Sicilian is not recognised as a language anywhere in the world or even in Italy. Although it is spoken by the majority of people living in Sicily and by a huge number of Sicilians living abroad.
It has been influenced by many of Sicily's foreign invaders over the years (see below). Today whilst you will most likely hear the Sicilian language spoken amongst friends and family, it is not often used to conduct business or day to day transactions, where Italian is the language of choice. Many Sicilians the left Sicily to live abroad have kept alive the Sicilian language, however often the phrases and words they use are now antiquated, coming from the Sicily that they left in the 1950s. The Sicilian spoken in Sicily today also varies from town to town. Sicily has now passed legislation to encourage the teaching of Sicilian in schools, and this we believe is a positive thing as it would be a shame to loose a language.
A good way to learn a language is to take a multi faceted approach. by this we mean reading, speaking, listening and of course through using software. Again we have tried using the Rosetta Stone Italian courses and they area great way to learn Italian.
Amazon have some great books that are specifically for learning Sicilian. Click below to view them.
