Western Lombard
Encyclopedia
Western Lombard is a Romance language spoken in Italy
, in the Lombard
provinces of Milan
, Monza, Varese
, Como
, Lecco
, Sondrio
, a small part of Cremona
(except Crema and its neighbours), Lodi
and Pavia
, and the Piedmont
provinces of Novara
, Verbano-Cusio-Ossola
and a small part of Vercelli
(Valsesia
), and Switzerland
(Canton Ticino and part of Grischun). After the name of the region involved, land of the former Duchy of Milan
, this language is often referred to as Insubric (see Insubria
and Insubres
) or Milanese, or, after Clemente Merlo, Cisabduano (literally "of this side of Adda River
").
In Italian-speaking contexts, Western Lombard is often incorrectly called a dialect
of Italian language
, but actually it is a separate language, not a dialect. Insubric and Italian
are different languages and only partly mutually intelligible, due to various lexical, phonetic, and grammatical differences. Its substratum is celtic. Western Lombard is relatively homogenous (much more so than Eastern Lombard language
), though it does present a number of variations, mainly in relation to the vowel
s /o/, /ɔ/ and the development of /ts/ into /s/.
Western Lombard can be divided into four main varieties, referred by many Italian linguists as lombardo alpino (spoken in the provinces of Sondrio and of Verbania, Sopraceneri of Canton Ticino and Grigioni in Switzerland), lombardo-prealpino occidentale (spoken in the provinces of Como, Varese and Lecco, Lugano and its neighbors in Canton Ticino), basso-lombardo occidentale (Pavia and Lodi), and macromilanese (provinces of Milan, Monza, Novara and Valsesia of Vercelli). The boundaries are obviously schematic, since the political division in provinces and municipalities are usually independent from languages spoken.
At the present time, Western Lombard has no official status in Lombardy
or anywhere else. The only official language
in Lombardy is Italian
.
Some texts in Western Lombard are available: various dictionaries, a few grammars, extensive literature (see Insubric literature), and a recent translation of the Gospels.
Examples of Western Lombard language are:
The most important orthography in Western Lombard literature is the Classical Milanese orthography
.
It was used by Carlo Porta
(1775–1821) and Delio Tessa
(1886–1939). It was perfected by the Circolo Filologico di Milano. Other orthographies
are the Ticinese, the Comasca, the Bosina, the Nuaresat, and the Lecchese.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, in the Lombard
Lombardy
Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region, making it the most populous and richest region in the country and one of the richest in the whole of Europe...
provinces of Milan
Province of Milan
The Province of Milan : /) is a province in the Lombardy region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Milan. The provincial territory is highly urbanized, resulting in the third highest population density among the Italian provinces with more than 2,000 inhabitants/km2, just behind the provinces of...
, Monza, Varese
Province of Varese
The Province of Varese is a province in the Lombardy region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Varese but its largest city is Busto Arsizio....
, Como
Province of Como
The Province of Como is a province in the north of the Lombardy region of Italy and borders the Swiss cantons of Ticino and Grigioni to the North, the Italian provinces of Sondrio and Lecco to the East, the Province of Milan to the south and the Province of Varese to the West...
, Lecco
Province of Lecco
The Province of Lecco is a province in the Lombardy region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Lecco.On 1 January 2001 the province had a population of 311,452 on a surface of 816 km² divided in 90 communes...
, Sondrio
Province of Sondrio
The Province of Sondrio is in the Lombardy region of Italy. Its capital is the town of Sondrio.It has an area of 3,212 km², and a total population of 176,856...
, a small part of Cremona
Province of Cremona
The Province of Cremona is a province in the Lombardy region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Cremona.The province has an area of 1,771 km² and in 2008 census, had a population of 358,628. There are 115 comuni...
(except Crema and its neighbours), Lodi
Province of Lodi
The Province of Lodi is a province in the Lombardy region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Lodi.It has an area of 782 km², and a total population of 209,874 . There are 61 comuni in the province . As of May 31, 2005, the main comuni by population are:- External links :...
and Pavia
Province of Pavia
The Province of Pavia is a province in the region of Lombardy in northern Italy. Pavia is the capital.It has an area of 2,965 km², and a total population of 493,753...
, and the Piedmont
Piedmont
Piedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,402 square kilometres and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital of Piedmont is Turin. The main local language is Piedmontese. Occitan is also spoken by a minority in the Occitan Valleys situated in the Provinces of...
provinces of Novara
Province of Novara
Novara is a province in the Piedmont region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Novara.It has an area of 1,339 km², and a total population of 365.156 . There are 88 communes in the province.-External links:*...
, Verbano-Cusio-Ossola
Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola
Verbano-Cusio-Ossola is the northernmost province in the Italian region of Piedmont. It was created in 1996 through the fusion of three distinct regions which had previously been part of the Province of Novara...
and a small part of Vercelli
Province of Vercelli
Vercelli is a province in the Piedmont region of northern Italy. Its capital is Vercelli., it has an area of 2,088 km², and a total population of 176,829...
