Salentino
Encyclopedia
The Salentino dialect
is the traditional vernacular
of the southern Italian provinces of Lecce
, Brindisi
and part of that of Taranto
, known more commonly as the Salento
, the extreme southern part of the region of Puglia or the southern "heel" of the Italian peninsula.
For socio-political reasons Salentino is usually considered a dialect of Italian
, since speakers do not consider themselves as anything but ethnic Italians, though linguists classify it as a dialect of the separate Sicilian
(or 'Extreme Southern Italian') language, much in the same way as Southern Calabrian
. Salentino thus shows more similarities to the latter dialect and the dialects of Sicily itself than it does to the nearer dialects of central and northern Puglia and Basilicata
, which are rather varieties of the Neapolitan
or 'Inner Southern Italian' dialect continuum.
The traditional area where Salentino is spoken are the aforementioned province of Lecce, much of the southern part of the province of Brindisi
and the southern part of Taranto
province.
, Lombard, French
, Spanish
, Albanian
and Arabic influences are all present in the modern dialect.
During the Middle Ages
, the area was home to both Romance
-based dialects - the precursors to the modern Salentino - and Greek
-based dialects in roughly equal measure. So while much Salentino vocabulary is French or Spanish in origin, it has also taken on much Greek lexis as well due to this bilingual situation that existed for many centuries.
The areas of Greek speech have retreated over time, but the Salento remains one of two areas of southern Italy, the other being southern Calabria, where the Griko dialect can still be heard in some villages (today known collectively as the Grecia Salentina
).
vernaculars of the Salento peninsula rather than a term to describe a unified standard language spoken throughout the area. Indeed, in common with most other Italian dialects there is no agreed standard on spelling, grammar or pronunciation, with each locality and even generation having its own peculiarities. What unites the various local dialects of the Salento are their shared differences from the dialects further north in Puglia, such as the Barese
dialect, and their similarities with other Extreme Southern Italian dialects in southern Calabria
and Sicily
.
One of the major phonetic differences between Salentino and various Pugliese
dialects is that the latter tend to voice
consonants that were originally unvoiced in Latin
. In the dialect of Bari, for example, the standard Italian cantare, "to sing", becomes something like candare, ancora, "again", becoming angora. This typically Southern Italian characteristic is not found in Salentino.
Another typical feature of Salentino is the pronunciation of the Latin (or Italian) -ll- as the retroflex consonant -ddh-, a d pronounced with the tongue curled backwards on the roof of the mouth and a sound more familiar to English-speakers as a mark of an accent from India
.
Thus the standard Italian cavallo, "horse", becomes cavaddhu in Salentino. The resort town of Gallipoli is Gaddhipoli in local speech. This is a feature shared with other varieties of Extreme Southern Italian, such as the Sicilian language
, and is not found in any other language native to Europe.
Dialect
The term dialect is used in two distinct ways, even by linguists. One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors,...
is the traditional vernacular
Vernacular
A vernacular is the native language or native dialect of a specific population, as opposed to a language of wider communication that is not native to the population, such as a national language or lingua franca.- Etymology :The term is not a recent one...
of the southern Italian provinces of Lecce
Province of Lecce
The Province of Lecce is a province in the Apulia region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Lecce. Totally included in the Salento peninsula, it is the second most populous province in Apulia and the twenty-first most populous in Italy....
, Brindisi
Province of Brindisi
The Province of Brindisi is a province in the Apulia region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Brindisi. Surrounded by vineyards and artichoke fields, Brindisi is a major sailing port for the southern part of Italy....
and part of that of Taranto
Province of Taranto
The Province of Taranto is a province in the Apulia region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Taranto.It has an area of 2,437 km², and a total population of 580,588...
, known more commonly as the Salento
Salento
Salento is the south-eastern extremity of the Apulia region of Italy. It is a sub-peninsula of the main Italian Peninsula, sometimes described as the "heel" of the Italian "boot"...
, the extreme southern part of the region of Puglia or the southern "heel" of the Italian peninsula.
For socio-political reasons Salentino is usually considered a dialect of Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, since speakers do not consider themselves as anything but ethnic Italians, though linguists classify it as a dialect of the separate Sicilian
Sicilian language
Sicilian is a Romance language. Its dialects make up the Extreme-Southern Italian language group, which are spoken on the island of Sicily and its satellite islands; in southern and central Calabria ; in the southern parts of Apulia, the Salento ; and Campania, on the Italian mainland, where it is...
(or 'Extreme Southern Italian') language, much in the same way as Southern Calabrian
Calabrian
Calabrian may refer to:* Calabrian languages, the languages and dialects spoken in Calabria* Calabrians, the people of Calabria, southern Italy...
