Montevelino.It Languages and Dialects Document the Following Text
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montevelino.it Languages and dialects document The following text 'was drawn up at the Regional Conference on Languages, promoted to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, 18 November 1999 by the Parliamentary Group Autonomist European Free Alliance and the Greens. Languages spoken in the territory of the Italian State Proposals for a policy of Multilingualism Integral Written by: Dr. R. Bolognesi - linguist University of Groningen (Netherlands) Matteo Incerti - Journalist Introduction: The proposals presented here, we set ourselves the goal to identify, based on technical criteria as possible, minority languages present in the State italiano.Comunque than the problem of the distinction between languages and dialects, it is important to clarify immediately that such a distinction, beyond certain limits, technically impossible, as well as politically presumptuous. Includes in particular the words of Guido Barbina: "Let us pass, because purely academic and sometimes misleading pretext the problem of differentiating between language and dialect, such a distinction would be impossible, there would certainly clarify the issue of proper classification of cases Italian linguistic differences. "In contrast to widespread belief among the uninitiated, when a linguist speaks of the" dialect of the language X Y "is not describing a relationship between two linguistic entities hierarchically connected, but only trying to save the many words that would need to repeat that he is referring to a linguistic system X, which for convenience may indicate varieties socially and / or geographically defined a family of languages can be shown sufficiently homogeneous, more for convenience, as the language of Y. From a strictly technical point of view, in fact, the dialect X can also justifiably be described as language as sufficiently defined and limited, while the Y language should be more appropriately defined as a family of dialects Y. These definitions, however, do not take account of that no language, not even spoken to in a small mountain village, is a completely homogeneous system: young people speak in a manner at least slightly different from the elderly, and so women than men, and so did the different social classes tend to differentiate linguistically. This situation is already very smooth even at very local level is greatly complicated when one takes into account the different dialects, ie the variety of language that are used in separate territories. Considering this reality, means that the sum of all these local dialects and social can also justifiably be described as language: a family of dialects which share a number of features, while excluding others. The decision about which are the characteristics that distinguish a language other is always at least partly arbitrary, because the languages belong to language families in turn formed by similar languages, often neighbors and having a common origin. In practice it often happens that for convenience we use geographical definitions of languages and dialects, rather than strictly linguistic. Technically, therefore, the terms language and dialect are, if not completely equivalent, of course interchangeable and their use does not imply no clear genetic distinction and / or hierarchical. Less than ever is an implicit value judgments. When you use the term dialect, therefore, a linguist does is warn the reader or listener who is narrowing its focus to a limited range of linguistic phenomena that are present in a given variety (little or known), and absent closely related varieties of the same language (but already known). For example, defining as Sesto campidanese southern Sardinian dialect, it immediately provides a range of information on the vague language spoken in the village of Sestu (Prov. of Cagliari) .. Use of the terms language and dialect that you instead in politics imply a hierarchical relationship between the two entities and value judgments, the language would be something superior to the dialect and the dialect of a degenerate form, or at least lower limits of language. This use of linguistically unfounded two terms is the result of a very common choice policy that restricts the use of the term (honorary title, one might say) language the official language of the state, applying to other languages the status of dialects. The Norwegian linguist Einar Haugen has provocatively illustrated this distinction pseudo-language with the following words: "A language is a dialect with an army and a fleet behind. Slightly more neutral in terms we can say that in politics usually gives dignity to dialects of the language of those who have means of pressure sufficient to be recognized as a community distinct from the ethnic-linguistic majority. Once the status of language (and its funding), minority languages can also be equipped with all those instruments, outside the language systems themselves, featuring the official languages of the states: a standard standard grammars and dictionaries written in a professional manner , teaching in schools, developing prestigious texts, use occasions and official documents. Contrary to what one normally thinks, they are the consequence and not the cause, the official status of a language. The dialects are free only because of political weakness and / or economic communities in which language is spoken. In preparing this document the different minority languages spoken today in the territory of the Italian State, we rejected the pseudo-linguistic distinction between languages and dialects. Instead we have divided the various idioms into two groups according to their political position: first, those whose diversity and specificity compared to Italy are already internationally recognized and are being recognized by the Italian State, and other than those which are still totally denied and discriminated by the state, but regional and even by international studies are recognized as languages, namely English as distinct linguistic systems. In practice, our analysis shows that all so-called Italian dialects are separate languages, not dialects of Italian. Except the Tuscan and Roman, so-called Italian dialects are all languages that have developed independently and different from the Florentine was the basis for Italian standard: The Piedmont and Naples, for example, no less the Sardinian and Friulian. 1. Languages being recognized by the Italian State In fact Italian politics unscrupulous use of arbitrary definitions of language and dialect is so far served to circumvent the constitutional article providing for the protection of linguistic minorities. Language rights of minorities have so far been labeled circumvented dialects rather than languages, all the minority languages that enjoy the protection of a state bordering Italy, in practice, not all minority languages French, German and Slovenian , whose protection is guaranteed by international treaties. Today, fortunately, the attitude towards ethnic minorities language is changing slowly in Italy. The Chamber of Deputies approved a measure (Act 196), which now awaits Senate approval (Act No. 3366) concerning the development of a first group of regional languages and ethnic and linguistic minorities. This law is an important step for languages recognized and includes the introduction of bilingualism in the institutions and in education, but discrimination still other regional languages, arbitrarily excluded from the measure. In the original text of the measure there was an article of the law providing for a future extension of languages recognized by giving de facto legislative power in the regions rather than the rule. But the political action of the Deputies of the National Alliance, which found on this convergence of Deputies of the opposition center-and even of large sections of the majority of center, has meant that this article of law was removed from the final text. Regarding this point, we consider very serious decision to deny the regions and communities' right to call themselves the Premises as legitimate representatives of ethnic and linguistic minorities within its territory. It was adopted instead once again the principle of reason of state, which is the majority to dispose at will of minority rights. To deny the rights of minorities, while recognized by the Constitution, is still sufficient for the majority to deny the existence of these, in practice just continue to define the minority languages as dialects. As an example of the arbitrariness of this situation applies in the case of Sardinia: Until 1995 the Italian government spoke of Sardinian dialects, negating the dignity of language, two years after it was approved by the government, the regional law 26/97 on the Sardinian language. Linguistically Sardinia nothing had changed, but in Italy had changed the government majority. Ethnic-linguistic communities recognized by the Law 169 Albanians - 98. 000 people living in the southern regions, namely in Calabria, Sicily, Puglia and Abruzzo. South Tyrolean - 290. 000 people living in the Autonomous Province of Bolzano-Bozen (65.43% of the population in South Tyrol). These people speak German. Carinthia - 2. 000 people living in the Province of Udine in Friuli (0.38% of the population of the Province of Udine) Carnian - 1. 400 people living in the Province of Belluno in the Veneto (0.66% of the population of the Province of Belluno) Catalani - 18. 000 people living in the city of Alghero in Sardinia, who speak Catalan and Catalan origins. Croatia - 2. 600 people living in the Molise Region