and mp are concerned; and it may even be said to go counter to this tendency by reducing nģ and nź to nć, nz (e.g. púnćiri, pungere; menzu, Ital. meźźo; sponza, Ital. spugna, Ven. sponźa).[1] Nay, even in the passing of the sonant into the surd, the Neapolitan dialects would yield special and important contributions (nor is even the Sicilian limited to the case just specified), among which we will only mention the change of d between vowels into t in the last syllable of proparoxytones (e.g. úmmeto, Sicil. úmitu, umido), and in the formula dr (Sicil. and Neap. quatro, Ital. quadro, &c.). From these series of sonants changing into surds comes a peculiar feature of the southern dialects.—A pretty common characteristic is the regular progressive assimilation by which nd is reduced to nn, ṅg to ṅṅ, mb to mm, and even nv also to mm (nv, nb, mb, mm), e.g. Sicil. šínniri, Neap. šénnere, scendere; Sicil. chiummu, Neap. chiummę, piombo; Sicil. and Neap. ’mmidia, invidia; Sicil. sáṅṅu, sangue. As belonging to this class of phenomena the Palaeo-Italic analogy (nd into nn, n), of which the Umbrian furnishes special evidence, readily suggests itself. Another important common characteristic is the reduction of secondary pj fj into kj (chianu -ę, Sicil., Neap., &c., Ital. piano), š (Sicil. šúmi, Neap. šúmmę, fiume), of secondary bj to j (which may be strengthened to ghj) if initial (Sicil. jancu, Neap. janchę, bianco; Sicil. agghianchiari, imbiancare), to l if between vowels (Neap. neglia, nebbia, Sicil. nigliu, nibbio); of primary pj and bj into ć (Sicil. síćća, Neap. séćća, seppia) or ģ respectively (Sicil. raģģa, Neap. arraģģa, rabbia), for which phenomena see also Genoese (B. 1). Further is to be noted the tendency to the sibilation of cj, for which Sicil. jazzu, ghiaccio, may serve as an example (Arch. ii. 149),—a tendency more particularly betrayed in Upper Italy, but Abruzzan departs from it (cf. Abr. jacce, ghiaccio, vracce, braccio, &c.). There is a common inclination also to elide the initial unaccented palatal vowel, and to prefix a, especially before r (this second tendency is found likewise in Southern Sardinian, &c.; see Arch. ii. 138); e.g. Sicil. ’nténniri, Neap. ’ndénnere, intendere; Sicil. arriccamári, Neap. arragamare, ricamare (see Arch. ii. 150). Throughout the whole district, and the adjacent territories in Central Italy, a tendency also prevails towards resolving certain combinations of consonants by the insertion of a vowel; thus combinations in which occur r or l, w or j (Sicil. kiruci, Ital. croce, filágutu, Ital. flauto, salivari, salvare, váriva, Ital. barba; Abr. cálechene, Ital. ganghero, Salevèštre, Silvestro, fęulęmenándę, fulminante, jèreve, Ital. erba, &c.; Avellinese garamegna, gramigna; Neap. ávotro = *áwtro, Ital. áltro, cèvoza = *céwza, Ital. gelso, ajetá side by side with ajtá, Ital. età, ódejo = ódjo, Ital. odio, &c.; Abr. ’nnívęję, indiva, nệbbęję, nebbia, &c.); cattájeve = cattájve, cattivo, goúele = *gowle, gola, &c. &c., are examples from Molfetta, where is also normal the resolution of šk by šek (méšekere, maschera, šekátele, scatola, &c.); cf. seddegno, sdegno, in some dialects of the province of Avellino. In complete contrast to the tendency to get rid of double consonants which has been particularly noted in Venetian (C. 1), we here come to the great division of Italy where the tendency grows strong to gemination (or the doubling of consonants), especially in proparoxytones; and the Neapolitan in this respect goes farther than the Sicilian (e.g. Sicil. sóggiru, suocero, cínniri, cenere, doppu, dopo; ’nsemmula, insieme, in-simul; Neap. dellecato, dilicato; úmmeto, umido; débbole).—As to the phonetic phenomena connected with the syntax (see B. 2), it is sufficient to cite such Sicilian examples as nišuna ronna, nesuna donna, alongside of c’ é donni, c’ è donne; ćincu jorna, cinque giorni, alongside of chiú ghiorna, più giorni; and the Neapolitan la vocca, la bocca, alongside of a bocca, ad buccam, &c.
