Lìgure
Ligurian
Romance (Gallo-Italic)
Ligurian (Lìgure / Zeneise for the Genoese variety) is an Italo-Romance language with ~500K speakers — northwestern Italy (Liguria, parts of Piemonte and Sardinia), Monaco (where it is the historic national language alongside French), and Argentina (Boca district of Buenos Aires, brought by 19th-c. Genoese sailors and the basis of Lunfardo slang). The Genoese maritime republic (11th-19th c.) spread it across the Mediterranean to Crimea (Caffa), the Aegean (Chios), and Corsica (where it underlies the Bonifacio dialect). Distinct from Italian and Piedmontese, with Gallo-Italic features (front-rounded vowels /y ø/, lenition of intervocalic consonants), and a unique nasal /ŋ/. Latin script with traditional Genoese orthography codified by the Académia Ligùstica do Brénno. UNESCO classifies as definitely endangered.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Ligurian
Water
ægoa
/ɛɡwa/
Fire
fêugo
/føɡu/
Sun
sô
/suː/
Moon
lùn-a
/lyna/
Mother
moæ
/mwɛ/
Father
poæ
/pwɛ/
Eat
mangiâ
/mandʒaː/
Drink
béive
/bejve/
Love
amô
/amuː/
Heart
cuô
/kwoː/
Tree
ærbo
/ɛrbu/
House
câza
/kaːza/
Dog
can
/kaŋ/
Cat
gatto
/ɡatu/
Hand
man
/maŋ/
Eye
euggio
/ødʒu/
Hello
ciâo
/tʃaː/
Thank you
graçie
/ɡrasje/
One
un
/uŋ/
Good
bon
/buŋ/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Romance (Gallo-Italic) languages
| Meaning | Ligurian | Lombard | Tabarchino | Piedmontese | Emilian-Romagnol | Friulian | Venetian |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | ægoa /ɛɡwa/ | aqua /ˈaːkwa/ | ægua /ˈɛɡwa/ | eva /ˈeva/ | aqua /ˈakwa/ | aghe /ˈaɡe/ | aqua /akwa/ |
| Fire | fêugo /føɡu/ | fœg /føːk/ | feûgu /ˈføɡu/ | feu /føː/ | fôg /foːk/ | fûc /fuːk/ | fogo /foɡo/ |
| Sun | sô /suː/ | sô /soː/ | su /ˈsu/ | sol /sol/ | sòul /sɔul/ | soreli /soˈreːli/ | sol /sol/ |
| Moon | lùn-a /lyna/ | lüna /ˈlyna/ | lugna /ˈlyɲa/ | lun-a /ˈlyna/ | lóna /ˈlona/ | lune /ˈlune/ | łuna /ɫuna/ |
| Mother | moæ /mwɛ/ | mader /ˈmaːder/ | maire /ˈmajre/ | mare /ˈmare/ | mèder /ˈmɛder/ | mari /ˈmaːri/ | mare /mare/ |
| Father | poæ /pwɛ/ | pader /ˈpaːder/ | paire /ˈpajre/ | pare /ˈpare/ | pèder /ˈpɛder/ | pari /ˈpaːri/ | pare /pare/ |
| Eat | mangiâ /mandʒaː/ | mangià /maɲˈdʒaː/ | mangià /manˈdʒa/ | mangé /maɲˈdʒe/ | magnèr /maˈɲɛːr/ | mangjâ /manˈɲaː/ | magnàr /maˈɲar/ |
| Drink | béive /bejve/ | bev /bev/ | beive /ˈbejve/ | bèive /ˈbɛive/ | bèvar /ˈbɛvar/ | bevi /ˈbeːvi/ | bévar /ˈbevar/ |
| Love | amô /amuː/ | amor /aˈmuːr/ | amù /aˈmu/ | amor /aˈmur/ | amôr /aˈmoːr/ | amôr /aˈmoːr/ | amor /amor/ |
| Heart | cuô /kwoː/ | cör /kør/ | chêu /kø/ | cheur /kør/ | côr /koːr/ | cûr /kuːr/ | cor /kɔr/ |
| Tree | ærbo /ɛrbu/ | albar /ˈalbar/ | âbu /ˈaːbu/ | àrbol /ˈarbol/ | àlber /ˈalber/ | arbul /ˈarbul/ | àrboro /arboro/ |
| House | câza /kaːza/ | cà /kaː/ | cà /ka/ | ca /ka/ | cà /kaː/ | cjase /ˈcaːse/ | caxa /ˈkaza/ |
| Dog | can /kaŋ/ | can /kan/ | can /kaŋ/ | can /kaŋ/ | chèn /kɛn/ | cjan /caŋ/ | can /kan/ |
| Cat | gatto /ɡatu/ | gat /ɡat/ | gatu /ˈɡatu/ | gat /ɡat/ | gat /ɡat/ | gjat /ɟat/ | gato /ɡato/ |
| Hand | man /maŋ/ | man /maŋ/ | mòn /mɔŋ/ | man /maŋ/ | mân /maːn/ | man /maŋ/ | man /man/ |
| Eye | euggio /ødʒu/ | öcc /øtʃ/ | öggiu /ˈødʒu/ | euj /øj/ | ôc /oːtʃ/ | voli /ˈvoli/ | ocio /ɔtʃo/ |
| Hello | ciâo /tʃaː/ | ciao /ˈtʃaːo/ | ciau /tʃaw/ | ciao /tʃao/ | ciao /ˈtʃao/ | mandi /ˈmandi/ | ciao /tʃao/ |
| Thank you | graçie /ɡrasje/ | gràzie /ˈɡrasje/ | graçie /ˈɡrasje/ | gràssie /ˈɡrasːie/ | grazie /ˈɡratsje/ | graziis /ˈɡraːt͡sjis/ | grassie /ɡrasje/ |
| One | un /uŋ/ | vün /vyŋ/ | un /uŋ/ | un /yŋ/ | ón /uŋ/ | un /uŋ/ | un /un/ |
| Good | bon /buŋ/ | bun /buŋ/ | bon /buŋ/ | bon /buŋ/ | bón /boŋ/ | bon /boŋ/ | bon /bon/ |
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