Emilian

In the early 21st century, the estimated number of speakers of Emilian was around 1 million. Emilian is a Romance language spoken in northern Italy, mostly in the Emilia-Romagna region. It is similar to the Tuscan dialect of Italian and to the Lombard dialect of Emiliano-Romagnolo. The Emilian language is an offshoot of the Lombardic language spoken in the area of what is now Emilia-Romagna. It is classified as a Romance language, and is therefore related to other languages such as Italian, French, and Spanish. The Emilian dialects are spoken in the cities of Bologna, Ferrara, Modena, Piacenza, Reggio nell'Emilia, and Rimini. The Emilian language is not currently recognized as an official language in Italy, and is therefore not used in education or government. However, there are efforts underway to promote and preserve the language.