The Social and Political Status of the Neapolitan Language: Past and Present Greg Feliu August 2017 The Mediterranean is a melting pot of different peoples and their varying cultures, traditions and languages. Naples is an excellent example of this. Having a prime location in a well-formed bay in the middle of the Mediterranean, it’s no surprise that it has been an important port for centuries. For even more proof of its cultural mixing, more than ten distinct groups have controlled Naples over the course of its history.1 These groups have all imprinted, in some way, their customs and language to the local people. For Naples, their unique language was born with the first settlements and is still relevant today. Fittingly, the language, and not dialect as is often claimed, is called Neapolitan. Despite the many governments that have controlled Naples, each consider the language in a similar way: a language of the commoners that is uneducated, vulgar, yet familiar and, starting in the 18th century, as a language suitable for art. The rising popularity of Italian, however, has rendered it a language vulnerable to extinction. This paper will show the differing views of Neapolitan by various governments, how the social status of Neapolitan remains unchanged, and how and why it is vulnerable to extinction. To begin, what does "Neapolitan" refer to? It's often called a dialect, so why is it being called a language here? By Neapolitan, the author intends either the language spoken in the vast majority of southern Italy or the dialect of that language as it is spoken in Naples. In order to explain why this is so, a little history is needed. Ever since the dissolution of the Roman Empire these languages have been becoming more localized and distinct from one another. Additionally, southern Italy was divided into two regions that were loosely united for centuries as The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. The languages of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies were Sicilian in Sicily, southern Apulia and southern Calabria while it was Neapolitan everywhere else in the kingdom. The reason the other language is called Neapolitan is because Naples was the capital of this kingdom so all other dialects are viewed in relation to the one in Naples. Thus, within the Neapolitan language there is a dialect spoken in Naples. While it is true that there is a Neapolitan dialect, this is often misinterpreted as being a dialect of Italian, and not of Latin or the broader Neapolitan language. Since Italian also descended from Latin, both linguistically and socially this is a problematic claim. Unless stated otherwise the author will be referring to the city interpretation of Neapolitan and not the broader language interpretation. Last, the dialects of the Neapolitan language are such because they are somewhat understandable by speakers of Neapolitan. While there are significant differences (unique to Romance languages for its ratio of languages to territory)i, linguists use this criterion to consider them as dialects of the same language. Having delineated the scope of the Neapolitan language, it should be easy to answer a simple question such as: “do you speak Neapolitan [from Naples]?” right? 1 A brief history will be given later, but for a complete list (in chronological order): 2 Wrong. There are two reasons for this: language knowledge and pride in speaking it. In order to be considered a speaker of the language, the criteria are quite high in the case of Neapolitan. First, there is the general difficulty of delineating when someone speaks a language, and is no longer a beginner or conversational. Second, the vast majority of speakers primarily use Italian and Neapolitan only in specific contexts (the history if this is discussed later). This leads to incomplete competency and situations in which Italian words are used to fill the gaps in Neapolitan knowledge. Most speakers however, will only consider very unmixed Neapolitan as "true" Neapolitan. This is often found in the historic center of Naples and is spoken by poorer, older people. Because of this association to "true" speakers and Neapolitan culture and identity in general, some speakers might deny that they speak it when, in fact, they do. The social stigma of speaking Neapolitan exists in certain circumstances and may lead the speaker to deny their true ability. The history and effects of this on the vitality of the language will be discussed later. In summary, the question of competency and how much one speaks "true" Neapolitan are personal and complicated questions that heavily depend on the context of when one asks, "Do you speak Neapolitan?" Competency, faithfulness to "true" Neapolitan, specific dialect of Neapolitan and social pressure are all unresolved questions when discussing the broader Neapolitan language. In order to