Sardinian (Sardu, Saldu) is the main language spoken in the island of Sardinia, Italy, remarkable for being the most conservative of the Romance languages and for its Paleosardinian substratum. For the place in the United States, see Sardinia, Ohio. ... Current distribution of Human Language Families A language family is a group of related languages said to have descended from a common proto-language. ... The Indo-European languages comprise a family of several hundred related languages and dialects [1], including most of the major languages of Europe, as well as many spoken in the Indian subcontinent (South Asia), the Iranian plateau (Southwest Asia), and Central Asia. ... The Italic subfamily is a member of the Centum branch of the Indo-European language family. ... The Romance languages (sometimes referred to as Romanic languages) are a branch of the Indo-European language family, comprising all the languages that descend from Latin, the language of the Roman Empire. ... Southern Romance languages are parte of Romance languages that includes the Sardinian language and Sicilian language. ... For the place in the United States, see Sardinia, Ohio. ... ISO 639-1 is the first part of the ISO 639 international-standard language-code family. ... ISO 639-2 is the second part of the ISO 639 standard, which lists codes for the representation of the names of languages. ... ISO 639-3 is an international standard for language codes. ... Sardo campidanese is a diasystem of Sardinian language, spoken in the southern part of Sardinia. ... Gallurese (gadduresu) is a diasystem of the Sardinian language, spoken in the Gallura (Gaddura), north-eastern part of Sardinia including the town of Tempio Pausania (Tempiu). ... This article needs cleanup. ... Sassarese is a diasystem of the Sardinian language, spoken in Sassaris area (north-western part of Sardinia) in Italy. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1093x1357, 38 KB) Summary Classificazione delle lingue e dei dialetti della Sardegna / Classification of languages and dialects of Sardinia. ... Articles with similar titles include the NATO phonetic alphabet, which has also informally been called the “International Phonetic Alphabet”. For information on how to read IPA transcriptions of English words, see IPA chart for English. ... The Unicode Standard, Version 5. ... For the place in the United States, see Sardinia, Ohio. ... The Romance languages (sometimes referred to as Romanic languages) are a branch of the Indo-European language family, comprising all the languages that descend from Latin, the language of the Roman Empire. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Linguistics

Dialects

The Sardinian language can be divided into the following main subregional language groups clearly identified by isogloss bundles: Isoglosses on the Faroe Islands An isogloss is the geographical boundary of a certain linguistic feature, e. ...

• Sardinian proper, characterised by a plural in -s and definite articles derived from the Latin IPSUM
  • Northern, the most conservative dialect
    • sas limbas — 'the languages'
    • sas abbas — 'the waters'
  • Central, considered to be a transitional dialect between Northern and Southern Sardinian
    • is limbas — 'the languages'
    • is abbas — 'the waters'
  • Southern, more influenced by continental Italian dialects:
    • is linguas — 'the languages'
    • is acuas — 'the waters'
• Corso-Sardinian dialects, spoken in the extreme north of Sardinia, are sometimes considered to be part of the Corsican language rather than Sardinian. They are characterised by a plural in -i and definite articles derived from the Latin ILLUM
  • Sassarese (G-shape)
    • eba — 'water'
    • garri — 'meat'
    • eu digu — 'I say'
  • Gallurese (C-shape)
    • e'a — 'water'
    • carri — 'meat'
    • eu dicu — 'I say'

The survival of a dialect of Catalan in the town of Alghero is a consequence of the historical influence of Catalonia in Sardinia. Corsican (Corsu or Lingua Corsa) is a Romance language spoken on the island of Corsica (France), alongside French, which is the official language. ... Sassarese is a diasystem of the Sardinian language, spoken in Sassaris area (north-western part of Sardinia) in Italy. ... Gallurese (gadduresu) is a diasystem of the Sardinian language, spoken in the Gallura (Gaddura), north-eastern part of Sardinia including the town of Tempio Pausania (Tempiu). ... Alguerese or Algherese is the variant of the Catalan language spoken in the city of Alghero, in the northwest of Sardinia. ... Alghero (LAlguer in Catalan and SAlighèra in Sardinian), is a town of about 35,000 inhabitants (down from 54,300 inhabitants since early 20th century) in Italy. ... Anthem: Capital Barcelona Official language(s) Catalan,Spanish and Aranese. ...

Phonology

Sardinian (at least Logudorese, its most characteristic dialect) presents some archaic phonetic features among Romance languages:

• The Latin short vowels [i] and [u] have preserved their original sound (in Italian and Spanish they became [e] and [o], respectively; in Portuguese and Catalan the [u] was also kept but written as an 'o'). For example: siccus > sicu 'dry' (Italian secco, Spanish seco).
• Preservation of the plosive sounds [k] and [ɡ] before front vowels [e] and [i] in many (though not all) words. For example: kentu 'hundred'; dèke 'ten' or gheneru 'son in law' (Italian cento, dièci, genero).
• Absence of diphthongizations found in other Romance languages. For example: potet > podet 'he can' (Spanish puede); bonus > bónu 'good' (Italian buòno, Spanish bueno).

The most innovative features of Sardinian are: In phonetics, a diphthong (also gliding vowel) (Greek δίφθογγος, diphthongos, literally with two sounds, or with two tones) is a monosyllabic vowel combination involving a quick but smooth movement from one vowel to another, often interpreted by listeners as a single vowel sound or phoneme. ...

