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''Italian language was not only the official language in all public Dalmatian establishments, but also was the spoken language in a significant number of white-collar, civil service and merchant families in the cities and major markets within towns'' <ref>The Early Beginnings of Formal Education - Vela Luka (beginnings of literacy and Lower Primary School 1857 – 1870) (p.12 written in Croatian, Vela Luka Zbornik-150 Godina Školstva u Velaoj Luci)</ref>}}

''Italian language was not only the official language in all public Dalmatian establishments, but also was the spoken language in a significant number of white-collar, civil service and merchant families in the cities and major markets within towns'' <ref>The Early Beginnings of Formal Education - Vela Luka (beginnings of literacy and Lower Primary School 1857 – 1870) (p.12 written in Croatian, Vela Luka Zbornik-150 Godina Školstva u Velaoj Luci)</ref>}}

Historically the mother tongue of the majority of the population of the island of Korčula (in particularly the west end) is old Croatian.<ref>'''Editors note''': Recent DNA studies have stated that more than three quarters of today's Croatian men are the descendants of Europeans who inhabited Europe 13 000-20 000 years ago. The term Slav was first used by the Byzantines (i.e. Procopius-Byzantine scholar, Jordanes- 6th century Roman bureaucrat) and was recorded in the 6th century (cia. 550) in Greek (Σκλαβῖνοι-Sklabenoi). Later in Latin it was written Sclaveni. Slavic tribes invaded the region of''' Roman Dalmatia''' in the early Middle Ages. Prior to the arrival of the Slavs, Roman Dalmatia was mainly inhabited by a '''Roman Latin-Illyrian''' population. The first primary source (factual-that its authenticity isn't disputed) to mention the Croatian-Hrvat identity in the Balkans was '''Duke Branimir''' (Latin:'' "Branimiro comite dux cruatorum cogitavit"''  c. 880 AD). Branimir was a '''Slav''' from Dalmatia.</ref> The [[Korcula Dialect|Korčula dialect]] <ref>The local dialect is sometimes referred to as ''Naski'' or more correctly ''Naški''. The '''š''' is pronounced '''sh'''.  

Historically the mother tongue of the majority of the population of the island of Korčula (in particularly the west end) is old Croatian.<ref>'''Editors note''': Recent DNA studies have stated that more than three quarters of today's Croatian men are the descendants of Europeans who inhabited Europe 13 000-20 000 years ago. The term Slav was first used by the Byzantines (i.e. Procopius-Byzantine scholar, Jordanes- 6th century Roman bureaucrat) and was recorded in the 6th century (cia. 550) in Greek (Σκλαβῖνοι-Sklabenoi). Later in Latin it was written Sclaveni. Slavic tribes invaded the region of''' Roman Dalmatia''' in the early Middle Ages. Prior to the arrival of the Slavs, Roman Dalmatia was mainly inhabited by a '''Roman Latin-Illyrian''' population. The first primary source (factual-that its authenticity isn't disputed) to mention the Croatian-Hrvat identity in the Balkans was '''Duke Branimir''' (Latin:'' "Branimiro comite dux cruatorum cogitavit"''  c. 880 AD). Branimir was a '''Slav''' from Dalmatia.</ref> The [[Korcula Dialect|Korčula dialect]] <ref>NOTE: The local dialect is sometimes referred to as ''Naski'' or more correctly ''Naški''. The '''š''' is pronounced '''sh'''.  

* Sir John Gardner Wilkinson (an 19 century [[United Kingdom|English]] historian. October 5, 1797 – October 29, 1875) was an English traveller, writer and pioneer Egyptologist of the 19th century. He is often referred to as "the Father of British Egyptology".  

*Sir John Gardner Wilkinson (an 19 century [[United Kingdom|English]] historian. October 5, 1797 – October 29, 1875) was an English traveller, writer and pioneer Egyptologist of the 19th century. He is often referred to as "the Father of British Egyptology". He referred to the Dalmatian Slavic (old Croatian) as Illirskee. Cited from [http://books.google.com.au/books?id=K7oAAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA256&dq=Statute+of+Curzola+korcula&hl=en&ei=ZAtdTJ7lF5ivcI-m3NsO&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CEMQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=naski&f=false Dalmatia and Montenegro: With a Journey to Mostar in Herzegovina] by Sir John Gardner Wilkinson. (p33)</ref> of local Croatian language acquired many influences over the centuries, such as the now extinct [[Latin]] Romance language Dalmatian,<ref>[http://books.google.com.au/books?id=KZMjAQAAIAAJ&q=Dalmatian+language+korcula&dq=Dalmatian+language+korcula&hl=en&ei=WmNGTPzMH4GyvgPGq_i4Ag&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CDUQ6AEwAQ Collegium Antropologicum, Volumes 15-16] by Croatian Anthropological Society-1991. (p311)</ref> Venetian and others.  

*He referred to the Dalmatian Slavic dialect as Illirskee. Cited from [http://books.google.com.au/books?id=K7oAAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA256&dq=Statute+of+Curzola+korcula&hl=en&ei=ZAtdTJ7lF5ivcI-m3NsO&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CEMQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=naski&f=false Dalmatia and Montenegro: With a Journey to Mostar in Herzegovina] by Sir John Gardner Wilkinson. (p33)</ref> of local Croatian language acquired many influences over the centuries, such as the now extinct [[Latin]] Romance language Dalmatian,<ref>[http://books.google.com.au/books?id=KZMjAQAAIAAJ&q=Dalmatian+language+korcula&dq=Dalmatian+language+korcula&hl=en&ei=WmNGTPzMH4GyvgPGq_i4Ag&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CDUQ6AEwAQ Collegium Antropologicum, Volumes 15-16] by Croatian Anthropological Society-1991. (p311)</ref> Venetian and others.