In 2013, UNESCO officially recognized Neapolitan language, not dialect Lengua Napuletana or simply 'O Napuletano, the second most common on the peninsula after the Italian - thanks mainly to the classic Neapolitan song.
Neapolitan reached its peak precisely in the poetry of the songwriters of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
This language is highly variable in time and space. Only in the last thousand years, southern Italy was owned by a mass of dominants - the Normans in the 11-12th century, the Swabians in the 13-14th, then the Angevins (French) in the 14-15th, then Aragon (Spaniards) gained control first over Sicily, and in the middle of the 15th century and over the mainland, uniting the two Sicilian kingdoms into one "Kingdom of the Two Sicilies". Such a funny name came about due to the fact that when, after the uprising of 1282, the Angevins lost Sicily, they did not want to change the name of the mainland part of the kingdom of Sicily that remained with them.
After 1507, Naples became a viceroyalty of the Spanish Empire for 2 centuries. Ignorance of genetics led the empire to collapse, after which Naples became Austrian for 30 years, and then again Spanish, only now it belonged to the Bourbons, not the Habsburgs - until the unification of Italy in 1861 (with the exception of a few years when Napoleon appointed his relatives as kings here ).
Such a striped pattern, to which one can still add primordial Greek roots, led to the emergence of a peculiar dialect ...
Many word roots do not match the Italian ones.
If S hisses at the beginning of a word, if instead of O wherever U appears, if D is heard as R (madonna = maronna), and C as G (ncoppa = nGoppa - from above), then a true Neapolitan sings.
The Italian P at the beginning of words turns into CH and is not read “K”, but almost like in English - “Ч” (piove - chiove = rain, piangere - chiagne = cry).
The Italian butterfly Farfalla then turned into Palummella, that is, into the "little swallow" and gave the name to the delightful old song.
In names, the last syllable is constantly discarded (Karme, Mari, Karuli, Konche, Anto), and in other words it is simply swallowed.
"Neutral" gender, which is not found in Italian, with the first consonant doubled, is used to indicate abstract concepts(‘mericano)
In Italian articles, the first letter L is not pronounced and is replaced by an apostrophe: ‘A, ‘O, ‘E. You don't have to think that "Oh myo salt! is an enthusiastic exclamation. The first letter is the article and is not translated.
Well, and so on ...
Today's Neapolitan is strikingly different from the classical samples, it has become more colloquial, "vulgar". Following the pronunciation and under the influence of newfangled chats and social networks, the letter K appeared in it, which has never been in either Italian or Neapolitan, apostrophes and “afrezes” (quote mark at the beginning of a word) are confused or omitted.
And in general, everyone writes as he hears or as he wants, as long as he is understood. And it’s hard to understand if you don’t live in Naples and you don’t hear every minute this pronunciation, which you can’t confuse with anything.
The music has also changed.
Most modern Neapolitan songs are characterized by the term "neomelodica". Among them are rare, rare, but come across real pearls.
Although, I think, a lot of songs have been written in all ages, it's just that only the best ones have survived to this day. Half a century will pass, and from today's work of hundreds (!) Neapolitan singers, each releasing dozens of albums, individual hits by Gigi d'Alessio, Sala da Vinci, Maria Nazionale and someone else younger will be remembered.
As such a pearl, I would bring Regione e Sentimento(Reason and Feelings), a song recorded in 1997 by Maria Nazionale. Don't be confused by two voices - the video is brilliantly made using sound overlay technology and presents a duet of a daughter in love and a mother taught by life.
The best modern Neapolitan singer (in my opinion), combining folk songs, classical and neo-melodica, also became a movie star, playing Maria in the film Gamorra, which received the Grand Prix at Cannes (2008). In the film, Maria did not sing a single note.
The text on the screen also shows the newfangled K (pekké instead of perche), solid disappeared vowels at the end of words - in colloquial Neapolitan speech they are swallowed, as a result, they also disappeared in writing.
What is wrong with you, he does not care, he does not see what he did to you.
He is arrogant and impudent, he is a vile, insignificant person!
He is deaf and cannot hear you, and he has no feelings!
But I love this man...
- He took away your eyes, because of this man you went blind.
And I don't feel the strength to lose him...
- I nailed my hands and feet, you live in chains.
I love him completely...
- He destroyed you morally, he has no heart in his chest,
Because it is the essence of life...
- Like a chocolate bar, sweet-sweet, he ate you.
- I love him so much...
- Always with the TV neglects you because of football.
This is the fire that I burn...
- It lights you up, then it throws you, as if you were a cigarette!
I love him from head to toe...
