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an introduction to the
ROMAN DIALECT
glossary
idiomatic expressions
exclamations and interjections

IN THIS PAGE

  • 6 - the doubling of consonants
  • 7 - elisions and shortenings
  • 8 - vocative
  • ~ 3 ~

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    latest updating
    December 2008




    1. 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 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)
        sa ccasa mia
        è stata casa mia  (no doubling)
        comprà ccasa
        pu ccasa
        vénne casa  (no doubling)


      The doubling of some consonants is graphically obtained in a particular way:

      • 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)


      MODERN DIALECT
      The double consonants at the beginning of words are no longer spelt, but they are anyway pronounced stronger, with emphasis. Some of the emphatic double consonants spelt inside the word have been abandoned, as well, but also in this case their sound has remained unchanged.
      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
      correre
      CLASSIC
      la terra
      la guerra
      er carrettiere
      er terrazzo
      l'errore
      córre

      changes into →
      changes into →
      changes into →
      changes into →
      changes into →
      changes into →
      MODERN
      '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.







    2. 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.





    3. 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.





    4. an introduction to the ROMAN DIALECT
      | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |

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