In the middle of the Alps in northern Italy there’s a language few outsiders have heard of. The language is Ladin. What makes Ladin so special? And can it be compared to Maltese?
First of all, some geographical data. Dolomite Ladin is spoken in parts of Trentino-Alto Adige, Veneto and Friuli-Venezia Giulia. The area where Ladin is spoken is called Ladinia which covers about 1,200 square kilometers. As far as the number of speakers is concerned one can count around 30,000.
Ladin evolved from the Rhaetian of the indigenous peoples and the Latin of the Roman conquerors. Years ago, Ladin was much more widespread than it is today and was spoken in many regions of South Tyrol and northern Italy. But with the growing significance of Italian and German, Ladin faded away, until it was replaced by other languages in most valleys.
Compared to Malta, Ladinia is almost four times the size of the island. In fact, Malta is only 316 km2. Even more surprising is the number of Maltese living in Malta which is 371,000 who speak the vernacular. This is more than ten times the spread of Ladin speakers in Ladinia. How is this possible?
There are several reasons: First, Malta’s population distribution is remarkably different from that of northern Italy: it has a density of 1,649/km2, compared to about 72/km2 in South Tyrol. Malta is known to be the fourth most-densely populated sovereign country in the world, while Ladinia still consists mainly of small and remote mountain villages. Another reason is that Ladin is only one of the three official languages spoken in the region. Being located between Austria and Italy, most of the population speaks German and Italian.
In light of these facts, one might think that Ladin is destined to die out. This, however, is not the case. The population strives to keep Ladin and its culture alive. Ladin is taught from kindergarten to high school. Textbooks and courses are available. There’s also a newspaper, a radio station and TV programs. Above all, Ladin is used extensively among families, friends and in associations.
Ladins do not want to lose their tongue because it’s not only a means of communication but an integral element of their identity and social life.
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