Languages of Monaco - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The official language of Monaco

Monaco

Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the...

is French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

, but there are several languages spoken, including Monégasque, the national language of the Monegasque people.

French

French language

is the only official language in Monaco, a result of the dominant role France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

has long had over the microstate

Microstate

A microstate or ministate is a sovereign state having a very small population or very small land area, but usually both. Some examples include Liechtenstein, Malta, Monaco, Nauru, Singapore, and Vatican City....

(see Franco-Monegasque Treaty
Franco-Monegasque Treaty
The Franco-Monegasque Treaty of 1861 granted sovereignty to Monaco. Previously, under the Treaty of Vienna it had been a protectorate of the Kingdom of Sardinia....

) since Napoleonic

Napoleon I

Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...

times.

Monégasque

Monégasque language

Monégasque is a dialect of the modern Ligurian language, spoken in Monaco.- Language family :Forming a part of the Western Romance dialect continuum, Monégasque shares many features with the variety of Ligurian spoken in Genoa, but differs from its neighboring dialects Intemelio and Mentonasc. It...

is the national language of the Monegasque people (who represent only 21.6% of the total population, but growing from 19.0% in 2000). It is a dialect of Ligurian

Ligurian language (Romance)

Ligurian is a Gallo-Romance language spoken in Liguria in Northern Italy, parts of the Mediterranean coastal zone of France, Monaco and in the villages of Carloforte and Calasetta in Sardinia. Genoese , spoken in Genoa, the capital of Liguria, is its most important dialect...

, somewhat similar to Italian

Italian language

Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...

.

Because the Monégasques are only a minority in Monaco, Monégasque was threatened with extinction in the 1970s. However, the language is now being taught in schools, and its continuance is regarded as secured. In the old part of Monaco, the street signs are marked with Monégasque in addition to French.

At his coronation, Albert II

Albert II, Prince of Monaco

Albert II, Sovereign Prince of Monaco is the head of the House of Grimaldi and the ruler of the Principality of Monaco. He is the son of Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, and the American actress Grace Kelly...

, Prince of Monaco

Prince of Monaco

The Reigning Prince or Princess of Monaco is the sovereign monarch and head of state of the Principality of Monaco. All Princes or Princesses thus far have taken the name of the House of Grimaldi, but have belonged to various other houses in male line...

, made a speech to his people in the language.

Italian

Standard Italian

Italian language

is also a major language in Monaco. Italian nationals make up 19% of the total population, down from 20% in 2000.

Italian was the official language of Monaco when it was a Protectorate of the Kingdom of Sardinia

Kingdom of Sardinia

The Kingdom of Sardinia consisted of the island of Sardinia first as a part of the Crown of Aragon and subsequently the Spanish Empire , and second as a part of the composite state of the House of Savoy . Its capital was originally Cagliari, in the south of the island, and later Turin, on the...

(from 1814 to 1861).

English

There is also an English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

-speaking community in Monaco (8.5% of overall population being from Britain or USA, and population from other anglophone nations will be too insignificant and will be counted within the category of "other," below), and many English-speaking tourists and vacationers visit the city.

Princess Grace Kelly

Grace Kelly

Grace Patricia Kelly was an American actress who, in April 1956, married Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, to become Princess consort of Monaco, styled as Her Serene Highness The Princess of Monaco, and commonly referred to as Princess Grace.After embarking on an acting career in 1950, at the age of...

, mother of the current prince, was American and all three of her children grew up speaking English and other languages.

Other

Belgian, Swiss, and German are approximately 2.5% each of the overall population, and "other" constitute a further 15%. Some 125 nationalities make up the population of Monaco.

Occitan