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 an introduction to the ROMAN DIALECT |
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| ~ 3 ~ other pages | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
latest updating December 2008 |
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|
an introduction to the ROMAN DIALECT |
|
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| ~ 3 ~ other pages | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
latest updating December 2008 |
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- THE DOUBLING OF CONSONANTS
The sound of roman dialect is stronger than the standard Italian one: a word that begins with a consonant + vowel, following another vowel, often emphasizes the consonant by strengthening its sound.
Some examples:
something
and then
if really
with great effort
a good man
qualche cosa
e poi
se proprio
con tanta fatica
un uomo buono
quarche ccosa
e ppoi
si ppropio
co ttanta fatica
un omo bbono
The rules followed by the doubling are very complex, being based on the combination of phonetics and grammar.
The doubling of some consonants is graphically obtained in a particular way:
- The doubling does not occur if the vowel before the consonant belongs to articles, adjectives, personal and demonstrative pronouns, numerals:
the house; the houses
nice house; nice houses
my house; your house
this house; these houses
one house; two houses
(note the difference in roman)
at home
it's my house
la casa; le case
bella casa; belle case
la mia casa; la tua casa
questa casa; queste case
una casa; due case
a casa
è casa mia
la casa; le case
bella casa; belle case
la mi' casa; la tu' casa
sta casa; ste case
'na casa; du' case
a ccasa
è ccasa mia
- Consonant "b" makes an exception, and is doubled in any case:
the boat; the boats
nice boat; nice boats
my boat; your boat
this boat; these boats
one boat; two boats
la barca; le barche
bella barca; belle barche
la mia barca; la tua barca
questa barca; queste barche
una barca; due barche
la bbarca; le bbarche
bella bbarca; belle bbarche
la mi' bbarca; la tu' bbarca
sta bbarca; ste bbarche
'na bbarca; du' bbarche
- The doubling usually occurs when the vowel before the consonant belongs to a preposition or to a conjunction:
at home
around the house
what a house!
gardens and houses
a casa
per casa
che casa!
giardini e case
a ccasa
pe ccasa
che ccasa!
giardini e ccase
- The doubling, though, does not take place after prepositions da (from) and di (of); note that in roman the latter turns into de:
from house to house
of the house
da casa a casa
di casa
da casa a ccasa
de casa
- When before the first consonant comes a vowel belonging to a verb, if the latter carries a stress the consonant will be doubled.
In the following examples, the syllables that carry a stress are marked in blue, for an easier reference:
it's my house
it was my house
it will be my house
it has been my house
to buy a house
to clean the house
to sell the house
è casa mia
era casa mia
sarà casa mia
è stata casa mia
comprare casa
pulire casa
vendere casa
è ccasa mia
era casa mia (no doubling)
sarà ccasa mia
è stata casa mia (no doubling)
comprà ccasa
pulì ccasa
vénne casa (no doubling)
- If letter "q" is strengthened, most authors spell this cq... (as it is in Italian, as well), or they may even prefer to omit the doubling rather than spelling it qq...:
if somebody among you
so, when are we leaving?
se qualcuno di voi
ma quando si parte?
si cquarcuno de voi or si quarcuno...
ma cquanno se parte? or ma quanno...
- If the letter "s" is strengthened, it may turn into "z" when a consonant comes before it (see also CHANGE OF S INTO Z), but this is not a strict rule:
sleep
a penny
in the sauce
with the gentleman
il sonno
un soldo
nel sugo
col signore
er zònno (also er sònno)
un zòrdo (also un sòrdo)
ner zugo (also ner sugo)
cor ziggnore (also cor siggnore)
- If the "s" is followed by a vowel, it is doubled as any other consonant:
it is possible to know
if I hear from somebody
four and seven, eleven
si può sapere
se sento qualcuno
quattro e sette, undici
se pò ssapé
si ssento quarcuno
quattr'e ssette, undici
This rule is not strict at all, and the use of avoiding the ss... spelling at the beginning of such words has become more and more common. However, the sound is still pronounced as if the "s" was actually double.
- Also the cluster gn may be doubled, and its sound is graphically rendered as ggn, although the combination vowel + gn... in roman dialect occurs very seldom:
potato dumplings
gli gnocchi
li ggnocchi
The doubling of consonants may often occur also in other parts of the word:
dictionary
stuff
accelerated
Michael
each one
multiplied
number
vocabolario
roba
accelerato
Michele
ognuno
moltiplicato
numero
vocabbolario
robba
accellerato
Micchele
oggnuno
moltipplicato
nummero
For some clusters the doubling occurs constantly, at least their pronounciation is always stronger.