• The transformation of Latin -ll- into a retroflex [ɖɖ]. For example: bellus > [ˈbeɖ.ɖu] 'pretty', villa > [ˈbiɖ.ɖa] 'villa'.
• The consonant clusters -ld- and -nd- were similarly affected: soldus > [ˈsoɖ.ɖu] 'money'; [ab.boɳ.ˈɖant.zi.a] 'abundance'.
• The evolution of pl-, fl, cl- into pr-, fr, cr- as in Portuguese and Galician; for example: platea > pratza 'plaza' (Portuguese praça, Galician praza, Italian piazza), frúsciu 'flabby' (Port. and Gal. frouxo), ecclesia > crexia 'church' (Port. igreja, Gal. igrexa, It. chiesa).
• Transformations like abbratzare > abbaltzare 'to embrace'.
• Vowel prosthesis before an initial r in Campidanese like in Basque or Gascon: recem > urrei = re, gurrèi 'king'; rotam > arroda 'wheel' (Gascon arròda); rivum > Sard. and Gasc. arríu 'river'.
• Vowel prosthesis in Logudorese before an initial s followed by consonant, like in Western Romance: scriptum > iscrítu (Spanish escrito, French écrit), stellam > [ĭ.ˈstɛɖ.ɖu] 'star' (Spanish estrella, French étoile).
• Except for the Nuorese dialects, Latin single voiceless plosives [p, t, k] in intervocalic position became voiceless approximants, and single voiced plosives [b, d, g] were lost: [t] > [d] (or rather its soft counterpart [ð]): locum > [ˈlo.ɡu] (It. luògo), caritatem > [ka.ri.ˈda.de] (It. carità). Note that these processes also apply across word boundaries: porku (pig) but su borku (the pig); domo (house) but sa omo (the house).

While the latter two features were acquired during the Spanish domination, the others reveal deeper relations between ancient Sardinia and the Iberian world. Note that retroflex d, l and r are found not only in southern Italy and Tuscany but also in Asturias. They were probably involved in the palatalization process of the Latin clusters -ll-, pl-, cl- (-ll- > Cast. and Cat. -ll- [ʎ], Gasc. -th [c]; cl- > Old Port. ch- [tʃ], Ital. chi- [kj]). Sub-apical retroflex plosive In phonetics, retroflex consonants are consonant sounds used in some languages. ... Galician (Galician: galego, IPA: ) is a language of the Western Ibero-Romance branch, spoken in Galicia, an autonomous community with the constitutional status of historic nationality, located in northwestern Spain and small bordering zones in neighbouring autonomous communities of Asturias and Castilla y León. ... Metathesis is a sound change that alters the order of phonemes in a word. ... Prosthesis or prothesis in linguistics and poetry (Greek pro pre- + thesis putting) is the appending of a consonant, a vowel, or a whole syllable in front of a word, usually to facilitate pronunciation. ... Basque (native name: euskara) is the language spoken by the Basque people who inhabit the Pyrenees in North-Central Spain and the adjoining region of South-Western France. ... Gascon (Gascon, ; French, ) is a dialect of the Occitan language. ... Italo-Western is the largest sub-group of Romance languages. ... Approximants are speech sounds that could be regarded as intermediate between vowels and typical consonants. ... The name Iberia refers to two distinct regions of the old world: The Iberian Peninsula, in Southwest Europe, location of modern-day Spain and Portugal, home to the pre-Roman Iberians. ... Tuscany (Italian: ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy. ... Anthem: Asturias, patria querida Capital Oviedo Official language(s) Spanish; Asturian has special status Area  â€“ Total  â€“ % of Spain Ranked 10th  10,604 km²  2. ...

Sardinian has the following phonemes (according to Blasco Ferrer): This article needs cleanup. ...

Vowels

The five vowels /a/ /e/ /i/ /o/ /u/ (without length differentiation).

Stops and corresponding approximants

The following three series of plosives or corresponding approximants:

• Voiceless stops derive from their Latin homologue in composition after another stop; they are reinforced (double) in initial position but this reinforcement is not written since it does not produce a different phoneme.
• Double voiced stops (after another consonant) derive from their Latin homologue in composition after another stop;
• Weak voiced "stops" which are in fact /β, δ, ğ/ = [β, ɹ, ɣ] approximants after vowels, as in Spanish. They derive from single Latin stops either voiced or not.

In Cagliari the soft [d] can be assimilated to a flap [ɾ] (evoking Basque irudi = iduri 'to seem', ideki 'to take out' > ireki 'to open'): digitus > didu = diru 'finger'. In phonetics, gemination is when a spoken consonant is doubled, so that it is pronounced for an audibly longer period of time than a single consonant. ... In human language, a phoneme is the theoretical representation of a sound. ... Cagliari City Hall Cagliari (Greek: ; Latin: Carales and Caralis[1]; Catalan: Càller; Sardinian: Casteddu) is the capital of the island of Sardinia, a region of Italy. ... Basque (native name: euskara) is the language spoken by the Basque people who inhabit the Pyrenees in North-Central Spain and the adjoining region of South-Western France. ...

• Retroflex /ɖɖ/ (written dh) derives from a former retroflex lateral /ɭɭ/.
• A former voiced palatal plosive /ɟ/ (like the Hungarian gy) > /ɡ/ (to be confirmed).

