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Italian Dialects

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Italy is made up of 20 different regions. Until the 1800’s each region had it’s own dialect that was spoken. In Tuscany, the National language of Italy was created. It is this Italian language that is taught and is now known by all of Italy. This is the Italian that we are currently learning. Well, attempting to learn.

So, all along, I have thought about these other dialects in the 20 regions. I imagined it would be like someone from the US, hearing the same word spoken in Maine, Tennessee, West Virginia, New York and Boston. Each word would have a little different sound, based on the area you were from, but that basically you would be able to understand one another.

I further imagined what different words might sound like traveling from region to region in Italy. Hmm, would southern Italy have like a twang, like we do in the South of the US. Would Northern Italy pronounce there words with more of a German sound and perhaps.

So, I went out on a limb and asked our professoressa about it in our last class. She stared at me like I was pazza. Apparently, I didn’t quite *get* the whole dialect thing. You see, I though dialects were kinda like an accent. Oh, nay- nay. The dialect of a region is a totally different language. And there are 20! Yeah, missed the boat on that one.

Allora, basically, we are learning the national Italian language that everyone understands, yet there are 20 other completely different local languages, different in each region, that people speak. The words are totally different. Oh Caspita!

So, I took a few deep breaths and decided not to get overwhelmed….one thing at a time. The National language is challenging enough without even thinking aboutadding a local dialect to the mix.

I guess I won’t be fittin’ in with the locals any time soon.

I leave you with a few more of my favorite Italian words. And don’t worry, these are from the National language…not dialects.

francobollo
boh
professoressa
zanzara
spuntino
tee voo (tv)
abbigliamento
dappertutto
cinquantacinque
lungomare
parcheggio
certo

So, what are some of your favorite words or sayings in a foreign language and why?

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bleeding espresso
April 24th, 2008
Not only that, they change widely within regions and even from one village to the next!
It’s great fun

erin :: the olive notes
April 24th, 2008
oh…I have lots of favorites, but here are just a few:
Assolutamente no!
Dimmi. (tell me…)
Ma dai!! (come on!) *this one is complete with the hands in a prayer position shaking up and down*

My Melange responds...
April 24th, 2008
Michelle~ Oh yeah, I am sure it is great fun Maybe for someone like you who knows the Italian language. hehe
Erin~ Oooh. Thanks Erin!! I will use those. Coming from someone it Italy..I know they are *for real* I love all the hand gestures too….but that’s a whole other post

Joanne
April 24th, 2008
eppi shuree da iddoo yiri
That is written phonetically, and it is Sicilian, or to be more precise, from Piaawotto – which would be Pozzo di Gotto in Italian (Barcellona – Pozzo di Gotto in the province of Messina)
The translation in Italian is: Ho avuto fiori da lui ieri
In English: I received flowers from him yesterday.
Fun, eh?

Maryann
April 24th, 2008
Wonderful post, Robin.

figcharlie
April 25th, 2008
here’s some words I don’t like:
tosse (cough)
trottola (spinning top)
snodabile (hinged)

My Melange responds
April 26th, 2008
Joanne~ wow…talk about totally different, although I did notice *yesterday* was similar in both accounts
Maryann~ Grazie
Figcharlie~ I would agree, those don’t have the pleasant sound that some of the others do.

stephanie
April 27th, 2008
I love hearing languages…Spanish, French, Italian…Australian:) I thought it was funny in Spain that people said ‘digame’ often, seemed abrubt, but they all said that.
Gorgeous photo…

Leanne
April 27th, 2008
Hello, I am new to your site and just wanted to say it’s great!
My favourite saying is porca putana (You cannot translate it into English as that would be pork bitch or something. I also love to say che palle! when there is a problem or when I am annoyed – again you cannot really translate as it means ‘what balls!’

Linda
April 28th, 2008
I love dialects! I actually believe there are a lot more than 20 in Italy. They can vary from town to town. In the region of Lombardy alone people speak Milanese, Bergamasco, Bresciano, Pavese, to name but a few. I’m still trying to learn Milanese after 12 years. Not the most beautiful sounding dialect but it’s fun. One expression I particularly love is “Va a ciapà i ratt!” which literally means, “Go and catch some rats” but is really just a colourful way of saying “Get lost!”

Jeffrey
May 1st, 2008
I had no idea that there were Italian dialects. For me, one of my favorite sayings in Spanish is “ni tanto, ni tan poco,” which means “everything in moderation.” I just love how many phrases or idioms cannot be translated literally between Spanish and English, but when you think of exactly what the saying implies, then it makes sense…I always wonder, though, how certain idioms came about.
I think that when there are different dialects of a language, it makes it a little difficult for a language-learner…but by no means impossible. It is quite a challenge to overcome the obstacles of regional dialects while learning the language that everyone understands. Nevertheless, it’s fun to see how a town or region has developed its own dialect of the national language by incorporating new words, idioms, expressions, etc. It makes every new place you visit that much more interesting.

dario
May 9th, 2008
Wow! I have a westie too!!!!!
The number of dialects is much bigger than 20. In Lombardy (where i am from), for example every little village have a different taste in the dialect, but mainly i can mention three of them (Milanese, Bresciano, Bergamasco) which are so different each other that one cannot understand the other (to me Bresciano and Bergamasco are completely foreign unknown languages. In the same way in Piemonte the dialect of the western Turin is completely different from the eastern Novara (more similar to Lombard. In the little Valle d’Aosta they speak a proper dialect and some places they speak french. In Trentino Alto Adige there is the southern part which is similar (but different) to Venetian, and the northen part which is more like German. I also know a place (Val Badia) which include few comuni (i would say less than 10 thousands people) in which they speak a language that is not spoken elsewhere in the world (called Ladino) which sounds like German but comes from Latin, extremely different from both… and so on…
dario
http://italianroots.blogspot.com/
http://radiciitaliane.blogspot.com/

Jessica, Italy Logue
October 30th, 2008
Omigod, I love the word zanzara, too! Hate the nasty little buggers, but I LOVE the word. I think it’s all the Zs. My favorite Italian word, though, is still ANDIAMO.

Cherrye at My Bella Vita
October 31st, 2008
Ha. So funny. I have been working on a post re: dialects, too. Creepy… anyhow, to ditto what Michelle said, it is actually more than just 20! She has words in her village (30-40 min away) that we don’t have here in Catanzaro. Talk about mind-blowing!