Niçard dialect
Niçard (Classical orthography), nissart/Niçart (Mistralian orthography, IPA: [niˈsaʀt]), niçois (/niːˈswɑː/ nee-SWAH, French: [niswa]), or nizzardo (Italian: [nitˈtsardo]) is the dialect that was historically spoken in the city of Nice, in France, and in a few surrounding communes. Niçard is a subdialect of Provençal, itself a dialect of Occitan. Some Italian irredentists have claimed it as a Ligurian dialect, on false grounds.
| Niçard | |
|---|---|
| niçard/nissart/niçart | |
| Pronunciation | [niˈsaʀt] |
| Native to | France, Monaco |
| Region | County of Nice, Monaco |
| Latin | |
| Official status | |
| Regulated by | Conselh de la Lenga Occitana (classic orthography) / Félibrige (Mistralian orthography) |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | – |
| Glottolog | nica1249 |
| Linguasphere | 51-AAA-gd |
| IETF | oc-nicard |
Niçard in today's Alpes-Maritimes department, according to Dalbera | |
Most residents of Nice and its region no longer speak Niçard, and the very few who do are fully bilingual in French as Nissard has lost its function of a vernacular language decades ago. Nonetheless, today there is a developing revival of the use of the language. Some local television news is presented in Niçard (with French subtitles) and street signs in the old town of Nice are written in the dialect as well as in French. The Niçard song Nissa La Bella is often regarded as the "anthem" of Nice.