Editing Sardinian language (section)

==Present situation==
{{See also|History of Sardinia#Italian Republic and Sardinian autonomy|l1=Italian Republic and Sardinian autonomy|Language shift}}
[[File:Cartello Bilingue Italiano-Sardo.jpg|left|thumb|A bilingual sign in [[Villasor]]'s town hall]]
After [[World War II]], awareness around the Sardinian language and the danger of its slipping away did not seem to concern the Sardinian elites and entered the political spaces later than in other European peripheries marked by the presence of local ethno-linguistic minorities;<ref>{{cite book|author=Carlo Pala|year=2016|title=Idee di Sardegna|publisher=Carocci Editore|page=121}}</ref> Sardinian was in fact dismissed by the middle class,<ref name="degruyter.com"/> as both the Sardinian language and culture were still being held responsible for the island's underdevelopment.<ref name="Toso" /> The Sardinian ruling class, drawn to the Italian [[modernization theory|modernisation]] stance on how to steer the islanders to "social development", believed in fact that the Sardinians had been held back by their own "traditional practices" vis-à-vis the mainlanders, and that, in order to catch up with the latter, social and cultural progress could only be brought about through the rejection of said practices.<ref>Fiorenzo Caterini, ''La mano destra della storia. La demolizione della memoria e il problema storiografico in Sardegna'', Carlo Delfino Editore, p. 99</ref><ref>"Le argomentazioni sono sempre le stesse, e sostanzialmente possono essere riassunte con il legame a loro avviso naturale tra la lingua sarda, intesa come la lingua delle società tradizionali, e la lingua italiana, connessa ai cosiddetti processi di modernizzazione. Essi hanno interiorizzato l'idea, molto rozza e intellettualmente grossolana, che essere italofoni è essere "moderni". La differenza tra modernità e tradizione è ai loro occhi di sostanza, si tratta di due tipi di società opposti ''per natura'', in cui non-esiste continuità di pratiche, di attori, né esistono forme miste." {{cite book|author=Alessandro Mongili|year=2015|title=Topologie postcoloniali. Innovazione e modernizzazione in Sardegna|chapter=9|publisher=Condaghes}}</ref> As the language bore an increasing amount of stigmatisation and came to be perceived as an undesirable identity marker, the Sardinians were consequently encouraged to part with it by way of linguistic and cultural assimilation.<ref>"La tendenza che caratterizza invece molti gruppi dominati è quella di gettare a mare i segni che indicano la propria appartenenza a un'identità stigmatizzata. È quello che accade in Sardegna con la sua lingua (capp. 8–9, in questo volume)." {{cite book|author=Alessandro Mongili|year=2015|title=Topologie postcoloniali. Innovazione e modernizzazione in Sardegna|chapter=1|publisher=Condaghes}}</ref>

At the time of drafting of the statute in 1948, the [[Constituent Assembly of Italy|national legislator in Rome]] eventually decided to specify the "Sardinian specialty" as a criterion for political autonomy uniquely on the grounds of local socio-economic issues; further considerations were discarded which were centred on the ascertainment of a distinct cultural, historical and geographical identity, although they had been hitherto the primary local justifications arguing for home rule,<ref>"Rimangono, invece, inspiegabilmente in ombra i problemi legati agli aspetti etnici e culturali della questione autonomistica, per i quali i consultori non mostrano alcuna sensibilità, a differenza di tutti quei teorici (da Angioy a Tuveri, da Asproni a Bellieni) che invece proprio in questo patrimonio avevano individuato il title primario per un reggimento autonomo." Antonello Mattone, ''Le radici dell'autonomia. Civiltà locali e istituzioni giuridiche dal Medioevo allo Statuto speciale'', in {{cite book |first=Manlio |last=Brigaglia |title=La Sardegna. La cultura popolare, l'economia, l'autonomia |volume=2 |publisher=Edizioni Della Torre |year=1982 |page=33}}</ref><ref>Pintore, Gianfranco (1996). ''La sovrana e la cameriera: La Sardegna tra sovranità e dipendenza''. Nuoro: Insula, 13</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.condaghes.it/public/docs/relata_lege.pdf|title=Relazione di accompagnamento al disegno di legge "Norme per la tutela, valorizzazione e promozione della lingua sarda e delle altre varietà linguistiche della Sardegna", p. 7}}</ref><ref>Salvi, Sergio (1974). ''Le lingue tagliate'', Rizzoli, p. 193</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ufficiostudiangioy.it/news/storia_autonomia.pdf|title=Francesco Casula, Gianfranco Contu. ''Storia dell'autonomia in Sardegna, dall'Ottocento allo Statuto Sardo'', Dolianova, Stampa Grafica del Parteolla, 2008, pp. 116, 134|access-date=25 August 2019|archive-date=20 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020081840/http://www.ufficiostudiangioy.it/news/storia_autonomia.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sardegnacultura.it/j/v/258?xsl=258&s=24014&v=2&c=2480&t=7|title=Strumenti giuridici per la promozione della lingua sarda|publisher=Sardegna Cultura|access-date=30 April 2019|archive-date=30 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201030101540/http://www.sardegnacultura.it/j/v/258?xsl=258&s=24014&v=2&c=2480&t=7}}</ref> as they were looked down upon as a potential prelude to more autonomist or even more radical separatist claims;<ref>{{cite book|author=Carlo Pala|year=2016|title=Idee di Sardegna|publisher=Carocci Editore|page=118}}</ref> this view would be exemplified by a report of the Italian Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry into Banditry, which warned against a looming threat posed by "isolationist tendencies injurious to the development of Sardinian society and recently manifesting themselves in the proposal to regard Sardinian as the language of an ethnic minority".<ref>{{cite book|title=La lingua sarda nelle istituzioni. Quarant'anni di dibattiti in Consiglio Regionale|url=http://www.fondazionesardinia.eu/ita/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Libro-Pier-Sandro-Pillonca-lingua-sarda-e-istituzioni.pdf|year=2020|publisher=Edizioni Fondazione Sardinia|location=Rende|author=Pier Sandro Pillonca|page=12}}</ref> Eventually, the special statute of 1948 settled instead to concentrate on the arrangement of state-funded plans (baptised with the Italian name of {{lang|it|piani di rinascita}}) for the [[heavy industry|heavy industrial]] development of the island.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ufficiostudiangioy.it/news/storia_autonomia.pdf|title=Francesco Casula, Gianfranco Contu. ''Storia dell'autonomia in Sardegna, dall'Ottocento allo Statuto Sardo'', Dolianova, Stampa Grafica del Parteolla, 2008, p. 118|access-date=25 August 2019|archive-date=20 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020081840/http://www.ufficiostudiangioy.it/news/storia_autonomia.pdf}}</ref>

Therefore, far from generating a Statute grounded on the acknowledgment of a particular cultural identity like, for example, in the [[Aosta Valley]] and [[South Tyrol]], what ended up resulting in Sardinia was, in the words of Mariarosa Cardia, an outcome "solely based on economic considerations, because there was not either the will or the ability to devise a strong and culturally motivated autonomy, a "Sardinian specificity" that was not defined in terms of social backwardness and economic deprivation".<ref>"Un autonomismo nettamente economicistico, perché non si volle o non si poté disegnare un'autonomia forte, culturalmente motivata, una specificità sarda che non si esaurisse nell'arretratezza e nella povertà economica". Cardia, Mariarosa (1998). ''La conquista dell'autonomia (1943–49)'', in Luigi Berlinguer, Luigi e Mattone, Antonello. ''La Sardegna'', Torino, Einaudi, p. 749</ref> [[Emilio Lussu]], who admitted that he had only voted in favour of the final draft "to prevent the Statute from being rejected altogether by a single vote, even in such a reduced form", was the only member, at the session of 30 December 1946, to call in vain for the mandatory teaching of the Sardinian language, arguing that it was "a millenary heritage that must be preserved".<ref>{{cite book |first=Manlio |last=Brigaglia |title=La Sardegna. La cultura popolare, l'economia, l'autonomia |volume=2 |publisher=Edizioni Della Torre |year=1982 |pages=34–35, 177}}</ref>

In the meantime, the emphasis on Italian continued,<ref name="Lubello" /> with historical sites and ordinary objects being henceforth popularised in Italian for mass consumption (e.g. the various kinds of "traditional" {{lang|it|pecorino}} cheese, {{lang|it|zippole}} instead of {{lang|sc|tzipulas}}, {{lang|it|carta da musica}} instead of {{lang|sc|[[pane carasau|carasau]]}}, {{lang|it|formaggelle}} instead of {{lang|sc|pardulas}} / {{lang|sc|casadinas}}, etc.).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.enricolobina.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Comuna-univ-SE_ENG.pdf|title=Sardinia and the right to self-determination of peoples, Document to be presented to the European left University of Berlin – Enrico Lobina}}</ref> The [[Ministry of Public Education (Italy)|Ministry of Public Education]] once requested that the teachers willing to teach Sardinian be put under surveillance.<ref>{{cite news|title=Schedati tutti gli insegnanti che vogliono portare la lingua sarda nelle scuole|newspaper=Nazione Sarda|date=20 January 1981}}</ref><ref>"E in tempi a noi più vicini, con una nota riservata del Ministero della Pubblica Istruzione – regnante Malfatti – del 13-2-1976 si sollecitano Presidi e Direttori Didattici a controllare eventuali attività didattiche- culturali riguardanti l'introduzione della lingua sarda nelle scuole. Una precedente nota riservata dello stesso anno del 23–1 della Presidenza del Consiglio dei Ministri aveva addirittura invitato i capi d'Istituto a schedare gli insegnanti." {{cite web|url=http://www.manifestosardo.org/lingua-sarda-dallinterramento-alla-resurrezione/|title=Lingua sarda: dall'interramento alla resurrezione?|work=Il Manifesto Sardo|date=31 August 2014 |access-date=28 November 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://salimbasarda.net/cando-ischedaiant-sos-maistros-de-sardu/|title=Cando ischedaiant sos maistros de sardu|author=Salvatore Serra|year=2021}}</ref> The rejection of the [[indigenous language]] and culture, along with a rigid model of Italian-language education<ref>{{Cite book|title=Manuale di linguistica sarda|year=2017 |author=Eduardo Blasco Ferrer |author2=Peter Koch |author3=Daniela Marzo |publisher=De Gruyter Mouton|page=208}}</ref> which induced a denigration of Sardinian through corporal punishment and shaming,<ref>"The State's purpose to dismiss the ethnic language was particularly evident at school in the teachers' negative attitudes; they formally and informally objected to the students' use of their local idiom at school. The children's negative experience at school, where their language and culture were stigmatized as inferior, alienated them from school, and induced the families to teach Italian to their offspring in order for them to avoid discrimination and even harassment." {{cite book|author=Andrea Costale, Giovanni Sistu|title=Surrounded by Water: Landscapes, Seascapes and Cityscapes of Sardinia|publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing|year=2016|page= 123}}</ref><ref>"Come primo atto, il maestro decise di dividere la classe in due: da una parte sistemò i bambini che lui sapeva essere già "bravi", che appartenevano a famiglie di ceto e condizione superiore, che parlavano in italiano, dall'altra aggregò, ben distinti per banco, i bambini "non bravi", qualcuno più irrequieto di altri, qualche altro scalzo e che puzzava di pecora, quelli, cioè, che l'italiano non sapevano neppure cosa fosse, e che portavano addosso, ben impresso, il marchio dei figli della gleba. Quando poi fece l'appello, con mia grande sorpresa, scoprii che per la scuola e per il maestro io non ero più "Giuanneddu" ma "Giovanni"." {{cite book|author=Giovanni Melis Onnis|year=2014|title=Fueddariu sardu campidanesu-italianu|publisher=Domus de Janas|page=Presentazione|url=https://www.limbasardasudsardigna.it/sar/images/Documenti/Didatica_e_Ainas/Fueddariu%20sardu%20campidanesu-italianu%20Melis.pdf}}</ref> has led to poor schooling for the Sardinians.<ref>"Anche qui, per quanto riguarda le percentuali di posticipatari [ripetenti] presenti nel campione, viene rilevata una loro maggiore presenza nelle regioni settentrionali e una diminuzione costante nel passaggio dal Centro al Sud. In Val d'Aosta sono il 31% e nelle scuole italiane della Provincia di Bolzano il 38%. Scendendo al sud, la tendenza alla diminuzione è la stessa della scuola media, fino ad arrivare al 13% in Calabria. Unica eccezione la Sardegna che arriva al 30%. Le cause ipotizzate sono sempre le stesse. La Sardegna, in controtendenza con le regioni dell'Italia meridionale, a cui quest'autore vorrebbe associarla, mostra percentuali di ripetenze del tutto analoghe a quelle di regioni abitate da altre minoranze linguistiche." {{cite book|author=Roberto Bolognesi|title=Le identità linguistiche dei Sardi|publisher=Condaghes|year=2013|page=66}}</ref><ref>Mongili, Alessandro (2013). Introduction to Corongiu, Giuseppe, ''Il sardo: una lingua normale'', Condaghes, 2013</ref><ref>"Ancora oggi, nonostante l'eradicazione e la stigmatizzazione della sardofonia nelle generazioni più giovani, il "parlare sbagliato" dei sardi contribuisce con molta probabilità all'espulsione dalla scuola del 23% degli studenti sardi (contro il 13% del Lazio e il 16% della Toscana), e lo giustifica in larga misura anche di fronte alle sue stesse vittime (ISTAT 2010)." {{cite book|author=Alessandro Mongili|year=2015|title=Topologie postcoloniali. Innovazione e modernizzazione in Sardegna|chapter=9|publisher=Condaghes}}</ref> Roberto Bolognesi stated that in his school years in Sardinia, he had "witnessed both physical and psychological abuse against monolingual Sardinian-speaking children. The psychological violence consisted usually in calling the children "donkeys" and in inviting the whole class to join the mockery".<ref>{{cite book|author=Roberto Bolognesi|title=The Phonology of Campidanian Sardinian. A Unitary Account of a Self-organizing Structure|page=7|publisher=Holland Academic Graphics|year=1998|isbn=978-90-5569-043-5}})</ref> Early school leaving and high school failure rates in Sardinia prompted a debate in the early Nineties on the efficaciousness of strictly monolingual education, with proposals for a focus on a comparative approach.<ref>{{cite book|title=Manuale di linguistica sarda. Manuals of Romance Linguistics|year=2017 |author=Eduardo Blasco Ferrer |author2=Peter Koch |author3=Daniela Marzo |publisher=De Gruyter Mouton|pages=38–39}}</ref>

