Corsican , originally a Latin-based language with similarities to Romanian, developed an Italianate vocabulary and syntax during Pisan and Genoese occupation, and since then Arabic and French influences have added to its complexity. Corsican was predominantly an oral tongue until around two hundred years ago - hence the confusing variety of spellings for place names, despite attempts at standardization. The commonest variants come about through the transposition of ll and dd - as in "casteddu" and "castellu". Buildings and monuments are often labelled in different languages (San Pietro/San Pietru), and on maps you'll find mountain passes, rivers and regions marked in a mixture of Italian, French and Corsican. Deep in the country, many old people are still more comfortable speaking Corsican than French. Pronunciation is generally as for Italian, but look out for two tricky clusters of consonants - chj/chi and ghj/ghi, pronounced ty or dy .

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