The State of Minority Languages Today on the Islands of Corsica & Sardinia

In an increasingly globalized world, the issue of minor languages and their preservation is critical as the popularity of more widely-spoken languages is oppressing them both consciously and subconsciously. The preservation of these languages is important as they not only correspond with unique cultural practices, but with literature and oral tradition as well—all of which will be lost with the extinction of the language. The Sassarese (also called Turritano) and Pumuntincu (Oltramontano/Southern Corsican) languages found on the islands of Sardinia and Corsica, respectively, are both classified by UNESCO as highly endangered as they are spoken by 100,000 or fewer people. This thesis is designed as a report describing the level of preservation of the languages of Pumuntincu in southern Corsica and Sassarese in northern Sardinia. It describes the availability of language resources (educational or otherwise), current and former language policies, and any local efforts to preserve the language. Field research was conducted on the islands in the communities where the languages are spoken as well as at the Universities of Sassari and Corsica. The findings confirmed that both languages are, indeed, in a perilous situation, prompting language policy recommendations for both the French and Italian governments to implement in conjunction with existing policies of other recognized minor languages in each country, i.e. Sard, Gallurese, Tabarchino, Breton, Basque, and Cismontano/Northern Corsican.