(Valsesia
Valsesia
Valsesia is a group of valleys in north-east of Piedmont in the Province of Vercelli, Italy; the principal valley is that of the river Sesia.The major cities are Varallo Sesia, Borgosesia, Serravalle Sesia; important touristic villages include Alagna Valsesia, Rima, Carcoforo, Scopello.-External...
), and Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
(Canton Ticino and part of Grischun). After the name of the region involved, land of the former Duchy of Milan
Duchy of Milan
The Duchy of Milan , was created on the 1st of may 1395, when Gian Galeazzo Visconti, Lord of Milan, purchased a diploma for 100,000 Florins from King Wenceslaus. It was this diploma that installed, Gian Galeazzo as Duke of Milan and Count of Pavia...
, this language is often referred to as Insubric (see Insubria
Insubria
Insubria is a historical-geographical region which corresponds to the area inhabited in Classical antiquity by the Insubres. Secondarily the name can refer to the Duchy of Milan...
and Insubres
Insubres
The Insubres were a Gaulish population settled in Insubria, in what is now Lombardy . They were the founders of Milan . Though ethnically Celtic at the time of Roman conquest , they were most likely the result of the fusion of pre-existing Ligurian, Celtic and "Italic" population strata with Gaulish...
) or Milanese, or, after Clemente Merlo, Cisabduano (literally "of this side of Adda River
Adda River
The Adda is a river in North Italy, a tributary of the Po. It rises in the Alps near the border with Switzerland and flows through Lake Como. The Adda joins the Po a few kilometres upstream of Cremona. It is 313 kilometres long...
").
In Italian-speaking contexts, Western Lombard is often incorrectly called a dialect
Dialect
The term dialect is used in two distinct ways, even by linguists. One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors,...
of Italian language
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, but actually it is a separate language, not a dialect. Insubric and Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
are different languages and only partly mutually intelligible, due to various lexical, phonetic, and grammatical differences. Its substratum is celtic. Western Lombard is relatively homogenous (much more so than Eastern Lombard language
Eastern Lombard language
Eastern Lombard is a group of related languages, spoken in the eastern side of Lombardy, mainly in the provinces of Bergamo, Brescia and Mantua, in the area around Crema and in a part of Trentino . Its main variants are Bergamasque and Brescian ....
), though it does present a number of variations, mainly in relation to the vowel
Vowel
In phonetics, a vowel is a sound in spoken language, such as English ah! or oh! , pronounced with an open vocal tract so that there is no build-up of air pressure at any point above the glottis. This contrasts with consonants, such as English sh! , where there is a constriction or closure at some...
s /o/, /ɔ/ and the development of /ts/ into /s/.
Western Lombard can be divided into four main varieties, referred by many Italian linguists as lombardo alpino (spoken in the provinces of Sondrio and of Verbania, Sopraceneri of Canton Ticino and Grigioni in Switzerland), lombardo-prealpino occidentale (spoken in the provinces of Como, Varese and Lecco, Lugano and its neighbors in Canton Ticino), basso-lombardo occidentale (Pavia and Lodi), and macromilanese (provinces of Milan, Monza, Novara and Valsesia of Vercelli). The boundaries are obviously schematic, since the political division in provinces and municipalities are usually independent from languages spoken.
At the present time, Western Lombard has no official status in Lombardy
Lombardy
Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region, making it the most populous and richest region in the country and one of the richest in the whole of Europe...
or anywhere else. The only official language
Official language
An official language is a language that is given a special legal status in a particular country, state, or other jurisdiction. Typically a nation's official language will be the one used in that nation's courts, parliament and administration. However, official status can also be used to give a...
in Lombardy is Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
.
Some texts in Western Lombard are available: various dictionaries, a few grammars, extensive literature (see Insubric literature), and a recent translation of the Gospels.
Examples of Western Lombard language are:
- Milanese or MeneghinMilaneseMilanese is the central variety of the Western Lombard language spoken in the city and province of Milan....
(macromilanese) - Bustocco and Legnanese
- BrianzööBrianzööBrianzöö or Brianzoeu is a group of variants , of Western Lombard language variety of the Lombard language. It is spoken in Brianza, in many forms....
(lombardo-prealpino occidentale - macromilanese) - Monzese
- Comasco-LeccheseComasco-LeccheseThe group of dialects Comasco-Lecchese is part of the Western Lombard language and is spoken in the province of Como and province of Lecco, especially around the capital cities and north of them...
(lombardo-prealpino occidentale)- ComascoComascoComasco is a dialect of Western Lombard language spoken in the city and suburbs of Como. It belongs to the Comasco-Lecchese group.- Characteristics :...
- LaghéeLaghéeLaghéé is a dialect of Western Lombard language spoken in the north of province of Como, on the coast of the Lake. . It has influences from Ticinese.Singer Davide Van De Sfroos uses Laghéé as his songs's language....
- Intelvese
- VallassineseVallassineseVallassinese is variety of the Western Lombard language spoken in the Vallassina valley of Italy . It belongs to the Comasco-Lecchese group and it has many subdialects....
