Online Encyclopedia
Corsican language
Corsican (corsu) is a Romance language, very close to Italian language (in fact, it is a close dialect of Tuscany language), and group of dialects spoken on the island of Corsica (France), and as a variety in the Gallura and Sassari regions of Sardinia (Italy).
Even though French is the official language of Corsica, Corsican is more closely related to Italian than it is to French.
Divided into Northern Corsican, spoken in the Bastia (Bastia), Corte (Corti) area, and Southern Corsican, spoken in Sartene (Sartè), Porto-Vecchio (Porti-Vechju). The dialect of Ajaccio (Aiacciu) has been described as in transition. The dialects spoken at Calvi and Bonifacio (Bunifaziu) small towns, are closer to Genoa dialect, the Ligurian.
In the Sardinian region of Gallura (Gaddura), including the town of Tempio Pausania (Tempiu), and on the island of La Maddalena (A Maddalena) the people speak "Gallurese", a transitional dialect with many similarities with Southern Corsican. There is also another Corsican dialect spoken at Sassari (North of Sardinia).
The Corsican language is the vehicle of the Corsican culture, which is notably rich in proverbs or polyphonic songs that emerge from a millenary oral transmission.
See also: Languages of France