Virtual Roma - An Introduction To The Roman Dialect

FOREWORD
Even the most confident Italian-speaker may have a few problems in understanding spoken roman dialect, but much greater difficulties would be encountered in attempting to read it.
Unlike other dialects (in Italy almost every city has its own), the structure of the sentence is rather similar to the Italian one, but in roman dialect many words are spelt and pronounced in a different way.
The roman dialect spelling does not follow strictly standardized rules, but tries to reflect the actual pronounciation of the words as an average Italian speaker would read them. Therefore, the spelling follows the standard phonetics of written Italian.
Sometimes the same word is spelt in different ways, either because its pronounciation changes according to the sentence, or because some authors prefer to leave the reader free of interpreting the pronounciation, so to avoid an excessive distortion of the standard Italian spelling, although this relies on the reader's knowledge of the sound of Rome's dialect.
For this reason, in these pages the spelling privileges the actual pronounciation, although this may sometimes look a little awkward.

The only two real differences with the standard Italian are a frequent use of letter "j", which always sounds like "y" in words like yolk, yawn, coyote, etc., and the use of accented vowels for "e" and "o", to indicate whether they have an "open" or "wide" sound (grave accent: è; ò) or a "closed" or "narrow" sound (acute accent: é; ó). Also in this case, the accent may be often omitted, but in these pages they are constantly used, for the sake of a correct pronounciation.
Also the few clusters that somewhat differ from the standard Italian sound are fully discussed in the relevant paragraph.

In any case, the language spoken in Rome is more similar to standard Italian than the dialects used in any other part of the country.

This grammar refers to the original form of Rome's dialect, i.e. the one used in the early-mid 1800s, used by Giuseppe Gioachino Belli for writing his famous collection of 'Sonnets'). During the past two centuries, a few changes occurred, as in time dialects too evolve, as any other language does. Any difference found in modern roman is discussed in paragraphs marked by red lines.

Sample words and sentences are shown both in Italian (

) and in dialect (

), in separate columns, so to enable a direct and easy comparison between the two languages, along with the English translation.

Nowadays, the practice of speaking in dialect suffers from being considered a rather negative, plebean custom; its traditional folk spirit is overlooked, although once it was the language spoken even by the noble and by the ruling popes.
Therefore, the aim of these pages is to prevent Rome's dialect from being completely oblivioned, in spite of its many detractors, as together with many other 'minor' features, dialect and dialect literature indeed belong to the city's cultural heritage.

ARTICLES

The definite masculine singular article il tuns into er:

the cat
the dog
the pole
il gatto
il cane
il palo
er gatto
er cane
er palo

Some authors soften this sound, and spell it el (e.g. el gatto, el cane, etc.).
In other cases, the form ir is also found (e.g. ir gatto, ir cane, etc.): this is how commoners who make an effort to speak standard Italian pronounce article il. This is somewhat laughed upon by ordinary dialect speakers, who refer to this hybrid form as er parlà cciovìle (the good-mannered speaking).
The other definite masculine singular article, lo, does not change, although its use is more limited; in particular, before words beginning with "z", lo is usually turned into er:

the rock
the stomach
the clog
lo scoglio
lo stomaco
lo zoccolo
lo scojo
lo stommico
er zoccolo
The masculine plural gli changes into li, forming an elision (l'...) because it is always followed by a vowel:

the eyes
the animals
the birds
gli occhi
gli animali
gli uccelli
l'occhi
l'animali
l'ucelli

When gli is followed by s + consonant, i.e. gli scaffali (the shelves), gli spaghetti, gli stati (the states), ecc., or by z, i.e. gli zoccoli (the clogs), etc., in classic roman it turns into li:

the shelves
the mirrors
the uncles
the gypsies

gli scaffali
gli speroni
gli zii
gli zingari

li scaffali (modern roman: i scaffali)
li specchi (modern roman: i specchi)
li zii
li zingari

