Piemontese language

Piemontese (also known as Piedmontese, Piemontèis) is a Romance language spoken in Piedmont, northwestern Italy. It is traditionally considered an Italian dialect, but it differs from the standard Italian language to a large extent. It is geographically and linguistically close to the northern Italian dialects Lombard and Ligurian, as well as to French and to Provençal.

The first documents in the local Piemontese dialect were written in the 12th century. The literary Piemontese language developed in the 17th and 18th centuries. It did not earn esteem comparable to that of French and Italian, other literary languages used in Piedmont. Nevertheless, literature in Piemontese has never ceased. The Piemontese literature contains poetry, theatre pieces, novels and scientific work.