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133-520: Chemins de fer de la Corse ( Corsican : Camini di Ferru di a Corsica ) (CFC) is the name of the regional rail network serving the French island of Corsica . It is centred on the town of Ponte Leccia , from which three main lines radiate to Ajaccio , Bastia , and Calvi . The section following the northwest coastline between L'Île-Rousse and Calvi, known as the Balagne line, gives access to many beaches and

266-608: A 500 mm ( 19 + 3 ⁄ 4  in ) or 600 mm ( 1 ft  11 + 5 ⁄ 8  in ) gauge railway worked by horses to bring galets (flints) for onward shipment. Another short extension was also built at Cayeux after WWII to serve the Sansom factory; this was in use until the 1960s. The "Association du Chemin de Fer de la Baie de Somme" has restored a number of locomotives, railbuses, carriages and wagons to full use, others await overhaul or restoration. All vehicles are metre gauge unless otherwise denoted. None of

399-721: A "definitely endangered language." The Corsican language is a key vehicle for Corsican culture, which is notably rich in proverbs and in polyphonic song. When the French Assembly passed the Deixonne Law in 1951, which made it possible for regional languages to be taught at school, Alsatian , Flemish and Corsican were not included on the ground of being classified as dialectes allogènes of German, Dutch and Italian respectively, i.e. dialects of foreign languages and not languages in themselves. Only in 1974 were they too politically recognized as regional languages for their teaching on

532-526: A : i letta , i solda , i ponta , i foca , i mura , i loca , i balcona ; imperfect tense like cantàiami , cantàiani ). Sassarese derives from the Italian language and, more precisely, from ancient Tuscan, which by the 12th century had slowly grown to become the parlance of the commoners, at a time when the bourgeois and nobles still spoke Logudorese Sardinian. During the age of the Free Commune (1294–1323),

665-574: A Sardinian variety, or a variety very similar to Sardo-Romance, might have been originally spoken in Corsica prior to the island's Tuscanisation under Pisan and Genoese rule. The matter is controversial in light of the historical, cultural and particularly strong linguistic bonds that Corsica had traditionally formed with the Italian Mainland from the Middle Ages until the 19th century: in contrast to

798-617: A casa che il sole era già calato, all'ora di cena. Quando faceva buio noi ragazzi ci mandavano a fare granchi, con la luce, che serviva per mettere l'esca agli ami per pescare. Ne raccoglievamo in quantità poi in casa li mettevamo in un sacchetto chiuso in cucina. Una mattina in cui ci eravamo alzati che era ancora buio, quando siamo andati a prendere il sacchetto era vuoto e i granchi giravano per tutte le camere e c'è voluta più di mezz'ora per raccoglierli tutti. Sò nato in Corsica e c'hajo passato li méglio anni de la mi' giovinezza. Mi mentovo quand'èremo bàmboli che le nosse ma' ci mandàveno da ssoli

931-572: A change of register to communicate in an official setting. "Tuscanising" their tongue, or as the Corsican elites would have once said, parlà in crusca ("speaking in crusca ", from the name of the Academy dedicated to the standardisation of the Italian language), allowed for a practice not of code-switching , but rather of code-mixing which is quite typical of the Mainland Italian dialects. Italian

1064-603: A day operates over the Ajaccio-Bastia line. In winter, the Vizzavona pass is often blocked, and closed to road traffic. Most of the goods wagons are today used for track maintenance purposes. The network is owned by the government of France and not by Réseau Ferré de France . The Collectivité Territoriale de Corse , CTC, is the concessionary holder of the network, under the act of parliament on regionalisation of railways in France, and

1197-439: A fa' 'l bagno. Allora la piaggia era piena di rena, senza scogli né greppe e stàvemo in mare fino a quando ingrozzichiti c'andàvemo a rivorta' 'n chidda rena bollente dal sole. Poi l'urtimo ciutto pe' levacci la rena attaccata a la pella e tornàvemo 'n casa che 'l sole era già ciuttato, a l'ora di cena. Quando veniva buio a no' bàmboli ci mandàveno a fa' granchi, colla luce, che ci voléveno pe' mette' l'ami pe' pescà. Ne aricogliévemo

1330-466: A fa' u bagnu. Allora la piagghia ère piena di réna, senza scógghi né rocce e ci stève in mare dill'òre finu a quandu paunazzi da u freddu po' ci andèvami a rivòrtule in quella réna bullènte da u sole. Po' l'urtimu ciuttu pe' levacci la réna attaccata a la pella e riturnèvamì in casa chi u sole ère ghià calatu, a l'ora di cena. Quandu fève bugghiu a no'zitèlli ci mandèvani a fa' granchi, cu la lusa, chi ci vulèvani pe' annésche l'ami pe' pèsche. Ne ricugghièvami

1463-400: A fatzi lu bagnu a la sora. Tandu l'ippiaggia era piena di rena, chena ischogliu né rocca e si isthazìa a mogliu ori fintz'a candu, biaìtti da lu freddu, andàziami a rudduratzi in chidda rena buddendi da lu sori. A dabboi l'ùlthimu cabutzoni pa bugganni la rena attaccadda a la peddi e turràbami a casa chi lu sori era già caraddu, a l'ora di tzinà. Candu si fazìa buggiu a noi pitzinni tzi mandàbani

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1596-518: A first language. Corsican is classed as a regional language under French law. It is almost universally agreed that Corsican is typologically and traditionally Italo-Romance , but its specific position therein is more controversial. Some scholars argue that Corsican belongs to the Centro-Southern Italian dialects, while others are of the opinion that it is closely related to, or as part of, Italy's Tuscan dialect varieties. Italian and

1729-928: A fàcci lu bagnu . Tandu la spiagghja era piena di rena, senza scogli né rocchi e si sthaggia ori finz'a candu, biàtti da lu freddu andagiami a vultulacci in chidda rena buddendi da lu soli. Dabboi l'ultima cabucina pà buggacci la rena attaccadda a la pèddi e turravami in casa chi lu soli era ghjà caladdu, a l'ora di cena. Candu fagia bughju à noi piccinni ci mandavani a fà ganci, cù la lugi chi vi vulia pà inniscà l'àmi pà piscà. Ni pigliavami assai e daboi in casa li mittìami drent'a un saccheddu sarraddu in cucina. Un mangianu chi ci n'erami pisaddi chi era sempri bugghju, candu semmu andaddi à piglià lu sacchettu era boiddu é li ganci ghjiràvani pàl tutti li càmmari è v'é vuludda più di mezz'ora pà accuglinnili tutti. Soggu naddu in Còssiga e v'aggiu passaddu l'anni più beddi di la pitzinnìa mea. M'ammentu, cand'érami minori, chi li mammi nosthri tzi mandàbani

1862-467: A fàcci lu bagnu. Tandu la piaghja éra piena di rèna, senza scóddi e né ròcchi e si stagghjìa in mari ori fin'a candu, biaìtti da lu fritu andaghjìami a vultulàcci in chidda rèna buddènti da lu soli. Dapoi, l'ultima capuzzina pa' bucàcci la réna attaccata a la péddi e turràami in casa chi lu soli éra ghjà calatu, a l'ora di cena. Candu facìa bugghju a noi stéddi ci mandàani a fa' granchi, cù la luci, chi vi vulìa pa' accindì(attivà) l'ami pa' piscà. N'accapitàami

