The Sicilian language is in danger. There are many of us who speak it, but few who know how to write it. And every year there are fewer teenagers and children who know how to speak it well. So this week is a time to reflect on the use of language, to create momentum and grow a movement among everyone who works for Sicilian. This week is a time to change our habits regarding the language.

It is often said that Sicilian is a language only for family and close friends., but this wasn't always the case. This week is a time to be proud of being bilingual (or trilingual!). A moment to remember that it is normal to speak a regional language in Italy and Europe. If German, French, and Friulian are spoken in formal and official situations in other regions of Italy, why not Sicilian in Sicily?

So, this week is a time to celebrate the Sicilian language in Sicilian. Everyone can celebrate it as they want, but the main way is to speak Sicilian in new contexts. When you meet someone on the street, instead of starting the conversation in Italian, try "salutamu!", or in more formal situations, "Sabbinidica!" If you often post on social media, why not make some posts in Sicilian? And if you want to record a video of how these new conversations in Sicilian go, you can share them with the hashtag #simanadusicilianu!

For those who are shy about their level of Sicilian, this week is also a good time to study the language. But we all need to study the language, because like all tools, it gets rusty without use!

And for those who teach the language, or make art, or write in the language, we want to see what you do! Share these projects with us and we’ll publicize them, because we want to see that our community is active, alive, and that the language can grow a whole lot in just one week. And so we can meet each other, and knowing who else is doing good things for the language, a movement for the language grows.

Are you with us?