- In cluster gn, the "g" is doubled (as previously said):
spider
countryside; campain
pine-cone
Agnes
ragno
campagna
pigna
Agnese
raggno
campaggna
piggna
Aggnese
- All words ending with ...izio, ...izia, ...izie, ...izi, double the "z":
exercise
friendship
vices
cleanliness; cleaning
esercizio
amicizia
vizi
pulizia
esercizzio
amicizzia
vizzi
pulizzia
Instead, this does not occur if the "z" follows a consonant (usually "n"): mercanzia (merchandise), dolenzia (pain), etc. remain unchaged.
In a fewer number of cases, a double consonant of an Italian word turns into a single one in its roman equivalent:
bird
really
money
uccello
davvero
quattrini
ucello (see also HOW TO PRONOUNCE CE AND CI)
davero
quatrini (or quadrini)
Conversely, a curious change that took place in modern roman is the reduction of the double "r", found in many words:
the earth
the war
the carter
the terrace
the mistake
to run
la terra
la guerra
il carrettiere
il terrazzo
l'errore
correreCLASSIC
la terra
la guerra
er carrettiere
er terrazzo
l'errore
córre
changes into →
changes into →
changes into →
changes into →
changes into →
changes into →
'a tera
'a guera
er carettiere
er terazzo
l'erore
córe (not to be mistaken with còre, i.e. "heart")
Also many roman people wrongly believe this single "r" pronounciation to be the dialect's original sound. Actually, it was only born by the turn of the 20th century, since no such pronounciation is found in G.G.Belli's Sonnets (dating from the early previous century), while some traces appear in Trilussa's works, and it is clearly present in Ettore Petrolini's monologues.
- ELISIONS AND SHORTENINGS
Many words drop their last letter, usually a vowel, when they are followed by a further sound. Others, instead, lose their first letter by elision. In any case, the purpose of such changes is to make the sound of these words be more consistent with the roman pronounciation, or to drop some consonant clusters that the romans are not too confident with (see also CHANGE OF LETTERS AND CLUSTERS).
- The preposition per (for) is always shortened into pe (eventually strengthened as ppe): per mangiare e per bere (for eating and for drinking) turns into pe mmaggnà e ppe bbeve, and so on.
- The possessive adjectives mio (my/mine), tuo (your/yours) and suo (his/her/hers) always undergo an elision, turning into mi', tu', su', if they come before the object or the person they are referred to:
my book
your sisters
his / her garden
il mio libro
le tue sorelle
il suo giardino
er mi' libbro
le tu' sorelle
er su' ggiardino (su' is never changed into zu' )
- The pronouns questo (this), questa (this, feminine), questi (these), queste (these, feminine), very often lose their first syllable (apheresis) and turn into 'sto, 'sta, 'sti, 'ste :
these facts
this house and this garden
questi fatti
questa casa e questo giardino
'sti fatti
'sta casa e 'sto giardino
- Several words, especially the verb inflections, receive an elision when they are followed by the preposition a (at, to) or any of its compounds al, allo, alla, etc. (see also THE VERBS):
they are at home
I come and have lunch
when in the evening it turns dark
we went to school
thanks god I found them
I told my mother-in-law
they were at the seaside
stanno a casa
vengo a mangiare
quando alla sera fa buio
andavamo a scuola
grazie al cielo li ho trovati
l'ho detto a mia suocera
stavano al mare
stann'a ccasa
veng'a mmaggnà
quann'a la sera fa bbuio
annavam'a scola
grazzi'ar cèlo l'ho ttrovati
l'ho dett'a mmi sòcera
staven'ar mare
However, not all inflections follow this rule: in particular, the ones whose word only contains one syllable skip this elision:
come to bed
he is in Viterbo
I give it to your brother
vieni a dormire
sta a Viterbo
lo do' a tuo fratello
viè a ddormì
sta a Vviterbo (only one "a" is pronounced)
lo do' a ttu' fratello
The elision is not applied also whenever the words would be difficult or impossible to understand after an elision:
I'll eat at home
he'll talk to him/her later
he is no longer going to school
mangerò a casa
gli parlerà dopo
non va più a scuola
maggnerò a ccasa
je parlerà ddopo
nun va ppiù a scola
Furthermore, if a pronoun particle is attached to the verb, the preposition a causes the latter to drop its vowel and form an elision:
take it home
let's go and have fun
let's push it in turns
listen to her
come and look for me
portalo a casa
andiamoci a divertire
spingiamolo a turno
stalla a sentire
vienimi a cercare
portel'a ccasa
annames'a ddivertì
spiggnémel'a tturno
stall'a ssentì
viemm'a ccercà
Such elision is not always applied to the written dialect, but in the spoken language the pronounciation is the aforesaid one.