1995-800: A fàcci u bagnu. Tandu a piaghja ghjéra piena di rèna, senza scódda né ròcchi è si staghjìa in mari ori fin'a quandu, viola da u fritu andàghjìami a vultulàcci in quidda rèna buddènti da u soli. Dapo', l'ultima capuzzina pa' livàcci a réna attaccata a à péddi e turràiami in casa chì u soli era ghjà calatu, à l'ora di cena. Quandu facìa bughju à no' zitéddi ci mandàiani à fà granci, cù a luci, chi ci vulìa par inniscà l'ami pà piscà. N'arricuglivàmi à mandili pieni è dapoi in casa i mittìami drent'à un sacchettu chjusu in cucina. Una matìna chì ci n'érami pisàti chi ghjéra sempri bughju, quandu sèmu andati à piddà u sacchéttu iddu éra biotu è i granci ghjiràiani pà tutti i càmari e ci hè vuluta più di méz'ora pà ricapizzulàlli tutti. Socu natu in Corsica è v'aghju passatu i megliu anni di

2128-415: A guaro, po' 'n casa li mettévemo in de 'n sacchetto chiuso 'n cucina. Una matina che c'èremo levati ch'era sempre buio, quando simo andati a piglià 'l sacchetto era voto e li granchi giràveno pe' ttutte le càmmere e c'è voluto più di mezz'ora ad aricoglieli tutti. Sigghi natu in Corsica e g'hagghi passatu li mégghiu anni di la me ghiuvinézza. Ricordu quandu èrami zitèlli chi le nosse ma' ci mandèvani da ssòli

2261-504: A line uniting the villages of Piana , Vico , Vizzavona , Ghisoni and Ghisonaccia , and also covering the subgroups from the Cap Corse (which, unlike the rest of the island and similarly to Italian, uses lu , li , la , le as definite articles), Bastia (besides i > e and a > e, u > o: ottanta , momentu , toccà , continentale ; a > o: oliva , orechja , ocellu ), Balagna, Niolo and Corte (which retain

2394-498: A luci, chì ci vulìa par inniscà l'ami pà piscà. N'arricugliìami à mandigli pieni è dopu in casa i mittìami drent'à un sacchettu chjusu in cucina. Una matina chì ci n'erami pisati chì era sempri bughju, quandu semu andati à piglià u sacchettu era biotu è i granci ghjiraiani pà tutti i cammari e ci hè vulsuta più d'una mez'ora pà ricapizzulà li tutti. Sòcu natu in Còssiga e v'agghju passatu li mèddu anni di la mè ciuintù. M'ammentu candu érami stéddi chi li nostri mammi ci mandàani da pal noi

2527-443: A mandilate piene po' in casa li mettivami in de un sacchéttu chiòsu in cusina. Una matìna chi c'èrami orzati chi ère sempre bugghiu, quandu simmi andati a pigghie u sacchéttu ère vòtu e li granchi ghirèvani pe' ttutte le càmmare e c'è vulutu più di mezz'ora a ricugghiàli tutti. Sò natu in Corsica è c'aghju passatu i più belli anni di a mio giuventù. M'arricordu quand'èramu zitelli chì e nostre mamme ci mandavanu soli à fà u bagnu. Tandu

2660-447: A mandili pieni e dapoi in casa li mittìami indrent'a un sacchéddu chjusu in cucina. Una matìna chi ci n'érami pisàti chi éra sempri lu bugghju, candu sèmu andati a piddà lu sacchéddu iddu éra bòitu e li granchi ghjràani pa' tutti li càmbari e v'è vuluta più di mez'ora pa' accapitàlli tutti. Soggu naddu in Còssiga e v'agghju passaddu li megli'anni di la mè ghjuivintù. M'ammentu cand'èrami piccinni chi li nosthri mammi ci mandavani da pal noi

2793-467: A me ghjuvantù. Mi rammentu quand'erami ziteddi chì i nosci mammi ci mandaiani da par no à fàcci u bagnu. Tandu a piaghja era piena di rena, senza scogli nè rocchi è si staia in mari ori fin'à quandu, viola da u fretu andaiami à vultugliàcci in quidda rena buddenti da u soli. Dapoi, l'ultima capuzzina pà livàcci a rena attaccata à a peddi è turraiami in casa chì u soli era ghjà calatu, à l'ora di cena. Quandu facìa bughju à no ziteddi ci mandaiani à fà granci, cù

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2926-479: A metre gauge line nearly 7.5 kilometres (4.7 mi) long was built by the Société générale des chemins de fer économiques (SE) from Noyelles to Le Crotoy , opening on 1 July 1887. A second metre gauge line opened on 6 September 1887 from Noyelles to Cayeux , 18 kilometres (11 mi) from Noyelles, with stations at Saint-Valery Ville and Lanchères - Pendé . The line between Noyelles and Saint-Valery being laid between

3059-558: A new railcar was acquired in 1957, along with two second hand diesel locomotives . A third diesel locomotive was acquired in 1960. In 1971 a pair of De Dion-Bouton type OC1 bogie railcars (X157 and X158) were acquired from the Réseau Breton (RB), having been previously used on the Chemin de Fer des Côtes-du-Nord (CdN). X158 was subsequently transferred to the Chemins de fer de la Corse , and

3192-407: A number of speakers between 86,800 and 130,200, out of a total population amounting to 309,693 inhabitants. 28% of the overall population was able to speak Corsican well, while an additional 14% had a capacity to speak it "quite well." The percentage of those who had a solid oral understanding of the language varies between a minimum of 25 percent in the 25–34 age group and the maximum of 65 percent in

3325-490: A pesca. N'arricuglìamu à mandilate piene po' in casa i punìamu nu un sacchéttu chjosu in cucina. Una mane chì c'èramu arritti ch'èra sempre bughju, quandu simu andati à piglià u sacchettu ellu èra biotu è i granchi giravanu per tutte e camere è ci hè vulsuta più di méz'ora à ricoglieli tutti. Sòcu natu in Còrsica e v'agghju passatu i mèddu anni di a me ghjuvintù. M'ammentu quand'érami zitéddi chì i nosci mammi ci mandàiani da par no'

3458-424: A piaghja era piena di rena, senza scogli né cotule é ci ne stàvamu in mare per ore fin'à quandu, viola per u freddu, dopu ci n'andavamu a vultulàcci in quella rena bullente da u sole. Po' l'ultima capiciuttata per levacci a rena attaccata à a pelle è vultavamu in casa chì u sole era digià calatu, à ora di cena. Quand'ellu facìa bughju à noi zitèlli ci mandàvanu à fà granchi, cù u lume, chì ci vulìa per innescà l'ami per

3591-428: A piglià granchi, cu' la luzi chi vi vurìa pa innischà l'amu pa pischà. Ni pigliàbami unbè e dabboi in casa li punìami drentu a un sacchettu sarraddu i' la cuzina. Un manzanu chi tzi n'érami pisaddi chi era ancora buggiu, candu semmu andaddi a piglià lu sacchettu eddu era bioddu e li granchi giràbani pa tutti l'appusenti, e v'è vurudda più di mez'ora pa accuglinniri tutti. The situation of Corsican with regard to French as