We now proceed to the special consideration, first, of the Sicilian and, secondly, of the dialects of the mainland.
(a) Sicilian.—The Sicilian vocalism is conspicuously etymological. Though differing in colour from the Tuscan, it is not less noble, and between the two there are remarkable points of contact. The dominant variety, represented in the literary dialect, ignores the diphthongs of ḗ and of ŏ, as it has been seen that they are ignored in Sardinia (B. 2), and here also the ĭ and the ŭ appear intact; but the ḗ and the ṓ are fittingly represented by i and u; and with equal symmetry unaccented e and o are reproduced by i and u. Examples: téni, tiene; nóvu, nuovo; pilu, pelo; miṅnitta, Ital. vendḛtta; jugu, giogo; agustu, Ital. agǫsto; crídiri, credere; vínniri, Ital. vēndere; sira, sera; vina, vena; suli, Ital. sole; ura, ora; furma, Ital. fǫrma. In the evolution of the consonants it is enough to add here the change of lj into ghj (e.g. fígghiu, Ital. figlio) and of ll into ḍḍ (e.g. gaḍḍu, Ital. gallo). As to morphology, we will confine ourselves to pointing out the masculine plurals of neuter form (li pastura, li marinara). For the Sicilian dialect we have a few fragments going back to the 13th century, but the documents are scanty until we come to the 14th century.
(b) Dialects of the Neapolitan Mainland.—The Calabrian (by which is to be understood more particularly the vernacular group of the two Further Calabrias) may be fairly considered as a continuation of the Sicilian type, as is seen from the following examples:—cori, cuore; petra; fímmina, femina; vuce, voce; unure, onore; figghiu, figlio; spadde, spalle; trizza, treccia. Both Sicilian and Calabrian is the reducing of rl to rr (Sicil. parrari, Cal. parrare, parlare, &c.). The final vowel -e is reduced to -i, but is preserved in the more southern part, as is seen from the above examples. Even the ḣ for š = fj, as in ḣuri (Sicil. šuri, fiore), which is characteristic in Calabrian, has its forerunners in the island (see Arch. ii. 456). And, in the same way, though the dominant varieties of Calabria seem to cling to the mb (it sometimes happens that mm takes the form of mb: imbiscare = Sicil. ’mmiscari ’immischiare’, &c.) and nd, as opposed to the mm, nn, of the whole of Southern Italy and Sicily, we must remember, firstly, that certain other varieties have, e.g. granne, Ital. grande, and chiummu, Ital. piombo; and secondly, that even in Sicily (at Milazzo, Barcelona, and as far as Messina) districts are to be found in which nd is used. Along the coast of the extreme south of Italy, when once we have passed the interruptions caused by the Basilisco type (so called from the Basilicata), the Sicilian vocalism again presents itself in the Otrantine, especially in the seaboard of Capo di Leuca. In the Lecce variety of the Otrantine the vocalism which has just been described as Sicilian also keeps its ground in the main (cf. Morosi, Arch. iv.): sira, sera; leítu, oliveto; pilu; ura, ora; dulure. Nay more, the Sicilian phenomenon of lj into ghj (figghiu, figlio, &c.) is well marked in Terra d’ Otranto and also in Terra di Bari, and even extends through the Capitanata and the Basilicata (cf. D’ Ovidio, Arch. iv. 159-160). As strongly marked in the Terra d’Otranto is the insular phenomenon of ll into ḍḍ (ḍr), which is also very widely distributed through the Neapolitan territories on the eastern side of the Apennines, sending outshoots even to the Abruzzo. But in Terra d’Otranto we are already in the midst of the diphthongs of ế and of ṍ, both non-positional and positional, the development or permanence of which is determined by the quality of the unaccented final vowel,—as generally happens in the dialects of the south. The diphthongs of ế and ṍ, determined by final -i and -u, are also characteristic of central and northern Calabria (viecchiu -i, vecchio -a, vecchia -e, vecchia -e; buonu -i, bona -e, &c. &c.). Thus there comes to be a treatment of the vowels, peculiar to the two peninsulas of Calabria and Salent. The diphthongal product of the o is here ue. The following are examples from