the southern Corsican dialects of Sartene and Porto-Vecchio, with which it shared some mutual influences. A substantial part of its vocabulary comes from the Logudorese variety of Sardinian, which was probably spoken in this area in the Middle Ages.

The Sassarese language, spoken in the area of Sassari, also has similar characteristics, even if it is more linked to Logudorese and has a different, both geographical and historical, origin.

Typical constitutional elements of Gallurese

Corsican dialects, including Gallurese.

• the plural form of nouns in -i (ghjanni or polti 'doors') like in Corsican and Italian, and not in -s like in Sardinian (jannas, portas), French, Spanish, Catalan, etc.
• Latin 'll' has become -dd- (like casteddu, beddu 'castle', 'beautiful'), the same as in Sardinian, southern Corsican and Sicilian (but castellu, bellu in northern Corsican);
• -r- modified to -l- (poltu 'port', while portu in Corsican and Sardinian);
• -chj- and -ghj- sounds (ghjesgia 'church', occhji 'eyes'), like in Corsican, while Sardinian is cresia, ogros.
• articles lu, la, li, like in former Corsican dialects (u, a, i in modern Corsican, su, sa, sos, sas in Sardinian);

Relation to Corsican language

Gallurese is classified by some linguists as a dialect of Corsican, and by others as a dialect of Sardinian. A great deal of similarity exists between Southern Corsican dialects and Gallurese, while there is relatively more distance from the neighbouring Sardinian varieties.

The Regional Government of Sardinia has recognized Gallurese, along with Sassarese as separate languages, distinct from Sardinian.

Sample of text

An extract from a hymn dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

Gallurese	Corsican	Logudorese Sardinian	Standard Italian	English translation
Tu sei nata par incantu diliziosa elmosùra la meddu di Locusantu la più bedda di Gaddura. Sei bedda chi dugna cori s’innammurigghja di te pa l’occhj mei un fiori ed è la meddu chi c’è. E socu vecchju canutu e socu a tempu passendi parò sempri burrulendi comu m’eti cunnisciutu Cantu campu decu fà sempri onori a Locusantu ch’è la tarra di l’incantu di ca' veni a istragnà. La Patrona di Gaddura l’emu noi in Locusantu incurunata da lu cantu cussì bedda criatura.	Tu sè nata par incantu diliziosa biddezza a meddu di Locusantu a più bedda di Gaddura. Sè bedda chi ugna cori s’innamurighja di te pa' l’occhj mei un fiori ed è a meddu chi c’è. E socu vecchju canutu e socu a tempu passendu parò sempri burlendu comu m’eti cunisciutu Quantu campu devu fà sempri onori a Locusantu ch’è a tarra di l’incantu di qua' veni a sughjurnà. A' Patrona di Gaddura l’emu noi in Locusantu incurunata da u cantu cusì bedda criatura.	Tue ses naschida pro incantu delitziosa ermosura sa menzus de Logusantu sa prus bella de Gallura. Ses bella gai chi donzi coro s'innamorat de a tie pro sos ogros meos unu frore e ses sa menzus chi b'est. E seo betzu e canu e su tempus meu est colande però seo semper brullande comente m'azis connottu. Pro cantu bivo appo a depper fàghere semper onore a Logusantu chi est sa terra 'e s'incantu de chie benit a l'abbisitare. Sa patrona de Gallura la tenimus nois in Logusantu coronada de su cantu gai bella creadura.	Sei tanto bella che ogni cuore s'innamora di te per gli occhi miei una fiore ed è la migliore chi c’è. E sono vecchio e canuto e sarò a tempo passando però sempre burlando come m'avevi conosciuto. Quanto campi devo fare sempre onore a Locosanto chi è la terra dell'incanto per chiunque qui viene a soggiorno. La patrona di Gallura abbiamo noi in Locusanto incoronata di canti così bella creatura.	You were born from bliss Delightful beauty The best one in Locusant The prettiest of Gallura. You are so pretty that each heart Falls in love with you A flower to my eyes The best one that ever existed. I am old and bald And my time is passing by But I am always cheering up the same way Just like when you met me. No matter how long should I walk I shall always pay tribute to Locusantu For it is the land of bliss To whomever comes to visit it. The Patron of Gallura Is here for us in Locusantu Crowned by hymns Such a splendid creature.

Hypothesis on the development of Gallurese

The split between Gallurese and Sardinian varieties could perhaps stem from the age of Giudicati, and possibly from the different (direct rather indirect) political control of the Republic of Pisa over Sardinia.

It could be interesting to investigate if the Tuscan ingredients of Gallurese effectively came from this domination, because in this case, a Tuscan influence would have presumedly affected a Sardinian version, resulting in a modified Sardinian version (then it still could be a Sardinian version). It would consequently be classified as a Sardinian language for a genetical reason.

In this hypothesis we were considering Sardinian as if Corsican could modify it, but the contrary could be possible, as well, and there could also be a possible Sardinian influence on Corsican. It could also be that Corsican had been influenced by Sardinian. Or it could eventually be that they both were influenced by the same factors, received in their own territories separately and with different actions, finally producing not so distant results. External influences could consent this hypothesis: Sardinia had a wider population, and in its history has been more subject to foreign influences than Corsica. Invasions and taxes would probably have caused an eventual movement in the direction of the minor island, less probably the other way, even if the establishment of a few groups of Corsicans in Sardinia is known. Also, the little distance between Corsica and Tyrrhenic islands would let suppose more frequent practical contacts, while in Sardinia these contacts were more decisive on a point of local administration.

Similarities do exist also with Maremma, in southern Tuscany-northern Lazio, with which there were no relationships. All this would tend to suggest that a common evolution had interested the areas. Some authors like Maxia believe that, in analogy among themselves, all the coastal areas of Tyrrhenian Sea should have lived an evolutive moment perhaps at the same time. But the point is not obviously the similarity, because it would not be sufficient to a classification. Current central logudorese Sardinian is not similar, in phonetics, to medieval logudorese Sardinian, although no one would ever deny that it is the same languages.

See also

• Corsican
• Sardinia
• Sardinian
• Sassarese

External links

• http://interromania.free.fr/media/pdf/maxia/studii_storici_sui_dialetti_della_sardegna.pdf
• Ethnologue report for Gallurese
• http://web.tiscali.it/consultagallurese/index.html
• http://web.tiscali.it/consultagallurese/attivita.htm
• http://www.uniud.it/cip/min_tutelate_scheda.htm
• http://eiha.crs4.it/cultura/opereWord/lingua/lingua.doc
• Walther von WARTBURG "La fragmentation linguistique de la Romania", Paris, Librairie C. Klincksieck, 1967.