- How many evenings have you been waiting for him, and how many times have you stepped on a rake?
And I don't want to fade away.
“But why are you still holding on if this man has no heart. Why?
- But I love him
- He is meanness itself.
- I'm in love
And I forgive him...
- But I love him
- I'm in love
- And I forgive him.
He eclipsed the whole world for you, he stole the sign of the cross from you.
When you speak, he does not hear you, he does not compliment you.
He doesn't bring gifts because he's too rude
He does not spare any girl, this is a piece of scoundrel!
But I love this man!
“You are always neglected, and you are always coddling him.
“And I don’t feel the strength to lose him.
- You do not want to listen to reason, you are stupid, you are dull.
I love him from head to toe!
- You give so many feelings, but you have nothing left
And I don't want to fade away!
- Everything goes to war, and will drive you underground. Why?
Fool, what are you waiting for to leave him?
- But I love him
- He is meanness itself.
- I'm in love
- Look, now he's with that one!
And I forgive him...
"Then he'll go back to your bed."
- But I love him
- He comes, makes love and leaves.
- I'm in love
- Runs because he has something to do.
- And I forgive him.
- He leaves, and you call him until you lose your breath.
You're crying again, why don't you leave him?
You're a fool, you're a moron, you're too in love!
How many times have you waited for him, but he does not return even at night!
Don't you notice that he treats you like a hat?
Every evening he changes the beds, how many horns he has instructed you!
What is wrong with you, he does not care, he does not see what he did to you.
Now let's go back half a century.
Antonio de Curtis(not to be confused with the brothers Giambattista and Ernesto de Curits, authors of Return to Sorretno) is not known by this name to everyone. To a much wider circle, he is known as the film comedian Totó, and to the uninitiated he seems to be something like the Italian Charlie Chaplin.
In fact, Totó is one of the symbols of Naples, a man who personifies his city in many ways. In the end, not every person is given three funeral ceremonies, as for him - In Rome, in Naples and in the native Neapolitan quarter of Sanita, where the ceremony was organized by the Camorra.
Totó has an unusual gloomy humor, fully understandable only to a Neapolitan - so much grief has fallen on this city over the millennium and so much blood has been shed here that it was possible to survive only with such humor.
Toto's biography is a match for such humor. Born illegitimate, and until the age of thirty he bore his mother's surname - Clemente, he, in the end, by the decision of the Neapolitan tribunal, inherited all the titles of both his father and stepfather and began to be called
His Royal Highness Antonio Flavio Griffo Phokas Nepomuceno Doukas Komneno Porfirogenito Gagliardi de Curtiz of Byzantium, Duke of Palatine, Knight of the Holy Roman Empire, Viceroy of Ravenna, Count of Macedonia and Illyria, Prince of Constantinople, Cilicia, Thessalia, Pontus, Moldavia, Dardania, Peloponnese, Duke of Cyprus and Epirus, Duke and Count of Drivast and Duraztsy.
Here in this fragment from the film "Toto a colori" (the first Italian color film - 1952) Toto turns into Pinocchio to escape from his pursuers.
But Toto is not only a film actor. He is the author of many poems in the Neapolitan dialect and Neapolitan songs.
Toto's idiosyncratic humor manifested itself in the dedication to his most famous song "Malapemmena" (The Bad Woman) from the film ("Totó, Peppino and the Bad Woman"). He dedicated the song to ... his wife.
The film and the song deserve a hotel post. Let's better listen to how the poem "Livella" ("Level") sounds in the Neapolitan dialect, although the Russian Wikipedia believes that it is more correct to translate "Scales").
You, of course, did not listen to the end of the 5-minute video in an unfamiliar language, well, I didn’t expect it.
I decided to sing a song on such a strange topic only Giacomo Rondinella.
Level (Antonio de Curtis)
Every year on the second of November there is a custom
On memorial day, go to the cemetery.
Everyone should do it
Everyone should remember the dead.
Every year strictly on this day,
In this sad and sorrowful celebration
I also go there with flowers
On the stone grave of grandmother Vincenza.
But something happened this year...
After the completion of this sad rite,
Madonna! When I think about it, what a horror!
But now I calmed my soul and returned courage.
Here's the thing, listen to me:
Closing time approached
And I, quietly, was about to leave,
But he looked at some grave.
"Here sleeps in peace the noble Marquis
Lord Rovigo and Belluno
A hero who has accomplished a thousand deeds,
Died May 11, 31"
Shield with a crown on top ...
Button cross underneath
Three armfuls of roses and a mourning inscription,
Candles, large candles and six grave lamps.