explain the current language situation of Naples, it’s necessary to review the history of each group (in roughly chronological order) that left a major impact on modern Neapolitan today. The Greeks and Byzantines The Greeks were the first to found Pathenopea, later Neapolis, in 680 B.C. Although not the capital, it was an important city for “Magna Graecia,” the Greek colonies of southern coastal Italy.ii At this time, the roots of the Neapolitan language began. The diverse groups of Greek settlers, after centuries of isolation, developed a different form of the Greek language from the one in Greece. This variety stayed in Naples for a very long time: until the 9th century.iii As a consequence, it is one of the earliest and strongest foreign influences on Neapolitan. The reasons for this are twofold: one, the Romans gave a large degree of autonomy to Southern Italy during their rule. The Romans did not impose themselves on the Neapolitans because of an early loose-governance agreement (more on this later). This allowed both Latin and Greek to coexist in Naples. Second, Greek was the lingua franca with the Byzantine Empire in the post-Roman period. The Byzantines would (mostly nominally) rule Naples for a few hundred years in the Early Middle Ages. Greek was not only still around, but was the lingua franca with the Byzantines. To this day, learning (ancient) Greek (because of its ties to classical studies) is a positive, and wellrespected choice for Italians. However, it was not the only language that existed in Naples during the Greek control of the city. 3 The Oscans The Samnites, or as the local tribe around Naples was called, the Oscans, were an Indo-European speaking tribe that lived in the interior of the peninsula preMagna Graecia. They raided cities in Campania, the region Naples is in, in the 5th century B.C., but could never overtake Naples. They settled in the periphery of Naples for some time and influenced their policies.iv They led a war against the Romans in 343 B.C. to keep influence over Naples,v and won. The Oscans eventually integrated into Naples society after this war. Finally, after losing a war with the Romans in 80 B.C., their language was no longer fully formed and was only a creole of Greek and/or Latin. Nowadays, their language can only be remembered by its effects on Neapolitan, and a few graffiti markings on the walls of Pompeii. There are three reasons for Oscan’s disappearance: first, they were the smaller community integrating into the larger one. Second, those that did not integrate, were wiped out by the Romans. Third, like the majority of languages at this time, few written records of Oscan still exist. If the Romans fought multiple wars in order to control Naples, how did they treat the citizens when they did become the rulers? The Romans The Romans treated Naples extremely well because of its thriving cultural scene, value as a vacation destination for wealthy Romans, and its early agreement with Rome. The Romans first asked for an alliance with Naples in 354 B.C., sparking the war with the Samnites.vi Over time, however, there was a mutual agreement of cultural and religious autonomy for Naples in exchange for a monetary alignment. This agreement led to taxes in 199 B.C. and fully becoming a Roman municipality in 58 B.C.vii As with all Roman colonies, Latin was introduced, and certainly formed the first form of Neapolitan (in anything resembling its present form), but as mentioned earlier, did not end the use of Greek in the city by any means. The Roman period was quite long (lasting until the 5th century) and it comes as no surprise that it thoroughly mixed with the languages already present in Naples. The Romans viewed Naples as a vacationer’s paradise and bestowed all kinds of riches on them. Moreover, Latin became the official language, and one used for educated people. Although, once the Roman Empire fell, a Latinate speaking government was not reintroduced until the Normans in the 11th century. Until then, Germanic tribes and the already-mentioned Byzantines ruled Naples. Germanic Tribes, Swabians, and Austrians As a consequence of the fall of the Western Roman Empire, multiple Germanic tribes raided all of Italy and controlled Naples officially from 486-536 A.D.viii Since these tribes were not at all interested in continued governance of Naples, their languages did not leave many marks on Neapolitan. Further, it must be said that much of the population moved to the countryside to escape the terror that 4 the German tribes brought. Later, the Swabian kingdom, from modern-day Southern Germany, ruled Naples from 1189-1266 A.D.ix The Swabians had a lengthy rule over Naples but seem to have integrated themselves fully with Neapolitans and did not use their language with the population. Centuries later, the Austrians ruled for a thirty-year period in the 18th