The other definite masculine plural article, i, in roman turns into li, without an elision:

the street-lamps
the saints
the boys
i lampioni
i santi
i ragazzi
li lampioni
li santi
li regazzi
The feminine definite articles la and le do not change.
Indefinite articles, uno and una, usually lose their "u", turning into 'no and 'na:

a mirror
a goat
an apple
a clog
uno specchio
una capra
una mela
uno zoccolo
'no specchio
'na capra
'na mela
'no zoccolo
The other indefinite article un does not change, but if a vowel comes before it, usually the "u" is dropped by elision to obtain a more fluent rhythm; what remains is 'n:

it's a cat!
it may be a bit too much
he/she climbed a tree
è un gatto!
sarà un po' troppo
saliva su un albero
è 'n gatto!
sarà 'n po' ttroppo
saliva su 'n arbero

Sometimes the "u" is graphically left in place, but it is not heard, according to the aforesaid rule.

SUMMARY TABLE OF ARTICLES

- DEFINITE - the (masc. sing.) the (masc. sing.) the (masc. plur.) the (masc. plur.) the (fem. sing.) the (fem. plur.) - INDEFINITE - a (masc.) a (masc.) a (fem.)	il lo i gli la le un uno una	er lo li l' or i la le un ('n) 'no 'na

A further phonetic change occurs when two consecutive consonants, one belonging to the article and one to the following word, produce a sound that roman people judge as "unfamiliar", particularly r + l, r + r, n + l, and n + l. In such cases the first consonant is always dropped, and the second one is doubled, unless it is an "r".
The following table shows all the possible combinations:

ORIGINAL
SOUNDS AS
SPOKEN

er l... → e' ll... er lago → e' llago the lake

un l... → u' ll... un limone → u' llimone a lemon

un m... → u' mm... un muro → u' mmuro a wall

un n... → u' nn... un nodo → u' nnodo a knot

but

er r... → e' r... er rospo → e' rospo the toad

un r... → u' r... un ramo → u' ramo a branch

Curiously, the aforesaid change is not found in Belli's sonnets. It is frequently used, instead, in the works of another famous dialect author, Giggi Zanazzo (1860-1911), whose style is reputed the closest to Belli's own.
In today's spoken dialect, this phonetic rule is still commonly followed.

MODERN DIALECT
All roman articles whose first letter is "l" (lo, la, li, le) tend to drop it, especially in the spoken language:

the bride
the streets
the rag
the rocks CLASSIC
la sposa
le strade
lo straccio
li scoji
changes into →
changes into →
changes into →
changes into →
MODERN
'a sposa
'e strade
'o straccio
'i scoji

Note that 'a, 'e, 'o, 'i have the same sound as simple vowels (a, e, o, i), yet their duration is slightly lengthened.

This same change also occurs in forming compound prepositions (see below, and following MODERN DIALECT note).

ORIGINAL SOUNDS		AS SPOKEN
er l...	→	e' ll...	**er lago → e' llago**	*the lake*
un l...	→	u' ll...	**un limone → u' llimone**	*a lemon*
un m...	→	u' mm...	**un muro → u' mmuro**	*a wall*
un n...	→	u' nn...	**un nodo → u' nnodo**	*a knot*
but
er r...	→	e' r...	**er rospo → e' rospo**	*the toad*
un r...	→	u' r...	**un ramo → u' ramo**	*a branch*

PREPOSITIONS

con

per

co'

pe'

di	a	da	in	con	su	per	tra	fra

de	a	da	in	co	su	pe	tra	fra

dello, della, dei, degli, delle, turn respectively into de lo, de la, de li, de le.
Only del remains der (see also the next paragraph, CHANGE OF L INTO R).

of the (masc. sing.)
of the (masc. sing.)
of the (fem. sing.)
of the (masc. plur.)
of the (masc. plur.)
of the (fem. plur.)

