Language Reflects Many Races
Take an interesting look at what scholars and travelers have discovered during their visit in Sardinia during the early part of the 20th century. This historical article was taken from an article of the same title in The National Geographic Magazine written by Helen Dunstan Wright, August 1916 Volume XXX Number Two. The article is serialized in parts.
The Phoenician settlement is the earliest of which there is any accurate knowledge. Sardinia was said to be the grain-producing center of the Carthaginians about 500 B. C. The Romans captured it in 238 B. C., and it was then noted for its supply of corn. The Romans built many towns and roads, and remains of their monuments, temples, and sepulchers are still preserved. The Byzantines captured Sardinia from the Romans and held it until the tenth century, when the Saracens took possession, and were in turn driven out by the Pisans. There are traces of the influence of Pisa in the fine Romanesque churches which are still well preserved. In some churches the late Gothic architectural style shows Spanish influence, which came after the surrender of the Pisans to Genoa, and then to James II of Aragon. In 1708 Cagliari surrendered to the English, but in the War of Spanish Succession the island came under the rule of Austria. Finally, after more exchange, it was given to the Duke of Savoy, who acquired with it the title of King of Sardinia.
It is not strange that the language of the people should contain elements of the languages of all the races which have occupied the island. The dialects, of which there are five or six, are a mixture of Latin, Spanish, and Italian, with a little Phoenician and traces of other ancient tongues. In Alghero, on the west coast, pure Catalan is spoken; in some villages almost pure Latin; and in Carloforte, on the southwestern coast, the Genoese dialect prevails. Italian, however, is now taught in the schools to the children, while the men acquire it during their compulsory military service.
To get an insight into the life of the inhabitants of this isolated island, one should visit its villages. It is in the entire eastern half, with its mountainous valleys and villages, where the real Sards now live. Here one will find them good looking and in good health, generous, hospitable, honorable, and quite poor. Politeness is carried almost to an extreme. Often as one rides through a small village the women, children, and old men sitting at the doorsteps rise and wish you a “buon viaggio”; or if it happens to be noon, some may wish you a “buon appetito”.
Even the young boys are taught to take their hats off when strangers pass by; and if one is in an automobile and happens to stop to get out his Kodak, a crowd of youngsters seem to spring up around the car, all anxious to be in the picture. To refuse a cup of coffee or a liqueur when visiting the house of an inhabitant of a village is an act of great discourtesy, and even the poorest have some beverage to offer.
