Sicilian language course: Introduction According to G. Piccitto the orthography of the Sicilian language should be determined by the pronunciation of the sp oken language. This will all be well and good , but in any language we find dialects, or inflections and slang. The Sicilian language is not immune of these problems, it has many, so called “parrati” that is dialects. ord s, many times, are different from one town to another and pronunciation !ary a lot in many parts of the island. Although many call the Sicilian language a dialect, it is not so. Sicilian is a language and as such it has its own dialects. The only problem, and it is a big problem, is that we d o not ha!e written linguistic rules to assert the Sicilian language as the standard language of Sicily e ha!e to ha!e rules of grammar and of synta" where orthography and phonetic are an integral part of the process. e ha!e attempts at grammar and orthography, but not a full fledged study. #t is funny that foreigners ha!e always taken an interest in our language, in our history, in our literature, in our traditions etc., while we Sicilians ha!e always taken for granted what we ha!e, to the point that our language is d ying, and with it will die our past, our his tory . # am sorry to say that this is simply shameful. $ere, # am going to try to write a brief course of Sicilian language to e"pose it to the Sicilians of the %nited States and e!e n of Sicily , hoping that some will tak e interest in learning our language, not only how to speak it but, abo!e all how, to write it. &y attempt will be at establishing some rules on how to write a standard Sicilian, because Sicily is a country with its own language, its own go!er nment and its own laws, and while many other regions of #taly ha!e already asserted their right to ha!e their language considered the official language of their region, the Sicilians are still in a lethargic state, as usual, toward the mother land and what it represents. Lesson 1: The vowels, phonetic, consonants in sicilian language Writ ten by Nino Russo The 'owels Phonetic The !owels in the Sicilian language are fi!e( a, e, i, o, u . These !owels can ha!e a short sound or a long one, according to the position they occupy in the word in which they are located. hen these !owels ha!e an accent at the end of the word, they ha!e a strong sound. The sound of these !owels is as follows( a is pronounced as in the word palm parma
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IntroductionAccording to G. Piccitto the orthography of the Sicilian language should be determined by thepronunciation of the spoken language. This will all be well and good, but in any language wefind dialects, or inflections and slang. The Sicilian language is not immune of these problems, ithas many, so called “parrati” that is dialects. ords, many times, are different from one town
to another and pronunciation !ary a lot in many parts of the island.
Although many call the Sicilian language a dialect, it is not so. Sicilian is a language and assuch it has its own dialects. The only problem, and it is a big problem, is that we do not ha!ewritten linguistic rules to assert the Sicilian language as the standard language of Sicily
e ha!e to ha!e rules of grammar and of synta" where orthography and phonetic are anintegral part of the process.
e ha!e attempts at grammar and orthography, but not a full fledged study.
#t is funny that foreigners ha!e always taken an interest in our language, in our history, in ourliterature, in our traditions etc., while we Sicilians ha!e always taken for granted what we ha!e,
to the point that our language is dying, and with it will die our past, our history. # am sorry tosay that this is simply shameful.
$ere, # am going to try to write a brief course of Sicilian language to e"pose it to the Siciliansof the %nited States and e!en of Sicily, hoping that some will take interest in learning ourlanguage, not only how to speak it but, abo!e all how, to write it.
&y attempt will be at establishing some rules on how to write a standard Sicilian, becauseSicily is a country with its own language, its own go!ernment and its own laws, and while manyother regions of #taly ha!e already asserted their right to ha!e their language considered theofficial language of their region, the Sicilians are still in a lethargic state, as usual, toward themother land and what it represents.
Lesson 1: The vowels, phonetic, consonants in sicilian
languageWritten by Nino RussoThe 'owels
Phonetic
The !owels in the Sicilian language are fi!e( a, e, i, o, u .
These !owels can ha!e a short sound or a long one, according to the position they occupy inthe word in which they are located.
hen these !owels ha!e an accent at the end of the word, they ha!e a strong sound.
Written by Nino RussoA treaties in Sicilian orthography does not e"ist. 8ecause of the strong influence of otherlanguages, the Sicilian language has been in e!olution, maybe, more than any other language.As a matter of fact after 0uite sometime of the last linguistic imposition, which was the #talianlanguage, we ha!e, what we can call, the first serious, and maybe the last up to now, attemptat establishing the rules for a Sicilian orthography.
