Sicilian language

The Sicilian language ("") is a language spoken in Sicily island and central Calabria. It is spoken by the majority of the inhabitants of Sicily and by emigrants.
Speakers.
10 million people speak the language. It has three stocks: the Sicilian, the Calabro-Sicilian and Salentinu.
Differences with Italian.
Compared to Italian, it is a distinctly separate form of verbal communication patterned by many years of foreign influence. Efforts to force Sicilians to speak conventional Italian include schools, television and radio. Italians maintain that Sicilian is simply a subset dialect of Italian, while Sicilians see their spoken word as a true and separate language.