Milanese dialect

Milanese (endonym in traditional orthography , ) is the central variety of the Western dialect of the Lombard language spoken in Milan, the rest of its metropolitan city, and the northernmost part of the province of Pavia. Milanese, due to the importance of Milan, the largest city in Lombardy, is often considered one of the most prestigious Lombard variants and the most prestigious one in the Western Lombard area.

In Italian-language contexts, Milanese (like most indigenous Romance varieties spoken in Italy other than standard Italian) is often called a "dialect". This can be misunderstood to mean a variety of the Tuscan-derived national language, which it is not. Lombard in general, including Milanese, is a sister language of Tuscan, thus also of Italian, rather than a derivative. Typologically, Lombard is a Western Romance language, and more closely resembles other Gallo-Italic languages in Northern Italy (e.g. Piedmontese, Ligurian, Emilian, Romagnol) as well as others further afield, including Occitan and Romansh.

Milanese has an extensive literature, reaching as far back as the 13th century and including the works of important writers such as Bonvesin da la Riva (mid 13th century–1313), Carlo Maria Maggi (1630–1699) Carlo Porta (1775–1821). In addition to the large literary corpus, various dictionaries, a few grammar books and a recent translation of the Gospels are available in the language. Provided by Wikipedia