These were done by Giorgio Piccitto and published in 9:;<. This course will follow, in thema2ority of cases, G. Piccitto=s orthography rules.
>ouble )onsonants
Generally some consonants almost always ha!e a strong sound, e!en if they are located at the
beginning of the word? but if they double up in the pronunciation, they do not double up in thewritten language. Such consonants are( b, c, d, g,, m, n, r, and 7(
Some digraph ha!e a cacuminal sound, which means that the sound is made by the tonguereaching the top of the palate. These digraphs are(
dd has the palatal sound as the d in good, wood(
addum-ri to light
iddu he, him
dr as abo!e drittu strait
ddr as a strong dr addri77-ri to make strait
tr as abo!e tru!-ri to find
ttr as a strong tr attrici actress
)ontrasting Pairs
Some words in Sicilian change meaning by the addition of a consonant that they ha!e incommon, that is with a certain consonant they ha!e one meaning and by doubling that sameconsonant the word has a different meaning(
The Sicilian articles di!ide into two types, definite( lu, la, li, *the+ and indefinite nu, na *a, an+.
These articles, as the nouns they describe, ha!e a gender, they can be feminine( la *singular+,li *plural+, and masculine( lu *singular+, li *plural+. The indefinite nu, masculine, na, feminine,are always singular.
Du ca!-ddu the horse
Da casa the house
Di ca!-ddi the horses
Di casi the houses
%n ca!-ddu a horse
@a fmmina a woman
Cor nouns that start with a 7 or with an s followed by a consonant the form nu of the indefinitearticle should be used(
A!i nu 7iu bonu $e has a good uncle
)=era nu scal4ni autu There was a tall step
A!a nu stipu !asciu $e had a low cabinet
Si nni purto nu 7-inu chinu $e took a full knapsack with him
These articles in the spoken language can contract to E for la, F for li. and for lu(
Prepositions are simple and compound. The simple prepositions are(
a *at+, di *of+, cu *with+, nni *to, by, in+, nna *to, by, in+, nno *to, by, in+ pi *for+, nta *in+,supra *o!er+, da!anti *in front+, sutta *under+, doppu *after+ and more.
These prepositions can also be used with a definite article( a la *to the+, di lu *of the+, cu la*with the+, nni la, etc.(
'-iu a la casa #go # go to the house
Da casa 5 di lu frati The house is of the brother
Sugnu cu lu 7iu # am with the uncle
Hranu nta la cresia They were in the church
These prepositions, in the spoken language, are often contracted to( E, d and c(
'-iu E casa # go to the house
Da casa 5 d frati The house is *belongs+of the brother
Sugnu c 7iu # am with the uncle
Hranu ntE cresia They were in the church
The plural of these preposition changes somewhat in the contracted mode.
egular(
#-mu a li casi e go to the houses
Di casi sunnu di li frati The houses are to the brothers
)histu e/ l=agn5ddu di Pas0ua This is the Kaster lamb
D=1cchiu d patr4ni ngrassa lu ca!-ddu
The owner=s eye fattens the horse
)ci tagghi-!a l=ugna a sJ fgghiu
$e was trimming his son=s nails
#n the case of a natural elimination of a !owel at the beginning of a word, it is not necessary touse the apostrophe. #n fact, according to G. Piccitto, it should ne!er be used for that reason, asin the indefinite article(
na a, an
nu a, an
>una na manu a tJ frati Gi!e a hand to your brother
&I matri era cu nu 7iu miu
&y mother was with an uncle of mine
and in the preposition n *in, to+
#ddu si nn?iu n Sicilia $e went to Sicily
And in the words that start with an i, where the word loses the i the apostrophe is not usedanymore to show the loss of the !owel, so we ha!e(
Sta can74na mancu l=aiu ntisu # ne!er heard this song
a ncatin-tu all=-rbulu $e was chained to the tree
Archim5di fu n=omu ncign4su Archimedes was a genius
Then we can say that the articles la, lu, li and the pronouns la, lu, li can take the apostropheand so can the demonstrati!e ad2ecti!es( ddu, dda *that one+, ddi *those ones+, stu *this one+,sti *these ones+, ssa, ssu *that one+, ssi *those ones+. The personal pronouns ti *to you+, nni*to us+, !i *to you plural+, and the reflecti!e si *self action+ and cci *to, by him, to, by them+can also take the apostrophe(
#u !itti l=ecclssi # saw the eclipse
#ddu nun l=abbruci1 $e did not burn it
)hi-ma add=abb-ti )all that abbot
Pgghiati ss=abbitu Take that suit
St=abbsu 5 laidu This notice is bad
T=aiu a dari na manu # ha!e to gi!e you a hand
'=aiu a puli77i-ri la casa # want to clean your house
@n=ati a dari li sordi Oou ha!e to gi!e the money to us
S=innamur1 di idda $e fell in lo!e with her
)c=era sJ matri
$is, her mother was there *with him, her, them+
#ddu l=a!ia ma nun dissi nenti
$e had it but did not say anything
#f cci meets a, o, u does not take the apostrophe(
#dda cci a!a iutu a scola She had gone to school
)ci iunc!i 1gghiu nta lampa # added oil to the lamp
feminine or masculine. #t is not a gender in the anatomic sense of the word, but a grammaticalgender. As a general rule the masculine nouns end in u, as in(
Trenu train
&uru wall
Cerru iron
Santu saint
hile the feminine nouns end in a, as in(
Dana wool
acc5tta hatchet
d-ttula date *fruit+
orcchia ear
Du saccu 5 di mI patri e la cup5rta 5 di mI matri.