century. Again, it is unclear in what language they communicated with the citizens. What we can say though, is that German had a relatively small influence on Neapolitan. Further, it is likely that the Swabians continued the Norman and Ecclesiastical tradition of using Latin as a literary and educated language. The Normans, Angevins, and French The Normans were a Norse tribe that transferred to Gaul, integrated with the locals and achieved great military success in the 10th and 11th centuries. For most of the 11th century the Normans controlled all of southern Italy and were the first to introduce a French variety into Naples. A few centuries later, the Angevins, a group from southern France, would rule from 1266-1422.x Much later, Napoleon would conquer all of Italy and control Naples for a fifteen-year period starting in 1800.xi All three periods brought French into the dialect. In order to understand the status of Neapolitan, both officially, socially, and linguistically, it is important to note that the Normans were the first ones to claim Latin as the educated language, par excellance. Excluding Neapolitan from the educated sectors was important in making it a less prestigious language. The effect can still be seen today in the fact that many people are uncomfortable calling Neapolitan a language: it’s only a dialect. It isn’t clear how the government communicated with the people in all of these periods. An even stronger linguistic influence was left by Iberians. Aragonese/Catalonians/Spanish The Aragonese, along with the Catalonians, expanded to Southern Italy in 1422. They brought their closely related languages to Naples, too. The reign of the Aragonese would later become that of the Spanish (after the Aragonese and Castilian kingdoms combined) and lasted for four centuries. This period was immensely important for the architecture of the city and was a sort of golden age for Naples. At first, Catalan (and not Aragonese) was used only between government officials as a secret and familiar language,xii but later Spanish became a government language, too. At the same time as the Aragonese reign, vernacular literature was becoming popular in Italy, most notably, Florentine. In the Aragonese period of Naples, one would use Latin, Florentine, and a mixture of the two for literature and learning, Castilian and Catalan for governmental purposes, and one’s local dialect at 5 home and with friends.2xiii In addition, the local dialect was used in many government announcements, and sometimes in Lain, too.xiv Another effect that Spanish rule had on Neapolitan was the influx of immigrants from all over the kingdom into Naples. The population more than doubled in size, becoming the second largest city in Europe after Paris. The change in population was due to the enticement of Neapolitan culture and by the strain of high taxes and banditry against the poor farmers in the countryside.xv Other Italian “dialects” had already been in Naples for centuries due to maritime trading relations, but these dialects were more intertwined with Neapolitan. Although Catalan and Spanish had a strong influence on Neapolitan, undoubtedly, Italian has had a much stronger influence on the speech of Neapolitans today. Italians The development of Italian did not start with the Italian state. For most of its history, what is called the Italian language was known as literary Florentine. The Italian language is essentially Florentine dialect with borrowings from all Italian “dialects.” It was most popularized by Dante Alighieri in the fourteenth-century, along with works by Boccaccio and Petrarch who together, are unanimously considered the “fathers of the Italian language.”xvi The popular works in Florentine helped begin the wave of interest in the vernacular for more than just daily communication across Italy. In Naples, this first took effect with Giambattista Basile in the 17th century writing fairy tales in Neapolitanxvii and sporadically continued after that. Florentine, however, was far and away the most widely studied foreign dialect to one’s own in Italy. Thus, when Italy was united in 1861, it was no surprise that Florentine became the national language. The process of assimilation was not at all quick, though. As a matter of fact, in some ways, Neapolitan became even more distinct from Italian as a counter to integration with Italy.xviii Florentine was by no means a unifying language at Unification, if 78% of the population was illiterate, how could they know a foreign language mainly used in literature?xix The divide between one’s dialect and Italian was lessened by three major processes: education, government, and media. The educational system, starting in the 18th century3xx but especially during Fascism, was used to instill a national identity for Italians. The national identity most definitely included a common language, following the French Revolution idea of “one state = one nation = one language”.xxi In addition, almost all governments in Italy, even to this day, are run in Italian (with some regional On a personal note, towards the end of the Spanish vice-realm of Naples, my earliest know paternal male ancestor entered Naples from the Catalonian island of Mallorca, most likely as a government official. 