Cimbrian language
| Cimbrian | |
|---|---|
| Zimbar | |
| Native to | Italy |
|
Native speakers
|
400 (2000) |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | |
| Glottolog | cimb1238 |
Cimbrian (native name Zimbar; German: Zimbrisch; Italian: Cimbro) refers to any of several local Upper German varieties spoken in northeastern Italy. The speakers of the language are known as Zimbern.
Cimbrian is a Germanic language related to Bavarian most probably deriving from a Southern Bavarian dialect (although a Lombardic origin cannot be ruled out). It is also related to the Mócheno language. Its many essential differences in grammar as well as in vocabulary and pronunciation make it practically unintelligible for people speaking Standard German or Bavarian. The use of Italian throughout the country and the influence of nearby Venetian have both had large effects on the number of speakers of Cimbrian throughout past centuries. This effect has been large enough to cause Cimbrian to be deemed by some as an endangered language.
The earliest record of the movement of Bavarians to Verona dates to ca. 1050 (Bayerische Staatsbibliothek Cod. lat. 4547). The settlement continued during the 11th and 12th centuries.
A theory of Lombardic origin of the Zimbern was proposed in 1948 by Bruno Schweizer and again in 1974 by Alfonso Bellotto. The debate was again revived in 2004 by Cimbrian linguist Ermenegildo Bidese. The majority of linguists remains committed to the hypothesis of medieval (11th to 12th century) immigration.
The presence of Germanic-speaking communities in Italy was discovered in the 14th century by the Italian humanists, who associated them with the Cimbri who arrived in the region in the 2nd century BC. This is the likely origin of the current endonym (Zimbar). An alternative hypothesis derives the name from a term for "carpenter", cognate with English timber (lit. "timberer").
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