In phonetics, labiodentals are consonants articulated with the lower lip and the upper teeth. ... Dentals are consonants such as t, d, n, and l articulated with either the lower or the upper teeth, or both, rather than with the gum ridge as in English. ... Retroflex consonants are articulated with the tip of the tongue curled up and back so the bottom of the tip touches the roof of the mouth. ... Palatal consonants are consonants articulated with the middle or back part of the tongue raised against the hard palate (the middle part of the roof of the mouth). ... Velars are consonants articulated with the back part of the tongue (the dorsum) against the soft palate (the back part of the roof of the mouth, known also as the velum). ... For other uses, see Latin (disambiguation). ... Linguistics & Pronunciation Gy is the thirtheenth letter of the Hungarian alphabet. ...

Fricatives

• The labiodental /f/ (sometimes pronounced [ff] or [v] in initial position) and /v/;
  • some mutations from /v/ to /b/ can be observed (vipera > bibera 'viper'). In central Sardinian the sound /f/ disappears: a behavior that evokes the transformation /f/ > /h/ known in Gascon and Castilian.
• [θ] written th (like in English thing), the voiceless dental fricative, is a dialectal variant of the phoneme /ʦ/.

• /s/
• /ss/ e.g. ipsa > íssa
• /z/ the voiced corresponding consonant that was introduced during the 1st century B.C. through Greek loanwords such as Zmirne, gaza, etc.

and, as in Italian: Gascon (Gascon, ; French, ) is a dialect of the Occitan language. ... This article is about the international language known as Spanish. ... The voiceless dental non-sibilant fricative is a type of consonantal sound used in some spoken languages. ... A loanword (or loan word) is a word directly taken into one language from another with little or no translation. ...

• /ʃ/ pronounced [ʃ] or [ʃʃ] = [ʃ.ʃ], written sc before i or e. This phoneme also has a voiced allophone [ʒ] which is often spelled with the letter x.

Affricates

• /ʦ/ (or [tʦ]) a dentoalveolar affricate written tz, that corresponds to Italian z or ci-, natural evolution of /t/ before /i/.
• /ʣ/ (or [dʣ]), written z, corresponds to Italian gi- (ggi-, respectively).

and from Italian: Dentals are consonants such as t, d, n, and l articulated with either the lower or the upper teeth, or both, rather than with the gum ridge as in English. ... An affricate is a consonant that begins like a stop (most often an alveovelar, such as [t] or [d]) and that doesnt have a release of its own, but opens directly into a fricative (or, in one language, into a trill). ...

• /ʧ/ written c before e or i.
• /tʧ/
• /ʤ/ written g before e or i.

Nasals

• /m/, /mm/
• /n/, /nn/
• /ɲɲ/ written gn, the palatal nasal

The palatal nasal is a type of consonant, used in some spoken languages. ...

Liquids

• /l/ (or [ll]), double when initial
• /ɭ/ a retroflex l that was used in Old Sardinian in place of Latin double -ll-, and became a retroflex d (Blasco Ferrer 69).
• /ɾ/ a flap written r
• /r/ a trill written as in Spanish, Catalan or Basque rr.

Some permutations of l and r can be observed: marralzu = marrarzu 'rock'. In palatal context, Latin l changed into [ʣ], [ʦ], [lʣ], [ll] or [ʤ] rather than [ʎ]: achizare (It. accigliare), *volia > bòlla = bòlza = bòza 'wish' (It. vòglia), folia > fogia = folla = foza 'leaf' (It. foglia), filia > filla = fitza = fiza 'daughter' (It. figlia). The alveolar tap/flap is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. ... The alveolar trill is a type of consonantal sound, used in some spoken languages. ...

Morphology

The main distinctive features of Sardinian are :

• The plural marker is -s (from the Latin accusative plural) as in the Western Romance languages (French, Occitan, Catalan, Spanish, Portuguese, and Galician): sardu, sardus; [puɖɖa], [puɖɖas] 'hen'; margiane, margianes 'fox'. In Italo-Dalmatian languages such as Italian or in Eastern Romance languages such as Romanian, the plural ends with -i or -e.
• Sardinian uses a definite article derived from the Latin ipsus: su, sa, plural sos, sas. Such articles used to be common in Balearic Catalan and Gascon.
• A periphrastic construction of the form 'to have to' (late Latin habere ad) is used as future: apo a istàre 'I will stay'.
• For prohibitions, a negative form of subjunctive is used: non bengias! 'don't come!' (compare Spanish no vengas).

In linguistics, a marker is a free or bound morpheme that indicates the grammatical function of the marked word or sentence. ... The term accusative may be used in the following contexts: A form of morphosyntactic alignment, as found in nominative-accusative languages. ... Italo-Western is the largest sub-group of Romance languages. ... Occitan, or langue doc is a Romance language characterized by its richness, variability, and by the intelligibility of its dialects. ... Catalan IPA: (català IPA: or []) is a Romance language, the national language of Andorra, and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Balearic Islands, Catalonia and Valencia (in the latter with the name of Valencian), and in the city of LAlguer in the Italian island of... Galician (Galician: galego, IPA: ) is a language of the Western Ibero-Romance branch, spoken in Galicia, an autonomous community with the constitutional status of historic nationality, located in northwestern Spain and small bordering zones in neighbouring autonomous communities of Asturias and Castilla y León. ... Map of Balkans with regions inhabited by Romanians/Vlachs highlighted The Eastern Romance languages, sometimes known as the Vlach languages, are a group of Romance languages that developed in Southeastern Europe from the local eastern variant of Vulgar Latin. ... Balearic is the Catalan variant spoken in the Balearic Islands (Spanish las Islas Baleares), Spain. ... Gascon (Gascon, ; French, ) is a dialect of the Occitan language. ... Periphrasis, like its Latin counterpart circumlocution, is a figure of speech where the meaning of a word or phrase is indirectly expressed through several or many words. ...

