Talk:Genoese dialect

Latest comment: 6 years ago by Badano5 in topic Status of Genoese / Ligurian

Status of Genoese / Ligurian edit

Far from dying out ? I think it is dying out. The Ethnologue just upgraded Ligurian from an outright dying language to a level 5 "developing" one. Why ? For starters, no one under the age of 50 speaks any form of genoese or Ligurian in everyday life, either with strangers or in everyday interactions outside family and close friends. Second, transmission has completely ceased in cities : it is hardly possible to find any native speaker under 50. Third, apart from a few niches of persistent professional usage (old Genoese firms, banks etc) Genoese and its dialects is perceived as either a language of inferior status, or a language of political activism (Northern League separatists). So the situation is dire : there is no way in my view that Genoese is still spoken in 20 years from now. It has been massively abandoned by Ligurians in the past 50 years, demoted from all noble uses and relegated to the rank of old people banter. Personally, I never hear it spoken in any situation by anyone, with the sole exception of old people - an impoverished and creolized form of genoese, though.

In other words, genoese and its varieties are no longer the language of the people. Standard italian has taken that role thoroughly and completely, at all levels of society except for old people and amateurs. Yes, in recent years we witnessed a revival, but I maintain that it is going to be short-lived and limited to an elite phenomenon, unless very vigourous public policies are put in place. But that is never going to happen in Italy, not in our lifetimes. Please explain to me what motivates your statement. I suggest that the status of Genoese in Ligurian society is explained correctly to readers. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Badano5 (talkcontribs) 07:44, 20 February 2018 (UTC)Reply

Photo? edit

Perhaps it should be mentioned that pedestrian signals in Genoa are in Genoese, since they say "Avant" for "Go" and "Alt" for "Stop". (Cf: Standard Italian, "Avanti" and "Alto".) Maybe someone who lives in Genoa could provide a picture of these, or another instance of Genoese on a public sign? Emile 18:39, 18 September 2006 (UTC)Reply


it's not this way. alt and avanti are used in all italy, besides, alt comes from german Halt which means stop. moreover, the pedestrian signs with words have almost everywhere been replaced with red and green coloured symbols representing a man walking(green) or a still one(red)

Sayings edit

What does "Pòsci-to ëse alûghetòu" mean? --AW (talk) 19:51, 17 March 2008 (UTC)Reply

Anybody? --AW (talk) 15:05, 21 March 2008 (UTC)Reply


i think zeneize should be xeneize, at least that's what the boca juniors(of buenos aires) call themselves and the word is supposed to mean genoan(i think sailors from genoa was involved in forming the club) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.224.30.204 (talk) 00:55, 9 April 2008 (UTC)Reply

Hi i'm italian and i live in Genoa. The phrase "Pòsci-to ëse alûghetòu" it's hard to translate even in italian. It's a kind of benign imprecation. The correct word is Zeneize and not Xeneise, although boca juniors call themselves in that way.

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