Right next to this gentleman's grave
There was another grave, smaller,
She doesn't have a single flower.
And only one cross.
And on the cross is simply written:
"Gennaro Esposito - scavenger"
I looked at it with pity
A dead man without a single candle!
That is life! I thought...
Those who had a lot, and those who had nothing!
Did this poor fellow think
That even in another world will be unhappy?
While I was pondering this thought,
It's almost midnight
And I stayed close, captivated,
frightened to death ... at the grave lamps
Suddenly, who did I see in the distance?
Two shadows approached from the side...
I thought this is weird...
Am I awake, dreaming, or is this a vision?
No visions! It was the Marquis
In a top hat with a monocle and a raincoat,
And someone behind him, not so good looking,
All dirty and with a broom in his hand.
And this, apparently, Don Gennaro ...
Dead poor man... street sweeper.
I do not understand:
Are they dead and coming back at this hour?
They were almost a foot away from me
When the marquis suddenly stopped,
Turned around and indifferent... cold cold
Said to don Gennaro: "Boy!"
I want to know from you, vile corpse,
How dare you and how dare you
Let me bury you, to my shame
Next to me, a noble man!
Caste is caste and must be respected
But you've lost your sense and moderation
Your body should be buried, yeah
but buried among the garbage!
I can not stand it any longer
Your stinking presence
So you need to look after the grave
Among your comrades, among your people."
"Signor Marquis, it's not my fault,
I would never dare to insult
My wife did this stupid thing
And what could I do when I was dead?
If I were alive, I would respect you
I would take a coffin with four bones
And right now, honestly, at the same moment
I would be in another grave."
"Well, what are you waiting for, you filthy bastard,
That my anger will go beyond?
If I wasn't noble
I would have beaten you already!”
“Let's see ... well, beat.
Marquis, in fact I'm tired
Listen to you and if I lose my patience
I will forget that I am a corpse and beat you...
What do you think about yourself… are you God?
Understand that here - we are equal ...
You are dead and so am I
We are like each other."
"You dirty bastard! … How dare you
Compare yourself to me who
Noble by birthright and equal
Princes of royal blood?
“But what a Birth… Easter and Epiphany!
Get it in your head... with your brains -
What are your morbid fantasies?
Do you know what death is? … this is the level.
King, judge, great man,
Passing through these gates, he understands that
He lost everything, life and name:
You still don't understand this?
So listen to me... don't show off
Tolerate my presence, what do you care?
Only the living are engaged in these antics.
Seriously… And we belong to Death!”
Well, a little joke in the end. Let's go back to the third millennium, more precisely, to 2004, when the author and performer Leo Ferrucci released on his CD in the Zeus publishing house, among others, a Neapolitan song Chillo te piace.
Leo is a singer, quite popular in Italy, although he has become very stout in his 40s.
The title probably means something along the lines of "As You Like It". In the text, the “correct” 'ch' turns into 'k', the words in the letter are cut off so that only half of them can be understood, and apart from the last line of the chorus “I want to marry you” and some familiar words (“go down”, “search for ", "recover", "deceive", "change" ...), the meaning from me, to be honest, somehow eludes me.
kill a te te piac, scinne vall a cerca
e pò fall giura
primm rò perduna,
dint "a vit" e vot se pò pur sbaglià,
pe na vot ke fa,
nunò può cundanna.
kill te vo ben nun ò può abbanduna
"a decis "e cagna
nun te vò trascura,
sta cercanne cas se vo gia priparà,
s "a vuless accatta
pekke te vo spusà....
But you can still listen!
Here I was thinking what to do at 5-6 in the morning, when your head is not working and you seem to be awake, and your eyes are open ... but in fact you are almost asleep .. Well, of course, read something related to languages. For example, with Neapolitan. It is now considered a dialect, just like all other "dialects" in Italy. But if you remember the history, we invited the Rurikovichs a thousand years ago in order to somehow collect all the Vyatichi-Krivichi in one heap. And Italy, in its modern sense, right up to the 19th century consisted of separate states, which somehow gradually began to unite. Rome was honored with joining the Italian kingdom only in 1870. In our country, it means that serfdom was only abolished, and in Italy - Rome became part of Italy.
Well, everyone had their own languages, respectively. Therefore, modern Italian in its official version- it's basically a pidgin. Artificially created from those that at that time existed on the territory of modern Italy, the language.
I can only identify the Romans by ear. I don’t know how, but somehow I understand that here is a Roman in front of me. And this is especially understandable if two Romans talk to each other in front of me.