Pre-Latin Sardinian words

• Phoenician words:

míntza (mitza, miza) '(water) spring'

tzichiría (sichiria, tzirichia) 'dill'

tzingòrra (zingòrra), kind of small eel

tzípiri (tzípari) 'rosemary'

• Iberian or Basque words:

cóstiche 'variety of maple' (cf. Bas. gastigar 'maple')

cúcuru 'top'; e.g. cucuredhu 'pinnacle', 'mound', etc. (cf. Bas. kukur 'summit')

giágaru (Campidanese) 'hunting dog' (cf. Bas. tsakurr 'dog')

golósti 'holly' (cf. Bas. gorosti)

sechaju 'year-old lamb' (cf. Bas. segaila 'year-old kid')

• Latin words prefixed with the pre-Latin article t(i)-:

tilichèrta 'lizard' (ti + L. lacerta)

tilingiòne "worm" (ti + L. lumbricum 'earthworm')

trúcu 'neck'; var. ciugu, túgulu (t + L. jugulum)

túgnu, tontonníu 'mushroom' (t + L. fungus)

Other pre-Latin Sardinian words are presented here: Phoenician was a language originally spoken in the coastal region of what is now Lebanon. ... The Iberian language describes a linguistic group identified with the Iberian civilization (7th century BC – 1st century BC), formed in the eastern and south-eastern regions of the Iberian peninsula. ... Basque (native name: euskara) is the language spoken by the Basque people who inhabit the Pyrenees in North-Central Spain and the adjoining region of South-Western France. ...

• geographical terms:

bèga 'damp plain' probable cognate with Portuguese veiga, Spanish vega 'fertile plain' (Basque *ibaika).

bàcu 'canyon'

garrópu 'canyon'

giara 'tableland'

míntza 'spring' / 'manantial' / 'sorgènte'.

piteràca, boturinu, terighinu 'way'

• plant names:

tzaurra 'germ'; intzaurru, 'sprout'

araminzu, oroddasu — Cynodon dactylon 'couch grass'

arbutu, arbutzu, abrutzu — Asphodelus ramosus 'asphodel' (although in Latin arbustus means 'bush, 'shrub')

atagnda, atzagndda — Papaver rhoeas 'red poppy'

bidduri — Conium maculatum 'hemlock'

carcuri — Ampelodesma mauritanica (a Mediterranean grass)

istiòcoro — Picris echioides

curma — Ruta chalepensis 'rue'

tinníga, tinnía, sinníga — 'esparto'

tiría — Calicotome spinosa 'thorny broom'

tzichiría — Ridolfia segetum (a kind of fennel)

• animal names:

gròdde 'fox'

irbírru, isbírru, iskírru, ibbírru 'marten'

tilingiòne, tilingròne, tiringoni 'earthworm'

tilipírche, tilibílche 'grasshopper'

tilicúcu, telacúcu, tiligúgu 'gecko'

tilichèrta, tilighèrta, tilighèlta; calixerta 'lizard', cognate with Latin lacerta.

In geography, a plain is a large area of land with relatively low relief. ... Grand Canyon, Arizona Noravank Monastery complex and canyon in Armenia. ... In geology and earth science, a plateau (alternatively spelt in a false French spelling plâteau, the real spelling in French being plateau) is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat open country if the uplift was recent in geologic history. ... This article is about the plant section. ... Species Eight species, including: Cynodon aethiopicus Cynodon arcuatus Cynodon dactylon Cynodon transvaalensis Cynodon (Greek Dog-tooth) is a genus of eight species of grasses in the family Poaceae, found in many parts of the world. ... Flower and fruits The Asphodel (Asphodelus ramosus, family Asphodelaceae in APG II, formerly in Liliaceae) is the flower said to fill the plains of Hades, the mythological Greek underworld. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Species Conium chaerophylloides (Thunb. ... Oxtongue Categories: Plant stubs | Asteraceae ... Look up rue in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Binomial name Stipa tenacissima L. - Esparto grass Esparto, or esparto grass, also known as halfah grass or needle grass, Stipa tenacissima, is a perennial grass grown in northwest Africa and southern Spain for fiber production for paper making. ... Binomial name Calicotome spinosa (L.) Link Calicotome spinosa (known as thorny broom or spiny broom) is a very spiny, densely-branched shrub of the legume family Fabaceae which can reach up to three metres in height. ... Binomial name Foeniculum vulgare Mill. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... Species Martes americana Martes flavigula Martes foina Martes gwatkinsii Martes martes Martes melampus Martes pennanti Martes zibellina for the Wiltshire village see Marten, Wiltshire The Martens constitute the genus Martes within the subfamily Mustelinae, in family Mustelidae. ... Families   Acanthodrilidae   Ailoscolecidae   Alluroididae   Almidae   Criodrilidae   Eudrilidae   Exxidae   Glossoscolecidae   Lumbricidae   Lutodrilidae   Megascolecidae   Microchaetidae   Ocnerodrilidae   Octochaetidae   Sparganophilidae Earthworm is the common name for the largest members of the Oligochaeta (which is either a class or subclass depending on the author) in the phylum Annelida. ... Families Superfamily: Tridactyloidea Cylindrachaetidae Ripipterygidae Tridactylidae Superfamily: Tetrigoidea Tetrigidae Superfamily: Eumastacoidea Chorotypidae Episactidae Eumastacidae Euschmidtiidae Mastacideidae Morabidae Proscopiidae Thericleidae Superfamily: Pneumoroidea Pneumoridae Superfamily: Pyrgomorphoidea Pyrgomorphidae Superfamily: Acridoidea Acrididae Catantopidae Charilaidae Dericorythidae Lathiceridae Lentulidae Lithidiidae Ommexechidae Pamphagidae Pyrgacrididae Romaleidae Tristiridae Superfamily: Tanaoceroidea Tanaoceridae Superfamily: Trigonopterygoidea Trigonopterygidae Xyronotidae Grasshoppers are herbivorous insects... Subfamilies Aeluroscalabotinae Eublepharinae Gekkoninae Teratoscincinae Diplodactylinae Geckos are small to average sized lizards belonging to the family Gekkonidae which are found in warm climates throughout the world. ... For other uses, see Lizard (disambiguation). ... Lacerta, being Latin for Lizard, is one of the 88 official constellations acknowledged by the International Astronomical Union. ...