3724-547: A voluntary basis. The 1991 Joxe Statute, in setting up the Collectivité Territoriale de Corse, also provided for the Corsican Assembly , and charged it with developing a plan for the optional teaching of Corsican. The University of Corsica Pasquale Paoli at Corte, Haute-Corse took a central role in the planning. At the primary school level Corsican is taught up to a fixed number of hours per week (three in

3857-575: A website dedicated to the event, which recounts the various steam events (until 2009 ). For the 2013 event, many materials have come from other networks including seven steam locomotives (including 150 p. 13 of the Train City and 020 Peckett n o 12 "Marcia" of the Kent & East Sussex Railway ), several carriages and a Sprague-Thomson of Paris metro owned by ADEMAS . This event welcomed nearly 21,000 visitors including 7,250 travelers. From Le Crotoy to Cayeux

3990-648: Is a branch to the Saint-Valery docks which is dual gauge, but having three rails only. The line from Saint-Valery Ville to Cayeux (Brighton Plage) is metre gauge. The Festival of steam was organized for the first time in 1988 on the occasion of the centenary of the Network de Bains de Mer. The CFBS organized a steam engine rally in Noyelles-sur-Mer, the point of correspondence between the Network Bains de Mer and that of

4123-494: Is a group typologically different from Sardinian, it has long been a subject of debate whether the two should be included as dialects either of Corsican or of Sardinian or, in light of their historical development, even considered languages of their own. It has been argued that all these varieties should be placed in a single category, Southern Romance , but such classification has not garnered universal support among linguists. On 14 October 1997, Article 2 Item 4 of Law Number 26 of

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4256-421: Is an uninflected chì in Corsican. The only unifying, as well as distinctive, feature which separates the Corsican dialects from the mainland Tuscan ones, with the exception of Amiatino, Pitiglianese, and Capraiese, is the retention of word-final o - u . For example, the Italian demonstrative pronouns questo "this" and quello "that" become in Corsican questu or quistu and quellu or quiddu : this feature

4389-438: Is assimilated to ⟨m⟩ before ⟨p⟩ or ⟨b⟩ ) and the palatal nasal consonant represented by ⟨gn⟩ . The nasal vowels are represented by the vowel plus ⟨n⟩ , ⟨m⟩ or ⟨gn⟩ . The combination is a digraph or trigraph indicating the nasalized vowel. The consonant is pronounced in weakened form. The same combination of letters might not be

4522-471: Is essentially composed of passenger trains. It is divided into different activities: Goods traffic amounts to less than 1000 tons per annum. Corsican language Corsican ( corsu , pronounced [ˈkorsu] , or lingua corsa , pronounced [ˈliŋɡwa ˈɡorsa] ) is a Romance language consisting of the continuum of the Tuscan Italo-Dalmatian dialects spoken on

4655-463: Is not straightforward. As in Italian, the grapheme ⟨i⟩ appears in some digraphs and trigraphs in which it does not represent the phonemic vowel. All vowels are pronounced except in a few well-defined instances. ⟨i⟩ is not pronounced between ⟨sc/sg/c/g⟩ and ⟨a/o/u⟩ : sciarpa [ˈʃarpa] ; or initially in some words: istu [ˈstu] Vowels may be nasalized before ⟨n⟩ (which

4788-513: Is now preserved by the CdN Society at Langueux. A trailing railcar was also acquired from the RB in 1971, having previously been built as a powered railcar. The CFBS steam locomotives were mainly confined to the sugar beet trains after the war. The very last CFBS steam train running on 5 April 1959. The steam locomotive from the râperie at Lanchères worked until 1965. The râperie itself closed in 1966, at

4921-665: Is operated only on certain days between April and September, including all but 4 days in July and August. Five of the minor stations or halts are still in use, in addition to the stations in the above named towns. The SFBC is an association made up of over 400 members, including at least 80 active volunteers, and employs the equivalent of 22 full-time employees. The CFBS self-finances its operating costs (salaries, maintenance, coal, etc.) and participates in investments (facilities, infrastructure, equipment etc.) The CFBS operates its network with meter-gauge track, but dual-gauge track remains between

5054-639: Is the most widespread on the island and standardised as well, and is spoken in North-West Corsica around the districts of Bastia and Corte. The dialects of Bastia and Cap Corse belong to the Western Tuscan dialects; they being, with the exception of Florentine , the closest to standard Italian. All the dialects presenting, in addition to what has already been stated, the conditional formed in -ebbe (e.g. (ella) amarebbe "she would love") are generally considered Cismontani dialects, situated north of

5187-550: Is the only CFBS locomotive which cannot be turned on any of the turntable except Saint-Valery Port. There is still a track connection with the SNCF which is commonly used during the Steam Festival. The line from Noyelles sur Mer to Le Crotoy is metre gauge . The line from Noyelles sur Mer to Saint-Valery Ville is of dual gauge , with metre gauge tracks laid within standard gauge track, thus having four rails. At Saint-Valery there

5320-569: Is the transport authority and regulator of railway services. The CTC has entrusted the SNCF with the operation of rail services since 1 January 1983. A nine-year agreement between these bodies under the Loi Sapin came into effect on 1 September 2001. A modernisation plan agreed by the national government, the CTC and the SNCF envisages the investment of 110 million euros. These funds are to be allocated to

5453-461: Is very popular with tourists. A fourth line, running from Casamozza (on the Bastia line) down the east coast of the island to Porto-Vecchio was badly damaged by bombardment during World War II and never reopened. In 1877 it was decided to build a metre-gauge railway in Corsica, despite the very difficult terrain it would have to cross. Legislation was passed on 4 August 1879 for the construction of

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5586-465: The Chemin de Fer du Nord was granted permission to build a single track branch from Noyelles to Saint-Valery. This 5.6 kilometres (3.5 mi) long line crossed the River Dien by means of a 1,367 metres (1,495 yd) long wooden trestle bridge . The original passenger station at Saint-Valery stood at the site later occupied by Saint-Valery Canal station. The line opened to traffic on 5 June 1858. It

5719-534: The Etruscans , who asserted their presence on the island in as early as 500 BC. In 40 AD, the natives of Corsica reportedly did not speak Latin. The Roman exile, Seneca the Younger , reported that both coast and interior were occupied by natives whose language he was not able to understand. More specifically, Seneca claimed that the island's population was the result of the stratification of different ethnic groups, such as

5852-533: The Gravona area, Bastelica (which would be classified as Southern, but is also noted for its typical rhotacism: Basterga ) and Solenzara, which did not preserve the Latin short vowels: seccu , peru , rossu , croci , pozzu . The Southern Corsican macro variety ( Suttanacciu , Suttanu , Pumuntincu or Oltramontano ) is the most archaic and conservative group, spoken in the districts of Sartène and Porto-Vecchio. Unlike

5985-682: The Greeks , the Ligures (see the Ligurian hypothesis ) and the Iberians, whose language had long since stopped being recognizable among the population due to the intermixing of the other two groups. The occupation of the island by the Vandals around the year 469 marked the end of authoritative influence by Latin speakers. (See Medieval Corsica .) If the natives of that time spoke Latin , they must have acquired it during