- The adverb dove (where) receives an elision, but only after having been "lengthened", thus existing in two different forms:
- indove (i.e. the result of in + dove) is the most classic form without an elision, generally used alone or followed by the emphatic particle ahó, which has the meaning of an exclamation (see also THE VOCATIVE):
where?
where?
dove?
dove?
indove?
indove, ahò? (more emphatic)
- andove, a corruption of the previous form, used in more recent times:
where?
where?
dove?
dove?
andove?
andove, ahò? (more emphatic)
- When any of the two aforeasaid forms stand between two words, they undergo an elision, so that what remains of the original adverb andove is 'ndo'.
This form is so common that it is also used when no sound at all comes before it (i.e. when the first elision would not be required).
Although this word contains two actual elisions, thus requiring two apostrophes (one at each end of the word), it is commonly spelt 'ndò, or also 'ndo.
If after 'ndo comes a vowel, it is further clipped into 'nd', a sound that due to its short duration is difficult to hear very clearly in the spoken language, yet easy to understand by a native speaker.
where are those (people) going?
where are they?
where are they?
where are we going?
where are we going?
quelli dove vanno?
dove stanno?
dove stanno?
dove andiamo?
dove andiamo?
quelli 'ndò vanno?
indo' stanno?
or ando' stanno?
or 'ndo' stanno?
ahò, 'ndo' stanno? (emphatic)
and'annamo?
or 'nd'annamo?
ahò, 'nd'annamo? (emphatic)
- The word che (that), either used as a conjunction or as pronoun, takes the elision when followed by a verb that begins with a vowel. The result is ch', even when the following vowel is "a", or "o", or "u":
I know that you'll open a shop
the one that comes out
I think that it will do
what inn is this one?
he / she says that it is this one
so che apri una bottega
quello che esce
penso che andrà bene
che osteria è?
dice che è questo
so ch'apri 'na bottega
quello ch'esce
penzo ch'anderà bbene
ch'osteria è?
dice ch'è questo
- When a word ends with a vowel and is followed by the article er, sometimes either the last vowel or the "e" are dropped, forming an elision.
More often, the article's "e" is the one dropped:
the wife and the husband
the cat and the dog
la moglie e il marito
il cane e il gatto
la moje e 'r marito
er cane e 'r gatto
(in fact, the conjunction e cannot be dropped).
Sometimes no vowel is dropped, and no special change takes place: volete il sale o il pepe? (do you want salt or pepper?) may turn into volete er zale o 'r pepe?, but it may also remain as: volete er zale o er pepe? (the single words change in any case).
- The article er may lose it's "r" when the following noun begins with the same consonant:
the king
the hook
the noise
il re
il rampino
il rumore
e' re, but also er re
e' rampino, but also er rampino
e' rumore, but also er rumore
This rule is particularly true in the modern dialect.
- When words that begin with "i" follow another vowel, they often drop their opening sound and form an elision. This is always true if an "e" comes before the "i" (because their sound is not too different).
Sometimes this happen also when and "...e" meets an "e...", but not as a rule.
Obviously, this occurs when the combination "...e i..." or "...e e..." take place in the dialect version.
here one learns a job
when we stay together
you splashed your clothes
I slipped a hand in my pocket
for entering his house
qui si impara il mestiere
quando stiamo insieme
ti sei inzaccherato il vestito
mi infilai una mano in tasca
per entrargli in casa
qui sse 'mpara er mestiere
quanno stamo 'nzieme
te sei 'nzaccherato er vestito
me 'nfilai 'na mano 'n tasca
p'entraje 'n casa,
or pe entraje 'n casa
- The adverb non, which in roman sounds nun, often undergoes a phonetic elision when it is followed by the consonants "l", "m", "n" and "r", turning into nu'. In this case, "m" and "n" double their sound (e.g. nun + m... becomes nu' mm..., and nun + n... becomes nu' nn...):
I don't like it
don't touch me!
I don't know anything about it
I don't know
don't look at her!
I don't know him
don't laugh!
non mi piace
non mi toccare!
non ne so niente
non lo so
non la guardare!
non lo conosco
non ridere!
nu' mme piace
nu' mme toccà!
nu' nne so ggnente
nu' lo so
nu' la guardà!
nu' lo conosco
nu' ride!
Some authors prefer to maintain the spelling nun me, nun lo, nun la, ecc., relying on the knowledge of the reader that the actual pronounciation is the aforesaid one.