History and origins

The history of the island of Sardinia, relatively isolated from the European continent up into modern times, led to the development of a distinct Romance language, which even now preserves traces of the indigenous pre-Roman languages of the island. The language is of Latin origin like all Romance languages yet the following substratal influences are likely: For the place in the United States, see Sardinia, Ohio. ... For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Latin (disambiguation). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

• Proto-Iberian
• Etruscan
• Phoenician

Adstratal influences include: The Iberian language describes a linguistic group identified with the Iberian civilization (7th century BC – 1st century BC), formed in the eastern and south-eastern regions of the Iberian peninsula. ... Languages in Iron Age Italy, 6th century BC Etruscan was a language spoken and written in the ancient region of Etruria (current Tuscany plus western Umbria and northern Latium) and in parts of what are now Lombardy, Veneto, and Emilia-Romagna (where the Etruscans were displaced by Gauls), in Italy. ... Phoenician was a language originally spoken in the coastal region then called Pūt in Ancient Egyptian, Canaan in Phoenician, Hebrew and Aramaic, and Phoenicia in Greek and Latin. ...

• Catalan
• Spanish
• Italian

Catalan IPA: (català IPA: or []) is a Romance language, the national language of Andorra, and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Balearic Islands, Catalonia and Valencia (in the latter with the name of Valencian), and in the city of LAlguer in the Italian island of...

Origins

The early origins of the Sardinian language (sometimes called Paleosardinian) are still obscure, due mostly to the lack of documents, as Sardinian appeared as a written form only in the Middle Ages. There are substantial differences between the many theories about the development of Sardinian, so opposite results are sometimes produced. The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ...

Many studies have attempted to discover the origin of some obscure roots that today could legitimately be defined as indigenous, pre-Romance roots. First of all, the root of sard, present in many toponyms and distinctive of the ethnic group, is supposed to have come from a mysterious people known as the Shardana, "the people of the sea". The Shardana or Sherden sea pirates are one of several groups of Sea Peoples who appear in fragmentary historical records (Egyptian inscriptions) for the Mediterranean region in the second millennium B.C.; little is known about them. ...

Massimo Pittau claimed in 1984 to have found in the Etruscan language the etymology of many other Latin words, after comparison with the Nuragic language. If true, one could conclude that, having evidence of a deep influence of Etruscan culture in Sardinia, the island could have directly received from Etruscan many elements that are instead usually considered to be of Latin origin. Pittau then indicates that both the Etruscan and Nuragic languages are descended from the Lydian language, therefore being both Indo-European languages, as a consequence of the alleged provenance of Etruscans / Tirrenii from that land (as in Herodotus), where effectively the capital town was Sardis. Pittau also suggests, as a historical point, that the Tirrenii landed in Sardinia, whereas the Etruscans landed in modern-day Tuscany; this idea requires much further investigation, although it has been initially well-received. Languages in Iron Age Italy, 6th century BC Etruscan was a language spoken and written in the ancient region of Etruria (current Tuscany plus western Umbria and northern Latium) and in parts of what are now Lombardy, Veneto, and Emilia-Romagna (where the Etruscans were displaced by Gauls), in Italy. ... Not to be confused with Entomology, the scientific study of insects. ... Su Nuraxi, Barumini, Sardinia Central tower of the Nuraghe at Saint Antine of Torralba Su Nurraxi. ... Lydian was an Indo-European language, one of the Anatolian languages, that was spoken in the state of Lydia in Anatolia, present day Turkey. ... The Indo-European languages comprise a family of several hundred related languages and dialects [1], including most of the major languages of Europe, as well as many spoken in the Indian subcontinent (South Asia), the Iranian plateau (Southwest Asia), and Central Asia. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... A recent view of the ceremonial court of the thermae–gymnasium complex in Sardis, dated to 211—212 AD Sardis, also Sardes (Lydian: Sfard, Greek: Σάρδεις, Persian: Sparda), modern Sart in the Manisa province of Turkey, was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Lydia, the seat of a proconsul under... Tuscany (Italian: ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy. ...