6118-625: The Italian peninsula , and thus is related to the Florentine -based standard Italian . Under the long-standing influence of Tuscany's Pisa , and the historic Republic of Genoa , over Corsica, the Corsican language once filled the role of a vernacular , with Italian functioning as the island's official language until France acquired the island from the Republic of Genoa (1768); by 1859, French had replaced Italian as Corsica's first language so much so that, by

6251-467: The Mediterranean island of Corsica , a territory of France , and in the northern regions of the island of Sardinia , an autonomous region of Italy . Corsica, the island proper, is situated approximately 123.9 km (77.0 miles; 66 nautical miles ) off the western coast of Tuscany ; and with historical connections, the Corsican language is considered a part of Tuscan varieties , from that part of

6384-507: The Réseau des Bains de Mer . The other two lines were one from Noyelles to Forest-l'Abbaye and one from Abbeville to Dompierre-sur-Authie, which had a junction with the line from Noyelles at Forest-l'Abbaye. The Réseau des Bains de Mer was a part of the Chemins de fer départementaux de la Somme . The CFBS line was affected by three wars; The Franco-Prussian War , the First World War and

6517-568: The Sardinian language , are spoken in the neighbouring island of Sardinia . Gallurese is spoken in the extreme north of the island, including the region of Gallura , while Sassarese is spoken in Sassari and in its neighbourhood, in the northwest of Sardinia . Their geographical position in Sardinia has been theorised to be the result of different migration waves from the already tuscanized Corsicans and

6650-557: The Second World War . France declared war on Prussia on 19 July 1870. Saint-Valery was a strategic port, and thus its capture was an objective of the Prussians. In October 1870 the French requisitioned Jules Verne's boat Saint-Michel I for the defence of the Baie de Somme. The boat was crewed by Crimean War veterans. In December 1870 horses and equipment were requisitioned for use by

6783-512: The Teatru Paisanu , which produced polyphonic musicals, 1973–1982, followed in 1980 by Michel Raffaelli's Teatru di a Testa Mora , and Saveriu Valentini's Teatru Cupabbia in 1984. Modern prose writers include Alanu di Meglio, Ghjacumu Fusina, Lucia Santucci, and Marcu Biancarelli. There were writers working in Corsican in the 1700s and 1800s. Ferdinand Gregorovius , a 19th-century traveller and enthusiast of Corsican culture, reported that

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6916-460: The acute accent is sometimes found on stressed ⟨e⟩ , the circumflex on stressed ⟨o⟩ , indicating respectively ( /e/ ) and ( /o/ ) phonemes. Corsican has been regarded as a dialect of Italian historically, similar to the Romance lects developed on the Italian peninsula, and in writing, it also resembles Italian (with the generalised substitution of - u for final - o and

7049-480: The 17th century. An undated corpus of proverbs from communes may well precede it (see under External links below). Corsican has also left a trail of legal documents ending in the late 12th century. At that time the monasteries held considerable land on Corsica and many of the churchmen were notaries . Between 1200 and 1425 the monastery of Gorgona , which belonged to the Order of Saint Benedict for much of that time and

7182-519: The Autonomous Region of Sardinia granted "the Sassarese and Gallurese dialects" (« al dialetto sassarese e a quello gallurese ») equal legal status with the other languages indigenous to Sardinia . Thus, even though they would technically not be covered by the national law pertaining to the historical linguistic minorities, among which is Sardinian, Sassarese and Gallurese are nonetheless recognized by

7315-504: The Baie de Somme area. In February 1944, the Germans flooded the low-lying land near Noyelles by blocking the River Dien where the railway to Saint-Valery crossed it by a long embankment (this embankment had replaced a trestle in 1912). In April and May 1944, preparations were made to prevent the Allies from using the area to invade France. On 24 October 1941, a train was attacked at Noyelles and

7448-416: The Baie de Somme were sent to market at Abbeville . Shellfish not available locally were also brought in to Le Crotoy for use in a restaurant there. Saint-Valery handled timber , jute , textiles , soap , phosphates and coal . Phosphates were mined at Crécy-en-Ponthieu and transported via a metre gauge line from there to Noyelles, and thence to Saint-Valery. Freight between Noyelles and Saint-Valery

7581-936: The Bastia-Corte-Ajaccio route to 2h 30m and allow the Soulé railcars to be transferred to the Bastia-Calvi route. The first AMG800 railcar arrived on 23 June 2007. Amongst the freight stock still in service is a bogie flat wagon converted into a fire-fighting wagon. X2000 destroyed by fire in 1980. Two petrol-electric Crochat railcars were in service from 1928 until an accident in 1928 led to their withdrawal. X158 OC1 series. Ex Chemin de Fer de la Baie de Somme , Réseau Breton and Chemin de Fer des Côtes-du-Nord , preserved at Langueux, France. The CFC had over 500 freight wagons. Open wagons were on 10 tonnes capacity. Other wagon types included flat wagons, vans, tarpaulin wagons, tank and hopper wagons, as well as three cranes. Service

7714-469: The CFBS to perform maintenance of the tracks, stations and equipment. All this caused a continuous increase in the number of visitors in the mid- 1990s, which increased from 20,000 to 100,000 per year. In 2011, the association exceeded the symbolic threshold of 150,000 passengers and there were more than 162,000 passengers carried in 2013. Although the whole line is preserved, the section from Saint-Valery to Cayeux

7847-525: The Corsican language in French public offices and the regional parliament was legally banned, the existence of the "Corsican people" was also deemed unconstitutional. According to the anthropologist Dumenica Verdoni, writing new literature in modern Corsican, known as the Riacquistu , is an integral part of affirming Corsican identity. Some individuals have returned from careers in continental France to write in Corsican, including Dumenicu Togniotti, director of

7980-418: The Corsican language." In 1990, out of a total population of about 254,000, the percentage had declined to 50 percent, with 10 percent of the island's residents using it as a first language. The language appeared to be in serious decline when the French government reversed its unsupportive stand and initiated some strong measures to save it. The January 2007 estimated population of Corsica was 281,000, whereas

8113-455: The Corsicans knew how to write correctly in Corsican, while about 60 percent of the population did not know how to write in Corsican. While 90 percent of the population was in favor of a Corsican-French bilingualism, 3 percent would have liked to have only Corsican as the official language in the island, and 7 percent would have preferred French to have this role. UNESCO classifies Corsican as

SECTION 60

#1732913819666

8246-529: The French cavalry. A consignment of six hundred saddles left Saint-Valery by train for Noyelles on the 30 December. The Prussians occupied Saint-Valery from February 1871 until September 1873. The CFBS line was particularly involved towards the end of the First World War, starting with Operation Michael on 21 March 1918. It was realised that the German advance threatened the Allies' ability to use railways in

8379-438: The Germans across the bay at Le Crotoy. The main types of freight carried by the railway were: A chicory processing works was built at Saint-Valery Canal. A siding was laid in 1929 to serve it. The derelict building was demolished in 1998. The main sugar beet season was from October to January, thus providing useful income out of the tourist season. A râperie (shredding plant) was built at Lanchères. The râperie extracted