Claims for an autonomous solution to the Sardinian economic, social and cultural problems, which the 1948 Statute proved unable to resolve,<ref name="Toso" /><ref name="Salviaut">{{cite book|author=Sergio Salvi|year=1974|title=Le lingue tagliate|publisher=Rizzoli|pages=198–199}}</ref> came to the fore once again in the Sixties, with campaigns, often expressed in the form of political demands by [[Sardinian nationalism|Sardinian nationalists]],<ref>{{cite book|title=Manuale di linguistica sarda. Manuals of Romance Linguistics|year=2017 |author=Eduardo Blasco Ferrer |author2=Peter Koch |author3=Daniela Marzo |publisher=De Gruyter Mouton|pages=31–36}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.europenowjournal.org/2019/04/04/regional-identity-in-contemporary-sardinian-writing/|title=Regional Identity in Contemporary Sardinian Writing|website=www.europenowjournal.org}}</ref> to give Sardinian equal status with Italian as a means to promote cultural identity.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.sotziulimbasarda.net/maggio2007/eurolanglsc.pdf|title=New research shows strong support for Sardinian – Eurolang}}</ref> Antonio Simon Mossa had drawn from his past experiences across the world, including the newly independent country of [[Algeria]],<ref name="eliseoa">Eliseo Spiga, ''Il neo-sardismo'', in {{cite book |first=Manlio |last=Brigaglia |title=La Sardegna. La cultura popolare, l'economia, l'autonomia |volume=2 |publisher=Edizioni Della Torre |year=1982 |page=142}}</ref> that Sardinians were one of the many ethnic and national minorities facing the danger of cultural assimilation,<ref>"Mossa era un intellettuale poliedrico: architetto di grande talento, insegnante, giornalista, viaggiatore instancabile. Fin da giovane manifestò un particolare interesse verso le problematiche delle minoranze etnico-linguistiche, europee e mondiali, a rischio di estinzione e vittime di un "genocidio culturale". Un pericolo che incombeva anche sulla Sardegna, considerata da Mossa "un'unità o comunità etnica ben distinta dalle altre componenti dello Stato italiano"." {{cite book|title=La lingua sarda nelle istituzioni. Quarant'anni di dibattiti in Consiglio Regionale|url=http://www.fondazionesardinia.eu/ita/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Libro-Pier-Sandro-Pillonca-lingua-sarda-e-istituzioni.pdf|year=2020|publisher=Edizioni Fondazione Sardinia|location=Rende|author=Pier Sandro Pillonca|page=9}}</ref><ref name="eliseoa" /> and his fervor reverberated across the Sardinian society, pushing even some non-nationalist groups to take an interest in matters relating to minorities.<ref>{{cite book|title=La lingua sarda nelle istituzioni. Quarant'anni di dibattiti in Consiglio Regionale|url=http://www.fondazionesardinia.eu/ita/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Libro-Pier-Sandro-Pillonca-lingua-sarda-e-istituzioni.pdf|year=2020|publisher=Edizioni Fondazione Sardinia|location=Rende|author=Pier Sandro Pillonca|page=11}}</ref> Although a law was passed as early as 1955 for the establishment of five professorships of Sardinian linguistics,<ref name="coluzzi">{{cite book|author=Paolo Coluzzi|title=Minority Language Planning and Micronationalism in Italy: An Analysis of the Situation of Friulian, Cimbrian and Western Lombard with Reference to Spanish Minority Languages|publisher=Peter Lang|year=2007|page=45}}</ref> one of the first demands for bilingualism was in fact formulated in a resolution adopted by the [[University of Cagliari]] in 1971, calling upon the national and regional authorities to recognize the Sardinians as an ethnic and linguistic minority and Sardinian as the islanders' co-official language.<ref>"These claims have been put forward both on the political level (accompanied by demands for greater administrative autonomy) and on the academic level (the Council of the Arts Faculty in the University of Cagliari unanimously adopted in 1971 a resolution in defence of the Sardinian ethnolinguistic heritage." Commission of the European Communities, Istituto della Enciclopedia italiana (1986). ''Linguistic Minorities in Countries Belonging to the European Community'', ''Sardinian'', p. 109</ref><ref>"The University of Cagliari passed a resolution demanding from regional and state authorities the recognition of the Sardinians as an ethnic and linguistic minority and of Sardinian as their national language." {{cite book|title=Bilingualism and Linguistic Conflict in Romance|author=Rebecca Posner, John N. Green|page=272|year=1993|publisher=De Gruyter Mouton}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=La lingua sarda nelle istituzioni. Quarant'anni di dibattiti in Consiglio Regionale|url=http://www.fondazionesardinia.eu/ita/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Libro-Pier-Sandro-Pillonca-lingua-sarda-e-istituzioni.pdf|year=2020|publisher=Edizioni Fondazione Sardinia|location=Rende|author=Pier Sandro Pillonca|pages=12–13}}</ref><ref group=note>Istanza del Prof. A. Sanna sulla pronuncia della Facoltà di Lettere in relazione alla difesa del patrimonio etnico-linguistico sardo. Il prof.Antonio Sanna fa a questo proposito una dichiarazione: "Gli indifferenti problemi della scuola, sempre affrontati in Sardegna in torma empirica, appaiono oggi assai particolari e non risolvibili in un generico quadro nazionale; il tatto stesso che la scuola sia diventata scuola di massa comporta il rifiuto di una didattica inadeguata, in quanto basata sull'apprendimento concettuale attraverso una lingua, per molti aspetti estranea al tessuto culturale sardo. Poiché esiste un popolo sardo con una propria lingua dai caratteri diversi e distinti dall'italiano, ne discende che la lingua ufficiale dello Stato, risulta in effetti una lingua straniera, per di più insegnata con metodi didatticamente errati, che non tengono in alcun conto la lingua materna dei Sardi: e ciò con grave pregiudizio per un'efficace trasmissione della cultura sarda, considerata come sub-cultura. Va dunque respinto il tentativo di considerare come unica soluzione valida per questi problemi una forzata e artificiale forma di acculturazione dall'esterno, la quale ha dimostrato (e continua a dimostrare tutti) suoi gravi limiti, in quanto incapace di risolvere i problemi dell'isola. È perciò necessario promuovere dall'interno i valori autentici della cultura isolana, primo fra tutti quello dell'autonomia, e "provocare un salto di qualità senza un'acculturazione di tipo colonialistico, e il superamento cosciente del dislivello di cultura" ([[Giovanni Lilliu|Lilliu]]). La Facoltà di Lettere e Filosofia dell'Università di Cagliari, coerentemente con queste premesse con l'istituzione di una Scuola Superiore di Studi Sardi, è pertanto invitata ad assumere l'iniziativa di proporre alle autorità politiche della Regione Autonoma e dello Stato il riconoscimento della condizione di minoranza etnico-linguistica per la Sardegna e della lingua sarda come lingua &lt;&lt;nazionale>> della minoranza. È di conseguenza opportuno che si predispongano tutti i provvedimenti a livello scolastico per la difesa e conservazione dei valori tradizionali della lingua e della cultura sarda e, in questo contesto, di tutti i dialetti e le tradizioni culturali presenti in Sardegna (ci si intende riferire al Gallurese, al Sassarese, all'Algherese e al Ligure-Carlofortino). In ogni caso tali provvedimenti dovranno comprendere necessariamente, ai livelli minimi dell'istruzione, la partenza dell'insegnamento del sardo e dei vari dialetti parlati in Sardegna, l'insegnamento nella scuola dell'obbligo riservato ai Sardi o coloro che dimostrino un'adeguata conoscenza del sardo, o tutti quegli altri provvedimenti atti a garantire la conservazione dei valori tradizionali della cultura sarda. È bene osservare come, nel quadro della diffusa tendenza a livello internazionale per la difesa delle lingue delle minoranze minacciate, provvedimenti simili a quelli proposti sono presi in Svizzera per la minoranza ladina fin dal 1938 (48000 persone), in Inghilterra per il Galles, in Italia per le minoranze valdostana, slovena e ultimamente ladina (15000 persone), oltre che per quella tedesca; a proposito di queste ultime e specificamente in relazione al nuovo ordinamento scolastico alto-atesino. Il presidente del Consiglio on. Colombo, nel raccomandare ala Camera le modifiche da apportare allo Statuto della Regione Trentino-Alto Adige (il cosiddetto "pacchetto"), &lt;&lt;modifiche che non-escono dal concetto di autonomia indicato dalla Costituzione>>, ha ritenuto di dover sottolineare l'opportunità "che i giovani siano istruiti nella propria lingua materna da insegnanti appartenenti allo stesso gruppo linguistico"; egli inoltre aggiungeva che "solo eliminando ogni motivo di rivendicazione si crea il necessario presupposto per consentire alla scuola di svolgere la sua funzione fondamentale in un clima propizio per la migliore formazione degli allievi". Queste chiare parole del presidente del Consiglio ci consentono di credere che non-si voglia compiere una discriminazione nei confronti della minoranza sarda, ma anche per essa valga il principio enunciato dall'opportunità dell'insegnamento della lingua materna ad opera di insegnanti appartenenti allo stesso gruppo linguistico, onde consentire alla scuola di svolgere anche in Sardegna la sua funzione fondamentale in un clima propizio alla migliore formazione per gli allievi. Si chiarisce che tutto ciò non è sciovinismo né rinuncia a una cultura irrinunciabile, ma una civile e motivata iniziativa per realizzare in Sardegna una vera scuola, una vera rinascita, "in un rapporto di competizione culturale con lo stato (...) che arricchisce la Nazione" (Lilliu)". Il Consiglio unanime approva le istanze proposte dal prof. Sanna e invita le competenti autorità politiche a promuovere tutte le iniziative necessarie, sul piano sia scolastico che politico-economico, a sviluppare coerentemente tali principi, nel contempo acquisendo dati atti a mettere in luce il suesposto stato. Cagliari, 19 Febbraio 1971. {{cite book|author=Priamo Farris|year=2016|title=Problemas e aficàntzias de sa pianificatzioni linguistica in Sardigna. Limba, Istòria, Sotziedadi / Problemi e prospettive della pianificazione linguistica in Sardegna. Lingua, Storia, Società|publisher=Youcanprint}}</ref> At a time when the Italian "modernisation plans" in Sardinia were in full swing, the Italian government was apprehensive about this deliberation by the University of Cagliari as providing the timber for further ethnic unrest in the state's peripheries.<ref>{{cite book|author=Carlo Pala|year=2016|title=Idee di Sardegna|publisher=Carocci Editore|page=122}}</ref> Sergio Salvi's description of the Sardinians as a "forbidden nation" in Italy further contributed to the linguistic question gaining more notoriety at the national level.<ref>"S. Salvi described the Sardinians as a "nazione proibita" [forbidden nation] since their status as a linguistic or ethnic minority is nowhere reflected in national or regional legislation. His books (Salvi 1973, 1975) contributed significantly to the increased intensity in the controversy surrounding the language question." {{cite book|title=Bilingualism and Linguistic Conflict in Romance|author=Rebecca Posner, John N. Green|page=272|year=1993|publisher=De Gruyter Mouton}}</ref> A first legal draft concerning Sardinian as a language to be legally put on an equal position with Italian was developed by the Sardinian Action Party in 1975.<ref>{{cite book|title=Bilingualism and Linguistic Conflict in Romance|author=Rebecca Posner, John N. Green|page=272|year=1993|publisher=De Gruyter Mouton}}</ref><ref name="auto1">{{cite book|title=Manuale di linguistica sarda. Manuals of Romance Linguistics|year=2017 |author=Eduardo Blasco Ferrer |author2=Peter Koch |author3=Daniela Marzo |publisher=De Gruyter Mouton|page=37}}</ref> Critical acclaim in Sardinian cultural circles followed the patriotic poem ''No sias isciau''<ref group=note>"O sardu, si ses sardu e si ses bonu, / Semper sa limba tua apas presente: / No sias che isciau ubbidiente / Faeddende sa limba 'e su padronu. / Sa nassione chi peldet su donu / De sa limba iscumparit lentamente, / Massimu si che l'essit dae mente / In iscritura che in arrejonu. / Sa limba 'e babbos e de jajos nostros / No l'usades pius nemmancu in domo / Prite pobera e ruza la creides. / Si a iscola no che la jughides / Po la difunder menzus, dae como / Sezis dissardizende a fizos bostros." ("Oh Sardinian! If you are Sardinian and a good Sardinian as well, you should always keep your language etched in your mind: do not be like a submissive slave, speaking your master's language. The nation that loses the gift of its own language is fated to slowly fade out of existence, especially when it does not come to its mind anymore to write and speak. Not even at home is the language of our ancestors used anymore, for you consider it wretched and uncout. If you do not bring it to be taught in school so as to better spread its use, from now on you are going to be stripping the Sardinian identity out of your children.") In {{cite web|url=http://www.poesias.it/poeti/piras_raimondo/sonetti/No_sias_isciau.rtf|title=Piras, Raimondo. No sias isciau}}</ref> ("Don't be a slave") by Raimondo ({{lang|sc|Remundu}}) Piras some months before his death in 1977, urging bilingual education to reverse the ongoing trend of cultural De-Sardization.<ref name="Remundu" />

