Sardinian

Where it’s spoken

Sardinian (Sardu) is spoken on the Italian island of Sardinia by about 1 million people. Major dialect groups include Logudorese (central-northern) and Campidanese (southern). Italy recognizes Sardinian as a minority language under Law 482/1999. The Catalan-influenced Algherese, Corsican-related Gallurese, and Liguro-Romance Tabarchino are also spoken in pockets of Sardinia but are usually treated separately.

What it sounds like

Sardinian retains Latin features lost in other Romance languages — for instance, hard /k/ and /g/ before front vowels (kentu “hundred” vs. Italian cento, gelu “frost” vs. Italian gelo). It is often cited as the most conservative Romance language. It preserves final vowels and many archaic morphological features.

How it’s written

Sardinian uses the Latin alphabet with various orthographic norms, including the Limba Sarda Comuna (Common Sardinian Language), a 2006 attempt at standardization. Spelling tends to be more etymological in classical writing and more phonemic in contemporary usage.

History

Sardinian’s isolation on the island helped preserve archaic Latin features. Medieval Sardinian giudicato judges produced legal documents in the language from the 11th century onward, among the earliest Romance prose texts.