3 As argued earlier, its weak effect on teaching Neapolitans Italian is explained by the very high illiteracy rate. 2 6 exceptions).4 No mere dialect has a rightful place in a place as serious as government offices. Last, the media, especially in the post-war period, was extremely popular and very influential in spreading knowledge of Italian to all corners of the country. Italian was the language people in the media chose so that they could reach the largest possible audience in Italy. It was during Fascism and the post-World War II period especially, that the different languages in Italy were most stigmatized. With all of the enticements to learning Italian, there were also some hindrances using one’s home dialect. From Unification onwards, the north of Italy has been privileged, more connected, and richer than the South.xxii As a result, for Naples, and southern Italy in general, emigration helped disperse the dialects. Between 1876 and 1930, four of the five million Italian immigrants were from Southern Italy, and that only counts those coming to the United States!xxiii There were also significant communities in Argentina, Brazil, Europe, and Australia. As a matter of fact, in terms of heritage, Naples is only the fifth largest Neapolitanheritage population in the world!xxiv If those citizens stayed in Italy, the larger population would have helped protect the disappearance of the dialects. To further complicate matters, there were a large number of Southern Italians that moved to Naples and to northern Italy after World War II, also.xxv So what is the situation today? Neapolitan’s Status Today The history of Naples shows that the past governments do not treat Neapolitan in the same way. Some, such as the Romans and Byzantines, tolerated it and conducted government affairs in another language. Others, such as the Normans and Italians, looked to undermine its use by taking it out of domains in which it already existed. Through it all, though, it was viewed by the governments as a commoner’s language that is vulgar and uneducated, but also familiar and suitable for art. The government and people play a big role in determining its status, and lately the trend is looking towards the gradual death of Neapolitan. Today, most people view Neapolitan as a language for art and Neapolitan culture. The use of Neapolitan in art, both low and high forms, goes back to at least the 18th century. At this time, Neapolitan opera, both comedic (opera buffa) and serious (opera seria) became world-famous and often featured Neapolitan.xxvi Later, in the 19th and 20th centuries, Neapolitan theatre and actors would use Neapolitan in Interestingly, Italy actually boasts the most regional and minority languages in Western Europe (Sierp, 2008). However, the services offered to these minorities by law are only applied in regions with significantly powerful and numerous populations of that minority in that region. Further, many are national languages elsewhere (e.g.: French) and only Ladin and Friulian fall under the common definition of an Italian dialect. 4 7 their productions. Two of the most famous Neapolitan actors, Totò and Massimo Troisi would mostly speak Neapolitan in their nationally viewed work. More importantly during this time, Neapolitan songs became world renowned, partly due to their popularity with Italian immigrants. In fact, many of the famous Italian songs are actually written in Neapolitan. Songs such as “O Sole Mio,” “O’ Surdato ‘Nnamurato,” “Torna a Surriento,” and “Funiculi Funiculà” are all in the Neapolitan dialect. The music is also clearly an element of Neapolitan culture, too. The specificity of the Neapolitan language to Naples is one of the most distinguishing and reminding factors for people to connect to Neapolitan culture. Since argumentation is very much a part of Naples’ culture, Neapolitans often revert to Neapolitan when they argue or are upset. This is very common practice among Neapolitans.xxvii Moreover, when someone is considering whether they should speak Neapolitan or not, both speakers' relationships to Neapolitan culture is considered in making that choice. Even if both speakers are fluent, if neither wants to project their Neapolitan identity, they will choose Italian instead. The language is thus a proxy question for whether Neapolitan culture is something to be proud of or ashamed of. The language situation in Naples is very similar to others in southern Italy today. All of southern Italy has