Indeed, during the late 70s reports were released that Sardinian was on course of being abandoned in favour of Italian in the towns and among the younger generation.<ref>{{cite book|author=Georgina Ashworth|title=World Minorities|volume=2|page=110|year=1977|publisher=Quartermaine House}}</ref> By then, a significant shift to Italian had been noted in rural Sardinia not only in the [[Campidano|Campidanese]] plain, but even in some inner areas that had been previously considered Sardinian-speaking bastions,<ref>{{cite book|title=Aspects of multilingualism in European language history|author=Kurt Braunmüller, Gisella Ferraresi|page=239|year=2003|publisher=University of Hamburg. John Benjamins Publishing Company|location=Amsterdam/Philadelphia}}</ref> manifesting a parallel shift of the values upon which the ethnic and cultural identity of the Sardinians was traditionally grounded.<ref>{{cite book|title=Sardegna: geografie di un'isola|publisher=Franco Angeli|year=2019|location=Milano|last1=Corsale|first1=Andrea|last2=Sistu|first2=Giovanni|page=193}}</ref><ref group=note>Gavino Pau, in an article published on [[La Nuova Sardegna]] (18 aprile 1978, ''Una lingua defunta da studiare a scuola'' "A defunct language to be studied in school"), claimed that "per tutti l'italiano era un'altra lingua nella quale traducevamo i nostri pensieri che, irrefrenabili, sgorgavano in sardo" and went on to conclude that for the Sardinian language "abbiamo vissuto, per essa abbiamo sofferto, per essa viviamo e vivremo. Il giorno che essa morrà, moriremo anche noi come sardi." (cit. in {{cite book|author=Giovanni Melis Onnis|year=2014|title=Fueddariu sardu campidanesu-italianu|publisher=Domus de Janas|page=Presentazione|url=https://www.limbasardasudsardigna.it/sar/images/Documenti/Didatica_e_Ainas/Fueddariu%20sardu%20campidanesu-italianu%20Melis.pdf}})</ref> From then onwards, the use of Sardinian would continue to recede because of the strongly negative view the Sardinian community developed toward it, assuming a self-belittling attitude which has been described as the emergence of a "minority complex" fairly typical of linguistic minorities.<ref>Mura, Giovanni (1999). ''Fuéddus e chistiònis in sárdu e italiánu'', Istituto Superiore Regionale Etnografico, Nuoro, p.3</ref> However, by the Eighties the language had become a point of ethnic pride:<ref>"It also became obvious that the polarization of the language controversy had brought about a change in the attitude towards Sardinian and its use. Sardinian had become a symbol of ethnic identity: one could be proud of it and it served as a marker to distance oneself from the 'continentali' [Italians on the continent]." {{cite book|title=Bilingualism and Linguistic Conflict in Romance|author=Rebecca Posner, John N. Green|page=279|year=1993|publisher=De Gruyter Mouton}}</ref> it also became a tool through which long held grievances towards the central government's failure at delivering better economic and social conditions could be channeled.<ref>"It also turned out that this segregation from Italian became proportionately stronger as speakers felt that they had been let down by the 'continentali' in their aspirations towards better socio-economic integration and greater social mobility." {{cite book|title=Bilingualism and Linguistic Conflict in Romance|author=Rebecca Posner, John N. Green|page=279|year=1993|publisher=De Gruyter Mouton}}</ref> A contradicting tendency has been noted by observing that, while Sardinian is held in a much more positive light than before, its actual use has notably decreased and keeps doing so.<ref>"The data in Sole 1988 point to the existence of two opposing tendencies: Sardophone speakers hold their language in higher esteem these days than before but they still use it less and less." {{cite book|title=Bilingualism and Linguistic Conflict in Romance|author=Rebecca Posner, John N. Green|page=288|year=1993|publisher=De Gruyter Mouton}}</ref>

A law by popular initiative for Sardinian-Italian bilingualism garnered considerable success as it kept gathering thousands of signatures, but was promptly blocked by the [[Italian Communist Party]] and thus never implemented.<ref>{{cite book|first1=Paolo |last1=Caretti |first2=Monica |last2=Rosini |first3=Roberto |last3=Louvin |title=Regioni a statuto speciale e tutela della lingua|publisher=G. Giappichelli | location=Turin, Italy |year=2017|page=67 |isbn=978-88-921-6380-5}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=La lingua sarda nelle istituzioni. Quarant'anni di dibattiti in Consiglio Regionale|url=http://www.fondazionesardinia.eu/ita/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Libro-Pier-Sandro-Pillonca-lingua-sarda-e-istituzioni.pdf|year=2020|publisher=Edizioni Fondazione Sardinia|location=Rende|author=Pier Sandro Pillonca|pages=14–16}}</ref> The same Italian Communist Party would later propose, however, another bill of its own initiative "for the protection of the language and culture of the Sardinian people" in 1980.<ref>"In August 1980 the Italian Communist Party (PCI) presented the regional council with another bill, and in October of that year a further proposal "for the protection of the language and culture of the Sardinian people" was put forward on the initiative of the education advisory council." {{cite book|title=Bilingualism and Linguistic Conflict in Romance|author=Rebecca Posner, John N. Green|page=273|year=1993|publisher=De Gruyter Mouton}}</ref> In the end, following tensions and claims of the Sardinian nationalist movement for concrete cultural and political autonomy, including the recognition of the Sardinians as an ethnic and linguistic minority, three separate bills were eventually presented to the Regional Council in the Eighties.<ref name="Rosita"/> In 1981, the Regional Council debated and voted for the introduction of bilingualism in Sardinia for the first time.<ref name="auto1"/><ref>{{cite book|title=La lingua sarda nelle istituzioni. Quarant'anni di dibattiti in Consiglio Regionale|url=http://www.fondazionesardinia.eu/ita/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Libro-Pier-Sandro-Pillonca-lingua-sarda-e-istituzioni.pdf|year=2020|publisher=Edizioni Fondazione Sardinia|location=Rende|author=Pier Sandro Pillonca|pages=21–44}}</ref> As pressure by a resolution of the [[Council of Europe]] continued to bear on Italian policy-makers for the protection of minorities, a Commission was appointed in 1982 to investigate the issue;<ref name="auto">{{cite book|title=Aspects of multilingualism in European language history|author=Kurt Braunmüller, Gisella Ferraresi|page=238|year=2003|publisher=University of Hamburg. John Benjamins Publishing Company|location=Amsterdam/Philadelphia}}</ref> the following year, a bill was presented to the Italian Parliament, but without success. One of the first laws approved by the Sardinian legislator with respect to the protection and promotion of the Sardinian language and culture was soon rejected by the [[Constitutional Court of Italy|Constitutional Court]] in 1994, which deemed it "exorbitant in a multitude of ways with regard to the supplementary and implementing powers enjoyed by the Region in matters of education";<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cortecostituzionale.it/actionPronuncia.do|title=Corte costituzionale -|website=www.cortecostituzionale.it}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Andrea Deplano|year=1996|title=Etnia e folklore: storia, prospettive, strumenti operativi|publisher=Artigianarte|location=Cagliari|pages=58–59}}</ref> it was not until 1997 that Sardinian was finally recognized by the regional law (n. 26 of 15 October 1997 "Promotion and enhancement of the culture and language of Sardinia") without there being any recourse from the Italian central government;<ref name="Legge Regionale 15 ottobre 1997" /> this law too, however, would prove to be more focused on the traditions and history of the Sardinian people than their language in itself.<ref name="coluzzi" />

