lij ISO 639
Ligure Autonyms
Ligurian
Visualizations
A language of Italy
- ISO 639
- lij
- Alternate Names
- Zeneize
- Autonym
- Ligure
- Population
- 140,000 in Italy (2017 census). Total users in all countries: 148,210.
- Location
- Liguria region: east and west of Genoa along the Riviera and mountain hinterland; small communities near Piedmont-Liguria regional border (Garessio, Ormea, Saliceto, Seorle, Spigno, Orba valley, Scrivia valley); Piedmont region: Cuneo province; Tuscany region: Massa-Carrara province, small border areas; possible scattered settlements in Sardinia area.
- Language Maps
- Andorra, France and Monaco
- Language Status
- 5* (Developing).
- Classification
- Indo-European, Italic, Romance, Italo-Western, Western, Gallo-Iberian, Gallo-Romance, Gallo-Italian
- Dialects
- Genoese (Genoan, Genovese, Zenéize). Ligurian varieties in Piedmont-Liguria border area are mutually intelligible with Piedmontese varieties. There are over 20 villages in Sicily and Basilicata regions where transitional Piedmontese [pms]-Ligurian varieties are spoken, due to a massive immigration from Piedmont during the Middle Ages (Pfister 1988).
- Language Use
- Also use Italian [ita].
- Language Development
- Newspapers. Dictionary. Grammar. Bible portions: 1860.
- Writing
- Latin script [Latn].
- Other Comments
- Ligurian has had a literature since the 1200s and the Genoese variant was widely used alongside the Mediterranean because of the commercial and nautical importance of the Republic of Genoa. That is why Zeneize (meaning Genoese) is one of its alternate names and the autonym.
- Language Resources
- OLAC resources in and about Ligurian
Also Spoken in
- Location
- Corsica region: Bonifacio town; Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region: between Italy and Monaco borders.
- Language Status
- 8a (Moribund)
- Language Use
- Older adults only. Shifted to French [fra]. View other languages of France
Language Name
Ligurian
User Population
300–400 in Corsica (Salminen 2007).
- Location
- Widespread.
- Dialects
- Monégasque (Munegascu, Ventimigliese).
- Language Status
- 4 (Educational)
- Language Use
- Monégasque had few remaining speakers in the 1970s.
- Language Development
- Taught as subject in all primary schools. Compulsory learning in schools has revived it. View other languages of Monaco
Language Name
Monégasque
User Population
8,210 in Monaco (2014).