It has been said that Paleosardinian should be expected to have notable similarities with Iberic languages and the Siculian language: the suffix -'ara, for example, in proparoxytones (Bertoldi and Terracini proposed it indicated plural forms). The same would happen (according to Terracini) for suffixes in -/àna/, -/ànna/, -/énna/, -/ònna/ + /r/ + paragogic vowel (as in the surname Bonnànnaro). Rohlfs, Butler and Craddock add the suffix -/ini/ (as in the surname Barùmini) as a peculiar element of Paleosardinian. At the same time, suffixes in /a, e, o, u/ + -rr- seem to find a correspondence in northern Africa (Terracini), in Iberia (Blasco Ferrer), in southern Italy and in Gascony (Rohlfs), with some closer relation to Basque (Wagner, Hubschmid). Suffixes in -/ài/, -/éi/, -/òi/, and -/ùi/ are common to Paleosardinian and northern African languages (Terracini). Pittau underlined that this concerns terms originally ending in an accented vowel, with an attached paragogic vowel; the suffix resisted Latinization in some toponyms, which show a Latin body and a Nuragic desinence. On this point, some toponyms ending in -/ài/ and in -/asài/ were thought to show Anatolic influence (Bertoldi). The suffix -/aiko/, widely used in Iberia, and perhaps of Celtic origins, as well as the ethnical suffix in -/itani/ and -/etani/ (as in the Sardinian Sulcitani) have been noted as other Paleosardinian elements (viz Terracini, Ribezzo, Wagner, Hubschmid, Faust, et al). The Iberian language describes a linguistic group identified with the Iberian civilization (7th century BC - 1st century BC), formed in the eastern and south-eastern regions of the Iberian peninsula. ... According to Thucydides (vi:2), before the arrival of Greek colonists, the Sicels (or Siculi) were one of the three tribes who inhabited Sicily: the Sicels (Greek Sikeloi) in eastern Sicily (as well as southern Italy), who spoke an Indo-European language, and the Sicani (Greek Sikanoi) and Elymi (Greek... Proparoxytone is a linguistic term for a word with stress on the antepenultimate syllable, that is, the last but two, the English words acromegaly and operational. ... Paragoge is the addition of a sound to the end of a word. ... A world map showing the continent of Africa Africa is the worlds second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. ... The Iberian Peninsula, or Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe, and includes modern day Spain, Portugal, Andorra and Gibraltar. ... Map of the historical and cultural area of Gascony. ... Basque (native name: euskara) is the language spoken by the Basque people who inhabit the Pyrenees in North-Central Spain and the adjoining region of South-Western France. ... Paragoge is the addition of a sound to the end of a word. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Romans

The Roman domination, beginning in 238 BC, obviously brought Latin to Sardinia, but Latin was not able to completely supplant the Pre-Roman Sardinian language. Some obscure roots remained unaltered, and in many cases it was Latin that was made to accept the local roots, such as nur (in Nuraghe, as well as Nuoro and many other toponyms). Roman culture, on the other hand, was undoubtedly dominant; even the Barbagia, the rebellious inner area of the island, derives its name from the beards that Sardinians wore: their land officially became Barbaria (this name was attributed to other areas of the Roman empire too, for exactly the same reasons: shaving was a Greco-Roman habit, and not widespread in other cultures). Cicero, who called Sardinians latrones matrucati (thieves with rough sheep-woolcloaks) to emphasise Roman superiority, helped to spread this conception. Nickname: Motto: SPQR: Senatus Populusque Romanus Location of the city of Rome (yellow) within the Province of Rome (red) and region of Lazio (grey) Coordinates: Region Lazio Province Province of Rome Founded 21 April 753 BC Government  - Mayor Walter Veltroni Area  - City 1,285 km²  (580 sq mi)  - Urban 5... Centuries: 4th century BC - 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC Decades: 280s BC 270s BC 260s BC 250s BC 240s BC - 230s BC - 220s BC 210s BC 200s BC 190s BC 180s BC Years: 243 BC 242 BC 241 BC 240 BC 239 BC - 238 BC - 237 BC 236 BC... For other uses, see Latin (disambiguation). ... Su Nuraxi, Barumini, Sardinia Central tower of the Nuraghe at Saint Antine of Torralba Su Nurraxi. ... Nuoro (Nùgoro, that literally means home[1], in the ancient Nuoros dialect), is a town and province in central Sardinia, Italy, located at the slopes of Mount Ortobene. ... Barbagia is an area of inner Sardinia. ... Motto Senatus Populusque Romanus (SPQR) The Roman Empire at its greatest extent. ... Cicero at about age 60, from an ancient marble bust Marcus Tullius Cicero (IPA:Classical Latin pronunciation: , usually pronounced in American English or in British English; January 3, 106 BC – December 7, 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, political theorist, philosopher, widely considered one of Romes greatest orators...

Other influences

During this time period, there was a reciprocal influence between Corsica and a limited area of northern Sardinia. On the southern side, though, the evidence favors contacts with Semitic and (later) Byzantine languages. In the 1st century AC, some relevant groups of Hebrews were deported to Sardinia, bringing various influences; the Christianization of the island would probably have brought Hebrews to convert to a sort of independent cult of Sant'Antioco (perhaps a way to preserve some aspects of their ethnicity under a Christian form), still present in Gavoi. This contact with Hebrews, followed by another deportation of Christians, presumedly lasted for a couple of centuries, and makes it likely that by the 3rd century AC, Vulgar Latin began to dominate the island. For other uses, see Corsica (disambiguation). ... 14th century BCE diplomatic letter in Akkadian, found in Tell Amarna. ... Medieval Greek (Μεσαιωνική Ελληνική) is a linguistic term that describes the fourth period in the history of the Greek language. ... The 1st century was that century which lasted from 1 to 100 according the Gregorian calendar. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... St Francis Xavier converting the Paravas: a 19th-century image of the docile heathen The historical phenomenon of Christianization, the conversion of individuals to Christianity or the conversion of entire peoples at once, also includes the practice of converting pagan practices, pagan religious imagery, pagan sites and the pagan calendar... S.Antioco is a village in South-western Sardinia, in the district of Cagliari, in Sulcis zone, in the island of S.Antioco. ... Gavoi is a village in central Sardinia, in the district of Nuoro, and is perhaps the most important town of Barbagia. ... Vulgar Latin, as in this political graffito at Pompeii, was the speech of ordinary people of the Roman Empire — different from the classical Latin used by the Roman elite. ...

