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ladina

Ladina, in Italian ladina, refers to the Ladin language, a Romance language of the Rhaeto-Romance subgroup spoken in the Dolomites of northern Italy. It is part of the broader family that also includes Romansh and Friulian.

It is spoken mainly in the autonomous province of South Tyrol (Bolzano) and surrounding valleys in Trentino,

Ladin comprises several regional varieties, often tied to valleys or towns, such as Gherdëina, Badiot (Badia),

The language descends from Vulgar Latin and has developed in relative isolation within the Alpine valleys,

In Italy, Ladin is recognized as a regional minority language and is protected under national law and

The Ladin writing system uses the Latin alphabet with diacritics, and the Ladin Dolomitan standard provides

with
smaller
communities
in
other
nearby
areas.
Estimates
place
the
number
of
speakers
in
the
tens
of
thousands,
typically
around
30,000
to
40,000
in
recent
decades.
and
Fascia
(Fassa).
A
standardized
written
form,
known
as
Ladin
Dolomitan,
has
been
developed
to
unify
spelling
and
grammar
for
education,
media,
and
literature,
while
local
dialects
continue
to
be
used
in
daily
speech.
preserving
features
distinct
from
Italian
and
German.
It
forms
part
of
the
Rhaeto-Romance
group
along
with
Romansh
and
Friulian.
international
agreements.
It
is
taught
in
some
schools
and
used
in
local
media
and
cultural
activities,
with
ongoing
efforts
to
promote
bilingual
or
trilingual
education
in
areas
where
Ladin
communities
are
present.
guidelines
for
official
writing
and
publishing.