L’Heritage linguistique en France –Ms Marché

IlSiciliano

Il siciliano è un dialetto polare dell'italiano, e contrariamente alla credenza popolare, il siciliano ha preceduto la lingua italiana come la conosciamo noi. La maggior parte degli studi linguistici fa risalire il siciliano all'isola 700 anni dopo Cristo. Il siciliano è un vero dialetto medditerraneo in cui si trovano influenze arabe e arabeggianti. Si stima che 5 milioni di abitanti della Sicilia parlino il vero dialetto siciliano oltre ad altri 2 milioni di persone nel mondo. Il siciliano ha guadagnato popolarità ed è diventato ben noto tra i circoli letterari in libertà durante i primi anni del 1200. Questa poesia vernacolare siciliana fu pesantemente influenzata dall'alto latino e fu altamente riconosciuta da Dante. Dante sosteneva che era la prima produzione pionieristica della poesia volgare italiana. Il siciliano si sviluppò perché molti invasori comprarono parole proprie in Sicilia. Si ipotizza che il siciliano possa essere stata la prima lingua romanza; tuttavia,alcuni potrebbero dire che è stata modellata da molti anni di influenza straniera, occupazione e conquista. Graficamente, l'italiano e il siciliano hanno molte differenze, per esempio, i pronomi personali io, lui, lei, esso, tu e loro. Il siciliano usa anche le stesse desinenze per i sostantivi maschili e femminili, mentre l'accordo è cruciale in italiano. L'italiano ha avuto una grande influenza sul siciliano dal 1860, quando la Sicilia divenne ufficialmente parte dell'Italia. Attualmente, ci troviamo di fronte al problema che il dialetto siciliano può estinguersi a causa del grande afflusso di italiani in Sicilia.

Sicilian

Sicilian is a popular dialect of Italian, and contrary to popular belief, Sicilian preceded the Italian language as we know it. Most linguistic scholarship traces Sicilian back to the island 700 years A.D. Sicilian is a true Mediterranean dialect in which Arabic and Arab influences are found. It is estimated that 5 million inhabitants of Sicily speak the true Sicilian dialect in addition to another 2 million people around the world. Sicilian gained popularity and became well known amongst literary circles in poetry during the early 1200s. This Sicilian vernacular poetry was heavily influenced by high Latin and was highly recognized by Dante. Dante claimed that it was the first pioneer production of Italian vulgar poetry. Sicilian was developed because many invaders bought words of their own to Sicily. It is speculated that Sicilian may have been the first romance language, however some may say that it has been shaped by many years of foreign influence, occupation, and conquest. Grammatically, Italian and Sicilian have many differences, for example, the personal pronouns I, he, she, it, you, and them. Sicilian also uses the same endings for masculine and feminine nouns, whereas agreement is crucial in Italian. Italian had a great influence on Sicilian since 1860, when Sicily officially became a part of Italy. Currently, we are facing the problem that the Sicilian dialect may die out due to the large influx of Italian into Sicily.

By Jasmine

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L’héritage linguistique en France

Ondifférencieen linguistiqueleslanguesvéhiculairesdeslanguesvernaculaires. La premièrerenvoieàla langue parlée en majorité et par le plus grand nombre dans un pays donné.La secondeest propre aux langues régionales et minoritaires ou parléesparcertaines communautésuniquement,et ellessont nombreuses en France. Ceslanguesminoritairessont souventnomméespatois,un terme plutôt dépréciatif quien appelle à uneimagerie campagnarde, une langue parlée dans les temps anciens par les paysansetà échellelocale.Parmi elles,oncompteentreautreslebreton, l’occitan, le catalan, et le basque.Certaines ont été oubliées, d’autres sont encore enseignées. La vérité est que ces langues sont plus nombreuses et importantesqu’onnele croit. Elles imprègnent l’hexagone et font partie dupatrimoine, héritage officiellementreconnudans notre constitutiondepuis 2008. Elles trouvent encore écho aujourd’hui dans diverses expressionslocales, inspirent les plus grands débats sociétaux (chocolatine ou pain au chocolat ?),forgent nos identités régionales,etfont la fiertéde ceux qui les parlent encore. Pour un Britannique, on pourrait comparer çaàl’accent de l’Essex. Pour certains,c’est le symbole d’originepopulaire, d’un héritage régional,ou même un son ennuyeux etpour d’autres,c’estparticulièrement charismatique. Malgré uneglottophobiepersistante en France, il est courant d’entendrediverses expressions régionales dérivées de patois dans la bouche desFrançais. Ainsi,ne parlantpourtantpasoccitan, j’aime à utiliser l’expressionoccitane« abistodenas »signifiant « à vue de nez ».Ayantgrandidans lePoitou-Charentes, puis vécu presque dix ansà Toulouse, dans le sud, j’ai apporté avec moimon vocabulairepoitevin et je l’aiensuiteélargiavecdes expressions toulousaineset occitanes, ainsi qu’avec quelques mots typiquement aveyronnais et tarnais. J’ai découvert que notre langageest commeun codesecretqui nous permettraitd’accéder et d’appartenir àdiverses communautés. Ilestselon moiimportant de se souvenirde sauvegarder cet héritage.Le respect que l’on montre envers unelangue,qu’elle soit de l’ordre du dialecte ou utiliséeàdes fins diplomatiques, en dit long surle respect que l‘on voue aux individus et aux autrescultures.

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Language heritage in France

In linguistics, we distinguishbetweenvehicular and vernacular languages. The former refers to the language spoken in the majority and by the greatest number in a givencountry. Thelatteris specific to regional and minority languagesor only spoken by communities, and we have plenty in France.These minority languages are often referred to as Patois, a rather depreciatory term thatconjures upa rural imagery, a language spoken in ancient times by peasants and on a local scale. They include among othersBreton, Occitan, CatalanandBasque.Some have been forgotten, some are still taught.The truth is that these languages are more numerous and important thanwethink. They permeate France andarepart ofitsculturalheritage–which isofficiallyrecognisedinour constitution since 2008. They still find their way into variouslocalexpressions, inspirethe greatest social debates (“chocolatine”or“pain auchocolat”?),mouldour regional identities, and are the pride of those who stillusethem. For a Briton, it could be compared totheEssex accent. For some it's a symbol of humble origins, regional heritage, orsomeevensee it asan annoying sound. And for othersit is particularly charismatic.Despitepersistentglottophobia(linguistic discrimination, particularly towards accents)in France, it is common to hear various regional expressions derived fromPatois in French’s mouths. For example, I do not speak Occitan, yet I like to use the Occitan expression "abistodenas" meaning "at sight of nose"(aFrenchexpression to give a rough estimationof something). Having grown up in Poitou-Charentes, and then lived for almost ten years in Toulouse, in the south, I brought my Poitevin vocabulary with me and then expanded it with expressions from Toulouse and Occitanlanguage, as well as with a few typical words fromAveyronand Tarn. I discovered thatthelanguagewe usecan belikeasecretcode that allows us to access and belong to various communities. I thinkit is important to remember topreservethis heritage.The respectwe showfor a language, whether it is a dialect or used for diplomatic purposes, speaks volumes abouttherespectwe havefor individuals and other cultures.

By Ms Marché

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