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Salentino(salentinu) is a dialect of theExtreme Southern Italian(Italiano meridionale estremoin Italian)[1][2]spoken in theSalentopeninsula, which is the southern part of the region ofApuliaat the southern "heel" of the Italian peninsula.
| Salentino | |
|---|---|
| salentinu | |
| Native to | Italy |
| Region | Salento(southernApulia) FormerlyCorfu |
Native speakers | 1,500,000 but vulnerable (2017)https://docs.verbix /Languages/Salentino |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | – |
 | |
Overview
editSalentino is a dialect of theExtreme Southern Italianlanguage group (in ItalianItaliano meridionale estremo). It is thus closer to theSouthern Calabrian dialectand the dialects ofSicilythan to the geographically less distant dialects of central and northernApulia.
The traditional areas where Salentino is spoken are the aforementionedProvince of Lecce,much of the southern part of the province ofBrindisi,and the southern part ofTarantoprovince.
History
editThe Salentino dialect is a product of the different powers and/or populations that have had a presence in the peninsula over the centuries: indigenousMessapian,Ancient Greek,Roman,Byzantine Greek,Lombard,FrenchandSpanishinfluences are all, to differing levels, present in the modern dialect, but theGreeksubstratum has had a particular impact on the phonology and the lexicon of this language. Salentino is thus a derivative of local dialects ofVulgar Latin,with a strong Greek substratum.
The oldest text in Salentino is in the margin notes of a copy of theMishnahknown asParma Awritten between 1072 and 1073. It is written in theJudeo-Salentinodialect of Salentino which is now extinct.[3]
During theMiddle Ages,the area was home to bothRomance-based dialects–the precursors to the modern Salentino–andGreek-based dialects in roughly equal measure. The areas of Greek speech have retreated over time, but Salento remains one of two areas of southern Italy, the other being southern Calabria, whereGrikocan still be heard in some villages (today known collectively as theGrecìa Salentina).
Characteristics
edit
The termSalentinoshould be considered a general word to describe the variousRomancevernaculars of the Salento peninsula, rather than one to describe a unified standard language spoken throughout the area. Indeed, in common with most other Italian languages, there are no agreed standards for spelling, grammar or pronunciation, with each locality and even generation having its own peculiarities. What unites the various local dialects of the Salento is their shared differences from the dialects further north inApulia,such as theTarantinoandBaresedialect, and their similarities with other varieties of Sicilian, particularly those found inCalabria.In Sicily efforts have been made by thenon-profitCadèmia Sicilianato standardise the orthography for written insular Sicilian. They have also adopted a 'polycentric' approach which suggests that Salentino should have its own orthography within a family of Sicilian orthographies.[4]
Salentino has 5 vowels and anSOV(subject,object,verb)word order.There are six persons: jeu (I), tu (you, singular), idhu/idha (he,it/she,it), nui (we), vui (you, plural), idhi/idhe (they). And there are six tenses:present,imperfect,remote past,past perfect,past pluperfect, plus remote past.[1]
Contemporary authors
editOrazio Testarotta di Taviano(1870-1964): his real name is Oronzo Miggiano. The pseudonym by which it is known was chosen for specific reasons: the name Horace refers to theLatin poetwith whom he shares the satirical character of his works; while Testarotta is the Italian translation of thecapiruttu dialect becauseit always fell to the ground. His is a poem that uses satire to denounce the political and social situation of the time. In fact, there are three fundamental themes on which it is based: the political and social condition fromfascismto therepublican age;the condition of the people in relation to the economy; the industrial and technological progress that disrupts the entire system.
Giuseppe Susanna(1851-1929): his poetry has an ideological and progressive function, therefore in stark contrast to the previous dialectal poetry. The main objective in Susanna's works is theemancipation of the proletariatandpeasants,based on a language no longer sentimental like that of the late 1800s.
Pietro Gatti di Ceglie Messapica(1913-2013): together with Nicola G. De Donno and Erminio Caputo, he is one of the greatest representatives of that generation of authors who worked especially in the post-war period. It is a period characterized by greater freedom of writing and continuous experimentation. Above all, dialect poetry was radically renewed, now characterized by strong individualism andsubjectivism.
Nicola Giuseppe De Donno di Maglie(1920-2004): he is part of the generation of authors born between 1915 and 1930. In his works he deals with very current themes and problems, ranging fromautobiographismto satire toreligiousorsocial topics.It uses dialect as an autonomous language, free from any expressive compromise.
Erminio Caputo(born in Campobasso, in 1921): he also belongs to the generation of writers born in the first thirty years of the century. Born to Salento parents, he settled inLeccein 1965, after occasional stays inTuscanyand marche. Unlike De Donno, who was an important point of reference for him, his is apredominantly religious poetics,linked not so much to the external reality that surrounds him, but to the inner, intimate reality of the soul.
| Salentino | English |
| Aggiu lettu sulemente na fiata st' articulu | I read this article only one time |
| Stammatina aggiu cantatu | I sang this morning |
| Su’ turnatu | I returned |
| Ci tinia fame mangiava | If I was hungry, i’d eat |
| Aggiu ffare | I will do |
| Aggiu ppurtare | I will bring |
| Manciavi ci te tania fame | You could eat if you were hungry |
| Iddu ulia cu llu ddicu | He wanted me to tell him |
| Tocca cu bbiscia | (that) I need to see it |
| Iddhru è ertu basciu siccu | He is tall, short, skinny |
| Iddha ete de Cutrufianu | She is from Cutrofiano |
| Su'statu a mmare | I was at the seaside |
| U Marcu su’ | I am Marco |
| Cci ghe beddu | How beautiful |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^abAvolio, Francesco (2012).Lingue e dialetti d'Italia[Languages and dialects of Italy] (in Italian) (2nd ed.).Rome:Carocci. p. 54.
- ^"siciliani, calabresi e salentini, dialetti in" Enciclopedia dell'Italiano "".treccani.it(in Italian).Retrieved2021-04-04.
- ^"Judeo-Italian".Jewish Languages.Retrieved2023-12-09.
- ^"Resolution regarding Sicilian language range, and relationship to other languages of Sicily".Cadèmia Siciliana.Retrieved2017-12-28.
- ^Golovko, Ekaterina; Panov, Vladimir."Salentino Dialect, Griko and Regional Italian: Linguistic Diversity of Salento (With Ekaterina Golovko)".Academia.edu:57–67.