the Lecce variety of the dialect: core, pl. cueri; metu, mieti, mete, mieto, mieti, miete (Lat. mĕtere); sentu, sienti, sente; olu, uéli, ola, volo, voli, vola; mordu, muerdi, morde. The ue recalls the fundamental reduction which belongs to the Gallic (not to speak of the Spanish) regions, and stretches through the north of the Terra di Bari, where there are other diphthongs curiously suggestive of the Gallic: e.g. at Bitonto alongside of luechę, luogo, suęnnę, sonno, we have the oi and the ai from i or ę of the previous phase (vęćoinę, vicino), and the au from o of the previous phase (anaurę, onore), besides a diphthongal disturbance of the á. Here also occurs the change of á into an e more or less pure (thus, at Cisternino, scunsulête, sconsolata; at Canosa di Puglia, arruête, arrivata; n-ghèpe, “in capa,” that is, in capo); to which may be added the continual weakening or elision of the unaccented vowels not only at the end but in the body of the word (thus, at Bitonto, vęndett, spranz). A similar type meets us as we cross into Capitanata (Cerignola: graitę and grēi-, creta (but also pęitę, piede, &c.), coutę, coda (but also fourę, fuorí, &c.); vǫinę, vino, and similarly pǫilę, pelo (Neap. pilo), &c.; fuękę, fuoco; carętätę, carità, parlä, parlare, &c.); such forms being apparently the outposts of the Abruzzan, which, however, is only reached through the Molise—a district not very populous even now, and still more thinly peopled in bygone days—whose prevailing forms of speech in some measure interrupt the historical continuity of the dialects of the Adriatic versant, presenting, as it were, an irruption from the other side of the Apennines. In the head valley of the Molise, at Agnone, the legitimate precursors of the Abruzzan vernaculars reappear (feáfa, fava, stufeáte and -uote, stufo, annojato, feá, fare; chiezza, piazza, chiegne, piangere, cuene, cane; puole, palo, pruote, prato, cuone, cane; veire and vaire, vero, moile, melo, and similarly voive and veive, vivo; deune, dono, deuva, doga; minaure, minore; cuerpe, corpo, but cuolle). The following are pure Abruzzan examples. (1) From Bucchianico (Abruzzo Citeriore): veivę, vivo; rraję, re; allaure, allora; craune, corona; circhê, cercare; mêlę, male; grênnę, grande; quênnę; but ’nsultate, insultata; strade, strada (where again it is seen that the reduction of the á depends on the quality of the final unaccented vowel, and that it is not produced exclusively by i, which would give rise to a further reduction: scillarite, scellerati; ampire, impári). (2) From Pratola Peligna (Abruzzo Ulteriore II.); maję, mia; ’naure, onore; ’njuriéte, inguriata; desperéte, disperata (alongside of vennecá, vendicare). It almost appears that a continuity with Emilian[2] ought to be established across the Marches (where another irruption of greater
- ↑ [Traces are not lacking on the mainland of nģ becoming nć, not only in Calabria, where at Cosenza are found, e.g. chiáncere, Ital. piangere, manciare, but also in Sannio and Apulia: chiance, monce, Ital. mungere, in the province of Avellino, púnci, Ital. (tu) pungi, at Brindisi. In Sicily, on the other hand, can be traced examples of nć nk nt mp becoming nģ ng nd mb.]
- ↑ It should, however, be noticed that there seem to be examples of the é from á in the southern dialects on the Tyrrhenian side; texts of Serrara d’Ischia give: mancete, mangiata, maretete, maritata, manneto, mandato; also tenno = Neap. tanno, allora. As to the diphthongs, we should not omit to mention that some of them are obviously of comparatively recent formation. Thus, examples from Cerignola, such as lęvǫitę, oliveto, come from *olivítu (cf. Lecc. leítu, &c.), that is to say, they are posterior to the phenomenon of vowel change by which the formula ę-u became í-u. And, still in the same dialect, in an example like gré̱jtę, creta, the ej seems perhaps to be recent, for the reason that another é, derived from an original é (Lat. ĕ), is treated in the same way (péjte, piede, &c.). As to examples from Agṇone like puole, palo, there still exists a plural pjéle which points to the phase *palo.