del
dello
della
dei
degli
delle

der
de lo
de la
de li
de li
de le

(examples →)

der cane
de lo stommico
de la faccia
de li sòrdi
de li specchi
de le paggine

of the dog
of the stomach
of the face
of the money
of the mirrors
of the pages

al, allo, alla, etc. change into ar, a lo, a la, etc.

to the (masc. sing.)
to the (masc. sing.)
to the (fem. sing.)
to the (masc. plur.)
to the (masc. plur.)
to the (fem. plur.)

al
allo
alla
ai
agli
alle

ar
a lo
a la
a li
a li
a le

(examples →)

ar cane
a lo stommico
a la faccia
a li sòrdi
a li specchi
a le paggine

to the dog
to the stomach
to the face
to the money
to the mirrors
to the pages

dallo, dalla, etc. turn into dar, da lo, da la, etc.

from the (masc. sing.)
from the (masc. sing.)
from the (fem. sing.)
from the (masc. plur.)
from the (masc. plur.)
from the (fem. plur.)

dal
dallo
dalla
dai
dagli
dalle

dar
da lo
da la
da li
da li
da le

(examples →)

dar cane
da lo stommico
da la faccia
da li sòrdi
da li specchi
da le paggine

from the dog
from the stomach
from the face
from the money
from the mirrors
from the pages

nel, nella, etc., follow the same rule: ner, ne lo, ne la, etc.

in the (masc. sing.)
in the (masc. sing.)
in the (fem. sing.)
in the (masc. plur.)
in the (masc. plur.)
in the (fem. plur.)

nel
nello
nella
nei
negli
nelle

ner
ne lo
ne la
ne li
ne li
ne le

Often de is inserted between the two syllables so to obtain a stronger or more emphatic sound, especially when the preposition is used with a meaning of "inside" (i.e. "in the box", rather than "in the world").
When de is added, the simple preposition in is used in all cases:

in (inside) the hole
in (inside) the closet
in (inside) the box
in (inside) the wells
in (inside) the cellars
in (inside) the houses

nel buco
nello stanzino
nella scatola
nei pozzi
negli scantinati
nelle case

ner bucio  or  in der bucio
ne lo stanzino  or  in de lo stanzino
ne la scatola  or  in de la scatola
ne li pozzi  or  in de li pozzi
ne li scantinati  or  in de li scantinati
ne le case  or  in de le case

The second form is more emphatic, and it is less frequently used than the first one, especially in modern dialect.
Furthermore, instead of using in, the roman dialect often resorts to the adverb drento ("inside"), more often than standard Italian. In such cases, since drento requires the use of the preposition a in its compound forms, it usually undergoes an elision.
According to this further change, the aforesaid examples may be turned into:

drent'ar bucio
drent'a lo stanzino
drent'a la scatola
drent'a li pozzi
drent'a li scantinati
drent'a le case

col, collo, colla, etc. follow the same rule, and turn into cor, co lo, co la, etc.

with the (masc. sing.)
with the (masc. sing.)
with the (fem. sing.)
with the (masc. plur.)
with the (masc. plur.)
with the (fem. plur.)

col
con lo / collo
colla
coi
cogli
colle

cor
co lo
co la
co li
co li
co le

(examples →)

cor cane
co lo stommico
co la faccia
co li sòrdi
co li specchi
co le paggine

with the dog
with the stomach
with the face
with the money
with the mirrors
with the pages

sul, sullo, sulla, etc. follow the general rule: sur, su lo, su la, etc.

on / over the (masc. sing.)
on / over the (masc. sing.)
on / over the (fem. sing.)
on / over the (masc. plur.)
on / over the (masc. plur.)
on / over the (fem. plur.)

