Piedmontese is a Romance language spoken by about 3 million people throughout the Piemonte (Piemont) region of northwest Italy, except in the province of Novara and in the Provençal and Franco Provençal valleys. It is also spoken in Australia, Chile and Argentina, where about 30% of people are of a North Italian origin.
Piedmontese has never been an official language but in the last ten years it has been recognized as a separate language by the European Union, the Piemonte region and some linguists. It is not currently taught in schools but some people are trying to have it introduced into primary schools. Piedmontese is spoken mainly by older people and is not popular with the young, particularly in the cities and towns. As a result, it is in danger of becoming extinct within a couple of generations.
The first texts written in Piedmontese appeared during the 10th century, before any Italian literary works were published. They were the Sermones Subalpini, a collection of twenty religious pieces written in an archaic form of the language which is now difficult to understand. The first grammar of Piedmontese was published in the 17th century but no Piedmontese literature of note was produced until the 18th century. The period from 1900-1960 was the gold age for Piedmontese theater and song and there is currently a lively Piedmontese poetry scene. The most famous living Piedmontese singer is Gipo Farassino.
| A a | B b | C c | D d | E e | Ë ë | F f | G g | H h | I i | J j | L l |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| a | bi | ci | di | e | e con la diéresi |
ef | gi | aca | i | i longa | el |
| M m | N n | Ò ò | O o | P p | Q q | R r | S s | T t | U u | V v | Z z |
| em | en | ò | o | pi | qo | er | es | ti | u | vi | zeta |
Tuij j'esser uman a nasso liber e uguaj an dignità e dirit.
A l'han ëd rasonament e 'd cossienssa e a l'han da comportesse
j'un con j'aotri an spirit ëd fradlanssa.
(Articol 1 dla Dichiarassion Universala dij Dirit ëd l'Òm)
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They
are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another
in a spirit of brotherhood.
(Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)
The information on this page was provided by G. Garella (articioc@libero.it).
Further information about the Piedmontese language (in Piedmontese, Italian and English)
http://space.tin.it/clubnet/nmndem/index1.html
Associassion Coltural Piemontèisa - Piedmontese Cultural Association (in Piedmontese)
http://www.piemont.org/
Sit an Piemontèis (in Piedmontese, Italian and English)
http://xoomer.virgilio.it/guidematt/
Recordings of Piedmontese
http://www2.hu-berlin.de/Vivaldi/index.php?id=mP348⟨=it
Aranese, Aromanian, Asturian, Catalan, Corsican, French, Friulian, Galician, Genoese, Italian, Jèrriais, Latin, Lombard, Mirandese, Moldovan, Occitan, Piedmontese, Portuguese, Romanian, Romansh, Sardinian, Sicilian, Spanish, Venetian, Walloon
Other languages written with the Latin alphabet
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