- LeccheseLeccheseLecchese is a dialect of Western Lombard language spoken in the city and suburbs of Lecco .- Characteristics :It has the characteristic, in contrast with the other Comasco-Lecchese dialects, to be influenced by Brianzöö, Valsassinese, Valtellinese and Bergamasque .- Grammar :In the use of vergót...
- Valsassinese
- Comasco
- TicineseTicineseTicinese is a comprehensive denomination for the varieties of Lombard language spoken in Canton Ticino and in the north of the Province of Varese....
(lombardo alpino)- OssolanoOssolanoOssolano is the dialect spoken in the Ossola valley in North West Italy. It is an umbrella name for a myriad of dialects spoken in the main Ossola valley and the other seven valleys and their subvalley that spread from it. As the territory is very mountainous, many different variations of this...
- Ossolano
- Varesino or BosinVaresinoVaresino or Bosin is a dialect of Western Lombard language spoken in the Central province of Varese. The Northern side speaks more Ticinese than Bosin...
(lombardo-prealpino occidentale) - Alpine Lombard (lombardo alpino, strong influence from Eastern Lombard languageEastern Lombard languageEastern Lombard is a group of related languages, spoken in the eastern side of Lombardy, mainly in the provinces of Bergamo, Brescia and Mantua, in the area around Crema and in a part of Trentino . Its main variants are Bergamasque and Brescian ....
)- Valtellinese
- Chiavennasco
- Southwestern LombardSouthwestern LombardSouthwestern Lombard is a group of dialects of Western Lombard language spoken in the provinces of Pavia, Lodi, Novara, Cremona, in the south of the historic Insubria, and comprises Pavese dialect, Lodigiano dialect, Nuaresat dialect, Cremunéez dialect and others.- Bibliography :Andrea Rognoni,...
(basso-lombardo occidentale)- PavesePavese (dialect)Pavese is a dialect of Western Lombard language spoken in province of Pavia . In Pavese, differently from most of Western Lombard dialects, the "z" is transformed into "s"....
(strong influence from Emiliano-Romagnolo languageEmiliano-RomagnoloEmiliano-Romagnolo is a Romance language mostly spoken in Emilia-Romagna, Italy and San Marino. It belongs to the Northern Italian group within Romance languages , which is included in the wider group of western Romance languages...
) - Lodigiano
- NuaresatNuaresatNuares is a dialect of Western Lombard language spoken in province of Novara .The dialect is rarely used in the city, where the use of Italian language is preferred, largely because of high immigration from Mezzogiorno; Nuares is more often used in the surrounding rural areas...
(lombardo-prealpino occidentale - macromilanese) - CremunéezCremunéezCremonese is a dialect of Western Lombard language group spoken in the city and province of Cremona in Lombardy, Italy .It has some elements from Emilian language, so that it's considered by someone to be a...
(strong influence from Emiliano-Romagnolo languageEmiliano-RomagnoloEmiliano-Romagnolo is a Romance language mostly spoken in Emilia-Romagna, Italy and San Marino. It belongs to the Northern Italian group within Romance languages , which is included in the wider group of western Romance languages...
)
- Pavese
- Slangs
- SpasellSpasellSpasell is a slang of Insubric language, spoken until 19th century by inhabitants of Vallassina, when they used to go out from the valley for business and they didn't want to be understood by the people. It is characterized by code-words conventionally defined basing on characteristics of the thing...
- Spasell
The most important orthography in Western Lombard literature is the Classical Milanese orthography
Classical Milanese orthography
The classical Milanese orthography is the orthography used for the Western Lombard language, in particular for the Milanese dialect, by the major poets and writers of this literature, such as Carlo Porta, Carlo Maria Maggi, Delio Tessa etc....
.
It was used by Carlo Porta
Carlo Porta
Carlo Porta was an Italian poet, the most famous writer in Milanese .-Biography:...
(1775–1821) and Delio Tessa
Delio Tessa
Delio Tessa was an Italian poet from Milan. He is the most renowned writer in Milanese dialect after Carlo Porta. The originality of his poetry stands mostly in his obsessional expressionism and his allucinated and satirical way to depict Death...
(1886–1939). It was perfected by the Circolo Filologico di Milano. Other orthographies
Alternative Insubric orthographies
This is a prospect of Insubric language orthographies others than the classical Milanese one.- Comasca :Alternative orthography of the city of Como and suburbs, used by the academy Famiglia Comasca....
are the Ticinese, the Comasca, the Bosina, the Nuaresat, and the Lecchese.
See also
- Languages of Italy
- Dialects of Italy
- Plural inflection in Western LombardPlural inflection in Western LombardThe general lines of diachronics of Western Lombard plural declension are drawn here, with reference to Milanese orthography:- Feminine :The bulk of feminine words ends with the desinence -a; the feminine plural is adesinential...
- MilaneseMilaneseMilanese is the central variety of the Western Lombard language spoken in the city and province of Milan....
- Insubric literature