similar rates of "dialect" use.xxviii A survey conducted in different Sicilian communities in 1984-85 concluded that a majority view Sicilian as vulgar, playful, worthy of study, and necessary to be a “good” Sicilian. On the other hand, it is debated whether it is a language and dialect and that educated should speak Italian, not Sicilian.xxix It seems as if most people agree on a philosophical level that the “dialects” are a positive and should be taught but few actually do. In fact, in Naples, teaching of Neapolitan or works written in it is rather limited. And even if Neapolitan (as a language) is taught, there are many unresolved questions that one needs to answer, such as: what version of Neapolitan will be taught: The Neapolitan spoken in Naples as it's spoken today or was spoken in the past? The variety spoken in Naples or of another region? Since 88% of Neapolitans use it in one form or another in their daily life,xxx is it really necessary to teach it? Is doing literary criticism, for example, really helping anyone learn it? Further, in even less promising news compared to that of Sicilian, the majority of the people view Neapolitan as merely a dialect. The reasons for this are mostly social, and not linguistic, but the two are intimately intertwined. If it is only a bad version of Italian, how can one appreciate it in its own right? Also, social status is inversely related to use of Neapolitan.xxxi The reason for this is the high prestige and educational necessity for speaking Italian in modern Italian society. If one only speaks Neapolitan, how could they possibly rise up in society? This is a major fear for many Neapolitans and they judge those who speak it a majority of the time because of this. 8 Thus, the older, less educated speakers in the historic center of Naples are viewed as being the "purest" speakers of Neapolitan. In describing Neapolitan in a broad level, one forgets about the deeply personal nature of one’s relation to it. Since familiar contexts are where people use them the most, it is in this arena that people negotiate when it is appropriate to use Neapolitan with one another. As a reflection of Italian culture more generally, the family is the most important context for learning one’s local language.xxxii If the parents decide to not use their local language, the kids are at a huge disadvantage to learning it. Similarly, how often one does use it at home is a good measure of that language’s health. In this sense, Neapolitan is doing relatively well. In 2006, a survey concluded that in the regions in which Neapolitan (in the broad sense) is spoken, 70% of people use it, to some extent, with their family.xxxiii Accordingly, at the moment, 70% of people use it regularly in southern Italy. Though, there is another factor that makes the situation tricky. As mentioned earlier, The Neapolitan of today is much harder to define than it was in the past. The reason? Mixing with Italian. Its pure form is definitely in less use than it was in the past. And, as mentioned earlier, this is the form that one exclusively intends when deciding if someone speaks Neapolitan. Instead, it is present in some way in every Neapolitan native’s speech, even when they speak Italian. Linguistically, the Italian in Naples, and Campania in general, is “Regional Italian,” not standard. Its syntax, speech sounds, and intonation are all influenced by Neapolitan.xxxiv On a grand scale, it often creolizes or code switches with Italian. There are more than one intermediate steps between one and the other. Its use depends on the social context and amount of attention one is placing on using one language or the other. Foreign immigrants and Italians that spend a lot of time there often get the Naples accent even without knowing any Neapolitan.xxxv Alternatively, one can combine the two codes, or languages, within the same speech act. Half of a sentence can be in Italian and the other half can be in Neapolitan, for example. Last, there are Neapolitan words that are used extremely often in Naples Italian. Greetings are nearly indistinguishable between Neapolitan and Italian there. Officially, Neapolitan is supported, but in practice the government supports assimilation to Italian.xxxvi Neapolitan in the region of Campania received a brief reference of support in one law and also created a language institute. The institute is used for the, “protection and promotion of local heritage languages as an expression of identity and historic autonomy. The cultural community is not contradictory but essential to the linguistic heritage of the nation,”xxxvii but this is mostly symbolic. Very few government initiatives have used or promoted Neapolitan, either in Naples or in Campania for that matter. As mentioned before, there have been some small attempts to introduce Neapolitan to the schools, but they have not been successful and still face some major problems. 