The sac blongs to my father and the blanket to my mother.
Da petra 5 dura ma lu ferru e5 cchi4 duru.
The rock is hard but the steel is harder.
Some masculine nouns end in a and remain the same in the plural, as in(
Ad2ecti!e is a modifier, that is it modifies the noun and it agrees with the noun in number andgender. Generally, for the masculine and feminine, they follow the same rules as the nouns.The ad2ecti!e in Sicilian usually follows the noun, as in(
Da casa bedda The beautiful house
Du muru autu The tall wall
Da !ucca china The full mouth
D=-r!ulu nicu The small tree
A!5mu un ca!-ddu beddu e ha!e a beautiful horse
Acchian1 la scala auta $e climbed a tall ladder
&I frati a!ia un cani nicu &y brother had a small dog
A iddu ci d5ttiru na palla russa They ga!e him a red ball
Sometimes the ad2ecti!e precedes the noun it modifies to gi!e a greater emphasis to the0uality of the noun. The most common ad2ecti!es that follow this rule are(
#ddu a!i nu gran ca!-ddu $e *really+ has a great horse
Du patri a!i n=-!utru cani
The father has an other *different+ dog
Da iena 5 un bruttu arm-lu
The hyena is *truly+ an ugly *bad+ animal
#ddu 5 un caru picci1ttu $e is a dear young man
$ere too we ha!e e"ceptions in the endings. Some ad2ecti!es end in i, and they can follow amasculine or feminine noun and ha!e the same ending in the plural form, as in(
&asculine Ceminine
Du bordu diagun-li Da lnia diagun-li The diagonal line, edge
Du suli luc5nti Da stidda luc5nti The shining star, sun
Du !iolu cum4ni Da strata cum4ni The common street, pathway
Assra !itti na stidda luc5nti Dast night # saw a brilliant star
#u nni !itti 0u-ttru stiddi luc5nti # saw four brilliant stars
&i tru!-!a nta la tra775ra cum4ni # was in the commn pathway
>du omu 5 gnur-nti That man is ignorant
Some ad2ecti!es form ad!erbs by adding menti to the ending(
%n 5ssiri um-nu l=-i a tratt-ri cchi4 umanam5nti pussbili.
Oou ha!e to treat a human being as humanly as possible
Ru-nnu parr-!a cu mia sicuram5nti dic5!a fissar.
hen he was talking to me he was lying *saying nonsense+
Anchi si lu fattu era !eru un signfica ca era !eram5nti bonu.