Last summer, in the Italian village of Sharm el-Sheevka, in northern Africa, we gathered such funny company from different regions Italy, and of course I hid in them)) And interestingly, I understood the Neapolitan best of all. Not why, or he specifically tried so hard to speak clearly, then what, but in short, I understood him better than anyone in percentage terms. But when he started writing to me, it became hard. I thought it was his style. Well, something there in its own way reduces, remakes ... But no. I didn’t think that everything was so serious, it’s bubblegum! la lingua napolitana)
To make it more or less clear to you, ke kazzo e - here is a song for you by the popular Neapolitan singer Alessio. I don’t know how it sounds for a person who doesn’t know Italian, but for me it somehow looks like a gypsy. If I hadn’t seen the words, I would have thought aloud that it might be the Romanian language. Everything is very much there on YY EEE and etc. Some strange gypsy howls.
But in general, the song is good, listen just like that. Slow, romantic.
Well, actually the performer of Neapolitan ballads By the way, Alessio is a creative pseudonym. His real name is Gaetano Carluccio. Apparently, the euphony for the Italian ear here and yon smells, especially when you consider that the name is almost letter for letter the same as the word "gypsy" in Italian ...
No wonder I heard gypsy notes ...)))
And all the other Italians don’t like Neapolitans, and it’s kind of abusive and not at all prestigious to be a Neapolitan. Mafiosi, scavengers, drugs,
Naples has always been a crossroads of cultures of different nations, each of which left its mark on its language. Since its foundation by the ancient Greeks, the city has experienced the strongest influence of Hellenism, which is reflected in many terms of the Neapolitan dialect.
In 326 BC, the city became a colony of the Roman Republic, speaking Latin. Folk Latin was used by the Neapolitans until the end of the 12th century. Only during the dependence on Byzantium in the VI-VII centuries, it was partially replaced by Greek. In the XIII century, both in Naples and in other lands, local pronunciations began to form and separate. So, in the era of the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance, the Tuscan dialect, in which the great Florentine figures of the era, Petrarch, Dante and Boccaccio, worked, played a significant role. In the middle of the 16th century, it will be taken as a common Italian language and will form the basis of literary speech.
In 1442, by decree of Alfonso I of Aragon, "nnapulitano" acquired the status state language Kingdom of Naples, replacing Latin in government documents and legal proceedings. At the beginning of the 16th century, Ferdinand the Catholic introduced Castilian Spanish as the official written language. But the traditional dialect continued to be used by both the common people and the royal dignitaries.
The political instability that arose with the end of the Aragonese domination increased interest in mother tongue. To XVI century he already had a rich literary heritage. Officially, the first document in Italian, the Capua charter of 960, was essentially written in the Neapolitan dialect. Its traces can be traced in early XIV century with the popularization of the Latin "History of the Destruction of Troy" by Guido de Columna, written by him in the 1270s.
It was in Neapolitan in the 1630s. Giambattista Basile published a two-volume edition of The Tale of Tales, from which the Brothers Grimm, Charles Perrault and Carlo Gozzi subsequently drew inspiration. The book is based on village folklore. A contemporary of Basile and the most famous poet of the turn of the 16th-17th centuries, Giulio Cesare Cortese also made a great contribution to the development and preservation of not only Baroque literature in general, but also the virtues of the Neapolitan dialect.
Linguistic features and customs of the peoples inhabiting in different time territory of Campania, had a great influence on the development of the Neapolitan dialect. The inhabitants of the Greek colonies and Byzantine traders, who founded settlements on this territory, participated in its formation. Subsequently succeeding each other Norman, French, Spanish dynasties, attacks by Arab troops left their imprint on the local oral culture.
To the first world war foot soldiers from the south of Italy, sent to defend the borders of the country, spoke only their own dialect and often did not understand the orders given in Italian. Even the American speech influenced the vocabulary of the Neapolitans during the Second World War and the subsequent occupation. In turn, the Neapolitan dialect had a significant impact on the development and pronunciation Spanish in Uruguay and Argentina.
It is estimated that around 11 million Italians speak Neapolitan today. First of all, these are the inhabitants of the southern regions, historically united during the time of the Kingdom of Naples and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies: Campania, Abruzzo, southern Lazio, Molise, some parts of Apulia and northern Calabria.
"Napoletano" is sometimes incorrectly called a vulgar or uneducated dialect, when it is a living syllable of everyday life. The Neapolitan dialect is not archaic, they quarrel, reconcile, declare their love, noisily trade in the market. His place remains special in folk art, drama, comedy, close to the people, opera buffa, exposing intriguers and charlatans. The Neapolitan dialect was spoken by such heroes of the commedia dell'arte as the servants of Pulcinella and Coviello, while the actors who played the noble gentlemen and ladies spoke in literary Italian. 