9 All of these facts leave an interesting situation for Neapolitan’s future: the government does not support it though the majority of the public does, to at least some degree, in their daily life and certain contexts. The government could support Neapolitan’s survival in a myriad of ways, such as: funding classes, promoting community events that use Neapolitan, communicating with the people in it, allowing it in situations with government officials, or funding media that uses it. The facts of the matter have changed, but the government’s position has not. For most of Naples’ history, the government has spoken a different language than the people. What makes today’s situation more dire is the media’s and outsiders’ pressure to use Italian. Thus, today, Neapolitan (on a broad level) is “vulnerable to extinction” according to organizations fighting against language death. What is astonishing about this state of affairs is the current number of speakers: 7,500,000!xxxviii The cultural push to use Italian is so strong that by the end of the century it is estimated that only one third of all young people will know Neapolitan (in the broad sense), even then in an Italianized form.xxxix In 2008, a group of linguists applied an all encompassing measure of a language’s vitality created by UNESCO to understand Neapolitan’s situation. The report addresses all 9 recognized factors affecting language survival so I will reprint it here in full:xl Factor 1: Intergenerational Language Transmission Unsafe Factor 2: Absolute Number of Speakers Relatively high Factor 3: Proportion of Speakers Within the Total Population Definitely endangered Factor 4: Trends in Existing Language Domains Between multilingual parity and dwindling domains Factor 5: Response to New Domains and Media Minimal Factor 6: Materials for Language Education and Literacy Written materials exist, but they may only be useful for some members of the community; and for others, they may have a symbolic significance. Literary education in the language is not a part of the school curriculum Factor 7: Governmental and Institutional Language Attitudes and Policies, Including Official Status and Use Between active and passive assimilation Factor 8: Community Members’ Attitudes Towards Their Own Language Most members support language maintenance while others are indifferent or may even support language loss Factor 9: Amount and Quality of Documentation Fair. Although the picture is complex, it is fair to say that Neapolitan is on the decline. Like many threatened languages, Neapolitan heavily relies on intergenerational transmission since the written materials are rarely used and in 10 somewhat conflicting writing systems. Many people do not know how to write in Neapolitan as a consequence. Thus the only way to learn is from face-to-face interactions. For this reason, the high number and vitality of today may not be the case in future generations. Recent history, however, gives a positive sign for the resilience of Neapolitan. And it all begins with one man: Diego Maradona. This Argentinian soccer player is the pride of Naples because he helped win the Italian football premiership cup for Naples in 1987. He made the city so proud that many babies born after his arrival were also given his name. The last commoner to be as revered as Maradona was a fisherman named Masaniello who lead a revolt against the Spanish in 1647.xli This, and other soccer titles following his arrival to the team led to a massive resurgence in Neapolitan pride. Nowadays, the young people are using Neapolitan with each other; a very promising sign if a language is going to survive for the next generation.xlii Additionally, the Neapolitan used in famous songs will be remembered for generations to come. No matter what happens to Neapolitan as a spoken language, it will always be remembered fondly for its use in art. Similarly, Neapolitan has a special status for all Italians in this regard. Just as Neapolitan music is known abroad as Italian music in general, such as it is in Italy itself. Through singing these songs, Neapolitan is one of the most widely known languages in Italy. In fact, when UNESCO controversially (though correctly) claimed that Neapolitan is a language; they went so far as to call it is the second language of Italy!xliii Further, a recent show about the Neapolitan mob entitled “Gomorra” was so true to its story that it even had the characters speak in Neapolitan. Did this hurt viewership? Not at all! It is the most popular show in Italian history, drawing 1.1 of 4.7 million subscribers!xliv Maybe it really is the second language of Italy, after all. Neapolitan in the Future Knowing all of this, how can the situation change? How can the language survive? Everything depends on one crucial factor: pride in the Neapolitan culture. Every