8512-540: The Northern varieties and similarly to Sardinian, the group retains the distinction of the Latin short vowels ĭ and ŭ (e.g. pilu , bucca ). It is also strongly marked by the presence of the voiced retroflex stop , like Sicilian (e.g. aceddu , beddu , quiddu , ziteddu , famidda ), and the conditional mood formed in -ìa (e.g. (idda) amarìa "she would love"). All the Oltramontani dialects are from an area located to

8645-624: The SE/CFTA were in poor condition. Nine coaches were acquired from Switzerland between 1978 and 1984. The CFBS again suffered a drop in passengers in the early '80s, but in 1982 the CFTIP was wound up, and the CFBS confirmed as its successor in an agreement with SNCF and the Somme Département. At the end of the operation of the public service by the CFTA, an association of volunteers passionate about railways,

8778-559: The SNCF . It quickly became a major event, and the CFBS reorganizes it every three years, with many steam engines from all over the Europe. It has become a major event for lovers of railways but also for the people of the Somme bay and tourists. The railway is of course put forward, but also the tractors, buses, rolls, saws ... and many other machines from the past are exhibited. The last event took place on 27 and 28 April 2013 . The association has set up

8911-534: The Sardinian government on a regional level. Sono nato in Corsica e vi ho passato gli anni migliori della mia giovinezza. Ricordo, quando eravamo ragazzi, che le nostre mamme ci mandavano da soli a fare il bagno. Allora la spiaggia era piena di sabbia, senza scogli né rocce e si stava in mare delle ore fino a quando, paonazzi dal freddo poi ci andavamo a rotolare in quella sabbia bollente dal sole. Poi l'ultimo tuffo per levarci la sabbia attaccata alla pelle e ritornavamo

9044-522: The Sassarese dialect was nothing more than a contaminated Pisan, to which Sardinian, Corsican and Spanish expressions had been added; it is therefore not an indigenous dialect, but rather a continental one and, to be more specific, a mixed Tuscan dialect with its own peculiarities, and different from the Corsican-imported Gallurese. Some Italo-Romance languages that might have originated from Southern Corsican, but are also heavily influenced by

9177-591: The South of Porticcio, Bastelica , Col di Verde and Solenzara. Notable dialects are those from around Taravo (retroflex - dd - only for historical -ll- : frateddu , suredda , beddu ; preservation of the palatal lateral approximant : piglià , famiglia , figliolu , vogliu ; does not preserve the Latin short vowels: seccu , peru , rossu , croci , pozzu ), Sartène (preserving the Latin short vowels: siccu , piru , russu , cruci , puzzu ; changing historical -rn- to -rr- : forru , carri , corru ; substituting

9310-594: The Tuscans, who then proceeded to settle in Sardinia and slowly displace the indigenous Logudorese Sardinian varieties spoken therein (at present, Luras is the only town in the middle of Gallura that has retained the original language). On the Maddalena archipelago , which was culturally Corsican but had been annexed to the Savoyard Kingdom of Sardinia a short while before Corsica was ceded by Genoa to France in 1767,

9443-512: The area, and that there was a lack of line capacity in certain places. Therefore, a double track 1,435 mm ( 4 ft  8 + 1 ⁄ 2  in ) standard gauge line was constructed, linking the main line from Calais with the Abancourt - St. Omer line. The engineer, Raoul Dautry , claimed he could build the line in 100 days. Work began on 15 May 1918 and the line opened to traffic on 15 August 1918, just 106 days later. Thus,

9576-405: The articles u and a for il/lo and la respectively; however, both the dialect of Cap Corse and Gallurese retain the original articles lu and la ). On the other hand, the phonemes of the modern Corsican dialects have undergone complex and sometimes irregular phenomena depending on phonological context, so the pronunciation of the language for foreigners familiar with other Romance languages

9709-558: The broader Italian sphere, considering Corsican "one of the lowest, impure dialects of Italy". It was the Italian Fascist aggressive claims to the island in the 20th century, followed by their invasion , that provoked a popular backlash, estranging the native islanders from standard Italian and, if anything, only accelerated their shifting to the French even further. By the Liberation of France , any previously existing link between

9842-588: The closure of the line to Le Crotoy was strong, and a preservation group was formed on 13 November 1969, initially under the name of Association Ferroviaire Picardie, and from 14 March 1970 the Chemin de Fer de la Baie de Somme (CFBS). The initial aim of the society was to preserve the line from Noyelles to Le Crotoy as a tourist line. The first tourist trains ran on 4 July 1971, but although the railway had permission from SNCF to run into Noyelles, they were not allowed to drop or collect passengers there under an agreement with

9975-438: The country's national language is analogous to that of many other French regions and provinces, which have or used to have a traditional language of their own, even though the islanders' switch from their local idiom to regional French has happened relatively later and the presence of Corsican, albeit declining, is still strongly felt among the population. In 1980, about 70 percent of the island's population "had some command of

10108-467: The dialects of Corsican (especially Northern Corsican) are in fact very mutually intelligible . Southern Corsican, in spite of the geographical proximity, has as its closest linguistic neighbour not Sardinian (a separate group with which it is not mutually intelligible), but rather the Extreme Southern Italian dialects like Siculo - Calabrian . It has been theorised, on the other hand, that

10241-524: The digraph or trigraph but might be just the non-nasal vowel followed by the consonant at full weight. The speaker must know the difference. Example of nasal: ⟨pane⟩ is pronounced [ˈpãnɛ] and not [ˈpanɛ] . The Northern and central dialects in the vicinity of the Taravo river adopt the Italian seven-vowel system, whereas all the Southern ones around the so-called "archaic zone" with its centre being

10374-521: The dual gauge line was opened in 1887, the station at Saint-Valery Ville then being a halt. 50°10′44″N 1°38′38″E  /  50.178975°N 1.643838889°E  / 50.178975; 1.643838889  ( Saint-Valery Ville ) This station opened on 6 September 1887. The station has always been dual gauge. 50°10′22″N 1°35′16″E  /  50.17288056°N 1.587830556°E  / 50.17288056; 1.587830556  ( Pendé Routhiauville ) A small halt serving

10507-524: The east coast; it linked Casamozza to Porto-Vecchio . After suffering much damage during World War II in September 1943, it was never restored, although the section between Casamozza and Folleli remained open until 1953. The track of the disused line, between Casamozza and Moriani , at 42°31′N 9°26′E  /  42.517°N 9.433°E  / 42.517; 9.433 , is being considered for reopening. The island's geography and topography has forced

10640-413: The end of the '65-66 season. Even as late as 1958, the CFBS lines were carrying some 50,000–55,000 tonnes (49,000–54,000 long tons ; 55,000–61,000 short tons ) of freight, including 35,000–40,000 tonnes (34,000–39,000 long tons; 39,000–44,000 short tons) of sugar beet and 10,000 tonnes (9,800 long tons; 11,000 short tons) of galets. In that year, a railcar caught fire at Cayeux, and the fire destroyed