A survey conducted by MAKNO in 1984 showed that three-quarters of the Sardinians had a positive attitude towards bilingual education (22% of the interviewees, especially in the [[Province of Nuoro]] and [[Province of Oristano|Oristano]], wanted Sardinian to be compulsory in Sardinian schools, while 54.7% would prefer to see teaching in Sardinian as optional) and official bilingualism like in the [[Aosta Valley]] and [[South Tyrol]] (62.7% of the population were in favour, 25.9% said no and 11.4% were unsure).<ref>Pinna, M.T. Catte (1992). ''Educazione bilingue in Sardegna: problematiche generali ed esperienze di altri paesi'', Edizioni di Iniziative culturali, Sassari, pp. 166–174</ref> Such consensus remains relatively stable to this day;<ref>"Se dunque il quadro delle competenze e degli usi linguistici è contraddittorio ed estremamente eterogeneo per le ragioni che abbiamo citato prima, non altrimenti si può dire per l'opinione. Questa è generalmente favorevole a un mutamento dello status pubblico della lingua sarda e delle altre lingue della Sardegna, le vuole tutelare e vuole diffonderne l'uso, anche ufficiale." {{cite book|first1=Paolo |last1=Caretti |first2=Monica |last2=Rosini |first3=Roberto |last3=Louvin |title=Regioni a statuto speciale e tutela della lingua|publisher=G. Giappichelli | location=Turin, Italy |year=2017|page=72 |isbn=978-88-921-6380-5}}</ref> another survey, conducted in 2008, reported that more than half of the interviewees, 57.3%, were in favour of the introduction of Sardinian into schools alongside Italian.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.sardegnacultura.it/documenti/7_88_20070514130939.pdf|title=Oppo, Anna. ''Le lingue dei sardi'', p. 50|access-date=23 June 2016|archive-date=7 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180107201700/http://www.sardegnacultura.it/documenti/7_88_20070514130939.pdf}}</ref> More research carried out in 2010 confirmed warm reception among the students' parents to introducing Sardinian at school, even though skepticism circulated around having it taught as the vehicular language of education.<ref>{{cite book|title=Manuale di linguistica sarda. Manuals of Romance Linguistics|year=2017 |author=Eduardo Blasco Ferrer |author2=Peter Koch |author3=Daniela Marzo |publisher=De Gruyter Mouton|page=40}}</ref>
[[File:No-smoking-sardinian.JPG|thumb|alt=Sign with graphic of crossed-out cigarette|Bilingual [[Smoking ban|no-smoking sign]] in Sardinian and Italian]]
In the 1990s, there had been a resurgence of Sardinian-language music, ranging from the more [[Music of Sardinia|traditional genres]] ({{lang|sc|[[cantu a tenore]]}}, {{lang|sc|[[cantu a chiterra]]}}, {{lang|sc|[[gosos]]}} etc.) to rock ({{lang|sc|Kenze Neke}}, {{lang|sc|Askra}}, {{lang|sc|Tzoku}}, {{lang|sc|[[Tazenda]]}} etc.) and even [[hip hop music|hip hop]] and rap (''Dr. Drer e CRC Posse'', ''Quilo'', {{lang|sc|Sa Razza}}, ''Malam'', {{lang|sc|Su Akru}}, ''Menhir'', ''Stranos Elementos'', ''Malos Cantores'', ''Randagiu Sardu'', ''Futta'' etc.), and with artists who used the language as a means to promote the island and address its long-standing issues and the new challenges.<ref>Scarparo, S., & Stevenson, M. (2020). ''Transcultural flows and marginality: Reggae and hip hop in Sardinia''. Modern Italy, 25(2), 199–212. doi:10.1017/mit.2019.65</ref><ref>''Storia della lingua sarda'', vol. 3, a cura di Giorgia Ingrassia e Eduardo Blasco Ferrer, CUEC, pp. 227–230</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lanuovasardegna.it/regione/2011/10/07/news/stranos-elementos-musica-per-dare-voce-al-disagio-sociale-1.3554525|title=Stranos Elementos, musica per dare voce al disagio sociale|date=7 October 2011|website=La Nuova Sardegna}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lanuovasardegna.it/sassari/cronaca/2012/04/27/news/il-passato-che-avanza-a-ritmo-di-rap-1.4430757|title=Il passato che avanza a ritmo di rap|date=28 April 2012|website=La Nuova Sardegna}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lanuovasardegna.it/sassari/cronaca/2012/12/15/news/cori-e-rappers-in-limba-alla-biennale-1.6202913|title=Cori e rappers in limba alla Biennale|date=16 December 2012|website=La Nuova Sardegna}}</ref> A few films (like ''Su Re'', ''Bellas Mariposas'', ''Treulababbu'', ''Sonetaula'' etc.) have also been dubbed in Sardinian,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://people.unica.it/antiocofloris/files/2011/03/Limba-e-tzinema-def.pdf|title=La lingua sarda al cinema. Un'introduzione. Di Antioco Floris e Salvatore Pinna – UniCa|access-date=29 May 2016|archive-date=11 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011061928/http://people.unica.it/antiocofloris/files/2011/03/Limba-e-tzinema-def.pdf}}</ref> and some others were provided with subtitles in the language.<ref>''Storia della lingua sarda'', vol. 3, a cura di Giorgia Ingrassia e Eduardo Blasco Ferrer, CUEC, p. 226</ref> The first scientific work in Sardinian ({{lang|sc|Sa chistione mundiali de s'Energhia}}), delving into the question of modern energy supplies, was written by Paolo Giuseppe Mura, Physics Professor at the University of Cagliari, in 1995.<ref>Mura, Giuseppe Paulu (1997). ''Sa chistione mundiali de s'energhia : inue semus andende chin-d una tecnologia et una economia chi non-giughent respettu pro sa natura?'', Cagliari, CUEC</ref>

Eventually, sustained activism made possible the ratification by Italy of the European [[Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities]] in 1998,<ref name="auto"/> which would be followed in 1999 by the formal recognition of twelve minority languages (Sardinian, [[Albanian language|Albanian]], Catalan, German, [[Greek language|Greek]], [[Slovene language|Slovenian]], [[Croatian language|Croatian]], French, [[Franco-Provençal language|Franco-Provençal]], [[Friulian language|Friulian]], [[Ladin language|Ladin]] and [[Occitan language|Occitan]]) through the framework law no. 482,<ref name="parl" /> in keeping with the spirit of Art. 6 of the Italian Constitution ("The Republic safeguards linguistic minorities by means of appropriate measures"<ref>[https://www.senato.it/documenti/repository/istituzione/costituzione_inglese.pdf Italian Constitution], Art. 6</ref>). While the first section of said law states that Italian is the official language of the Republic, a number of provisions are included to normalize the use of such languages and let them become part of the national fabric.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.salto.bz/de/article/20012017/sprechen-sardinien|title=Sprechen in Sardinien|date=28 January 2017|website=Salto.bz}}</ref> However, Italy (along with France and Malta<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2016/589794/EPRS_BRI(2016)589794_EN.pdf|title=European Parliamentary Research Service. ''Regional and minority languages in the European Union, Briefing September 2016''}}</ref>) has never [[Ratification|ratified]] the [[European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://messaggeroveneto.gelocal.it/cronaca/2013/06/06/news/l-ue-richiama-l-italia-non-ha-ancora-firmato-la-carta-di-tutela-1.7208776|title=L'Ue richiama l'Italia: non ha ancora firmato la Carta di tutela – Cronaca – Messaggero Veneto|work=Messaggero Veneto|date=6 June 2013 |access-date=28 November 2015}}</ref> Nevertheless, the law proved to be a positive step towards the legalization of Sardinian as it put at least an end to the ban on the language which had been in effect since the Italian Unification,<ref>"The legalization of the Sard language ends a ban on the language that has been in effect since Italian unification." {{cite book|author=James Minahan|year=2000|title=One Europe, Many Nations: A Historical Dictionary of European National Groups|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|page=591|isbn=0-313-30984-1}}</ref> and was deemed as a starting point, albeit timid, to pursue a more decentralized school curriculum for the island.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://jemi.myblog.it/files/lingue_minoranza_scuola.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140817111034/http://jemi.myblog.it/files/lingue_minoranza_scuola.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=17 August 2014|pages=237, 270–271|title=Lingue di minoranza e scuola. A dieci anni dalla Legge 482/99. Il plurilinguismo scolastico nelle comunità di minoranza della Repubblica Italiana|year=2010|author=Gabriele Iannàccaro}}</ref>

Still, some national [[school book]]s (education has never fallen under the region's remits and is managed by the state at the central level) have not stopped to squeeze the language into the [[Dialect#Italy|Italian acceptation]] of ''dialetto'' ("Italian dialect") in spite of its actual recognition by the state.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sardiniapost.it/cronaca/il-sardo-dialetto-campagna-boicottaggio-leditore-giunti/ |title=Il sardo è un dialetto. Campagna di boicottaggio contro l'editore Giunti |work=Sardiniapost.it |date=2 November 2013 |access-date=28 November 2015}}</ref> Sardinian is yet to be taught at school, with the exception of a few experimental occasions; Mauro Maxia noticed a lack of interest on the part of school managers, some request for Sardinian language classes notwithstanding.<ref name="Maxia">{{cite web|url=http://www.luigiladu.it/collaborazioni_siti_web/ctedde_la_situazione_sociolinguistica_della_lingua_sarda_settentrionale_di_mauro_maxia.htm|title=La situazione sociolinguistica della Sardegna settentrionale di Mauro Maxia|access-date=28 November 2015}}</ref> Furthermore, its use has not ceased to be disincentivized as antiquated or even indicative of a lack of education,<ref name="Tonzanu">{{Cite web|url=https://www.midesa.it/cgi-bin/show?art=Tonzanu.htm|title=Sa limba sarda|website=www.midesa.it}}</ref><ref>[http://www.francopiga.it/francopiga/index.php/la-lingua-sarda-oggi-bilinguismo.html La lingua sarda oggi: bilinguismo, problemi di identità culturale e realtà scolastica], Maurizio Virdis (Università di Cagliari) {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120125104657/http://www.francopiga.it/francopiga/index.php/la-lingua-sarda-oggi-bilinguismo.html |date=25 January 2012}}</ref> leading many locals to associate it with negative feelings of shame, backwardness, and provincialism.<ref>"...Per la più gran parte dei parlanti, la lingua sarda è sinonimo o comunque connotato di un passato misero e miserabile che si vuole dimenticare e di cui ci si vuole liberare, è il segno della subordinazione sociale e politica; la lingua di classi più che subalterne e per di più legate a modalità di vita ormai ritenuta arcaica e pertanto non-desiderabile, la lingua degli antichi e dei bifolchi, della ristrettezza e della chiusura paesane contro l'apertura, nazionale e internazionale, urbana e civile." Virdis, Maurizio (2003). ''La lingua sarda oggi: bilinguismo, problemi di identità culturale e realtà scolastica'', cit. in ''Convegno dalla lingua materna al plurilinguismo'', Gorizia, 4.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/mar/13/sardinian-professor-fighting-to-save-gaelic-bilingualism|title=The Sardinian professor fighting to save Gaelic – and all Europe's minority tongues|date=13 March 2016|website=the Guardian}}</ref> Similar issues of identity have been observed in regard to the community's attitude toward what they positively perceive to be part of "modernity", generally associated with the Italian cultural sphere, as opposed to the Sardinian one, whose aspects have long been [[Stigma (sociological theory)|stigmatized]] as "primitive" and "barbarous" by the political and social institutions that ruled the island.<ref>"Nella coscienza dei sardi, in analogia coi processi che caratterizzano la subalternità ovunque, si è costituita un'identità fondata su alcune regole che distinguono il dicibile (autonomia in politica, italianità linguistica, criteri di gusto musicali convenzionali non-sardi, mode, gastronomie, uso del tempo libero, orientamenti politici) come campo che può comprendere quasi tutto ma non-l'indicibile, cioè ciò che viene stigmatizzato come "arretrato", "barbaro", "primitivo", cioè sardo ''de souche'', "autentico". Questa esclusione del sardo ''de souche'', originario, si è costituita lentamente attraverso una serie di atti repressivi (Butler 2006, 89), dalle punizioni scolastiche alla repressione fascista del sardismo, ma anche grazie alla pratica quotidiana del ''passing'' e al diffondersi della cultura di massa in epoca recente (in realtà molto più porosa della cultura promossa dall'istruzione centralizzata)." {{cite book|author=Alessandro Mongili|year=2015|title=Topologie postcoloniali. Innovazione e modernizzazione in Sardegna|chapter=1|publisher=Condaghes}}</ref><ref>"Centuries of foreign domination have accustomed Sardinians to the authority's negative attitude towards their language and culture, and to the necessity of the use of a foreign language for formal affairs and in formal writing. It also triggered a negative attitude on the part of the Sardinians, if not a pervasive sense of inferiority of the Sardinian ethnic and cultural identity. The effects of the public institutions' rejection of the local culture and idiom had a particularly strong impact on the Sardinian population after the unification of Italy, and especially with the institution of the national school system." {{cite book|author=Andrea Costale, Giovanni Sistu|title=Surrounded by Water: Landscapes, Seascapes and Cityscapes of Sardinia|year=2016|publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing|page=123}}</ref> Roberto Bolognesi believes that the enduring stigmatisation of Sardinian as the language of the "socially and culturally disadvantaged" classes leads to the nurturing of a vicious circle that further promotes the language's regression, reinforcing its negative judgement among those who perceive themselves as "most competitive": "a perverse mechanism that has condemned and still condemns Sardinian speakers to social marginalisation, systematically excluding them from those linguistic and cultural interactions in which the prestigious registers and high style of language are developed, first and foremost in schools".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.comune.lode.nu.it/index.php/download/eyJpdiI6Iis2djEwYjg5eU5zcnRxOERJWkhVK0E9PSIsInZhbHVlIjoidWQrS2NZYkl3cmhxMHNGTXF3NnBSYk1iRG1PWDhHeE9MSEpcL1wvaVNZSUdrPSIsIm1hYyI6Ijk1YzM1ZDVkYzc0NTIyYjI2MDJkNGU3ZGM3NWIwYjM5ODE5YzJmNGM4OTAzZDAyZmU4YTJjZTc5ODg3ZDQwYjAifQ==/bilinguismo_e_diglossia.pdf|title=Un programma sperimentale di educazione linguistica in Sardegna|author=Roberto Bolognesi|year=2000|page=124|access-date=20 June 2022|archive-date=26 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326032219/https://www.comune.lode.nu.it/index.php/download/eyJpdiI6Iis2djEwYjg5eU5zcnRxOERJWkhVK0E9PSIsInZhbHVlIjoidWQrS2NZYkl3cmhxMHNGTXF3NnBSYk1iRG1PWDhHeE9MSEpcL1wvaVNZSUdrPSIsIm1hYyI6Ijk1YzM1ZDVkYzc0NTIyYjI2MDJkNGU3ZGM3NWIwYjM5ODE5YzJmNGM4OTAzZDAyZmU4YTJjZTc5ODg3ZDQwYjAifQ==/bilinguismo_e_diglossia.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[File:Segnaletica bilingue Sardegna.gif|thumb|left|alt=Bilingual sign pointing to a church|Bilingual Italian–Sardinian [[road sign]] in [[Siniscola]]]]
A number of other factors like a considerable immigration flow from mainland Italy, the interior [[Urbanization|rural exodus]] to urban areas, where Sardinian is spoken by a much lower percentage of the population,<ref group=note>Similar dynamics led the [[Irish language]] to be primarily spoken only in certain areas, known as ''[[Gaeltacht]]'' (Edwards J., ''Language, society and identity'', Oxford, 1985)</ref> and the use of Italian as a prerequisite for jobs and social advancement actually hinder any policy set up to promote the language.<ref name="Euromosaic" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uni-stuttgart.de/lingrom/marzo/EscursioneSitoItaliano/la_standardizzazione_del_sardo.html|title= Institut für Linguistik/Romanistik |work= [[Universität Stuttgart]]|access-date=28 November 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rivistaetnie.com/questione-lingua-sarda/|title=Una breve introduzione alla "Questione della lingua sarda" |website=www.rivistaetnie.com|date=30 July 2014 |access-date=28 November 2015}}</ref> Therefore, following the model proposed by a UNESCO panel of experts in 2003, Sardinian is classified by [[UNESCO]] as a "definitely [[Endangered language|endangered]]" language ("children no longer learn the language as mother tongue in the home"),<ref>Brenzinger ''et al.'' (2003). ''Language Vitality and Endangerment'', Document submitted to the International Expert Meeting on UNESCO Programme Safeguarding of Endangered Languages, Paris, p. 8</ref> on the way to become "severely endangered" ("the language is used mostly by the grandparental generation and up").

