Entry "Tabarchin Language" in Encyclopaedia of Island and Coastal Tourism

Tabarchin language derives from Tabarka, an island off the Tunisian coast where in 16th century, the Genoese established a trade post. Its inhabitants moved back to Italy in 1738 settling in Sardinia, namely on the islands of San Pietro and Calasetta on the island of Sant’Antioco. Tabarchin language is still spoken on the archipelago, which has been defined a “linguistic and cultural archipelago”. San Pietro and Calasetta live mainly on tourism. Newcomers are attracted by the strongly shared identitarian values of Tabarchin language and culture and respond with active participation in cultural and linguistic programmes, introducing their own values and interpretations. What is observed is a possible shift from narratives of the intangible heritage focused on localistic interpretations and fixed identities, toward more inclusive, open and participative identities, expressions of islandness that reinforce the complexity of the entanglement between original islanders and new inhabitants and tourists.