Monégasque dialect


Monégasque is a variety of Ligurian, a Gallo-Italic language spoken in Monaco as well as nearby in Italy and France.
Monégasque is officially taught in the schools of Monaco but is the native language of only a handful. In Monaco-Ville, street signs are printed in both French and Monégasque.

Classification

Forming a part of the Western Romance dialect continuum, Monégasque shares many features with the Genoese dialect. Though similar to the dialect of Ventimiglia, it does differ from the Menton dialect. It shares similarities also with the Niçard dialect of the Occitan language.
Monegasque, like all other Ligurian language variants, is derived directly from the Vulgar Latin of what is now northwestern Italy and southeastern France and has some influence in vocabulary, morphology and syntax from French and related Gallo-Romance languages, but most words are derived from Italian.
Before the annexation of the County of Nice to France in 1860, the Niçois spoke a dialect very similar to Monégasque.

Speakers

It is spoken in addition to French by Monégasques, mostly within the small nation of Monaco. Because Monégasques are only a minority in Monaco, the language was threatened with extinction in the 1970s.
However, Monégasque is now being taught in schools, and its continuance is regarded as secured. In the old part of Monaco, street signs are written in Monégasque and French.

Relation to Italian

is also a major language in Monaco. Italian nationals make up some 20% of Monaco's 35,000 permanent residents. Italian was the official language of Monaco when it was a protectorate of the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont from 1814 to 1861, leaving a legacy in some Monégasque words. Indeed, for a long time after the Renaissance, Monaco was the most westerly part on the Mediterranean coast of the Republic of Genoa.
During the fascist occupation in 1942–43, the Principality of Monaco was incorporated into Italy and Monégasque was again considered a dialect of Italian. After World War II there were nearly 10,000 Italians in Monte Carlo, and some of them even spoke Monégasque fluently.

Orthography

Monégasque orthography generally follows Italian principles, with the following exceptions:
Below is an excerpt from the Monégasque national anthem, written by Louis Notari. In addition, there is an older French version of the anthem; its lyrics have a different meaning. The choice between the two forms is generally subject to the occasion and the circumstance.
Despœi tugiù sciü d'u nostru paise
Se ride au ventu, u meme pavayùn

Despœi tugiù a curù russa e gianca

E stà l'emblema, d'a nostra libertà

Grandi e i piciui, l'an sempre respetà

The following is a Monégasque rendering of the Hail Mary:
Ave Maria,

Tüta de graçia

u Signù è cun tü

si benedëta tra tüt'ë done

e Gesü u to Fiyu è benejiu.



Santa Maria, maire de Diu,

prega per nùi, pecatùi

aùra e à l'ura d'a nostra morte

AMEN.