Language use is far from stable;<ref name="Rosita"/> following the Expanded GIDS (''Expanded Graded Intergenerational Disruption Scale'') model, Sardinian would position between 7 ("Shifting: the child-bearing generation knows the language well enough to use it among themselves but none are transmitting it to their children"<ref name="Simon">M. Paul Lewis, Gary F. Simons (2010). ''Assessing Endangerment: Expanding Fishman's GIDS'', p. 8</ref>) and 8a ("Moribund: the only remaining active speakers of the language are members of the grandparent generation"<ref name="Simon" />). While an estimated 68 percent of the islanders had in fact a good oral command of Sardinian, language ability among the children has plummeted to less than 13 percent;<ref name="Euromosaic" /><ref name="thirteen" /><ref name="thirteendottwo" /><ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.sardegna24.net/cultura/ai-docenti-di-sardo-lezioni-in-italiano-1.46195| title = Ai docenti di sardo lezioni in italiano, Sardegna 24 – Cultura}}</ref> some linguists, like Mauro Maxia, cite the low number of Sardinian-speaking children (with the notable case of a number of villages where Sardinian has ceased to be spoken altogether since 1993) as indicative of language decline, calling Sardinia a case of "linguistic suicide".<ref name="Maxia" /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lanuovasardegna.it/regione/2023/03/11/news/in-famiglia-si-riparla-il-sardo-i-figli-lo-insegnano-ai-genitori-1.100258380|title=In famiglia si riparla il sardo, i figli lo insegnano ai genitori|author=Paolo Curreli, La Nuova Sardegna|year=2023}}</ref> The depth of the Sardophone networks' increasing assimilation into Italian is illustrated by the latest [[National Institute of Statistics (Italy)|ISTAT]] data published in 2017, which confirm Italian as the language that has largely taken root as the means of socialization within Sardinian families (52.1%), relegating the practice of [[code-switching]] to 31.5% and the actual use of languages other than Italian to only 15.6%; outside the social circle of family and friends, the numbers define Italian as by far the most prevalent language (87.2%), as opposed to the usage of Sardinian and other languages which has dropped to 2.8%.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.istat.it/it/files//2017/12/Lingue-e-dialetti_2015_Tavole.xlsx|title=L'uso della lingua italiana, dei dialetti e delle lingue straniere|publisher=Istat|year=2017}}</ref> Today, most people who use Sardinian as part of day-to-day life reside mainly in the sparsely populated areas in the countryside, like the mountainous region of [[Barbagia]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gfbv.it/3dossier/eu-min/sardi-de.html|title=Sardinien: Ferienparadies oder stiller Tod eines Volkes? |author= Marco Oggianu|date= 21 December 2006|access-date=28 November 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Damien Simonis|title=Sardinia|year=2003|publisher=Lonely Planet Publications|isbn=978-1-74059-033-4|pages=[https://archive.org/details/lonelyplanetsard00dami/page/240 240–241]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/lonelyplanetsard00dami/page/240}}</ref>

A [[Bill (proposed law)|bill]] proposed by the [[Monti Cabinet|cabinet]] of the former Italian Prime Minister [[Mario Monti]] would have further lowered the protection level of Sardinian,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.axl.cefan.ulaval.ca/|title=L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde: page d'accueil|website=www.axl.cefan.ulaval.ca}}</ref> distinguishing between the so-called "national minorities", speaking languages protected by international agreements (German, Slovenian, French) and the "linguistic minorities" whose language is not spoken in any state other than Italy (all the other ethno-linguistic groups, including Sardinian). This bill, which was eventually implemented<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lanuovasardegna.it/regione/2018/12/30/news/scuola-e-minoranze-linguistiche-vertice-a-roma-1.17608951|title=Scuola e minoranze linguistiche, vertice a Roma|date=31 December 2018|website=La Nuova Sardegna}}</ref> but later deemed unconstitutional by the Court,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.giurcost.org/decisioni/2013/0215s-13.html|title=Consulta OnLine – Sentenza n. 215 del 2013|website=www.giurcost.org}}</ref> triggered a reaction on the island.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sassarinotizie.com/articolo-12111-universita_contro_spending_review_viene_discriminato_il_sardo.aspx|title=Università contro spending review "Viene discriminato il sardo"|work=SassariNotizie.com|access-date=28 November 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.buongiornoalghero.it/contenuto/0/12/4262/il_consiglio_regionale_si_sveglia_sulla_tutela_della_lingua_sarda.aspx|title=Il consiglio regionale si sveglia sulla tutela della lingua sarda|author=redazione|work=BuongiornoAlghero.it|access-date=28 November 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://notizie.alguer.it/n?id=50706|title=Salviamo sardo e algherese in Parlamento|work=Alguer.it|access-date=28 November 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rossomori.net/joomla/index.php/home/item/1694-il-sardo|title=Il sardo è un dialetto?|access-date=28 November 2015}}</ref> Students expressed an interest in taking all (or part) of their exit examinations in Sardinian.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.focusardegna.com/index.php/editoriali/106-do-you-speak-su-sardu|title=Do you speak... su Sardu?|author=Simone Tatti|work=focusardegna|access-date=28 November 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sardiniapost.it/cronaca/cagliari-promosso-a-pieni-voti-il-tredicenne-che-ha-dato-lesame-in-sardo/|title=Cagliari, promosso a pieni voti il tredicenne che ha dato l'esame in sardo – Sardiniapost.it|work=Sardiniapost.it|date=27 June 2013 |access-date=28 November 2015}}</ref><ref name="Elisa Melis">{{cite web|url=http://www.sardiniapost.it/cronaca/la-prof-continentale-dice-no-alla-studentessa-che-vuole-parlare-in-sardo-di-eleonora-darborea/|title=Eleonora d'Arborea in sardo? La prof. "continentale" dice no – Sardiniapost.it|work=Sardiniapost.it|date=9 July 2013 |access-date=28 November 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://lanuovasardegna.gelocal.it/sassari/cronaca/2013/07/20/news/esame-di-maturita-per-la-limba-1.7453282|title=Esame di maturità per la limba|work=la Nuova Sardegna|access-date=28 November 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.castedduonline.it/area-vasta/hinterland/15824/quartu-esame-di-terza-media-in-campidanese-studenti-premiati-in-comune.html|title=Quartu, esame di terza media in campidanese:studenti premiati in Comune|access-date=28 November 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://lanuovasardegna.gelocal.it/nuoro/cronaca/2014/07/01/news/studentessa-dialoga-in-sardo-con-il-presidente-dei-docenti-1.9522950|title=Studentessa dialoga in sardo con il presidente dei docenti|work=la Nuova Sardegna|access-date=28 November 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bentos.it/in-sardo-allesame-di-maturita-la-scelta-di-lia-obinu-al-liceo-scientifico-di-bosa/|title=In sardo all'esame di maturità. La scelta di Lia Obinu al liceo scientifico di Bosa|author=Antonio Maccioni|access-date=28 November 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.unionesarda.it/news-sardegna/sulcis-iglesiente/studente-sostiene-l-esame-di-terza-media-su-grazia-deledda-interamente-in-sardo-wzyev5as|title=Studente sostiene l'esame di terza media su Grazia Deledda interamente in sardo|date=24 June 2016|website=L'Unione Sarda.it}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.sardiniapost.it/cronaca/la-maturita-ad-orgosolo-studente-poeta-costume-sardo-tesina-limba/ |title=La maturità ad Orgosolo: studente-poeta in costume sardo, tesina in limba |date=4 July 2017 |work=Sardiniapost.it |access-date=26 September 2018 |language=it-IT |trans-title=Maturity in Orgosolo: student-poet in Sardinian costume, essay in limba}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.castedduonline.it/sardegna/oristano/48990/col-costume-sardo-all-esame-di-maturita-discute-la-tesina-in-limba.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170811070714/http://www.castedduonline.it/sardegna/oristano/48990/col-costume-sardo-all-esame-di-maturita-discute-la-tesina-in-limba.html|title=Col costume sardo all'esame di maturità discute la tesina in "limba", Casteddu Online|archive-date=11 August 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lanuovasardegna.it/olbia/cronaca/2018/07/11/news/all-esame-di-terza-media-con-una-tesina-in-sardo-1.17049944|title=All'esame di terza media con una tesina in sardo|date=11 July 2018|website=La Nuova Sardegna}}</ref> In response to a 2013 Italian initiative to remove bilingual signs on the island, a group of Sardinians began a virtual campaign on [[Google Maps]] to replace Italian place names with the original Sardinian names. After about one month, Google changed the place names back to Italian.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thelocal.it/20131014/sardinian-rebels-redraw-island-map|title=Sardinian 'rebels' redraw island map|date=14 October 2013 |access-date=28 November 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://lanuovasardegna.gelocal.it/regione/2013/09/16/news/la-limba-sulle-mappe-di-google-1.7749977|title=La limba sulle mappe di Google|author=di Federico Spano|work=la Nuova Sardegna|date=15 September 2013|access-date=28 November 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://lanuovasardegna.gelocal.it/sassari/cronaca/2013/10/15/news/su-google-maps-spariscono-i-nomi-delle-citta-in-sardo-1.7928840|title=Su Google Maps spariscono i nomi delle città in sardo|work=la Nuova Sardegna|date=15 October 2013|access-date=28 November 2015}}</ref>