suggestion for survival will depend on the fundamental premise that it is a language, and subsequently, culture, worth saving and continuing. Most importantly of course, are the speakers of the language today believing this. To be fair, this already exists. Other dialects of Neapolitan are judged based on their similarities to that of Naples. Ever since Maradona came to Naples the young have had a renewed sense of pride in Naples. Further, its use in song and in cooking often lead to Neapolitans having prestige. New areas of prestige will undoubtedly increase the pride in the Neapolitan culture. Once there is more pride, expanding the contexts in which it is used is very important. Using it in school, government, and media will all add to the prestige of the language. Before that, however, the orthography must be standardized and taught to current speakers. Most do not know how to write in the language and will need some teaching in order to do so. The reason for this is the etymologic nature of 11 the current writing system(s). To write the definite articles, for example, one needs to know that historically, they had more letters to the left of the current articles. For example, the masculine definite article had the following evolution: ILLUD > illo > lo > o. Since this is the case, there is an apostrophe before the o, showing that there used to be an l before it. Looking at the rare context of Neapolitan writing, this is clearly not known by most people. The author has seen restaurant signs with 'o, o', and o all within walking distance of each other. Either the current writing system must change or the speakers themselves need to learn it. Until then, it will be a serious impediment to expanding the contexts of use. Beyond expanding the contexts of use, the number of people who use it should also expand. The children of current speakers should be taught the language in schools or even at home, such as they are now. Additionally, newcomers to Naples and southern Italy in general, should also be encouraged to use it. At the moment, most know the words that have transferred to Italian. This can lead to full knowledge of Neapolitan depending on time spend in Naples and occupational need (cafés, for example, often are conducted Neapolitan). With the current migrant crisis, immigration looks like a mainstay in Naples. Additionally, people looking to do business in Naples will see speaking Neapolitan as a positive for their work. While very few monolingual speakers are alive today, being able to speak the language of a place is helpful for all businessmen. Last, if the contexts are expanded enough, even descendants of Neapolitans are the next group to take interest in learning the language.5 Conclusion The Neapolitan language is known in Italy and abroad but unfortunately is on the decline. Due to its lack of official recognition at its base and the overriding influence of Italian, it is on the downswing. Pride in Neapolitan culture, a regularized and taught writing system, new contexts of use and new speakers are all necessary to increase its chances for survival. The youth having a renewed interest in using it in more contexts is very promising for its survival. Socially, its status has always been a familiar one that expresses Neapolitan identity, familiarity, and later had an artistic connotation. As far as government is concerned, the story is more complex. Many different foreign governments have ruled Naples over its history. Each one had a somewhat unique relationship with its subjects. Some, such as the French, used French (or a variety of it) for government and it is unclear what language they used with their subjects. The Spanish rulers used Castilian, Aragonese, and Catalan in government, and both used Latin and Neapolitan when speaking to their subjects. The Romans probably followed the Spanish in the later regard. Or, as the situation is today, the Italian government 5 Including this author. 12 strictly uses Italian in all official functions with the public. The language has survived for thousands of years and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. Everyone will benefit from this state of affairs. Neapolitans will keep the culture that was handed down to them, the world will continue to hear operas and songs sung in their original form, and everyone will learn about society, and language through the study of Neapolitan. Let’s hope new governments and Neapolitans view it positively – the language’s future depends on it. 13 Giovanni Abete, Paul Heggerty, " Il progetto Sound Comparisons e lo studio della (Cooperativa Libreria Editrice Università di Padova, 2017), 21. ii Vittorio Gleijeses, La storia di napoli (Naples: Società Editrice Napoletana, 1977), 11. iii Barbara M. Kretuz, Before the Normans (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1991), 14. iv Vittorio