Monégasque language

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Monégasque (natively Munegascu) is a Romance language and a dialect of the modern Ligurian language. It is rather similar to the language spoken in Genoa, but differs from its neighbour languages Intemelian and Mentonasque. It has been strongly influenced by Occitan. Occitan (Niçard) is also traditionally spoken in some parts of Monaco, besides Monégasque.

It is spoken in Monaco in addition to French language by its own inhabitants. Because the Monégasque in Monaco compose only a minority, Monégasque was threatened with extinction in the 1970s. In the meantime, the language is being taught in schools and its continuance is regarded as secured. In the old part of Monaco, the street signs are marked with Monégasque in addition to French.

Monegasque orthography generally follows Italian principles, with the following exceptions:

the ü is pronounced as in German, or as the French u.
the œ is pronounced as the French é, and not like the French œu as in bœuf, which is how œ is pronounced in Ligurian, which also uses the character ö to represent this sound.
the ç is pronounced as in the French ç [s]: tradiçiùn comes from the Latin traditio[nem] , and not from the Italian tradizione.

Monégasque now has a flourishing literature.

Below is an exert from the Monegasque national anthem, written by Louis Notari. In addition, there exists an older French version of the anthem whose lyrics bear different meaning. The choice between the two forms is generally subject to occasion and circumstance.

"Despoei tugiù sciü d'u nostru paise
Se ride au ventu, u meme pavayùn
Despoei tugiù a curù russa e gianca
E stà l'emblema, d'a nostra libertà
Grandi e i piciui, l'an sempre respetà"