The Ligurian They Teach in Monte Carlo

Monegasque, the speech of the Principality of Monaco, is by every measure a Ligurian variety, brought to the Rock in the Middle Ages. Its literature begins in 1927 with Louis Notari’s "A Legenda de Santa Devota", and the national anthem is sung in Monegasque.

Since 1976 the language has been taught in the Principality’s schools, up to a baccalauréat exam, and since 1981 an Académie des Langues Dialectales has overseen its study and promotion. Small as it is, Monaco shows what a language policy can do when it means it.