10773-674: The entire length of the Somme Bay in the Somme département , in Picardy , northern France , it connected Le Crotoy with Noyelles-sur-Mer, Saint-Valery-sur-Somme and Cayeux-sur-Mer, including the sands at Brighton-Plage. Other minor stations or halts were provided near assorted villages, hamlets and farms. In its literature, the operating Association claims that past passengers have included Colette , Jules Verne , Anatole France , and Toulouse-Lautrec . These lines, with two others were grouped together as

10906-497: The evolution of Corsican starting from about the year 1950, whereas "distanciated Corsican" refers to an idealized variety of Corsican following linguistic purism , by means of removing any French-derived elements. The two most widely spoken forms of the Corsican language are the groups spoken in the Bastia and Corte area (generally throughout the northern half of the island, known as Haute-Corse , Cismonte or Corsica suprana ), and

11039-553: The existence of Corsican as the island's native vernacular did not take anything away from Paoli's claims that Corsica's official language was Italian. Today's Corsican is the result of these historical vicissitudes, which have morphed the language to an idiom that bears a strong resemblance to the medieval Tuscan once spoken at the time of Dante and Boccaccio , and still existing in peripheral Tuscany ( Lucca , Garfagnana , Elba , Capraia ). The correspondence of modern Corsican to ancient Tuscan can be seen from almost any aspect of

11172-569: The figure for the March 1999 census, when most of the studies—though not the linguistic survey work referenced in this article—were performed, was about 261,000. Only a fraction of the population at either time spoke Corsican with any fluency. According to an official survey run on behalf of the Territorial Collectivity of Corsica which took place in April 2013, in Corsica, the Corsican language had

11305-589: The freight traffic from Noyelles to Saint-Valery from SNCF. In 1976, there was a split within the CFBS/CFTIP, a splinter group, the Chemin de Fer Touristique de la Côte d'Opale (CFTO) running trains between Saint-Valery Ville and Cayeux. The CFTO folded in December 1977 and the Cayeux line reverted to the CFTIP. By the late 1970s, the growth in the numbers of passengers meant that more coaches were needed, but those inherited from

11438-444: The general Corsican traits: distinu , ghjinnaghju , sicondu , billezza , apartu , farru , marcuri , cantaraghju , uttanta , mumentu , tuccà , cuntinentale , aliva , arechja , acellu ). Across the Northern and Southern borders of the line separating the Northern dialects from the Southern ones, there is a transitional area picking up linguistic phenomena associated with either of

11571-515: The groups spoken around Sartène and Porto-Vecchio (generally throughout the southern half of the island, known as Corse-du-Sud , Pumonti or Corsica suttana ). The dialect of Ajaccio has been described as in transition. The dialects spoken at Calvi and Bonifacio ( Bonifacino ) are dialects of the Ligurian language . This division along the Girolata-Porto Vecchio line was due to

11704-465: The language, ranging from the phonetics, morphology, lexicon to the syntax. One of the characteristics of standard Italian is the retention of the - re infinitive ending, as in Latin mittere "send"; such infinitival ending is lost in Tuscan as well as Corsican, resulting in the outcome mette / metta , "to put". Whereas the relative pronoun in Italian for "who" is chi and "what" is che / (che) cosa , it

11837-530: The late empire. Modern Corsican has been influenced by the languages of the major powers taking an interest in Corsican affairs; earlier by those of the medieval Italian powers, such as the Papal States (828–1077), the Republic of Pisa (1077–1282) and the Republic of Genoa (1282–1768), and finally by France which, since 1859, has promulgated the official Parisian French. The term " gallicised Corsican" refers to

11970-431: The line to Cayeux for three more years, galets being carried by rail as late as 1970. The line from Saint-Valery to Cayeux closed with effect from 31 December 1972. The SNCF continued to use the standard gauge line between Noyelles and Saint-Valery for occasional freight trains. The SNCF line between Noyelles and Saint-Valery was last used on 6 February 1989 and closed with effect from 1 January 1993. Local opposition to

12103-447: The line to follow it. The network has 32 tunnels and 51 bridges and viaducts . The longest tunnel, at 3.9 kilometres (2.4 mi), is near Vizzavona . This tunnel is also the highest on the network, at 906 metres (2,972 ft) high. The viaduct at Vecchio, 140 metres (459 ft) long and 94 metres (308 ft 5 in) high, was designed by Gustave Eiffel . The CFC is the only metre gauge line in France carrying freight. One train

12236-416: The line was known as "La Ligne de Cent Jours" or The Line of One Hundred Days. The line was last used on 1 January 1919 and the track lifted in March and April of that year, thus ending the short life of the line. On 21 May 1940, German troops invaded the Baie de Somme area. Noyelles was the scene of Allied air strikes on various occasions. In September and October 1942, coastal defences were constructed in

12369-472: The local bus company. This arrangement lasting until 1986. With the announcement that the Cayeux line was to close, the CFBS set up a new company, the Compagnie des Chemins de Fer Touristiques et Industriels de Picardie (CFTIP), which was founded 17 April 1973. From 1973 to 1981 it was the CFTIP rather than the CFBS which was responsible for running the trains. The CFTIP was unsuccessful in its bid to take over

12502-475: The local dialect (called isulanu or maddaleninu ) was brought by fishermen and shepherds from Bonifacio over a long period of immigration in the 17th and 18th centuries. Though influenced by Gallurese, it has maintained the original characteristics of Southern Corsican. In the dialect of maddalenino , as it is known in Italian, there are also numerous words of Genoese and Ponzese origin. Although Gallurese and Sassarese both belong to Italo-Dalmatian , which

12635-560: The loco shed, which was rebuilt. In 1961, the SE merged with the Compagnie Générale de Chemins de Fer et de Transports Automobiles (CFTA). The CFTA had interests in road transport, and instigated a system of rationalisation and cuts. The company livery changed from green to red and cream. Both goods and passenger traffic declined during the middle '60s and the line from Noyelles to Le Crotoy closed with effect from 31 December 1969. CFTA worked

12768-432: The locomotive was destroyed. In November 1941, one of the metre-gauge trains was attacked between Noyelles and Saint-Valery, with several railway workers wounded. Cayeux saw much increased traffic in galets, temporary 600 mm ( 1 ft  11 + 5 ⁄ 8  in )-gauge lines being laid on the beach and down the streets of the village. A metre-gauge line was laid along the road from Lanchères to Ault , on

12901-473: The massive immigration from Tuscany which took place in Corsica during the lower Middle Ages: as a result, the northern Corsican dialects became very close to a central Italian dialect like Tuscan, while the southern Corsican varieties could keep the original characteristics of the language which make it much more similar to Sicilian and, only to some extent, Sardinian . The Northern Corsican macro variety ( Supranacciu , Supranu , Cismuntincu or Cismontano )

13034-534: The modernisation of rolling stock and infrastructure, thus reducing travel time. An extension of the network towards the airports at Bastia and Ajaccio is also envisaged. Services are provided with sixteen multiple units and locomotives . All are diesel-powered. There are also ten Billard railcars that have had their engines removed, used as trailers. These include XR113 , XR504 , XR505 and XR526 . Twelve AMG800 railcars are scheduled to be delivered between June 2007 and 2009. These will reduce journey times on

