A dialect of Catalan is spoken in Alghero, introduced when Catalans settled in the town. Catalan was replaced as the official language of the Island by Spanish in the 17th century, then by Italian. The most recent linguistic research showed that 24.1% of the people have Algherese Catalan as a mother tongue, which is habitually spoken by 18.5% and taught to the children by 8% of the population, whereas 88.2% have some understanding of the language. Since 1997, Catalan has had official recognition and national and regional laws grant its right to be used in the city. Currently, there has been a revival of the arts in Algherese Catalan, with singers such as Franca Masu performing original compositions in the language.