Ladin language

Ladin ( lə-DEEN, UK also lad-EEN; autonym: ladin; Italian: ladino; German: Ladinisch) is a Romance language of the Rhaeto-Romance subgroup, mainly spoken in the Dolomite Mountains in Northern Italy in the provinces of South Tyrol, Trentino, and Belluno, by the Ladin people. It exhibits similarities to Romansh, which is spoken in Switzerland, as well as to Friulian, which is spoken in northeast Italy. The precise extent of the Ladin language area is a subject of scholarly debate. A narrower perspective includes only the dialects of the valleys around the Sella group, while wider definitions comprise the dialects of adjacent valleys in the Province of Belluno and even dialects spoken in the northwestern Trentino. A standard variety of Ladin (Ladin Dolomitan) has been developed by the Office for Ladin Language Planning as a common communication tool across the whole Ladin-speaking region.