13167-431: The monastery closed its doors and were published there. Research into earlier evidence of Corsican is ongoing. Corsican is written in the standard Latin script , using 21 of the letters for native words. The letters j, k, w, x, and y are found only in foreign names and French vocabulary. The digraphs and trigraphs chj , ghj , sc and sg are also defined as "letters" of the alphabet in its modern scholarly form (compare

13300-419: The neighbouring Sardinia , Corsica's installment into a diglossic system with Italian as the island's prestige language ran so deep that both Corsican and Italian might be even, and in fact were, perceived as two sociolinguistic levels of a single language. Corsican and Italian traditionally existed on a spectrum, and the dividing lines between them were blurred enough that the locals needed little else but

13433-589: The nonprofit Association of Railway Bay of Somme (SFBC), established on 13 March 1970 decided to operate as a tourist railway line Sea Baths group linking Noyelles-sur-Mer in Crotoy, closed since 31 December 1969. The operation of the line is then only during the summer. Winter is conducive to maintenance of the line and equipment. Thanks to the financial support of different institutions (the municipalities served, Grand Picardy coast (formerly SMACOPI), General Council, Regional Council, State - DRAC, European Union etc.) enabled

13566-531: The operational use of the network and can communicate by "ground-to-train" radio with all trains. Automatic level crossings are installed at intersections with major roads and unguarded crossings to other crossings. The workshop equipment is installed in Saint-Valery Canal Station. Turntables exist at Noyelles, Saint-Valery Ville and Port, Le Crotoy and at Cayeux. However, the locomotives can travel in both directions of traffic without being rotated. E.332

13699-527: The original steam locomotives that worked on the Réseau des Bains de Mer have survived into preservation. The locomotive that most represents those that did work the line is the Haine-St.-Pierre loco, which carries works number 1316/1921. A group of eleven similar locos, works numbers 1304-14 inclusive were built in 1921 for the SE, and four of those are known to have worked on the Réseau des Bains de Mer system, including

13832-510: The over-65 age group: almost a quarter of the former age group reported that they were not able to understand Corsican, while only a small minority of the older people did not understand it. While 32 percent of the population of Northern Corsica was reported to speak Corsican quite well, this percentage dropped to 22 percent for Southern Corsica. Moreover, 10 percent of the population of Corsica spoke only French, while 62 percent code-switched between French and at least some Corsican. 8 percent of

13965-458: The preferred form of the literary tradition of his time was the vocero , a type of polyphonic ballad originating from funeral obsequies. These laments were similar in form to the chorales of Greek drama except that the leader could improvise. Some performers were noted at this, such as the 1700s Mariola della Piazzole and Clorinda Franseschi. However, the trail of written popular literature of known date in Corsican currently goes no further back than

14098-404: The presence of ch or ll in the old Spanish alphabet) and appear respectively after c , g and s . The primary diacritic used is the grave accent , indicating word stress when it is not penultimate . In scholarly contexts, disyllables may be distinguished from diphthongs by use of the diaeresis on the former vowel (as in Italian and distinct from French and English). In older writing,

14231-438: The rails of the standard gauge branch, which was also extended into Saint-Valery Ville. The line between Noyelles and Saint-Valery kept its Intérêt Général status, and the other lines had Intérêt Local status, with separate tickets being issued for each part of the route. The railway carried holiday-makers to seaside resorts, and transporting local freight of galets , sugar beet , chicory and shellfish . Running around

14364-455: The railway. The first lines opened on 1 August 1888 between Bastia and Corte and also between Ajaccio and Bocognano. The network was gradually opened in sections until 1894. A line to Porto-Vecchio opened in stages, the final section opening in 1935, but this was to be short lived owing to the war. There were proposals to build lines from Ajaccio to Propriano and also from Porto Vecchio to Bonifacio, but these lines were not built. In 1955, there

14497-408: The raw juice from the beet, and then sent it by pipeline to the sugar factory of Beauchamps. It had its own railway system and locomotives, which also worked on the CFBS line to Noyelles. Before the railway came, the port of Saint-Valery handled galets (flint or silica pebbles) brought on rafts from Cayeux. The galets were used in the building and ceramics industries. Local shellfish taken from

14630-603: The rediscovery of Corsican culture. Nationalist calls for Corsican to be put on the same footing as French led the French National Assembly, in 1974, to extend the 1951 Deixonne Law, which initially recognized only a few languages ( Breton , Basque , Catalan and Occitan ), to including Corsican as well, among others, not as a dialect of Italian, but as one of France's full-fledged regional languages.(See governmental support .) The common relationship between Corsica and central Italy can be traced from as far back as

14763-628: The standard gauge line between Boulogne and Amiens . In 1858 a single track branch opened to Saint-Valery sur Somme. Metre gauge branches opened to Le Crotoy and Cayeux in 1887, the latter being laid between the rails of the standard gauge branch to Saint-Valery. The final line to be built to Noyelles was a metre gauge branch to Forest l'Abbaye which opened on 24 August 1892 and closed to passengers on 10 March 1947 and freight on 1 February 1951. 50°10′34″N 1°39′08″E  /  50.17610833°N 1.652272222°E  / 50.17610833; 1.652272222  ( Saint-Valery Canal ) This

14896-455: The standard gauge line from Woincourt to Onival , with a branch (or separate 600 mm  / 1 ft  11 + 5 ⁄ 8  in gauge) line at Hautebut to a quarry near the coast. The Germans brought in a number of locomotives to work these lines, and after the war, nine of them were dumped just outside Saint-Valery, where three still remain (a fourth having been removed for restoration in 1997 - see below). On 2 December 1942

15029-575: The standard gauge to Cayeux, this time with the closure of the branch to Le Crotoy. The line from Saint-Valery Ville to Cayeux was relaid with 25 kg/m (50.4 lb/yd) rails recovered from the standard gauge Woincourt-Orival line, which closed to passengers in May 1939 and completely from 1 January 1947. In 1949 the CFBS acquired some second hand steam locomotives after the closure of the Réseau Albert . Three second-hand railcars were acquired in 1955 and

15162-490: The station Noyelles and Saint-Valery Port. Transhipment facilities for cargo still exist in Noyelles that are used in every Steam Festival. The various lines are single track, with passing loops in the station, allowing trains to cross. Except Noyelles station, equipped with a mechanical signaling system of the old SNCF type, there is little signalling on the line, and traffic safety is ensured by instructions. A Line Manager ensures

15295-523: The stations are: 50°13′12″N 1°37′53″E  /  50.22007778°N 1.631466667°E  / 50.22007778; 1.631466667  ( Le Crotoy ) This station is on the metre gauge branch from Noyelles, opened on 1 July 1887. There is a shed where the steam engines can be stored and light maintenance can be carried out. 50°13′02″N 1°39′35″E  /  50.21722222°N 1.659722222°E  / 50.21722222; 1.659722222  ( Favières ) A small halt serving

15428-659: The stop for the palatal lateral approximant: piddà , famidda , fiddolu , voddu ; imperfect tense like cantàvami , cantàvani ; masculine plurals ending in a : l'ochja , i poma ; having eddu/edda/eddi as personal pronouns), the Alta Rocca (the most conservative area in Corsica, being very close to the varieties spoken in Northern Sardinia), and the Southern region located between the hinterlands of Porto-Vecchio and Bonifacio (masculine singulars always ending in u : fiumu , paesu , patronu ; masculine plurals always ending in

