Bari dialect
| Barese | |
|---|---|
| dialètte barése | |
| Pronunciation | IPA: [baˈreːsə] |
| Native to | Italy |
| Region | Apulia, Basilicata |
Native speakers | about 2.400.000 (date missing) |
| Latin (Italian alphabet) | |
| Official status | |
| Regulated by | unofficially, by the Dialetto di Bari, grammatica, scrittura, lettura di Alfredo and Felice Giovine and by Corso di Lingua Barese by Felice Giovine e Gigi De Santis |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | – |
| Glottolog | None |
 | |
Bari dialect (dialetto barese) is spoken in the Apulia region of Italy. Influences range from Old French due to Norman and Angevin rule, to an ancient pre-Roman Illyrian substratum, creating one of the most distinct Italian dialects both from phonetics and lexis point of view.
Region
As assigning local dialects to strict geographical areas is often problematic, Barese may be seen, as with other local dialects, as a dynamic and changing language with regional differences determined by a range of geographical, historical and social factors. Nevertheless, Bari dialect may be identified predominantly within the province of Bari in central Apulia, and in the region of Barletta-Andria-Trani. It is also spoken in the western part of the province of Taranto, in some towns in the western part of the province of Brindisi and in the north eastern part of the Basilicata region. In the north of the Apulian region, the province of Foggia, the Foggian dialect is spoken and may be seen as a variant of the Bari dialect, although significantly influenced by Neapolitan dialects, while in the city of Taranto the tarantino dialect is spoken, quite similar to the Bari dialect.
In the Italian cinema of the Commedia all'Italiana, Barese has been made famous by actors such as Lino Banfi, Sergio Rubini, Gianni Ciardo, Dino Abbrescia, and Emilio Solfrizzi. There are also numerous films shot exclusively in Bari dialect: amongst the most notable is LaCapaGira which was admired by film critics at the Berlin International Film Festival. Many local theatre companies produce light comedy shows in dialect, often focusing on the comic linguistic opportunities presented by the millions who left the region during the 20th century in search of work in northern Italy and overseas.
Extracts
Il Padre Nostro
- Attàne Nèste,
- ca sta 'ngile,
- sandificàte jè u nome tuje,
- venghe à nú u Régne tuje,
- sèmbe che lla volondà tuje,
- come 'ngile acchessí 'ndèrre.
- Annúscece josce u pane nèste de tutte le di,
- é llívece à nnú le díbete nèste,
- come nú le levàme à ll'alde,
- é nnon z'inducénne à nnú 'ntendazióne,
- ma líbberace d'o' male,
- Amen.
- Ave Maríe,
- chine de gràzzie,
- u Segnore jè cche tté.
- Tu ssi benedétte 'nmènze à lle fémmene,
- é benedétte jè u frutte
- d'u vèndre tuje, Gesú.
- Sanda Maríe, madre de Ddie,
- prighe pe' nnú peccatóre,
- josce é 'nd'à ll'ore de la morta nèste,
- Amen.
Il Salve regina
- Salve o' Reggine
- matre de misericòrdie vita, dulgézze, spirànze nostre
- salve, à tté recurràme, figghie d'Èva
- à tté sospiriàme, chiangénne,
- 'nd'à 'sta valle de lacreme, alló avvocàte
- nostre chiamínde à nnú cche ll'ècchie tuje
- misericordióse,
- é ffamme vide dope 'stu esílie, Gesú,
- u frutte bènedétte d'u séne tuje.
- O clèmènde, bone
- o dulge Vérgene Maríe.
L'Angelo custode
- Àngele de Ddie
- ca si u custòde mije,
- allucíneme, custodísceme, tineme é
- gguvèrneme
- ca te venibbe date da lla piètà celèste,
- Amen.
The alphabet
The Bari dialect is composed by this alphabet: a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p r s t u v z
The accents
In Barese the use of the accents is obligatory:
- acute accent, used when the vowels have a closed sound: é, í, ó, ú;
- grave accent, used when the vowels have an open sound: à, è, ò;
The monosyllables do not need to be accented, with some notable exceptions, such as à (preposition), é (conjunction), mè (adverb), and some others.
Examples:
- Mo me n'i à scí! - Now I've to go!;
- Quànte si sscéme - What an idiot you are;
- Ué! - Hi!/Hello!;
- Ce ssi tè-tè! - You are an idiot! / You talk too much!
- Ce ttremóne! - What a wanker! (similar to pirla in the dialect of Milan)
The accents are important and are often used to show the differences between words that are otherwise written in the same way, but which have different pronunciations. Examples:
- mé (me: personal pronoun complement, form unstressed) and mè (ever/never: time adverb);
- nu (a/an: indefinite article, masculine, singular) and nú (we, personal pronoun, subject);
- pésce (fish) and pèsce (worse);
- ué (hi/hello) and uè (you want).
Linguistic features
Within the Province of Bari many dialects exist which, while similar to Bari dialect, have various vocal differences. For example, the expression Che c'è? in standard Italian, meaning What's the matter? or What's up? is variously produced as:
Ci jè? (Barese)
Ciobbà? (Andriese)
Ce jè? (Bitettese)
Ce d'è? (Grumese and Palese)
Ce jèi? (Bitontino)
Ce da? (Terlizzese)
Ci jò? (Barlettano)
Ce d'è? (Molfettese)
Meanwhile, the conjugation of verbs sees changes such as:
Essere (to be in standard Italian)
| Person | io | tu | lui | noi | voi | loro |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indicative | ||||||
| Present | sono | sei | è | siamo | siete | sono |
Essere (to be in Barese)
| Person | ji | tu | jidde/jédde | nú | vú | lore |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indicative | ||||||
| Present | so | si | jè | sime | site | so'/sonde (rare) |
Fare (to do/make in standard Italian)
| Person | io | tu | lui | noi | voi | loro |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indicative | ||||||
| Present | faccio | fai | fa | facciamo | fate | fanno |
Fare (to do/make in Barese)
| Person | ji | tu | jidde/jédde | nú | vú | lore |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indicative | ||||||
| Present | fazze | fasce | fasce | facíme | facíte | fáscene |
References
- D'Amaro, Sergio. "Apulia"
- Official page for LaCapaGira at the Internet Movie Database
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