Algherese dialect
Algherese is the variant of the Catalan language spoken in the city of Alghero, in the northwest of Sardinia, Italy. Catalan-speaking colonists repopulated the town and expelled the native population in 1372, after several revolts.
Catalan was replaced as the official language by Spanish, then by Italian in the mid-18th century, but its use remained widespread until at least the 1970s. Today it has semi-official status alongside Italian.
Based on additional linguistic studies, there are approximately 20,000 to 30,000 native speakers of the language worldwide. In communities where Algherese is spoken, Italian and Logudorese Sardinian are often used as well.
History
Algherese is a regional dialect spoken by anywhere from 20,000 to 30,000 individuals, most of which reside in the town of Alghero, located in the northwest of Sardinia. The language, though distinct is initially derived from, and thus considered a variant of, the Catalan language. The origins of the language can be traced back to 1372, when Catalan invaders repopulated the city of Alghero after exiling the indigenous populations in Sardinia. The language has roots in several Romance languages, including Eastern Romance, Italo-Western Romance, and Italo Western.Geographic distribution
In the northwest region of Sardinia, it is estimated that Italian is now the first language of close to 60% of individuals, Algherese approximately 22%. The use of the dialect in schools and media, to name a few, is sparse. Prior to 1997, teaching of the dialect in school was rare. However, in an attempt to reverse the trend, the Regional Council of Sardinia has officially recognized "Algherese Catalan" as a separate language in order to promote its use and circulation. As of a 2008 study, Algherese is used by approximately 14% of the population for daily interactions. The dialect is mostly a local language, often used to supplement Italian and/or Sardinian in small circles.Official status
In the northwest region of Sardinia, where this language is spoken, Italian is the primary language. Algherese Catalan acts as a secondary language or dialect in the overall region.In 1999, Catalan was among several minority languages officially recognized as "historical language minorities" by the Italian State under law no. 482/1999. Prior to this, the Regional Council of Sardinia had passed the regional law n. 26 of 15 October 1997 which, aside from promoting the equality in dignity of the Sardinian language with the Italian language throughout the island, provides that the other languages of smaller scope be afforded the same treatment as the aforementioned languages, among which Catalan is cited, in the city of Alghero. The city council, for its part, promulgated its protection and standardization in its city statute.
Usage
The following figures were obtained from the "Enquesta d’usos lingüístics a l’Alguer " of 2004 and the "Els usos lingüístics a l’Alguer" of 2015, both of which were studies conducted in the town of Alghero about the general use of Algherese in several media.| 2004 | 2015 | |
| Oral Comprehension | 90.1% | 88.2% |
| Oral Expression | 61.3% | 50.5% |
| Written Comprehension | 46.6% | 35.6% |
| Written Expression | 13.6% | 8.1% |
| First Language | 22.4% | 17.5% |
| Habitual Language | 13.9% | 9.1% |
Phonology
- Like in other languages of Sardinia and as well as and may merge into mid vowels and, respectively.
- Coalescing of unstressed vowels, and to .
- Algherese preserves as a distinct phoneme from, like Balearic and most of Valencian.
- Mutation of intervocalic or to : 'Barceloneta' : Eastern Standard, Algherese ; and vila and vida are homophones in Algherese.
- Mutation of syllable final to lateral, and the possible resulting group + consonant is further simplified to : forn : Standard, Algherese.
- Depalatalization of syllable final sonorants: lateral to, nasal to ; e.g. any : Standard, Algherese.
- Unlike most Catalan dialects, is never velarized in Algherese: sol : Standard, Algherese.
Morphology
- The simple past is replaced by the present perfect, possibly by Italian influence.
- The imperfect past preserves etymological -v- in all conjugations: 1st -ava, 2nd -iva, 3rd -iva (unlike modern Eastern and Western Standard Catalan, which use 1st -ava, 2nd -ia, 3rd -ia, a feature shared with the Ribagorçan dialect.
- Large-scale lexical borrowing and calques from Sardinian, Spanish and Italian: nearly half of the vocabulary is not from Catalan.
Differences from Standard Catalan
Vocabulary
The following abbreviations are used: m, f, pl, fpl, inf, f.The following phrases were gathered from a Catalan translation set, but the common phrases in Algherese are similar:
| English | Catalan | Algherese |
| Welcome | Benvingut Benvinguda Benvinguts Benvingudes | Benvingut Benvinguda Benvinguts Benvingudes |
| Hello | Hola Bon dia | Txao Bon dia |
| My name is... | Em dic... | Me aquirr... Me dic... |
| Where are you from? | D'on ets? D'on és vostè? | De ont ses? De ont és vostè? |
| Good morning | Bon dia | Bon dia |
Literature
The Premi Rafael Sari, organised by the Obra Cultural de l'Alguer, is a series of prizes awarded in September each year to the best literary works of poetry and prose written in Alguerese Catalan.Notable poets include Rafael Sari, Pasquale Scanu and Maria Chessa Lai. There is also a long tradition of writing and performing songs in Alguerese Catalan and the Premio Pino Piras is awarded for new songs written in the language. Notable singer-songwriters include Pino Piras and Franca Masu.
In 2015 Carla Valentino published an Algherese translation of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince.