Ligurian (/lɪˈɡjʊəriən/ lig-YOOR-ee-ən; endonym: lìgure) or Genoese (/ˌdʒɛnoʊˈiːz/ JEN-oh-EEZ; endonym: zeneise or zeneize) is a Gallo-Italic language spoken primarily in the territories of the former Republic of Genoa, now comprising the area of Liguria in Northern Italy, parts of the Mediterranean coastal zone of France, Monaco (where it is called Monégasque), the village of Bonifacio in Corsica, and in the villages of Carloforte on San Pietro Island and Calasetta on Sant'Antioco Island off the coast of southwestern Sardinia. It is part of the Gallo-Italic and Western Romance dialect continuum. Although part of Gallo-Italic, it exhibits several features of the Italo-Romance group of central and southern Italy. Zeneize (literally "Genoese"), spoken in Genoa, the capital of Liguria, is the language's prestige dialect on which the standard is based.
There is a long literary tradition of Ligurian poets and writers that goes from the 13th century to the present, such as Luchetto (the Genoese Anonym), Martin Piaggio, and Gian Giacomo Cavalli.
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