Sicilian Lesson

[tegoblue]

E chi sarebbe Mister Giacchi? Giocchino Cataldo?

[liparikronos]

Dov'e' Mister Giacchi?

[blueterrior]

@Stettina81

Sicilian uses words from Italian, but yes, it is derived from Latin. I wouldent disagree either though, that it is a dialect of Italian. Sicilians are Italian, Sicily is a region in Italy. Sicily is to Italy what Hawaii is to the US (roughly). My family is from Sicily, and if some one told me I was not Italian, they would get beat.

[IHateYouCauseYouSuck]

@blueterrior "sicily is to italy what hawaii is to the us". NO NO NO AND NO. Both italian islands (sicily and sardinia) are WAY closer to the mainland than the hawaii and they were always VERY important in the development of the history of the country, so no, italian islands are WAY MORE than what the "hawaii" are to the US.

[Stettina81]

No, Sicilian is NOT a dialect of Italian. Nor the same language.

Sicilian is derived from Latin NOT Italian. It's a seperate language and the people are not Italian as well.

[cjs33139]

is Sicilian the same as Italian? thanks!

[tegoblue]

@cjs33139 No. Some linguists say the Italian language is descended from Sicilian, because Italian was first used in the court of Federico the Second at Palermo. If you speak Italian you can probably figure out 50 to 75 percent of what they are saying in Sicilian. But Sicilian words, pronunciation and meanings change from town to town, and sometimes, as in Palermo, can change from one end of a long boulevard to another. I speak, read and write Italian, but just understand Sicilian.

[cjs33139]

@tegoblue Wow, thanks for the history lesson. I had no idea, but as you explain it, it does apply as well to Spanish, which is my second language. Iam a hispanic american born in NYC (puertorican) and as maybe you have heard, we speak differently on the island than those who were born in the states and to make matters worse, we can understand and communicate with other latinos, say Cubans or Mexicans, but... occasionally, they will throw us off with words that we have never heard of before! :)

[tegoblue]

@cjs33139 you are welcome!

[tegoblue]

@tegoblue And Happy Puerto Rico Day today!

[ojideagu]

@cjs33139 Just as Spaniards from Spain will speak differently to American Continent Spanish dialects.

[EnRicoTesoro]

@tegoblue Thats with all dialects of italian, infact the italian we know and teach in school is actually just another dialect that they decided to make the language they would teach all italains to unify them in language because each town had a variation of dialect due to the colorful history of italy

[9bahai9]

@tegoblue,

Right! Sicilian is a different language but it is similar to Italian. An Italian frien from north Italy, when he watches "The Godfather" says he can't understand any of it. But some differences are pretty minor, like bedda for bella, i.e. beautiful. They also end many words with "u" instead of "o." The accent is more exaggerated too. Linguists regard it as a different language but, politically, it is lumped as a dialect of Italian.

[CreaturaDura]

Sicilian is more buccal and beautiful than Italian, a very healthy language to speak and perfect for singing if enough support is there.

[eddy2708]

bedju mehhh!

[cannolochannel]

bbhhhuaaaaahhhahahahah grande!!!

venite a parlare in dialetto sui canali he he vi aspettiamo ciao he he

[trapanimartino]

bellissimo

[qifshanonenkarmuti]

albania = sicilia!

[zerosbiggestfan]

i want to learn to speak sicilian but all the adio tape things dont give u the option! how do i learn?

[tegoblue]

The scholarly sounding voice on this tape is the voice of one Prof. Gaetano Cipolla, a professor of modern romance languages at St. John's Univ in NYC. He is also the head of Arba Sicula, (Sicilian Dawn)an international organization dedicated to preserving and appreciating Sicilian culture. It does not cost much to join. He made a cd for members that was basically a Sicilian lesson. You could check out the Arba Sicula website and see where that leads you in your quest to learn sicilian.

[hj351]

my father was 1st generation sicilian. his sister raised him and she only spoke to him in english, he only knew a few words but his brothers and sisters could all speak the language. I would like to learn it as well. thanks for posting this.

