Monégasque dialect

Status

The Constitution of Monaco states that French is the official language, while sovereign ordinances by Prince Rainier III established Monégasque as a compulsory language in private and public education. Monégasques are a minority in Monaco, so the survival of the language is complicated in a nation with 130 different nationalities. Despite being compulsory in education, it is not common for students in Monaco to use it outside the classroom or to take their bachelor's degree in Monégasque.

Phonology

Monégasque phonology resembles Ligurian with some influences from French.

Consonants

Monégasque historically had trilled and geminated rhotics with a "softer' intervocalic form which was called "r doux" (soft r). 1983, Louis Notari noted that some speakers pronounced it rolled while others did not. Influence from French has caused the geminate to become uvular, while the softer form has become palatal.

Vowels

• In 1983, Louis Notari noted that in some quarters and in slang, the vowel // was used.
• All vowels have nasal counterparts /ĩ ỹ ũ ẽ ɔ̃ ø̃ ã/.

Orthography

Monégasque uses its own standard orthographic system that is separate from the grafia ofiçiâ ("official orthography") that used for Ligurian. It was developed by Louis Notari who was close to the Occitan language association, Félibrige. He was inspired by the Mistral alphabet, though the actual alphabet is mostly based off Italian with a few letters taken from French and some new letters that are unique to Monégasque. He wanted wanted each letter to correspond to one sound, so that the language could be spelt as spoken.

The Monégasque alphabet consists of the following letters: ⟨a⟩, ⟨b⟩, ⟨c⟩, ⟨ç⟩, ⟨d⟩, ⟨e⟩, ⟨f⟩, ⟨g⟩, ⟨h⟩, ⟨i⟩, ⟨j⟩, ⟨l⟩, ⟨m⟩, ⟨n⟩, ⟨o⟩, ⟨p⟩, ⟨q⟩, ⟨r⟩, ⟨s⟩, ⟨t⟩, ⟨u⟩, ⟨v⟩, ⟨z⟩.

• ⟨c⟩ and ⟨g⟩ are used as they are in Italian, where before the vowels ⟨i⟩ and ⟨e⟩ they are pronounced [tʃ] and [dʒ].
• ⟨ç⟩ is [s] as in French.
• ⟨h⟩ is used as it is in Italian, to give letters a hard sound, ⟨ch⟩ [k] and ⟨gh⟩ [g].
• ⟨j⟩ is [ʒ] as in French.
• ⟨r⟩ is pronounced as in French [ʁ].
• ⟨s⟩ is pronounced [ʃ] before ⟨t⟩, ⟨c⟩, and ⟨p⟩ and before the vowels ⟨i⟩ and ⟨e⟩. Intervocalic ⟨s⟩ is pronounced [z].

In addition there are the letters: ⟨ü⟩, ⟨œ⟩, ⟨k⟩, ⟨ë⟩, ⟨ř⟩.

• ⟨ü⟩ is pronounced [y].
• ⟨œ⟩ is used for etymological reasons and originated from Latin long [oː], i.e. Latin nōctem became Monegasque nœte. It was historically pronounced [ø], but is now [e]. It can also be pronounced as a more closed [œ]. It is also used to distinguish words that have the same pronunciation in Monégasque.
• ⟨k⟩ is just for foreign words. Normally ⟨c⟩ or ⟨ch⟩ would be used such as in canguro "kangaroo" or chilometru "kilometer."
• There is disagreement in the Monégasque Language Committee on how to pronounce ⟨ë⟩. Etymologically it originates from Latin long [eː]. It has been described as either a long [iː] or very closed [e]. Notari maintained that it is [i] and in writing that just ⟨i⟩ be used.
• ⟨ř⟩ or "r doux" is intervocalic and has a sound that closely resembles [l]. The definitive articles řu, řa, ři, ře have this soft sound despite not being intervocalic.

There are two digraphs and one trigraph: ⟨gl⟩, ⟨sc⟩, ⟨scc⟩.

• ⟨gl⟩ is pronounced [j]. It is usually replaced with ⟨y⟩, i.e. famiglia "family" and famiya.
• ⟨sc⟩ is [sk] unless before the vowels ⟨i⟩ and ⟨e⟩, in which case it is [ʃ].
• ⟨scc⟩ is pronounced [ʃtʃ].

Diphthongs

Monégasque has the following diphthongs :

Accent

Whereas French words have the final syllable accented, Monégasque accents shifts positions like in Latin. The rules for accents in Monégasque are:

1. The accent falls on the penultimate syllable.
2. The accent falls on the final syllable of words whose original final syllable in Latin had been truncated, in which case it's important to accent the word if it ends in a vowel, to avoid confusing words that are spelt the same. It's not necessary if the word ends in a consonant.
3. The accent is marked whenever it falls on the antepenultimate syllable.
4. To differentiate monosyllabic words that are spelt the same. It also indicates that that word must be pronounced with greater emphasis.
5. To separate two non-diphthong vowels.

Grammar

Literature

Beginning with Louis Notari’s A Legenda de Santa Devota, any semblance of written Monégasque was usually referred to as Ligurian, Genoese, Italian, and sometimes even French.

Other authors in Monégasque include:

• Louis Barral, curator of the Museum of Prehistoric Anthropology, lexicographer of the Monégasque dictionary, and author of science fiction.
• Suzanne Simone, co-author of the dictionary with Barral.
• Robert Boisson, founder of the Academy of Dialectal Languages (French: Academie des languages dialectales) and poet of works such as Vibrations intérieures – Harmonies Humaines.
• Louis Frolla, clergyman and grammarian of Monégasque.
• Georges Franzi teacher of Monégasque and activist for education in Monégasque.
• Étienne Clerissi, actor, artist, and author of numerous plays in Monégasque.
• Jules Soccal, sailor and author of Le Vocabulaire monégasque de la marine et de la mer, a description of Monégasque sea jargon.

Samples

Below is an excerpt from the Monégasque national anthem, written by Louis Notari. In addition, there is an older French version of the anthem; its lyrics have a different meaning. The choice between the two forms is generally subject to the occasion and the circumstance.

Despœi tugiù sciü d'u nostru paise
Se ride au ventu, u meme pavayùn
Despœi tugiù a curù russa e gianca
E stà l'emblema, d'a nostra libertà
Grandi e i piciui, l'an sempre respetà

The following is a Monégasque rendering of the Hail Mary:

Ave Maria,
Tüta de graçia
u Signù è cun tü
si benedëta tra tüt'ë done
e Gesü u to Fiyu è benejiu.

Santa Maria, maire de Diu,
prega per nùi, pecatùi
aùra e à l'ura d'a nostra morte
AMEN. (Che sice cusci.)