This eventual Latin cultural domination thus makes Sardinian a Romance language, or more precisely an archaic neo-Latin language, whose main characteristics are an archaic phonetic and morphosyntactic phenomena.

After this domination, Sardinia passed under the control of the Eastern Roman Empire, and more influences are derived from this culture. The Greek language that was the main reference of Byzantines did not, however, enter into the structure of Sardinian (still a Romance language) except for in some ritual or formal formulas that are expressed in Latin using Greek structure. Much evidence for this can be found in the Condaghes, the first written documents in Sardinian.

Some toponyms show Greek influence as well, such as Jerzu, commonly presumed to derive from the Greek khérsos (untilled), together with the personal names Mikhaleis, Konstantine, and Basilis. Country Italy Region Sardinia Province Province of Ogliastra (OG) Mayor Elevation circa 470 m Area 102. ...

Historical documents

Act between the bishop of Civita Bernardo and Benedetto administrator of the Primaziale di Pisa in Logudorese (1173): Events Canonization of Saint Thomas à Becket, buried at Canterbury August 9th - Construction starts on the Leaning tower of Pisa Castle at Abergavenny was seized by the Welsh. ...

"Ego Benedictus operaius de Santa Maria de Pisas Ki la fatho custa carta cum voluntate di Domino e de Santa Maria e de Santa Simplichi e de indice Barusone de Gallul e de sa muliere donna Elene de Laccu Reina appit kertu piscupu Bernardu de Kivita, cum Iovanne operariu e mecum e cum Previtero Monte Magno Kercate nocus pro Santa Maria de vignolas... et pro sa doma de Villa Alba e de Gisalle cum omnia pertinentia is soro.... essende facta custa campania cun sii Piscupu a boluntate de pare torraremus su Piscupu sa domo de Gisalle pro omnia sua e de sos clericos suos, e issa domo de Villa Alba, pro precu Kindoli mandarun sos consolos, e nois demus illi duas ankillas, ki farmi cojuvatas, suna cun servo suo in loco de mola, e sattera in templo cun servii de malu sennu: a suna naran Maria Trivillo, a sattera jorgia Furchille, suna fuit de sa domo de Villa Alba, e sattera fuit de Santu Petru de Surake ....... Testes Judike Barusone, Episcopu Jovanni de Galtellì, e Prite Petru I upu e Gosantine Troppis e prite Marchu e prite Natale e prite Gosantino Gulpio e prite Gomita Gatta e prite Comita Prias e Gerardu de Conettu ........ e atteros meta testes. Anno dom.milles.centes.septuag.tertio"

Cultural status

A no-smoking sign in both Sardinian and Italian

The Sardinian language is one of the principal elements of Sardinian cultural heritage, and there is great activity of late dedicated to studying the language and acknowledging its importance. The recognition of the Sardinian language as a characteristic ethnic element is supported not only by independentist movements, but is also supported by a wide percentage of local population as a whole, as well as the international support of the Sardinian diaspora. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2287x1512, 285 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Sardinia Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used to create... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2287x1512, 285 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Sardinia Metadata This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used to create... Independentist is a neologism referring to an advocate of independence for a nation or territory. ... For other uses, see Diaspora (disambiguation). ...

The Sardinian language has recently been recognised as an official regional language by the Sardinian Autonomous Region; it can therefore be used for official purposes on the island. The debate as to its legality had become quite dramatic by the 1980s: at Alghero's Fertilia international airport, in a Sardinian Catalan-speaking area, an employee was heard over the loudspeakers (provocatively) announcing the flights in Italian, English and Sardinian Catalan. The employee was fired and penally condemned, causing widespread Sardinian nationalist sentiment, sometimes including violent political disputes which finally led to the law officialising the language. (Note that it must be said that in Alghero the need of diversifying the cultural position was perhaps even more urgent, since in its origins and its history are the distinctive signs of an ethnic enclave surrounded by a Sardinian culture, which in turn has been oppressed by an external culture.) A regional language is a language spoken in a part of a country, be it may be a small area, a federal state or province, or a wider area. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Alghero (LAlguer in Catalan and SAlighèra in Sardinian), is a town of about 35,000 inhabitants (down from 54,300 inhabitants since early 20th century) in Italy. ... Alguerese or Algherese is the variant of the Catalan language spoken in the city of Alghero, in the northwest of Sardinia. ... For the place in the United States, see Sardinia, Ohio. ...

In the last decade, the Sardinian language has been recognized officially from a legal point of view (law 482/1999 about minority languages in Italy), yet its actual acknowledgement in the present-day life is hard. For example in many Italian bibliotheques and Universities the books about Sardinian language are still grouped under the labels Linguistica italiana (Italian linguistics), Dialetti italiani (Italian dialects) or Dialettologia italiana (Italian dialectology) since this language is perceived as a dialect despite its legal recognition as a language. A dialect (from the Greek word διάλεκτος, dialektos) is a variety of a language characteristic of a particular group of the languages speakers. ...