[odmcarp]

learn italian, then put a "di" at the end of every word lol

[beddhuboyct]

When Italy was created in the 1860s it needed a language, and the dialect of Florence, in Tuscany, was chosen. Unfortunately, Italy was very poor, third-world, and agricultural. Until industrialization in the 1950s, children worked on farms or as apprentices and didn't have the opportunity to go to school and learn the new Italian language. Therefore, today much of the older generations don't speak Italian at all. The new generations can, but also speak their original language like Sicilian.

[ojideagu]

@beddhuboyct Of course if you count the UK as one country "Which it technically is" We have multiple languages as well like Italy. Irish, Welsh, English, Scots, Gaelic.

[radu842000]

Italia is not a big country. Is a weird how they manage to get so many dialects. The lands inghabitet by romanians are almost the same and they were under rusian and hungarian occupation. the language is almost the same in all regions except some words and pronunciation. we can understant very well :)

[tegoblue]

Dear radu,

Thanks for this very interesting information about Romanians and how their language does not change region to region despite various occupations. I'd love to ask a cultural anthropologist about this phenomenon and what it says about Sicilians. Maybe Sicilians are not very strong-willed, or have survived as a race only because they are more pliable in character. When it comes to fashion, they conform rigidly to minute details.

[beddhuboyct]

Compared to the other countries of western Europe, Italy is a baby, created in 1862. Before this, there was the Kindgom of Sardinia, Kingdom of Sicily, Kingdom of Naples, the Republic of Venice, the Papal States, etc. Each spoke its own Romance language descended from Latin. Italy's mountainous geography made for little interaction from town to town, so separate languages and dialects emerged. Even accents change from town to town, every two miles. Nowhere else in Europe is it so drastic!

[beddhuboyct]

Another factor of language in Italy, is the country has the largest coastline of all Europe, as well has the Mediterranean's two largest islands, Sicily and Sardinia. This means countless invasions over time. Therefore the languages of the north have similarities with German, Austrian, Slavic, and Franco-Provencal, while in the south there is strong Greek influence, in Sardinia strong Spanish influence, and in Sicily, strong Arabic, Spanish, Greek, and French influence.

[tegoblue]

Beddhuboy, thanks for the wonderful insights. Are you in Catania?

[ojideagu]

@beddhuboyct I'd say England is could rival Italy close in terms of accents, there are different accents in such a tiny country every few miles. Every town has different accents. Cities have multiple accents within themselves too.

[zerosbiggestfan]

wuts the difference between sicilian dialect and the rest of italy?

[tegoblue]

Every region of Italy has its own dialect. It is almost a separate language, with influences from Arabic, Greek, Spanish and French, who conquered and settled there. When a Piedmontese (north Italian) dairy company put on a TV commercial shown in Sicily, they had to run subtitles so everyone could understand the dialect of the dairy farmer. In Sicily words change from town to town, and sometimes from one end of town to another. Thanks for asking.

[feelmyice]

Never forget who where your background comes from. Ciao Sicilia.

[MiciaKitty]

Hi,i'm sicilian.This video is really nice :), but in my opinion...it was better if u put pictures of the objects of each word,so foreigner people could understand the meaning of each word...for example,the picture of a knife when u pronunce cuteddu,or the picture of pig when u pronunce purceddu,etc... But the video is great,byeeee :) (sorry for my bad english, guys!!)

[LTR4EVER]

thankyou for

keeping our lovly words alive.

what a great way to be.

(amyamomninie) lets go.

[cheekygrinz]

<333333 che bello

[nattytorrezao]

sounds like a mix of Portuguese & Spanish!

[tegoblue]

It is great to hear the voices, isn't it?

[qbit77]

I miss my grandparents - all Sicilian. Thank you so much for the video.

[jeffmartinartist]

Thank you, grazie, I am so happy to recieve your comments and to see this great film. jeff

[mslolalucky]

I'm Sicilian and I loved this video. It's was so nice to bring me back to my roots.