[[File:Padre Nostro sardo.jpg|thumbnail|[[Church of the Pater Noster]] ([[Jerusalem]], Israel), [[Lord's Prayer]] plaque in Sardinian]]
After a signature campaign,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.labarbagia.net/notizie/comunicati-stampa/8582/facebook-in-sardo-e-possibile-ottenerlo-se-noi-tutti-compiliamo-la-richiesta-|title=Facebook in sardo: è possibile ottenerlo se noi tutti compiliamo la richiesta|website=www.labarbagia.net|date=19 December 2014 }}</ref> it has been made possible to change the language setting on Facebook from any language to Sardinian.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.giornalettismo.com/archives/1988531/facebook-sardo-come-si-mette/|title=Come si mette la lingua sarda su Facebook|work=Giornalettismo|date=8 January 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sardegnalive.net/it/news/via-alle-traduzioni-facebook-in-sardo-sara-presto-una-realta|title=Via alle traduzioni, Facebook in sardo sarà presto una realtà}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sardiniapost.it/cronaca/ora-facebook-parla-sardo-successo-la-app-limba/|title=Ora Facebook parla sardo, successo per la App in limba|date=3 July 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wired.it/internet/social-network/2016/07/22/arrivato-facebook-in-lingua-sarda/|title=È arrivato Facebook in lingua sarda|date=22 July 2016}}</ref> It is also possible to switch to Sardinian even in [[Telegram (software)|Telegram]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.sagazeta.info/2016/12/telegram-in-sardu-oe-si-podet.html|title=Telegram in sardu: oe si podet, ''Sa Gazeta''|access-date=19 January 2017|archive-date=31 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170131195842/http://www.sagazeta.info/2016/12/telegram-in-sardu-oe-si-podet.html}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vilaweb.cat/noticies/tecnologies-de-la-sobirania/|title=Tecnologies de la sobirania|website=VilaWeb}}</ref> and a number of other programs, like [[F-Droid]], [[Diaspora (social network)|Diaspora]], [[OsmAnd]], [[Notepad++]], [[QGIS]], [[Swiftkey]], [[Stellarium (software)|Stellarium]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lanuovasardegna.it/oristano/cronaca/2017/03/24/news/la-limba-nel-cielo-le-costellazioni-ribattezzate-in-sardo-1.15085534|title=La limba nel cielo: le costellazioni ribattezzate in sardo|date=24 March 2017|website=La Nuova Sardegna}}</ref> [[Skype]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sourceforge.net/projects/skypeinyourlang/|title=SkypeInYourLanguage|website=SourceForge|date=16 April 2018 }}</ref> [[VLC media player]] for Android and iOS, [[Linux Mint]] Debian Edition 2 "Betsy", [[Firefox]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Loddo |first=Mauro |date=2023-03-17 |title=Firefox, como su navigadore web faeddat sardu |url=https://www.istorias.it/17/03/2023/8158/firefox-como-su-navigadore-web-faeddat-sardu/ |access-date=2023-03-26 |website=Istòrias |language=sc}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-03-15 |title=Firefox parla in sardo: la missione di Sardware per diffondere la limba sul web |url=https://www.lanuovasardegna.it/regione/2023/03/15/news/firefox-parla-in-sardo-la-missione-di-sardware-per-diffondere-la-limba-sul-web-1.100262119 |access-date=2023-03-26 |website=La Nuova Sardegna |language=it}}</ref> etc. The [[DuckDuckGo]] search engine is available in Sardinian as well. In 2016, the first automatic translation software from Italian to Sardinian was developed.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.unionesarda.it/articolo/cultura/2016/08/31/finanziato_da_google_nasce_il_primo_traduttore_automatico_per_la-8-529325.html|title=''Finanziato da Google nasce il primo traduttore automatico per la lingua sarda'', Unione Sarda|access-date=16 August 2017|archive-date=16 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170816191842/http://www.unionesarda.it/articolo/cultura/2016/08/31/finanziato_da_google_nasce_il_primo_traduttore_automatico_per_la-8-529325.html}}</ref>

In 2015, all the political parties in the Sardinian regional council reached an agreement concerning a series of amendments to the old 1997 law to be able to introduce the optional teaching of the language in Sardinia's schools.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalia.info/en/news/2057|title=Sardinia's parties strike deal to introduce Sardinian language teaching in schools|work=Nationalia|access-date=28 November 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://consiglio.regione.sardegna.it/XVLegislatura/Disegni%20e%20proposte%20di%20legge/PL167.asp|title=Proposta di legge n. 167 – XV Legislatura|access-date=28 November 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sardegnaoggi.it/Politica/2015-01-16/27645/Lingua_sarda_dalla_Regione_3_milioni_di_euro_per_insegnarla_nelle_scuole.html|title=Lingua sarda, dalla Regione 3 milioni di euro per insegnarla nelle scuole|work=Sardegna Oggi|access-date=28 November 2015}}</ref> The Unified Text on the Discipline of the Regional linguistic policy<ref name="Legge Regionale 3 Luglio 2018" /> was eventually approved on 27 June 2018, with the aim of setting in motion a path towards bilingual administration, contributions to bilingual mass media, publishing, IT schools and websites; it also allowed for the foundation of a Sardinian board (''Consulta de su Sardu'') with thirty experts that would propose a linguistic standard based on the main historical varieties, and would also have advisory duties towards the Regional body.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.repubblica.it/cronaca/2018/06/27/news/sardegna_si_alla_legge_per_la_tutela_della_lingua_sara_insegnata_nelle_scuole-200181093/|title=Sardegna, sì alla legge per la tutela della lingua: sarà insegnata nelle scuole|date=27 June 2018|website=la Repubblica}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lanuovasardegna.it/regione/2018/06/27/news/sardegna-approvata-la-legge-che-da-lo-status-ufficiale-di-lingua-al-sardo-1.17007538|title=Sardegna, approvata la legge che dà lo status ufficiale di lingua al sardo|date=27 June 2018|website=La Nuova Sardegna}}</ref> However, said law has yet to be followed up by the respective implementing decrees, the lack of which prevents it from being legally applicable.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.unionesarda.it/articolo/cultura/2019/12/18/lingua-sarda-quest-anno-niente-corsi-nelle-scuole-8-966191.html|title=Lingua sarda: quest'anno niente corsi nelle scuole|newspaper=L'Unione Sarda|year=2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lanuovasardegna.it/sassari/cronaca/2019/12/17/news/manca-5stelle-denuncia-100-docenti-di-lingua-sarda-rischiano-il-lavoro-1.38224952|title=Manca, 5Stelle, denuncia: 100 docenti di lingua sarda rischiano il lavoro|year=2019|newspaper=La Nuova Sardegna}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lanuovasardegna.it/regione/2020/02/23/news/niente-lingua-sarda-a-scuola-la-legge-regionale-e-inattuata-1.38509796|title=Niente lingua sarda a scuola, la legge regionale è inattuata|year=2020|newspaper=La Nuova Sardegna}}</ref> Some Sardinian language activists and activist groups have also contested the law itself, considering it a political attack on Sardinian made to try to negate its uniformity and to relegate it to folklore, and also noted how its text contains a few parts that could bring the Italian government to challenge it.<ref>{{Cite web |date=9 June 2017|title=Proposta de lege pro su sardu, non bi semus. Ite nde pensat su CSU|url=https://salimbasarda.net/proposta-de-lege-pro-su-sardu-non-bi-semus-ite-nde-pensat-su-csu/|access-date=14 November 2020|website=Limba Sarda 2.0|language=sc}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=20 June 2017|title=Nono, gasi no andat bene. Su CSU e sa proposta de lege pro sa limba sarda – Limba Sarda 2.0|url=https://salimbasarda.net/nono-gasi-no-andat-bene-su-csu-e-sa-proposta-de-lege-pro-sa-limba-sarda/|access-date=14 November 2020|website=Limba Sarda 2.0|language=sc}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Coròngiu|first=Pepe|date=6 April 2018|title=Nono a sa lege chi cheret truncare su sardu – Limba Sarda 2.0|url=https://salimbasarda.net/nono-a-sa-lege-chi-cheret-truncare-su-sardu/|access-date=14 November 2020|website=Limba Sarda 2.0|language=sc}}</ref>

In 2021 the Prosecutor of [[Oristano]] opened a Sardinian linguistic desk, both to support citizens and to provide advice and translations to magistrates and the police. It has been the first time in Italy in which such a service has been offered to a minority language.<ref>{{Cite news|date=20 January 2020|title=Nella Procura di Oristano si parla sardo: primo sportello giudiziario in Italia per una lingua minoritaria|language=it|work=La Nuova Sardegna|url=https://www.lanuovasardegna.it/oristano/cronaca/2021/01/20/news/nella-procura-di-oristano-si-parla-sardo-primo-sportello-giudiziario-in-italia-per-una-lingua-minoritaria-1.39797637|access-date=23 January 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=22 January 2021|title=Su tribunale de Aristanis immoe faeddat in limba sarda|language=sc|work=Istòrias|url=https://www.istorias.it/22/01/2021/5807/su-tribunale-de-aristanis-immoe-faeddat-in-limba-sarda/|access-date=23 January 2021}}</ref>