The expressive and metaphorical dialect serves as an independent landmark of the region. Neapolitan proverbs and sayings are very colorful, lively and witty. Indigenous people tends to speak loudly and emotionally and uses a complex repertoire of all kinds of gestures that accompanies speech. 
The local song tradition is inseparable from the Neapolitan dialect. The Neapolitan folk song can be called one of the phenomena of European music. Already in the 15th century, there were hundreds of compositions performed to the accompaniment of various instruments: lute or guitar. Many famous Renaissance composers wrote music to Neapolitan words: Luca Marenzio, Orazio Vecchi, Claudio Monteverdi.
Folklore melodies were often so popular, thanks to their lyricism and harmony, that famous composers of the 18th century included them in their operatic works. It is this practice that has allowed these songs to reach our days. The 19th century was the "golden" time for the Neapolitan song. One of the main roles in its popularization was played by Gennaro Pasquariello and Enrico Caruso.
The Neapolitan language has its own literature, it was written by Salvatore di Giacomo, Ferdinando Russo, Raffaele Viviani, Eduardo de Filippo, popular folklore performer Roberto Murolo. In recent decades, interest in the Neapolitan dialect has grown; it is actively used in cinema, theater, and modern pop music. The famous musician Pino Daniele performed his songs on it.
In 2008, the government of Campania declared Neapolitan a separate language in order to preserve its characteristics and regional cultural traditions. In January 2014, UNESCO officially recognized its independence.
As we have already found out, this country is not at all as simple as it seems! Even on account common language the Italians could not agree - in Italy, along with the usual Italian language, its dialects are also common. At the same time, under the name " dialect Italian ” often hide idioms that do not even belong to the Italian-Romance group.
The existence of dialects can primarily be explained by historical reasons - the country existed for a long time separately, in the Middle Ages each region invented and introduced its own version of the language based on volgare - local interpretations of Latin (the so-called folk Latin).
During the Renaissance, the Tuscan dialect became widespread, or rather, Florentine(fiorentino), on which they wrote Dante, Petrarch and Boccaccio. Since the XVIII-XIX centuries, a single Italian literary language based on the Tuscan dialect.
At present, many dialects are widespread in Italy, mutual understanding between which is very difficult: from a historical point of view, northern Italian dialects are Gallo-Romance, and southern Italian dialects are Italian-Romance. Here is a diagram that perfectly illustrates the abundance of dialects:
The situation is as follows: literary Italian, which is the state language, is used everywhere, it is understood by everyone. But the more you delve into alleys and courtyards, the more unfamiliar speech will hurt your ear, because. dialectisms are traditionally characteristic of colloquial speech certain sections of society.
Here in Naples, as a dialect, there is napoletano - Neapolitan. It must be said that for a person who speaks Italian, but is unfamiliar with dialectical features, Neapolitan sounds like an incomprehensible set of sounds. So, Neapolitan has absorbed parts of other languages, this has led to the fact that some words do not even remotely resemble the words of Italian. After living here for some considerable time, I began to understand something, but most of the Neapolitan speech remains gibberish to me.
I think it is the dialect that is the true bearer of culture - beautiful songs are written in Neapolitan, for example, the famous "O Sole Mio".
| Text in Neapolitan | Translation into Italian |
|---|---|
| Che bella cosa na jurnata ‘e sole, n'aria serena doppo na tempesta! Pe' ll'aria fresca pare gia' na festa Che bella cosa na jurnata ‘e sole.Ma n’atu sole cchiu' bello, oi ne'. ‘O sole mio sta ‘nfronte a te! ‘O sole, ‘o sole mio sta 'nfronte a te, sta ‘nfronte a te! Lùcene ‘e llastre d a fenesta toia; ‘na lavannara canta e se ne vanta e pe' tramente torce, spanne e canta lùcene ‘e llastre d’a fenesta toia. Ma n'atu sole Quanno fa notte e'o sole se ne scenne, Ma n'atu sole |
Che bella cosa una giornata di sole, un'aria serena dopo la tempesta! Per l'aria fresca pare già una festa… che bella cosa una giornata di sole!Ma un altro sole più bello non c'è il sole mio sta in fronte a te Il sole, il sole mio, sta in fronte a te sta in fronte a teLuccicano i vetri della tua finestra, una lavandaia canta e si vanta… mentre strizza, stende e canta. luccicano i vetri della tua finestra! Ma un altro sole Quando fa sera e il sole se ne scende, Ma un altro sole |