Gleijeses, La storia di napoli (Naples: Società Editrice Napoletana, 1977), 38. v Vittorio Gleijeses, La storia di napoli (Naples: Società Editrice Napoletana, 1977), 38. vi Vittorio Gleijeses, La storia di napoli (Naples: Società Editrice Napoletana, 1977), 38. vii Vittorio Gleijeses, La storia di napoli (Naples: Società Editrice Napoletana, 1977), 39, 40. viii Vittorio Gleijeses, La storia di napoli (Naples: Società Editrice Napoletana, 1977), 100. ix Vittorio Gleijeses, La storia di napoli (Naples: Società Editrice Napoletana, 1977), 234, 304. x Vittorio Gleijeses, La storia di napoli (Naples: Società Editrice Napoletana, 1977), 304, 482. xi Jordan Lancaster, In the Shadow of Vesuvius (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005), 179. xii Gabriela H. Venetz, “The Catalan Language of the Aragonese Crown at Naples as reflected in bilingual documents of the chancellery. A sociohistorical study,” International Journal of Medieval & Modern Literature & Culture 1, (2013): 37. xiii Nicola de Blasi. Storia linguistica di napoli. (Rome: Carocci, 2012), 46. xiv Gabriela H. Venetz, “The Catalan Language of the Aragonese Crown at Naples as reflected in bilingual documents of the chancellery. A sociohistorical study,” International Journal of Medieval & Modern Literature & Culture 1, (2013): 37. xv Jordan Lancaster, In the Shadow of Vesuvius (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005), 88. xvi David Gilmour, The Pursuit of Italy (USA: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2011), 31. xvii Jordan Lancaster, In the Shadow of Vesuvius (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005), 108. xviii Nicola de Blasi. Storia linguistica di napoli. (Rome: Carocci, 2012), 110. xix Michele Alonzo. “The Italian Language and its Origins.” La Gazetta Italiana. November 2012. http://www.lagazzettaitaliana.com/history-culture/7736-theitalian-language-and-its-origins xx Nicola de Blasi. Storia linguistica di napoli. (Rome: Carocci, 2012), 153. xxi Aline Sierp, “Minority Language Protection in Italy.” Journal of Contemporary European Research 4, no. 4 (2008) 303. xxii Gigi di Fiore, La Nazione Napoletana (Novara, De Agostini Libri, 2015). xxiii Alexandra Molnar, “History of Italian Migration.” Mount Holyoke College. December 15, 2010. https://www.mtholyoke.edu/~molna22a/classweb/politics/Italianhistory.html i 14 “Napoli non é la città con più napoletani al mondo.” Huffington Post. July 19, 2014. http://www.huffingtonpost.it/2014/07/19/napoli-citta-piu-napoletanimondo_n_5601706.html xxv Nicola de Blasi. Storia linguistica di napoli. (Rome: Carocci, 2012), 140. xxvi Jordan Lancaster, In the Shadow of Vesuvius (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005), 130. xxvii Nicola de Blasi. Storia linguistica di napoli. (Rome: Carocci, 2012), 140. xxiv xxviii "La lingua italiana, i dialetti e le lingue straniere" Istat, famiglia e società (2007). Paolo Colluzzi, “Language Planning for Italian Regional Languages (“dialects”).” Language Problems & Language Planning 32, no. 3 (2008): 215. xxx Nicola de Blasi. Storia linguistica di napoli. (Rome: Carocci, 2012), 151. xxxi Nicola de Blasi. Storia linguistica di napoli. (Rome: Carocci, 2012), 153. xxxii "La lingua italiana, i dialetti e le lingue straniere" Istat, famiglia e società (2007). xxxiii “La lingua italiana, I dialetti e le lingue straniere” (Istat, Rome, 2007) 6. xxxiv See Francesco Cangemi, Prosodic Detail in Neapolitan Italian (Berlin: Language Science Press, 2014). xxxv Bàlint Huszthy, p.c. xxxvi Paolo Colluzzi, “Language Planning for Italian Regional Languages (“dialects”).” Language Problems & Language Planning 32, no. 3 (2008): 215. xxxvii “Istituzione dell’Istituto Linguistico Campano Bollettino Ufficiale n. 11 del 5 marzo 1990.” Istituto Linguistico Campano. March 5,1990. http://www.ilc.it/legge_ilc.htm. Translation is mine xxxviii Christopher Moseley. “Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger.” UNESCO. 2010. http://www.unesco.org/languages-atlas/index.php xxxix Paolo Colluzzi, “Language Planning for Italian Regional Languages (“dialects”).” Language Problems & Language Planning 32, no. 3 (2008): 215. xl As written by Paolo Colluzzi, “Language Planning for Italian Regional Languages (“dialects”).” Language Problems & Language Planning 32, no. 3 (2008): 215. xli Jordan Lancaster, In the Shadow of Vesuvius (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005), 241. xlii Nicola de Blasi. Storia linguistica di napoli. (Rome: Carocci, 2012), 150. xliii “UNESCO IL DIALETTO NAPOLETANO È LA SECOND LINGUA NAZIONALE ITALIANA.” KISSKISS. February 6, 2014. http://www.kisskiss.it/news/1096-unescoe-la-seconda-lingua-nazionale-italiana.html xliv Nick Vivarelli. “Second Season of Sky’s Gritty ‘Gomorrah’ TV series Bows to Boffo Ratings in Italy.” Variety. 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