Although there is still not an option to teach Sardinian on the island itself, let alone in Italy, some language courses are instead sometimes available in Germany (Universities of [[University of Stuttgart|Stuttgart]], [[Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich|Munich]], [[University of Tübingen|Tübingen]], [[University of Mannheim|Mannheim]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ladonnasarda.it/storie/6952/30-e-lode-in-lingua-sarda-per-gli-studenti-tedeschi.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170302030849/http://www.ladonnasarda.it/storie/6952/30-e-lode-in-lingua-sarda-per-gli-studenti-tedeschi.html|title=30 e lode in lingua sarda per gli studenti tedeschi, La Donna Sarda|archive-date=2 March 2017}}</ref> etc.), Spain ([[University of Girona]]),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lanuovasardegna.gelocal.it/regione/2015/05/18/news/i-tedeschi-studiano-il-sardo-nell-isola-1.11449200|title=I tedeschi studiano il sardo nell'isola|date=18 May 2015|work=la Nuova Sardegna|access-date=28 November 2015}}</ref> [[Iceland]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.videolina.it/articolo/tg/2018/02/15/da_mogoro_all_islanda_per_insegnare_il_sardo_cos_promuovo_l_isola-78-697973.html|title=DA MOGORO ALL'ISLANDA PER INSEGNARE IL SARDO: "COSÌ PROMUOVO L'ISOLA"|date=15 February 2018|website=Videolina}}</ref> and [[Czech Republic]] ([[Brno]] university).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lanuovasardegna.gelocal.it/sassari/cronaca/2014/08/23/news/studenti-cechi-imparano-il-sardo-1.9806286|title=Studenti cechi imparano il sardo – Cronaca – la Nuova Sardegna|work=la Nuova Sardegna|date=24 August 2014|access-date=28 November 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sardiniapost.it/culture/ecco-come-insegno-il-sardo-nella-repubblica-ceca/|title=Ecco come insegno il sardo nella Repubblica Ceca |work=Sardiniapost.it|date=8 November 2015 |access-date=28 November 2015}}</ref> [[Shigeaki Sugeta]] also taught Sardinian to his students of Romance languages at the [[Waseda University]] in Tokyo (Japan),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ricerca.gelocal.it/lanuovasardegna/archivio/lanuovasardegna/2008/07/19/SO1SO_SO106.html|title=In città il professore giapponese che insegna la lingua sarda a Tokio|work=Archivio – La Nuova Sardegna|access-date=28 November 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://ricerca.gelocal.it/lanuovasardegna/archivio/lanuovasardegna/2010/09/24/SN6PO_SN601.html|title=Limba made in Japan|work=Archivio – La Nuova Sardegna|access-date=28 November 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://ricerca.gelocal.it/lanuovasardegna/archivio/lanuovasardegna/2010/09/24/SN0PO_SN009.html|title=Il professore giapponese che insegna il sardo ai sardi|work=Archivio – La Nuova Sardegna|access-date=28 November 2015}}</ref> and would even release a Sardinian–Japanese dictionary out of it.<ref>{{cite book|title=Su bocabulariu sinotticu nugoresu-giapponesu-italianu|author=Shigeaki Sugeta|publisher=Della Torre|year=2000}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vistanet.it/2016/11/10/un-docente-giapponese-pensione-scritto-vocabolario-sardo-italiano-giapponese/|title=Un docente giapponese in pensione ha scritto il vocabolario sardo-italiano-giapponese &#124; Vistanet|date=10 November 2016}}</ref>
[[File:Minoranze linguistiche it.svg|250px|thumb|left|The Sardinian-speaking community among the other minority language groups officially recognized by Italy<ref>{{cite book|author= Sergio Lubello|year=2016|title=Manuale Di Linguistica Italiana, Manuals of Romance linguistics|publisher=De Gruyter|page=506}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.minoranze-linguistiche-scuola.it/carta-generale/ |title=Lingue di minoranza e scuola, Carta Generale. Ministero della Pubblica Istruzione |access-date=16 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010152621/http://www.minoranze-linguistiche-scuola.it/carta-generale/ |archive-date=10 October 2017 }}</ref>]]
At present, the Sardinian-speaking community is the least protected one in Italy, despite being the largest minority language group officially recognized by the state.<ref name="Ministero" /><ref name="ISTAT2" /> In fact the language, which is receding in all domains of use, is still not given access to any field of public life,<ref name="Euromosaic" /><ref>"Lo stato italiano che, nel passato e ancora oggi, controlla la maggioranza dei settori della sfera pubblica, è stato responsabile di aver trascurato e anche denigrato la lingua sarda. Attraverso l'istruzione, i media e l'assenza della lingua sarda nella sfera pubblica, la popolazione locale ha assistito alla svalutazione e al disprezzo della sua lingua e della sua cultura." {{cite book|author=Naomi Wells|title=Multilinguismo nello Stato-Nazione, in Contarini, Silvia. Marras, Margherita. Pias, Giuliana. L'identità sarda del XXI secolo tra globale, locale e postcoloniale|year=2012|page=161|publisher=Il Maestrale|location=Nuoro}}</ref> such as education (Italian–Sardinian bilingualism is still frowned upon,<ref name="Maxia" /><ref name="Elisa Melis" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.gaia.es/multilinguae/pdf/Guido.PDF|title=The internet as a Rescue Tool of Endangered Languages: Sardinian – Free University of Berlin}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sardiniapost.it/senza-categoria/elisa-la-studentessa-cui-e-stata-negata-la-tesina-in-sardo-semus-in-custa-terra-e-no-ischimus-nudda/|title=IL VIDEO/ Elisa, la studentessa cui è stata negata la tesina in sardo: "Semus in custa terra e no ischimus nudda"|date=14 July 2013}}</ref> while the local public universities play little, if any, role whatsoever in supporting the language<ref name="Stuttgart">{{Cite web|url=https://www.ling.uni-stuttgart.de/institut/ilr/team/|title=Team &#124; Institut für Linguistik &#124; Universität Stuttgart|website=www.ling.uni-stuttgart.de}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vitobiolchini.it/2011/07/20/caro-mastino-non-negare-levidenza-per-te-il-sardo-e-una-lingua-morta-che-luniversita-di-sassari-vorrebbe-insegnare-come-se-fosse-il-latino/|title=Caro Mastino, non negare l'evidenza: per te il sardo è una lingua morta. Che l'Università di Sassari vorrebbe insegnare come se fosse il latino|work=vitobiolchini|date=20 July 2011 |access-date=28 November 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sanatzione.eu/2013/11/lingua-sarda-la-figuraccia-di-mastino-rettore-delluniversita-di-sassari/|title=Lingua Sarda: La figuraccia di Mastino, rettore dell'Università di Sassari|access-date=28 November 2015}}</ref>), politics (with the exception of some nationalist groups<ref>''Language and nationalism in Europe'', edited by Stephen Barbour and Cathie Carmichael, Oxford University Press, p. 178</ref>), justice, administrative authorities and public services, media,<ref>{{cite book|author=Naomi Wells|title=Multilinguismo nello Stato-Nazione, in Contarini, Silvia. Marras, Margherita. Pias, Giuliana. L'identità sarda del XXI secolo tra globale, locale e postcoloniale|year=2012|pages=163–166|publisher=Il Maestrale|location=Nuoro}}</ref><ref>"L'utilizzo della lingua sarda nelle scuole è pressoché assente e i vari progetti realmente esistenti non sono dislocati su tutto il territorio regionale in maniera omogenea così come nei mass media, ancor più dopo la bocciatura del Senato della possibilità di inserire anche il sardo nella programmazione regionale nelle zone in cui sono presenti minoranze linguistiche." {{cite book|author=Carlo Pala|year=2016|title=Idee di Sardegna|publisher=Carocci Editore|pages=125–126}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uni-stuttgart.de/lingrom/marzo/EscursioneSitoItaliano/i_mass_media.html|title=- Institut für Linguistik/Romanistik – Universität Stuttgart|access-date=28 November 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://lanuovasardegna.gelocal.it/regione/2015/08/01/news/no-al-sardo-in-rai-pigliaru-discriminazione-inaccettabile-1.11867688?ref=hfnsssbr-3|title=No al sardo in Rai, Pigliaru: "Discriminazione inaccettabile"|date=1 August 2015|work=la Nuova Sardegna|access-date=28 November 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalia.info/new/10653/bill-excluding-sardinian-friulian-from-rai-broadcasts-sparks-protest|title=Bill excluding Sardinian, Friulian from RAI broadcasts sparks protest|work=Nationalia|access-date=28 November 2015}}</ref> and cultural,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://arablit.org/2015/11/18/on-why-i-translated-zakaria-tamers-stories-from-arabic-into-sardinian/ |title=On Why I Translated Zakaria Tamer's Stories from Arabic into Sardinian |last=Columbu |first=Alessandro |date=18 November 2015 |website=ArabLit |access-date=28 November 2015}}</ref> ecclesiastical,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sardiniapost.it/cronaca/533141/|title=Niente messa in limba, lettera al vescovo: "Perché non parlare in sardo?"|work=Sardiniapost.it|date=9 January 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.castedduonline.it/cagliari/centro-storico/30948/messa-vietata-in-sardo-lettera-aperta-all-arcivescovo-miglio.html|title=Messa vietata in sardo: lettera aperta all'arcivescovo Miglio|work=Casteddu Online|date=8 January 2016}}</ref> economic and social activities, as well as facilities.<ref>"Tutte le lingue dei sardi sono prive di uno status ufficiale che non-sia un mero riconoscimento legislativo, non-hanno protezione legale né supporto finanziario, e solo il sardo ha una qualche forma di codifica e di standardizzazione ma che sono sconosciute ai parlanti, nessuna è impiegata se non-episodicamente sui media, a scuola, dalla Chiesa, dall'amministrazione e dalle imprese. [...] Ancora oggi non-esiste una Radio che trasmetta solo in sardo, né giornali, né scuole private sardofone. Esiste pochissimo a livello di società civile." {{cite book|author=Alessandro Mongili|year=2015|title=Topologie postcoloniali. Innovazione e modernizzazione in Sardegna|chapter=8|publisher=Condaghes}}</ref> In a case presented to the [[European Commission]] by the then [[European Parliament|MEP]] [[Renato Soru]] in 2017, in which he complained of national negligence with regard to the state's own legislation in comparison to other linguistic minorities, the Commission's response pointed out to the Honourable Member that matters of language policy pursued by individual member states do not fall within its competences.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/E-8-2017-005984_EN.html|title=Question for written answer E-005984-17 to the Commission, Rule 130, Renato Soru (S&D)|date=26 September 2017}}</ref>

According to a 2017 report on the digital language diversity in Europe, Sardinian appears to be particularly vital on social media as part of many people's everyday life for private use, but such vitality does not still translate into a strong and wide availability of Internet media for the language.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.dldp.eu/sites/default/files/documents/DLDP_Sardinian-Report.pdf|title=''Sardinian, a digital language?'', DLDP Sardinian Report, the Digital Language Diversity Project|access-date=24 July 2017|archive-date=9 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170809171307/http://www.dldp.eu/sites/default/files/documents/DLDP_Sardinian-Report.pdf}}</ref> In 2017, a 60-hour Sardinian language course was introduced for the first time in Sardinia and Italy at the [[University of Cagliari]], although such a course had been already available in other universities abroad.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.unica.it/pub/7/show.jsp?id=35714&iso=20&is=7| title = ''Lingua sarda: "trinta prenu" per i primi due studenti'', Unica.it}}{{Dead link|date=December 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

In 2015, the [[Council of Europe]] commented on the status of national minorities in Italy, noting the approach of the Italian government towards them with the exception of the German, French and Slovenian languages, where Italy has applied full bilingualism due to international agreements; despite the formal recognition from the Italian state, Italy does not in fact collect any information on the ethnic and linguistic composition of the population, apart from [[South Tyrol]].<ref>"Va però rilevato che, contrariamente alle indicazioni del Consiglio d'Europa, che raccomanda il censimento delle minoranze ai fini della tutela, in Italia un censimento ufficiale in questo senso è limitato alla regione Trentino-Alto Adige ed ai gruppi linguistici ivi riconosciuti (tedesco, italiano, ladino, cimbro e mocheno); per le altre regioni non si dispongono che di stime più o meno attendibili." {{cite book|author=Sergio Lubello|year=2016|title=Manuale Di Linguistica Italiana, Manuals of Romance linguistics|publisher=De Gruyter|page=487}}</ref> There is also virtually no print and broadcasting media exposure in politically or numerically weaker minorities like Sardinian. Moreover, the resources allocated to cultural projects like bilingual education, which lacks a consistent approach and offers no guarantee of continuity throughout the years,<ref>''Se i ragazzi non-parlano la lingua degli anziani'', Piera Serusi. L'Unione Sarda, 8 dicembre 2017</ref> are largely insufficient to meet "even the most basic expectations".<ref>{{cite web| url = http://rm.coe.int/CoERMPublicCommonSearchServices/DisplayDCTMContent?documentId=09000016806959b9| title = The Council of Europe Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, Fourth Opinion on Italy, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.sanatzione.eu/2015/07/lingua-sarda-il-consiglio-deuropa-indaga-lo-stato-italiano-ne-parliamo-con-giuseppe-corongiu/|title=Lingua Sarda: il Consiglio d'Europa indaga lo Stato Italiano. Ne parliamo con Giuseppe Corongiu}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.unionesarda.it/news-sardegna/il-consiglio-d-europa-lingua-sarda-discriminata-norme-non-rispettate-uki4rp33|title=Il Consiglio d'Europa: "Lingua sarda discriminata, norme non rispettate"|date=24 June 2016|website=L'Unione Sarda.it}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://rm.coe.int/168073038c|title=Resolution CM/ResCMN(2017)4 on the implementation of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities by Italy, Council of Europe}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.manifestosardo.org/sulla-lingua-sarda-uno-fuorilegge-inadempiente/|title= Sulla lingua sarda uno stato fuorilegge e inadempiente, Francesco Casula|date= 30 June 2016}}</ref>

[[File:Pula Hinweisschild 01.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Bilingual road signs in [[Pula, Sardinia|Pula]]]]