Such changes of non will be dealt with again in the paragraph about the verbs, discussing the imperative.
- The numeral due (two) drops its "e" before any other noun, as the pronoun mio (my / mine) does:
two men
two barrels
two hens
due uomini
due botti
due galline
du' ommini
du' botti
du' galline
The other numerals too drop their last vowel, but only when they are followed by another vowel:
five years and five days
eight and a half
eight hats
cinque anni e cinque giorni
otto e mezzo
otto cappelli
cinqu'anni e cinque giorni
ott'e mmezzo
otto cappelli (without the elision)
Also note how in the aforesaid examples the form du' stays separated from the following name, while all other numerals graphically join the following word after an elision.
In the old dialect, when the same word due is not followed by any other sound it changes into dua: for instance, dammene due (give me two) changes into dammene dua, etc., although this rule is now obsolete.
- When two nouns are closely related because of their meaning, or because they belong to a common saying, or to a name, etc., the first one of the two sometimes drops the final vowel; this helps the whole expression to improve its rhythm when pronounced:
the landlord
Trevi Fountain
a glass of wine
a pair of shoes
il padrone di casa
Fontana di Trevi
un bicchiere di vino
un paio di scarpe
er padron de casa
Fontan de Trevi
un bicchier de vino
un par de scarpe (paio turns into paro)
They are not real elisions (note the absence of an apostrophe), i.e. the first noun is simply shortened.
This is not a rule (for instance, er padrone de casa or un bicchiere de vino are also correct), but it is a very common custom.
- Usually, the word ogni (each) drops the "o" turning into 'gni.
This also occurs in compound words that contain ogni: ogniqualvolta (each time) changes into 'gniquarvorta, etc.
- In the old dialect, the Italian word bisogna (it has to..., it ought to...) dropped the central "so", turning into bigna (or biggna, according to the proper pronounciation). Nowadays it is uncommon.
- VOCATIVE
In the spoken language, the sentence is very often introduced by a vocative expression.
Either addressed to a specific person or more generically to the people by the speaker, the most common form is to drop the part of the noun that follows its stressed syllable, adding the vocative particle a (more or less similar to the English oh) before the noun:
(Oh) Sir,...
(Oh) Boys,...
(Oh) Peter,...
(Oh) John,... / Joan,...
(O) Signore,...
(O) Ragazzi,...
(O) Piero,... (or Pietro,...)
(O) Giovanni,... / Giovanna,...
A siggno',...
A rega',... (note: ragazzi turns into regazzi)
A Pie',...
A Giova',..., or A Giuva',...
Note how due to this truncation the word loses the syllable that in many cases expresses the gender of the name (Giovanni masculine, Giovanna feminine), thus in roman dialect the same truncated name may often refer to either gender.
In the following examples, the stressed syllables are marked in blue, to show which part of the words is truncated:
Paul,... / Paula,...
Charles,... / Carla,...
Julius,... / Julia,...
Paolo,... / Paola,...
Carlo,... / Carla,...
Giulio,... / Giulia,...
A Pa',... (both genders)
A Ca',... (both genders)
A Giu',... (both genders)
Instead, when in the masculine and feminine forms of a noun the stress is carried by different syllables, also the roman version is different:
Mario,... / Mary,...
Lucius,... / Lucy,...
Mario,... / Maria,...
Lucio,... / Lucia,...
A Ma',... / A Mari',...
A Lu',... / A Luci',...
For the same reason, sometimes different names may have the same roman vocative form:
A Pie',...
A Lu',...
A Ma',...
Piero,..., Pietro,... (masculine) | Piera,... (feminine)
Luca,..., Lucio,... (masculine)
Marco,..., Mario,... Massimo,... (masculine)
Often the vocative is further strengthened by opening the sentence with the expression ahó... (similar to the English hey...); in such case, the vocative particle a may be omitted, but it is commonly left, all the same:
Hey, Francis,...
Hey, sir...
Hey, boys...
Ehi, Francesco,...
Ehi, signore...
Ehi, ragazzi...
Ahó, a France',...., or Ahò, France',....
Ahó, a siggno'..., or Ahó, siggno'...
Ahó, a rega',..., or Ahó, rega',...
Remember that the letter H is always soundless, as in Italian.
In the modern dialect, since Ciccio is a very common nickname (which refers to the name Francesco), it is not uncommon to address a stranger in a very friendly attitude, calling him: a ci'..., yet non knowing his real name. For instance: a ci', che ciai d'accénne? (do you have a light?), or ahò, a ci', che ssai 'ndo sta 'sta piazza? (hey mate, do you know where this square is?), and so on.