Sardinian in Italy

Bilingual Italian-Sardinian roadsign in Siniscola.

The national anthem of the Kingdom of Sardinia (and Piedmont) was the Hymnu Sardu (or Cunservet Deus su Re), the lyrics of which are in the Sardinian language. It was partially substituted by the Savoy's March when Italy was unified. During the Fascist period, especially the Autarchy campaign, foreign languages were banned. The restrictions went so far that even personal names and surnames were made to sound more "Italian-sounding". During this period, the Sardinian Hymn was the sole chance to speak in a foreign language in Italy without risking prison, because, as a fundamental part of the Royal Family's tradition, it could not be forbidden. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Siniscola is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Nuoro in the Italian region Sardinia, located about 160 km northeast of Cagliari and about 45 km northeast of Nuoro. ... Kingdom of Sardinia, in 1839: Mainland Piedmont with Savoy, Nice, and Sardinia in the inset. ... Piedmont is a region of northwestern Italy. ... Flag of Savoy This article is about the historical region of Savoy. ... Fascism is an authoritarian political ideology (generally tied to a mass movement) that considers individual and other societal interests subordinate to the needs of the state, and seeks to forge a type of national unity, usually based on, but not limited to, ethnic, cultural, or racial attributes. ... An autarky is an economy that limits trade with the outside world, or an ecosystem not affected by influences from the outside, and relies entirely on its own resources. ...

Sardinians took advantage of this possibility to express their opposition to Fascism by singing the Hymn, as did King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy on several official occasions, when the Crown needed to remind Mussolini of its superior position. To reduce this potentially dangerous bit of "propaganda" which was being "innocently" whistled and sung in Sardinian streets, Mussolini was forced to find urgent remedies: Achille Starace (national secretary of the Fascist party) "genially" imposed the use of Orbace (a poor Sardinian wool) as the national cloth for the uniforms of the Militia, while on a cultural level Mussolini himself officially recognised on repeated occasions the effective value of Sardinian poets and writers, still on the border of the limits of the law. These cautious attentions for the island also included the saning of wide areas of the region (bonifiche) and the implementation of commerce and industry. Victor Emmanuel III (Italian: ; 11 November 1869 – 28 December 1947) was King of Italy (29 July 1900 – 9 May 1946), Emperor of Ethiopia (1936–43) and King of Albania (1939–43). ... Achille Starace Achille Starace ( August 18, 1889- April 29, 1945) was a prominent leader of Fascist Italy prior to and during World War II. Born in Gallipoli to a wine and oil merchant, Achille Starace attended the Lecce Technical Institute as a young man, where he earned a degree in...

The Catholic priests too, friendly to Fascism after the Concordato of 1929, started explaining that Latin (which was allowed), although very similar to Sardinian, was not Sardinian (the Holy Mass was still in Latin) and practiced a strict obstructionism against on-the-fly poetry, a genre of popular art expressed in public shows in Sardinia, in which two or more poets are assigned a surprise theme and have to develop it on the spur of the moment in rhymed quatrains. Year 1929 (MCMXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see Latin (disambiguation). ...

In the Italian army, the infantry corps of Brigata Sassari (Sassari's Brigade) was the sole unit allowed to have a separate hymn in the Sardinian language (Dimonios - ancient local pagan devils), being the brigade composed exclusively by Sardinian soldiers, the only such brigade in Italy. As a form of respect to Brigata Sassari, who performed well in World War I, any military important operation in Sardinia is named after the last words of Dimonios: Fortza Paris (loosely, let's combine our strength). “The Great War ” redirects here. ...

External links

Sardinian language edition of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

• SardegnaCultura lingua sarda - The section "Lingua Sarda" in the official cultural site from the Regional Sardinia administration.
• Ditzionàriu Online - An excellent dictionary for the Sardinian language.
• University of Berlin - Contains many links and other information about the language.
• Ethnologue:
  • Ethnologue report for Sardinian, Campidanese
  • Ethnologue report for Sardinian, Gallurese
  • Ethnologue report for Sardinian, Logudorese
  • Ethnologue report for Sardinian, Sassarese
• limbasarda - Grammar for beginners
• A mailing list for Sardinian-speakers
• Legge n. 482 - 15 Dicembre 1999, "Norme in materia di tutela delle minoranze linguistiche storiche" - Italy's Law on regional and minority languages (in Italian)
• Legge regionale n. 26, del 15 ottobre 1997, "Promozione e valorizzazione della cultura e della lingua della Sardegna" - Sardinia Regional law on the protection of Sardinian language (in Italian)
• Accademia campidanese di lingua sarda (in Campidanese)

Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1058x1058, 477 KB) aa Wikipedia logo, version 1058px square, no text Wikipedia logo by Nohat (concept by Paullusmagnus); compare Wikipedia File links The following pages link to this file: Arabic language Talk:Anarcho-capitalism Talk:Algorithm Talk:Anno Domini Talk:The... Wikipedia (IPA: , or ( ) is a multilingual, web-based, free content encyclopedia project, operated by the Wikimedia Foundation, a non-profit organization. ...

References

• Eduardo Blasco Ferrer: Mensching, 1969 ^{[dubious – discuss]}
• Gerhard Rohlfs: Le gascon, 1935.