A solution to the Sardinian question being unlikely to be found anytime soon,<ref name="Rosita"/> the language has become highly endangered:<ref name="Stuttgart" /> even though the [[endogamy]] rate among group members seems to be very high,<ref name="Euromosaic" /> less than 15 per cent of the Sardinian children use the language to communicate with each other.<ref>"Language group endogamy among the Sardinian language group is in excess of 80 per cent, but with only 14 per cent of the children using Sardinian to each other." {{cite book|author=Glyn Williams|title=Sustaining Language Diversity in Europe. Evidence from the Euromosaic Project|year=2005|page=152|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan UK}}</ref> it appears that the late recognition of Sardinian as a minority language on the part of the state, as well as the gradual but pervasive Italianisation promoted by the latter's education system, the administration system and the media, followed by the intergenerational language replacement, made it so that the vitality of Sardinian has been heavily compromised.<ref name="auto1"/> The 1995 Euromosaic project, which conducted a research study on the current situation of the ethno-linguistic minorities across Europe under the auspices of the [[European Commission]], concludes their report on Sardinian as follows:
{{Blockquote|This would appear to be yet another minority language group under threat. The agencies of production and reproduction are not serving the role they did a generation ago. The education system plays no role whatsoever in supporting the language and its production and reproduction. The language has no prestige and is used in work only as a natural as opposed to a systematic process. It seems to be a language relegated to a highly localised function of interaction between friends and relatives. Its institutional base is extremely weak and declining. Yet there is concern among its speakers who have an emotive link to the language and its relationship to Sardinian identity.|Sardinian language use survey, Euromosaic report<ref name="Euromosaic" />}}

As Matteo Valdes explains, "the island's population sees, day after day, the decline of their original languages. They are complicit in this decline, passing on to their children the language of prestige and power, but at the same time they feel that the loss of local languages is also a loss of themselves, of their history, of their own specific identity or distinctiveness".<ref>{{cite book|author=Matteo Valdes|title=Valori, opinioni e atteggiamenti verso le lingue locali, in Oppo, Anna (2007)|page=62}}</ref>

With [[cultural assimilation]] having already occurred,<ref>As summarized by Giulio Paulis, nowadays it is the Sardinians themselves that "identify with their language to lesser degree than other linguistic minorities in Italy, and instead they seem to identify with Italian to a higher degree than other linguistic minorities in Italy" (''si identificano con loro lingua meno di quanto facciano altre minoranze linguistiche esistenti in Italia, e viceversa sembrano identificarsi con l'italiano più di quanto accada per altre minoranze linguistiche d'Italia''). Paulis, Giulio (2001). ''Il sardo unificato e la teoria della panificazione linguistica'', in Argiolas, Mario; Serra, Roberto, ''Limba lingua language: lingue locali, standardizzazione e identità in Sardegna nell'era della globalizzazione'', Cagliari, CUEC, p. 16</ref><ref>"Bisogna partire dal constatare che il processo di 'desardizzazione' culturale ha trovato spunto e continua a trovare alimento nella desardizzazione linguistica, e che l'espropriazione culturale è venuta e viene a rimorchio dell'espropriazione linguistica." Virdis, Maurizio (2003). ''La lingua sarda oggi: bilinguismo, problemi di identità culturale e realtà scolastica'', cit. in ''Convegno dalla lingua materna al plurilinguismo'', Gorizia, 6.</ref> most of the younger generation of islanders, although they do understand some basic Sardinian, is now in fact Italian [[Monolingualism|monolingual]] and [[Monoculturalism|monocultural]] as they are not able to speak Sardinian anymore, but simply [[Regional Italian#Sardinia|regional Italian]] (known amongst Italian linguists as {{lang|it|italiano regionale sardo}} or ''IrS'')<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.indiscreto.org/difendere-litaliano-resuscitare-sardo/|title=Difendere l'italiano per resuscitare il sardo|date=2 September 2016}}</ref><ref name="Rosita"/><ref>{{Cite book |title=Le identità linguistiche dei sardi |last=Bolognesi |first=Roberto |publisher=Condaghes |year=2013 |location=Cagliari|page=63}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Sardegna: geografie di un'isola|publisher=Franco Angeli|year=2019|location=Milano|last1=Corsale|first1=Andrea|last2=Sistu|first2=Giovanni|pages=191, 199}}</ref> which in its lowest diastratic forms<ref>"The sociolinguistic subordination of Sardinian to Italian has resulted in the gradual degeneration of the Sardinian language into an Italian ''patois'' under the label of regional Italian. This new linguistic code that is emerging from the interference between Italian and Sardinian is very common among the less privileged cultural and social classes." {{cite web|title=Sardinian in Italy, 1995|url=https://www.uoc.edu/euromosaic/web/homect/index1.html|publisher=Euromosaic|access-date=13 June 2019|archive-date=18 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180518035255/http://www.uoc.edu/euromosaic/web/homect/index1.html}} To access the article, click on List by languages, Sardinian, then scroll to "Sardinian in Italy"</ref> is, oftentimes derisively,<ref>{{cite book|title=Manuale di linguistica sarda. Manuals of Romance linguistics|year=2017 |author=Eduardo Blasco Ferrer |author2=Peter Koch |author3=Daniela Marzo |publisher=De Gruyter Mouton|page=211}}</ref> nicknamed ''italiànu porcheddìnu'' (literally "swinish Italian") by native Sardinian speakers. Roberto Bolognesi argues that, in the face of the persistent denial and rejection of the Sardinian language, it is as if the latter "had taken revenge" on its original community of speakers "and continues to do so by "polluting" the hegemonic linguistic system", recalling Gramsci's prophetic warning uttered at the dawn of the previous century.<ref name="BolEsp126" /> In fact, compared to a now prevalent regional Italian that, according to Bolognesi, "is in fact a hybrid language that has arisen from the contact between two different linguistic systems",<ref name="BolEsp127">{{cite web|url=https://www.comune.lode.nu.it/index.php/download/eyJpdiI6Iis2djEwYjg5eU5zcnRxOERJWkhVK0E9PSIsInZhbHVlIjoidWQrS2NZYkl3cmhxMHNGTXF3NnBSYk1iRG1PWDhHeE9MSEpcL1wvaVNZSUdrPSIsIm1hYyI6Ijk1YzM1ZDVkYzc0NTIyYjI2MDJkNGU3ZGM3NWIwYjM5ODE5YzJmNGM4OTAzZDAyZmU4YTJjZTc5ODg3ZDQwYjAifQ==/bilinguismo_e_diglossia.pdf|title=Un programma sperimentale di educazione linguistica in Sardegna|author=Roberto Bolognesi|year=2000|page=127|access-date=20 June 2022|archive-date=26 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326032219/https://www.comune.lode.nu.it/index.php/download/eyJpdiI6Iis2djEwYjg5eU5zcnRxOERJWkhVK0E9PSIsInZhbHVlIjoidWQrS2NZYkl3cmhxMHNGTXF3NnBSYk1iRG1PWDhHeE9MSEpcL1wvaVNZSUdrPSIsIm1hYyI6Ijk1YzM1ZDVkYzc0NTIyYjI2MDJkNGU3ZGM3NWIwYjM5ODE5YzJmNGM4OTAzZDAyZmU4YTJjZTc5ODg3ZDQwYjAifQ==/bilinguismo_e_diglossia.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> "the (little) Sardinian which is used by young people often constitutes an ungrammatical jargon filled with obscenities and constructions belonging to Italian":<ref name="BolEsp126" /> in other words, the population would therefore only master "two crippled languages" ({{lang|it|due lingue zoppe}}) whose manifestations do not arise from a recognisable norm, nor do they constitute a clear source of linguistic security.<ref name="BolEsp126" /> Bolognesi believes therefore that the Sardinians' utter "rejection of their original linguistic identity has not entailed the hoped-for and automatic homologation to a more socially prestigious identity, but the acquisition of a second-class identity (neither truly Sardinian nor truly Italian), no longer self-centred but rather peripheral with respect to the sources of linguistic and cultural norms, which still remain beyond their reach: on the other side of the Tyrrhenian Sea".<ref name="BolEsp127" />

By contrast, Eduardo Blasco Ferrer has been noted how the Sardinian-speaking community engages only in code-switching and usually takes care in refraining from [[code-mixing]] between the two different languages.<ref>{{cite book|title=Manuale di linguistica sarda. Manuals of Romance linguistics|year=2017 |author=Eduardo Blasco Ferrer |author2=Peter Koch |author3=Daniela Marzo |publisher=De Gruyter Mouton|page=213}}</ref>

Negative attitudes among native speakers have been observed towards [[Second-language acquisition|second-language learners]] for speaking "poor Sardinian", an attitude considered to be ethnically grounded on the interaction of [[in-group and out-group]] dynamics.<ref>"Benché si tratti anche qui di atteggiamenti e stereotipi in via di rapido cambiamento, va rilevato che anche essi implicano però una profonda consapevolezza dello statuto di lingua, fortemente marcata etnicamente, e non di semplice "dialetto", del sardo stesso: ciò che si può inferire da questo tipo di atteggiamenti (neanche troppo cripticamente normativi) è infatti che, così come si deve evitare di "storpiare" l'italiano, si deve evitare di "storpiare" anche il sardo, a meno che non si sia giustificati in partenza dal fatto di ''non'' essere etnicamente sardi, o non si tratti di scelte stilistiche consapevoli per particolari generi testuali/discorsivi diversi dal normale parlato quotidiano." {{cite book|title=Manuale di linguistica sarda. Manuals of Romance linguistics|year=2017 |author=Eduardo Blasco Ferrer |author2=Peter Koch |author3=Daniela Marzo |publisher=De Gruyter Mouton|pages=213–214}}</ref>

In conclusion, the Sardinian language, while still being described as "viable" in 2003,<ref>{{cite book|title=Aspects of multilingualism in European language history|author=Kurt Braunmüller, Gisella Ferraresi|page=241|year=2003|publisher=University of Hamburg. John Benjamins Publishing Company|location=Amsterdam/Philadelphia}}</ref> continues to be adversely affected by pervasive and all-encompassing Italianisation through language shift, and is thus nowadays moribund, albeit its replacement continues at a slower pace than before thanks to the commitment of those who, in various contexts, promote its revaluation in a process that has been defined by some scholars as "linguistic re-Sardization".<ref>"La situazione del sardo in questi ultimi decenni risente da un lato degli esiti del processo di italianizzazione linguistica, profondo e pervasivo, e dall'altro di un processo che si può definire come risardizzazione linguistica, intendendo con questo una serie di passaggi che incidono sulla modifica dello status del sardo come lingua, sulla determinazione di una regola scritta, sulla diffusione del suo uso nei media e nella comunicazione pubblica e, infine, sullo sviluppo del suo uso come lingua di comunicazione privata e d'uso in set d'interazione interpersonale dai quali era stato precedentemente bandito o considerato sconveniente". {{cite book|author=Paolo Caretti |display-authors=etal |title=Regioni a statuto speciale e tutela della lingua|year=2017|publisher=G. Giappichelli Editore|pages=67–68}}</ref> Still, arrangements for bilingualism exist only on paper<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lanuovasardegna.it/regione/2021/02/22/news/il-bilinguismo-perfetto-e-ancora-solo-un-miraggio-1.39943043|title=Il bilinguismo perfetto è ancora solo un miraggio|newspaper=La Nuova Sardegna|date=23 March 2021}}</ref> and factors such as the intergenerational transmission, which remain essential in the reproduction of the ethnolinguistic group, are severely compromised because of Italianisation;<ref>"Ciò nonostante non si è potuto né frenare l'italianizzazione progredente attraverso la scuola e gli ambiti ufficiali, né restituire vitalità al sardo in famiglia. La trasmissione intergenerazionale, fattore essenziale per la riproduzione etnolinguistica, resta seriamente compromessa." {{cite book|title=Manuale di linguistica sarda. Manuals of Romance Linguistics|year=2017 |author=Eduardo Blasco Ferrer |author2=Peter Koch |author3=Daniela Marzo |publisher=De Gruyter Mouton|page=40}}</ref> many young speakers, who have been raised in Italian rather than Sardinian, have a command of their ethnic language which does not extend beyond a few stereotyped formulas.<ref>"Yet, it cannot be ignored that at present many young speakers, who have frequently been brought up in Italian, have a restricted active or even a merely passive command of their ethnic language." {{cite book|title=Aspects of multilingualism in European language history|author=Kurt Braunmüller, Gisella Ferraresi|page=241|year=2003|publisher=University of Hamburg. John Benjamins Publishing Company|location=Amsterdam/Philadelphia}}</ref>