Minority languages in Italy

The Italian sociolinguistic panorama is characterised by a considerable complexity of settings: the coexistence of Italian, its regional and local varietie and several minority languages makes the national repertoire complex, due to diverse stratification. Starting from this reality, the volume deals with minority languages in Italy, seen in relation to the languages of the repertoire they are in contact with. A comprehensive sociolinguistic analysis of minority languages should examine the following key factors: the degree of their vitality, the degree of contact with the languages of the repertoire, both of them important factors in defining the kind of language policy to be undertaken. These intertwined aspects of minority languages ¿ vitality, contact and planning ¿ will be explored here, through the analysis of case studies, which represent Italian sociolinguistic diversity.