Neapolitan (autonym: 'o nnapulitano [o nːapuliˈtɑːnə]; Italian: napoletano) is a Romance language of the Southern Italo-Romance group spoken in most of continental Southern Italy. It is named after the Kingdom of Naples, which once covered almost the entirety of the area. On 14 October 2008, a law by the Region of Campania acknowledged that Neapolitan was to be protected.
While the language group is native to much of continental Southern Italy or the former Kingdom of Naples, the terms Neapolitan, napulitano or napoletano may instead refer to the specific variety natively spoken in Naples and the immediately surrounding Naples metropolitan area and Campania region. The present article mostly deals with this variety, which enjoys a certain degree of prestige and has historically wide written attestations.
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