Hey Guys! I have a few template letters I've used over the years to try to get Sicilian included on websites. I'm going to post some of the stuff in them here, so you can give me feedback and we can improve them. Thanks. Letter to request Sicilian as a "Spoken Language" option on your website Letter to answer frequently asked questions, or clarify misinformation Sample text: Although commonly referred to by many as a “dialect”, this nomenclature is unfortunately not only inaccurate but harmful. Interestingly the Sicilian language along with several other Italic languages evolved independently of the Italian language and contains a very fascinating mix of Catalan, Castilian, Norman French, Provençal, Arabic and Greek words. This diverse history represents a cultural legacy that has influenced both the Sicilian language as well as being the origin for many words in the Italian language. In fact the Sicilian language actually contains many dialects within itself, including ‘salentinu’ a dialect located as far away as southern Puglia in Italy’s ‘heel’. Sadly, within Italy, Sicilian has very limited legal recognition. However, it is internationally recognised by the most significant and respected linguistic organisations including UNESCO, Ethnologue, Glottolog and SIL/ISO. Unfortunately, although Italy has signed the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (ECRML) it has not ratified it which would likely extend protection to Sicilian. Sadly within Sicily and Italy there still remains significant prejudice against the minority and regional languages which are often viewed as being a symbol of illiteracy, criminality or low social class. This issue is far from limited to Sicily, and linguistic discrimination is the root cause of a large component of human linguistic heritage loss. You may be familiar with other cases, for example the loss of global indigenous languages. Here are some common myths regarding the Sicilian language: Myth: “It’s not possible to write in Sicilian.” Truth: There are actually several systems for writing Sicilian, some dating from as far back as the 12th century when Latin dialects were replacing Greek and Arabic ones within Sicily. There are actually many famous poets, writers, both historical and contemporary. Sicilian speakers even maintain a very active Wikipedia with over 25,000 articles! Myth: “The Sicilian dialects are not mutually intelligible.” Truth: As with every language variations in dialects can be substantial. A good example would be the difference between Jamaican English, Scottish English and General American. Sicilian dialects sometimes have different words for the same thing (often because of very interesting histories!). But after a little familiarisation these issues become irrelevant. You could say, pumadoru or pumaroru (tomato, tomahto), and we’ll still understand you. Myth: “Sicilian was never official anywhere.” Truth: Sicilian lost its official usage with the beginning of the Spanish colonial period and rule from Madrid. The last known document (that we know of) promulgated in Sicilian is sadly the expulsion of the ancient Jewish population from Sicily by the Spanish in 1492. Some even believe the two events are connected as Jewish Sicilians formed much of the scribal class. It is documented that Sicilian remained the spoken language of the Sicilian parliament until Parliament was abolished during the Bourbon period. Myth: “Sicilian is just bad Italian.” Truth: The relationship between Italian and Sicilian is known as a ‘diglossic’ relationship. There are many other places in the world where two languages coexist with one having substantial prestige and the other being limited to informal settings due to stigma. This has contributed to the falsehood that Sicilian language is just a “low quality” version of Italian. When in fact they are two separate languages with a common ancestor in Latin. That said, there also exists a Sicilian dialect of Italian which contains a mixture of the two languages. This dialect contains elements of both languages, and it’s neither ‘good’ nor ‘bad’, it’s just different! Myth: “No one speaks Sicilian anymore.” Truth: Although many young people may understand very well, fewer and fewer are able to speak. Because education is not available in Sicilian, there are many challenges in securing it’s survival. Sicilian is currently classified as ‘Vulnerable’ rather than ‘Endangered’. However, it’s vitality creates other problems, funding opportunities for organisations like ours are usually only available for endangered languages. Myth: Only old people in villages speak Sicilian Truth: I invite you to Sicily, I can introduce you to lots of speakers of all ages! Or check out YouTube I'd really like suggestions on how I could improve the Dialect vs Language paragraph. I'd prefer a simple way to explain that all languages are dialects, and that the power relationship is in fact the issue. But i'd like to do this in a way that's simple to a general audience and one that doesn't minimise the reality of a separate linguistic evolution. Thoughts?
What about some version of the quip that a language is a dialect with an army and a navy? Also, perhaps use Chinese as an example of what are commonly called dialects actually being mutually unintelligible (when spoken)?
Although common, I think it's misleading. To clarify, I think it's a useful expression as a very basic introduction to power and language...but in our case I think we need to make it a bit more nuanced. Because clearly some "dialects" are already recognised. I think before the ECRML and Italian Legge 482/99 a simplistic introduction may have provided more clarity, but now the current situation seems too complicated. :-/
I'm afraid I still don't really understand the legal linguistic situation, so if I sound foolish forgive me. What nuance are we trying to achieve??? A tripartite distinction between language/recognized dialect/unrecognized dialect, where our point is that 1) languages are simply the dialects with the highest level of recognition and 2) recognized or not any linguistic variety is worthwhile ? I'm just throwing out ideas here, but what about explaining how a language becones standard? Like say that when a country of multiple dialects is unified, one is chosen to become the national standard, whether because it is the dialect of the capital (French or Japanese), of literary prestige (Italian or Tagalog), or some other reason. The language is then just the older sister not the mother. Maybe giving an explanation of how starndard languages come to be could be helpful?
Actually that was really helpful, I think also maybe I should make a basic, Introduction to Regional and Minority Language Rights in Europe for Sicilian speakers document. I realise now that people don't realise that we're one of the very few unrecognised languages, and the second largest (next to Neapolitan).
Glad to be of help I like to think out loud. Are you suggesting one document dealing with the [socio-/historical] linguistic aspect and then the one you suggest above? That might be helpful. While the two topics are related I never really thought about Minority Language rights... Also, while of course Sicily is in Italy, I think it would be nice also to look at the situation in other countries such as the U.S.
Like a comparative example for international communities so they can conceptualise the framework we're working in?
Mmm I guess was thinking more on a simple level just to kind of have a fuller picture of "the State of the Language", and to realize that this is a single linguistic community but with a large diaspora component, so it might be nice for a movement for linguistic rights in the homeland, so to speak, to be also protecting and promoting the language and perhaps certain legal protections in the diaspora as well. ?
Would you be interested in writing any content? I'm trying to balance so much stuff. I'd be happy to edit it.