K!en if what happened was true it does not mean that it was truly good
>iminuti!e, Augmentati!e
#n Sicilian we find two ways of altering the 0uality or 0uantity of a noun or an ad2ecti!e( adiminuti!e to denote 0uantity or 0uality, someone or something small or to denoteendearment, in the noun or ad2ecti!e, as in(
An augmentati!e, to denote 0uantity? to make an augmentati!e, the ending uni is added to thenoun or ad2ecti!e, as in(
)asa cas4ni house, big house
'ecchiu !icchi4ni old man, !ery old man
&anu man4ni hand, big hand
Cossu fuss4ni ditch, big ditch
Paredda paridd4ni skillet, big skillet
Gaddina gaddin4ni chicken, big chicken
A pe2orati!e, to denote 0uality. To make a pe2orati!e the suffi" a77u *mascul.+ or a77a *femin.+is added to the noun or ad2ecti!e(
)asa cas-77a house, ugly big house'5cchiu !icchi-77u old, ugly, bad old man
&anu man-77a hand, ugly big handCossu fuss-77u ditch, ugly big ditchPar5dda paridd-77a skillet, ugly big skillet Gaddna gaddin-77achicken, ugly big chicken
#ddu sta!a nta na cas-77a $e li!ed in an ugly house)hista nun 5 casa, chista 5 cas4ni This is not a house, it is a big houseDu piccirddu a!ia dui man4na The baby had two big handsCri5!a lo!u nta nu paridd4ni She was frying the egg in a big skilletKra un fuss-77u chinu di fangu #t was an ugly ditch full of mud
)omparati!e and Absolute
The comparati!e in Sicilian is made in two ways. )omparison by e0uality by adding thead!erbs, comu, tantu e 0u-ntu *as+, as in(
The superlati!e absolute is made by adding the suffi" issimu, issima, for the singular, andissimi for the plural. #t also can be formed with the ad!erbs assai, !eru or the suffi" uni, as in(
They are called au"iliary because they help the main !erb(
Aiu manci-tu # ha!e eaten
Sugnu sud-tu # am sweating
#n Sicilian this form, which is called present perfect, is not much used, instead the preterite isused in most cases.
The !erbs are organi7ed in con2ugation and the con2ugations are organi7ed in modes andtenses. The most commonly used are the #ndicati!e &ode, the #mperati!e &ode, theSub2uncti!e, the Gerundi!e, the Participle, and the #nfinite. The )onditional is also used but notas much.
#n Sicilian it is not necessary to ha!e the personal pronoun before the !erb, because the endingof the !erb, or the contest of the sentence, determines the number of the person, singular orplural, to which it is referred.
As an au"iliary the !erb a!ri *to ha!e+ is mostly used.
#ndicati!e &ode of the 'erbs to $a!e and to 8e Tenses
The Sicilian language uses two forms of addressing people, the familiar, with peers friends andfamily members, and the polite with strngers, older people or people to whom one wants toshow respect. #n the first case is used the second person singular of the !erb, in the secondcase is used the second person plural of the !erb.
Camiliar(
Pgghiami ssu pani Get me that bread
Att-cca sta corda. Tie this rope
)hi-ma lu cani )all the dog
Polite(
'ossa chi-ma a me frati )all my brother
)i parr-ssi !ossa cu iddu Oou talk to him
'ossa mi fa n fa!4ri >o me a fa!or
A sentence is made negati!e by adding nun or the contracted un before the !erb(
%n sacciu nenti # do not know anything
@un capsciu chiddu chi dici
# do not understand what you are saying
%n parru bonu lu Sicili-nu # do not speak Sicilian well
Lesson 1): *lteration o+ the participle, re+leive +or-s in sicilian
#n Sicilian the date uses the day first and then the month and the year. The day uses always acardinal number preceded by the determinati!e article, but on the first day of the month ituses the ordinal number(
Du primu di gi4gnu The first of 6une
Du < di maiu The se!enth of &ay
Ru-ntu nn=a!5mu oggiL hat is todayL
Mggi nn=a!5mu Y. Today is the si"th
#ddu partu lu X di austu. $e left on the fifth of august
&I matri !eni lu 9X di sitt5mmiru
my mother will come on the fifteenth of September.
#n the ordinal numbers, after the d5cimu, it is enough to drop the final !owel of the numberand adding esimu. Mnly in those numbers ending with an i the !owel stays(
'intitri5simu UVrd
)in0uantatri5simu etc. XVrd
and those number ending with the u, they drop the final !owel and add the h(
'inticinch5simu UXth
Ruarantacinch5simu etc. ;Xth
The ordinal numbers beha!e as ad2ecti!es and follow the gender and the number of the nounthey describe(
The omans did not know the cardinal numbers and they used the ordinal numbers for e!eryneed. for this reason they used to write e!en the dates with ordinal numbers. here are somee"amples of how the years are written with ordinal numbers(