sul
sullo
sulla
sui
sugli
sulle

sur
su lo
su la
su li
su li
su le

Often an additional in is added before the standard preposition (in sur, in su lo, etc.), to emphasize it, when the actual meaning is "above, on top of", rather than simply "on", but this is not a strict rule. In this case the sound of "s" is almost as "ts", and therefore sometimes spelt "z" (in zur, in zu lo, etc.):

on the roof
on the shelf
on the hill
on the terraces
on the stairs
on the leaves

sul tetto
sullo scaffale
sulla collina
sui terrazzi
sugli scalini
sulle foglie

sur tetto  or  in sur (zur) tetto
su lo scaffale  or  in su (zu) lo scaffale
su la collina  or  in su (zu) la collina
su li terrazzi  or  in su (zu) li terrazzi
su li scalini  or  in su (zu) li scalini
su le foje  or  in su (zu) le foje

The emphatic form is used less frequently, especially in the modern dialect.

The preposition per ("for, because of") does not bind with articles, but in roman dialect pe and er are contracted by elision into pe'r or, less often, into p'er. Despite the different spelling, they are both pronounced in the same way.
All the others follow the standard rule.

for the (masc. sing.)
for the (masc. sing.)
for the (fem. sing.)
for the (masc. plur.)
for the (masc. plur.)
for the (fem. plur.)

per il
per lo
per la
per i
per gli
per le

pe'r (p'er)
pe lo
pe la
pe li
pe li
pe le

(examples →)

pe'r cane
pe lo stommico
pe la faccia
pe li sòrdi
pe li scopi
pe le paggine

for the dog
for the stomach
for the face
for the money
for the purposes
for the pages

The last two prepositions, tra e fra, both meaning "between, among" and "in" (a length of time), never bind to the articles, thus no particular changes occur.

between / among the (masc. sing.)
between / among the (masc. sing.)
between / among the (fem. sing.)
between / among the (masc. plur.)
between / among the (masc. plur.)
between / among the (fem. plur.)

tra / fra il
tra / fra lo
tra / fra la
tra / fra i
tra / fra gli
tra / fra le

tra / fra er
tra / fra lo
tra / fra la
tra / fra li
tra / fra li
tra / fra le

As far as now, all the examples have taken into consideration compound prepositions used before words beginning with a consonant. When the following word begins with a vowel, the roman dialect drops the article's vowel by elision, both in singular and plural number, doubling the sound of the article's consonant.
For instance, the Italian dell' ("of the") in roman turns into de ll' (i.e. de la or de lo without the last vowel, and with a double "l"). Note that both the Italian and the roman dialect forms are pronounced exactly in the same way, despite the space between de and ll'. In fact, some authors simplify this spelling in dell', as in standard Italian. The plural forms for masculine and feminine are identical (de ll'), since they come from de li and de le, although Italian ones are different (degli + vowel and delle + vowel).
Each preposition follows the aforesaid rule:

of the (masc. and fem. sing.)
of the (masc. plur.)
of the (fem. plur.)

to the (masc. and fem. sing.)
to the (masc. plur.)
to the (fem. plur.)

from the (masc. and fem. sing.)
from the (masc. plur.)
from the (fem. plur.)

in the (masc. and fem. sing.)
in the (masc. plur.)
in the (fem. plur.)

with the (masc. and fem. sing.)
with the (masc. plur.)
with the (fem. plur.)

on the (masc. and fem. sing.)
on the (masc. plur.)
on the (fem. plur.)

for the (masc. and fem. sing.)
for the (masc. plur.)
for the (fem. plur.)

between the (masc. and fem. sing.)
between the (masc. plur.)
between the (fem. plur.)

between the (masc. and fem. sing.)
between the (masc. plur.)
between the (fem. plur.)