. Salentino thus shows more similarities to the latter dialect and the dialects of Sicily itself than it does to the nearer dialects of central and northern Puglia and Basilicata
Basilicata
Basilicata , also known as Lucania, is a region in the south of Italy, bordering on Campania to the west, Apulia to the north and east, and Calabria to the south, having one short southwestern coastline on the Tyrrhenian Sea between Campania in the northwest and Calabria in the southwest, and a...
, which are rather varieties of the Neapolitan
Neapolitan language
Neapolitan is the language of the city and region of Naples , and Campania. On October 14, 2008 a law by the Region of Campania stated that the Neapolitan language had to be protected....
or 'Inner Southern Italian' dialect continuum.
The traditional area where Salentino is spoken are the aforementioned province of Lecce, much of the southern part of the province of Brindisi
Brindisi
Brindisi is a city in the Apulia region of Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, off the coast of the Adriatic Sea.Historically, the city has played an important role in commerce and culture, due to its position on the Italian Peninsula and its natural port on the Adriatic Sea. The city...
and the southern part of Taranto
Taranto
Taranto is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto and is an important commercial port as well as the main Italian naval base....
province.
History
The Salentino dialect is a product of the different foreign powers and populations that have washed over the peninsula over the centuries; Greek, ByzantineByzantine
Byzantine usually refers to the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages.Byzantine may also refer to:* A citizen of the Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...
, Lombard, French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, Albanian
Albanians
Albanians are a nation and ethnic group native to Albania and neighbouring countries. They speak the Albanian language. More than half of all Albanians live in Albania and Kosovo...
and Arabic influences are all present in the modern dialect.
During the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, the area was home to both Romance
Romance languages
The Romance languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family, more precisely of the Italic languages subfamily, comprising all the languages that descend from Vulgar Latin, the language of ancient Rome...
-based dialects - the precursors to the modern Salentino - and Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
-based dialects in roughly equal measure. So while much Salentino vocabulary is French or Spanish in origin, it has also taken on much Greek lexis as well due to this bilingual situation that existed for many centuries.
The areas of Greek speech have retreated over time, but the Salento remains one of two areas of southern Italy, the other being southern Calabria, where the Griko dialect can still be heard in some villages (today known collectively as the Grecia Salentina
Grecìa Salentina
Grecia Salentina is an area in the peninsula of Salento in southern Italy, near the town of Lecce which is inhabited by the Griko people, an ethnic Greek minority living in southern Italy who traditionally spoke a Greek Language dialect also called Griko. It consists of eleven towns and belongs to...
).
Characteristics
The term "Salentino" should be considered a general word to describe the various RomanceRomance languages
The Romance languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family, more precisely of the Italic languages subfamily, comprising all the languages that descend from Vulgar Latin, the language of ancient Rome...
vernaculars of the Salento peninsula rather than a term to describe a unified standard language spoken throughout the area. Indeed, in common with most other Italian dialects there is no agreed standard on spelling, grammar or pronunciation, with each locality and even generation having its own peculiarities. What unites the various local dialects of the Salento are their shared differences from the dialects further north in Puglia, such as the Barese
Bari dialect
Bari dialect or dialetto barese is a variety of Romance languages which has developed over time, changing with the numerous linguistic influences in the Apulia region of Italy due to invasion and occupation throughout the centuries...
dialect, and their similarities with other Extreme Southern Italian dialects in southern Calabria
Calabria
Calabria , in antiquity known as Bruttium, is a region in southern Italy, south of Naples, located at the "toe" of the Italian Peninsula. The capital city of Calabria is Catanzaro....
and Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
.
One of the major phonetic differences between Salentino and various Pugliese
Pugliese
Pugliese may refer to:* Osvaldo Pugliese, an Argentine tango musician.* Antonio Pugliese, a professional wrestler ....
dialects is that the latter tend to voice
Voice
Voice may refer to:* Human voice* Voice control or voice activation* Writer's voice* Voice acting* Voice vote* Voice message-In film:* Voice , a 2005 South Korean film* The Voice , a 2010 Turkish horror film directed by Ümit Ünal...
consonants that were originally unvoiced in Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
. In the dialect of Bari, for example, the standard Italian cantare, "to sing", becomes something like candare, ancora, "again", becoming angora. This typically Southern Italian characteristic is not found in Salentino.
Another typical feature of Salentino is the pronunciation of the Latin (or Italian) -ll- as the retroflex consonant -ddh-, a d pronounced with the tongue curled backwards on the roof of the mouth and a sound more familiar to English-speakers as a mark of an accent from India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
Thus the standard Italian cavallo, "horse", becomes cavaddhu in Salentino. The resort town of Gallipoli is Gaddhipoli in local speech. This is a feature shared with other varieties of Extreme Southern Italian, such as the Sicilian language
Sicilian language
Sicilian is a Romance language. Its dialects make up the Extreme-Southern Italian language group, which are spoken on the island of Sicily and its satellite islands; in southern and central Calabria ; in the southern parts of Apulia, the Salento ; and Campania, on the Italian mainland, where it is...
, and is not found in any other language native to Europe.