Piemontèis
Piedmontese
Romance (Gallo-Italic)
Piedmontese (Piemontèis) is a Gallo-Italic language of Italy's Piedmont region, with ~1.6M speakers, closer to Occitan and French than to Standard Italian. Distinguished by features rare in other Romance: weakened final vowels (palomb < palombus), Celtic substrate vocabulary, French-influenced front rounded /y/ and /ø/, and a clitic doubling system. UNESCO endangered (2009 Atlas). 18th-c. literary tradition (Pipino's 1783 grammar). Recognized as a regional language by Piedmont Region in 2004 (Italian Constitutional Court partially struck down in 2010).
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Piedmontese
Water
eva
/ˈeva/
Fire
feu
/føː/
Sun
sol
/sol/
Moon
lun-a
/ˈlyna/
Mother
mare
/ˈmare/
Father
pare
/ˈpare/
Eat
mangé
/maɲˈdʒe/
Drink
bèive
/ˈbɛive/
Love
amor
/aˈmur/
Heart
cheur
/kør/
Tree
àrbol
/ˈarbol/
House
ca
/ka/
Dog
can
/kaŋ/
Cat
gat
/ɡat/
Hand
man
/maŋ/
Eye
euj
/øj/
Hello
ciao
/tʃao/
Thank you
gràssie
/ˈɡrasːie/
One
un
/yŋ/
Good
bon
/buŋ/
Sources
Words compared
Compared with related Romance (Gallo-Italic) languages
| Meaning | Piedmontese | Lombard | Tabarchino | Emilian-Romagnol | Friulian | Ligurian | Venetian |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | eva /ˈeva/ | aqua /ˈaːkwa/ | ægua /ˈɛɡwa/ | aqua /ˈakwa/ | aghe /ˈaɡe/ | ægoa /ɛɡwa/ | aqua /akwa/ |
| Fire | feu /føː/ | fœg /føːk/ | feûgu /ˈføɡu/ | fôg /foːk/ | fûc /fuːk/ | fêugo /føɡu/ | fogo /foɡo/ |
| Sun | sol /sol/ | sô /soː/ | su /ˈsu/ | sòul /sɔul/ | soreli /soˈreːli/ | sô /suː/ | sol /sol/ |
| Moon | lun-a /ˈlyna/ | lüna /ˈlyna/ | lugna /ˈlyɲa/ | lóna /ˈlona/ | lune /ˈlune/ | lùn-a /lyna/ | łuna /ɫuna/ |
| Mother | mare /ˈmare/ | mader /ˈmaːder/ | maire /ˈmajre/ | mèder /ˈmɛder/ | mari /ˈmaːri/ | moæ /mwɛ/ | mare /mare/ |
| Father | pare /ˈpare/ | pader /ˈpaːder/ | paire /ˈpajre/ | pèder /ˈpɛder/ | pari /ˈpaːri/ | poæ /pwɛ/ | pare /pare/ |
| Eat | mangé /maɲˈdʒe/ | mangià /maɲˈdʒaː/ | mangià /manˈdʒa/ | magnèr /maˈɲɛːr/ | mangjâ /manˈɲaː/ | mangiâ /mandʒaː/ | magnàr /maˈɲar/ |
| Drink | bèive /ˈbɛive/ | bev /bev/ | beive /ˈbejve/ | bèvar /ˈbɛvar/ | bevi /ˈbeːvi/ | béive /bejve/ | bévar /ˈbevar/ |
| Love | amor /aˈmur/ | amor /aˈmuːr/ | amù /aˈmu/ | amôr /aˈmoːr/ | amôr /aˈmoːr/ | amô /amuː/ | amor /amor/ |
| Heart | cheur /kør/ | cör /kør/ | chêu /kø/ | côr /koːr/ | cûr /kuːr/ | cuô /kwoː/ | cor /kɔr/ |
| Tree | àrbol /ˈarbol/ | albar /ˈalbar/ | âbu /ˈaːbu/ | àlber /ˈalber/ | arbul /ˈarbul/ | ærbo /ɛrbu/ | àrboro /arboro/ |
| House | ca /ka/ | cà /kaː/ | cà /ka/ | cà /kaː/ | cjase /ˈcaːse/ | câza /kaːza/ | caxa /ˈkaza/ |
| Dog | can /kaŋ/ | can /kan/ | can /kaŋ/ | chèn /kɛn/ | cjan /caŋ/ | can /kaŋ/ | can /kan/ |
| Cat | gat /ɡat/ | gat /ɡat/ | gatu /ˈɡatu/ | gat /ɡat/ | gjat /ɟat/ | gatto /ɡatu/ | gato /ɡato/ |
| Hand | man /maŋ/ | man /maŋ/ | mòn /mɔŋ/ | mân /maːn/ | man /maŋ/ | man /maŋ/ | man /man/ |
| Eye | euj /øj/ | öcc /øtʃ/ | öggiu /ˈødʒu/ | ôc /oːtʃ/ | voli /ˈvoli/ | euggio /ødʒu/ | ocio /ɔtʃo/ |
| Hello | ciao /tʃao/ | ciao /ˈtʃaːo/ | ciau /tʃaw/ | ciao /ˈtʃao/ | mandi /ˈmandi/ | ciâo /tʃaː/ | ciao /tʃao/ |
| Thank you | gràssie /ˈɡrasːie/ | gràzie /ˈɡrasje/ | graçie /ˈɡrasje/ | grazie /ˈɡratsje/ | graziis /ˈɡraːt͡sjis/ | graçie /ɡrasje/ | grassie /ɡrasje/ |
| One | un /yŋ/ | vün /vyŋ/ | un /uŋ/ | ón /uŋ/ | un /uŋ/ | un /uŋ/ | un /un/ |
| Good | bon /buŋ/ | bun /buŋ/ | bon /buŋ/ | bón /boŋ/ | bon /boŋ/ | bon /buŋ/ | bon /bon/ |
Part of LangMap — a linguistic visualization project. This is a static, crawlable summary; the interactive maps offer pronunciation audio, filters, and a globe view.