dell'
degli + vowel
delle + vowel

all'
agli + vowel
alle + vowel

dall'
dagli + vowel
dalle + vowel

nell'
negli + vowel
nelle + vowel

con l' / coll'
con gli + vowel
con le + vowel

sull'
sugli + vowel
sulle + vowel

per l'
per gli + vowel
per le + vowel

tra l'
tra gli + vowel
tra le + vowel

fra l'
fra gli + vowel
fra le + vowel

de ll'
de ll'
de ll'

a ll'
a ll'
a ll'

da ll'
da ll'
da ll'

ne ll'
ne ll'
ne ll'

co ll'
co ll'
co ll'

su ll' / in su ll'
co ll' / in su ll'
co ll' / in su ll'

pe ll'
pe ll'
pe ll'

tra ll'
tra ll'
tra ll'

fra ll'
fra ll'
fra ll'

de ll'acqua
de ll'occhi
de ll'ombre

a ll'acqua
a ll'occhi
a ll'ombre

of the water
of the eyes
of the shadows

to the water
to the eyes
to the shadows

(etc.)

SUMMARY TABLE OF COMPOUND PREPOSITIONS

NOTE
the text in blue is in standard Italian, as a reference.

ARTICLE à PREPOSITION â	ER (IL)	LO (LO)	LA (LA)	L' (L')	LI (I)	LI (GLI + cons.)	LE (LE + cons.)	L' (GLI / LE + vow.)
DE (DI)	der	de lo	de la	de ll'	de li	de li	de le	de ll'
A (A)	ar	a lo	a la	all'	a li	a li	a le	all'
DA (DA)	dar	da lo	da la	da ll'	da li	da li	da le	da ll'
IN (IN)	ner in der	ne lo in de lo	ne la in de la	ne ll' in de ll'	ne li in de li	ne li in de li	ne le in de le	ne ll' in de ll'
CO (CON)	cor	co lo	co la	co ll'	co li	co li	co le	coll'
SU (SU)	sur in sur	su lo in su lo	su la in su la	su ll' in su ll'	su li in su li	su li in su li	su le in su le	su ll' in su ll'
PE (PER)	pe'r	pe lo	pe la	pe ll'	pe li	pe li	pe le	pe ll'
TRA (TRA)	tra er	tra lo	tra la	tra ll'	tra li	tra li	tra le	tra ll'
FRA (FRA)	fra er	fra lo	fra la	fra ll'	fra li	fra li	fra le	fra ll'

When the simple preposition co ("with") is followed by the indefinite article un ("a"), it may change into cor for phonetic reasons:

with a knife
with a stone
with a new dress

con un coltello
con un sasso
con un vestito nuovo

co 'n cortello  but sometimes  cor un cortello
co 'n zasso  but sometimes  cor un zasso
co 'n vestito nòvo  but sometimes  cor un vestito nòvo

The form cor un... is the less common of the two.

MODERN DIALECT

Often preposition cor (i.e. Italian col) is spelt cór, to distinguish it from còr (i.e. còre = "heart").
However, in roman dialect it is very unlikely for the word còre to be shortened into còr. Therefore, in my opinion the custom of adding an acute accent above the "o" is quite useless; nevertheless, it may remind the reader that in pronouncing the roman preposition cor the vowel "o" should have a very "narrow" or "closed" sound , whereas in the word còre it has a "wide" or "open" sound.

Due to loss of the letter "l" by the definite articles (as already said in the relevant paragraph), de lo, co lo, etc. are now pronounced according to the following phonetic rule: while the article drops its "l", the last vowel of the compound preposition (de; co; etc.) turns into the same following vowel, i.e. it is repeated.

of the bride
in the stadium
in the streets
around the woods
due to the strike by boat

CLASSIC
de la sposa
ne lo stadio
ne le strade
pe li bboschi
pe lo sciopero
co la bbarca

changes into →
changes into →
changes into →
changes into →
changes into →
changes into →
MODERN
da'a sposa
no'o stadio
ne'e strade
pi'i bboschi
po'o sciopero
ca'a bbarca

The double vowel separated by an apostrophe should be pronounced without any voice interruption, as if it was one long sound.

The preposition su ("on") does not change its vowel:

on the road
on the mountains
on the roofs
sulla strada
sulle montagne
sui tetti
su'a strada
su'e montagne
su'i tetti