Sicilian language
| Sicilian | |
|---|---|
| sicilianu | |
| Native to | Italy |
| Region | Sicily |
| Ethnicity | Sicilians |
Native speakers | 4.7 million (2002) |
| Dialects |
|
| Official status | |
Recognised minority language in | Sicily (limited recognition) |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-2 | scn |
| ISO 639-3 | scn |
| Glottolog | sici1248 |
| Linguasphere | 51-AAA-re & -rf (mainland 51-AAA-rc & -rd) |
Sicilian linguistic area | |
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| This article is part of the series on the |
| Sicilian language |
|---|
| History |
| Literature and writers |
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| Linguistics |
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| Organisations |
Sicilian (sicilianu, pronounced [sɪʃɪˈljaːnʊ, sɪdʒɪˈljaːnʊ]; Italian: siciliano) is a Romance language that is spoken on the island of Sicily and its satellite islands. It belongs to the broader Extreme Southern Italian language group (Italian: italiano meridionale estremo).
Ethnologue (see below for more detail) describes Sicilian as being "distinct enough from Standard Italian to be considered a separate language", and it is recognized as a minority language by UNESCO. It has been referred to as a language by the Sicilian Region. It has the oldest literary tradition of the Italo-Romance languages. A version of the UNESCO Courier is also available in Sicilian.