15561-434: The time of the Liberation of France (1945), nearly every islander had at least a working-knowledge of French. The 20th century saw a vast language shift , with the islanders adapting and changing their communications to the extent that there were no monolingual Corsican-speakers left by the 1960s. By 1995, an estimated 65% of islanders had some degree of proficiency in Corsican, and a minority of around 10% used Corsican as

15694-497: The town of Sartène (including the Gallurese dialect spoken in Northern Sardinia) resort to a five-vowel system without length differentiation, like Sardinian . The vowel inventory, or collection of phonemic vowels (and the major allophones), transcribed in IPA symbols, is: Chemin de Fer de la Baie de Somme A branch to Saint-Valery had been proposed as early as 1845. In 1853

15827-859: The two groups, with some local peculiarities. Along the Northern line are the dialects around Piana and Calcatoggio , from Cinarca with Vizzavona (which form the conditional as in the South), and Fiumorbo through Ghisonaccia and Ghisoni, which have the retroflex [ɖ] sound (written -dd- ) for historical -ll- ; along the Southern line, the dialects of Ajaccio (retroflex -dd- , realized as - ghj -, feminine plurals ending in i , some Northern words like cane and accattà instead of ghjacaru and cumprà , as well as ellu / ella and not eddu / edda ; minor variations: sabbatu > sabbitu , u li dà > ghi lu dà ; final syllables often stressed and truncated: marinari > marinà , panatteri > panattè , castellu > castè , cuchjari > cuchjà ),

15960-432: The two linguistic varieties and with Italy altogether had been severed; any promotion of Corsican, which had been politicized by the local collaborators with the regime, would be met with popular criticism and even suspicion of potentially harboring irredentist sentiments. From then on, Corsican would grow independently of Italian to become, later in the 1970s, a centerpiece of the Riacquistu ("reacquisition") movement for

16093-427: The village of Favières . 50°12′33″N 1°40′48″E  /  50.20913889°N 1.679916667°E  / 50.20913889; 1.679916667  ( Morlay ) A small halt serving the village. 50°11′13″N 1°42′15″E  /  50.18704722°N 1.704144444°E  / 50.18704722; 1.704144444  ( Noyelles-sur-Mer ) A station was opened at Noyelles in 1847, being on

16226-510: The villages of Pendé and Routhiauville. 50°10′00″N 1°33′51″E  /  50.16671667°N 1.564083333°E  / 50.16671667; 1.564083333  ( Lanchères Pendé ) This station is on the metre gauge branch from Noyelles to Cayeux, it opened on 6 September 1887 and serves the villages of Lanchères and Pendé . 50°10′21″N 1°32′13″E  /  50.172425°N 1.536847222°E  / 50.172425; 1.536847222  ( Hurt ) This halt

16359-545: The water tower at Saint-Valery was destroyed. On 4 May 1944, the depot at Saint-Valery along with two rail cars and a locomotive, were destroyed by fire. In June, the Saint-Valery area was bombed as a diversion from the D-Day landings. On 19 August, the Resistance blew up the water tower at Noyelles, followed by an ammunition train on 1 September. English and Polish troops relieved Saint-Valery on 2 September, and proceeded to bombard

16492-594: The year 2000) and is a voluntary subject at the secondary school level, but is required at the University of Corsica. It is available through adult education. It can be spoken in court or in the conduct of other government business if the officials concerned speak it. The Cultural Council of the Corsican Assembly advocates for its use, for example, on public signs. In 2023, in a judgement initiated by local prefect and going in opposite direction of recent trends, usage of

16625-468: Was 1885 before the CF du Nord was able to get permission to use steam locomotives at Saint-Valery's docks, horse power having to be used before them. In the 1880s, there were various schemes to build narrow gauge lines of either 750 mm ( 2 ft  5 + 1 ⁄ 2  in ) or 1,000 mm ( 3 ft  3 + 3 ⁄ 8  in ) metre gauge in the Somme département. Eventually,

16758-486: Was a proposal to close the Calvi – Ponte-Leccia line; and in 1959 another proposal to close the whole network, which was successfully opposed by the railway workers and the citizens of Corsica. In 1972, another proposal for closure was fought off. With a length of 232 kilometres (144 mi), the network is composed of two lines, both single track: A third line of 130 kilometres (81 mi), opened between 1888 and 1935, served

16891-585: Was also typical of the early Italian texts during the Middle Ages. Even after the acquisition of Corsica by Louis XV , Italian continued to be the island's language of education, literature, religion and local affairs. The affluent youth still went to Italy to pursue higher studies. (It has been estimated that Corsican presence in Pisa amounted to a fourth of the University 's total student body in 1830.) Local civil registers continued to be written in Italian until 1855; it

17024-449: Was in the territory of Pisa , acquired about 40 legal papers of various sorts related to Corsica. As the church was replacing Pisan prelates with Corsican ones there, the legal language shows a transition from entirely Latin through partially Latin and partially Corsican to entirely Corsican. The first known surviving document containing some Corsican is a bill of sale from Patrimonio dated to 1220. These documents were moved to Pisa before

17157-592: Was on 9 May 1859, that Italian was replaced by French as the island's official language, although the latter would start to take root among the islanders from 1882 onwards, through the Jules Ferry laws aimed at spreading literacy across the French provinces. Even so, a specifically homegrown Corsican (rather than Italian) literature in Corsica only developed belatedly and, in its earliest phase, there were no autonomous cultural instances; Corsican writers, such as Salvatore Viale, even prided themselves on their affiliation to

17290-399: Was opened in 1890 after local people called for a station to be built. 50°10′47″N 1°30′03″E  /  50.17982778°N 1.500825°E  / 50.17982778; 1.500825  ( Cayeux (Brighton Plage) ) This station is the terminus of the metre gauge branch from Noyelles. It opened on 6 September 1887. In 1912, a 54 metres (59 yd) extension was built to serve

17423-466: Was perceived as different from Corsican, but not as much as the differences between the two main isoglosses of Northern and Southern Corsican, as spoken by their respective native speakers. When Pasquale Paoli found himself exiled in London, he replied to Samuel Johnson 's query on the peculiar existence of a "rustic language" very different from Italian that such a language existed only in Sardinia; in fact,

17556-537: Was sometimes carried in standard gauge wagons, but hauled by the metre gauge locomotives. This practice continued until 1973. After the Second World War, a plan was put forward to extend the standard gauge to Le Crotoy and Cayeux, with a new line to Le Hourdel at a cost of some FRF 150-200 million. In 1963 another proposal was made to extend the dual gauge track to Lanchères at a cost of some FRF93 million. Even as late as 1968 plans were being proposed to extend

17689-405: Was the site of the original terminus of the standard gauge branch from Noyelles, opened on 5 June 1858. It is now the site of their depot, although some of the original buildings still survive. 50°11′00″N 1°38′37″E  /  50.18347222°N 1.643530556°E  / 50.18347222; 1.643530556  ( Saint-Valery Port ) This was the main station for Saint-Valery when

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