Linguists classify Sicilian and Neapolitan as distinct Romance languages with unique grammar and centuries of literature, not dialects of Italian. Sicilian has written works from the 1200s. Neapolitan was the administrative language of a kingdom. But Italy needed hierarchy. Standard Italian became “language” official and legitimate. Southern tongues became “dialects” inferior and backward. This was political, not linguistic. Calling something a dialect strips its legitimacy and history. UNESCO n

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