Page 30 - Italian-American Herald - June 2023

30 ITALIANAMERICANHERALD.COM | JUNE2023 ITALIAN-AMERICANHERALD ITALIAN MADE FUN & SIMPLE
What language is closest to Italian in structure, and which is easiest for Italians to understand?
This month, we will take a break from our usual format and present some interesting linguistic information about Italian’s relationship to its sister languages. We will try to answer a question that has been posed to linguists many times: What language is closest to Italian in structure, and which is easiest for Italians to understand?
It’s important to keep in mind that linguistics is a science. No science is 100 percent perfect, though there are some scientists who may not agree with that statement. You might disagree with the answer below to the question on Italian and its sister languages, especially if you understand Italian and another romance language.
Why do linguists say that the romance languages closest to Italian are French or Romanian, when Italian is sometimes classified in the same subgroup of romance languages, but Italians understand Catalan and Spanish better?
Here is the answer as presented by linguists: Linguists understand the history and DNA of languages in depth, and they are usually correct with their theories. Moreover, it is a common experience that the external similarity of any person with a second cousin can be greater than the similarity with the brother. In relationship to the structure of romance languages, Spanish and Portuguese are “second” cousins to Italian while French and Romanian are “first” cousins.
In the family of languages, the five most important Latin languages are Portuguese, Spanish, French, Romanian and Italian. For those comparing the idioms of that group, the most similar to Italian are written French and spoken Castilian Spanish. And the greater similarity of written French to Italian, compared to Castilian Spanish, proves the accuracy of the judgment of linguists on “proximity”.
There can be no doubt, in fact, that the “langue d’oil,” the form of medieval French spoken north of the Loire, generally characterized by the use of oïl to mean “yes,” formed the basis of modern French. It was very similar to Florentine Italian speech, and it was the phonetics, the Italian one conservative, the French one very heretical that, as both developed, created a difference so far apart in their spoken format, that they no longer appeared to be sister languages.
As for Castilian, it is commonly agreed among polyglots that a Spaniard and an Italian can easily converse, each speaking their own language and understanding each other almost completely. This is because those two languages are very similar to their Latin mother tongue not only in terms of lexicon, but also in the phonetics.
As for Romanian, the truth is, that listening to it, an Italian understands little or nothing. However, this result is based on the fact that the Romanian lexicon has undergone a great mix with Hungarian and other Slavic languages and even to an extent with Turkish. This has not affected basic structures of Romanian which has remained true to the group of romance languages. In short, linguists insist DNA does not lie, but the bottom line is a Spaniard and an Italian can easily converse, and a Frenchman and an Italian may not find that to be the case. However French structure and grammar are much more similar.
Below are two examples in the five major Romance languages. As you look at them you can see where the vocabulary and format are much closer between Italian and French then the other languages. Romanian is the next closet translation.
English: I would like to eat. Italian: Vorrei mangiare.
French: Je voudrais manger. Romanian: Aș vrea să mănânc. Spanish: Me gustaría comer. Portuguese: Eu gostaria de comer. Or
Where do you live?
Italian: Dove abiti?
French: Où habites-tu? Romanian: Unde locuiţi? Spanish: Dónde vives? Portuguese: Onde você mora?
In this issue, we continue with Italian surnames beginning with the letter S.
SASSANO – This surname derives from the name of the town of Sassano, province
of Salerno. It also originates from the Latin first names “Sassius” and “sassano,” meaning property of Sassius. It is a surname that is registered with the bureaus of vital statistics in all of Italy’s 20 regions. It is most prevalent in Basilicata and least in Val d’Aosta. The only region not having that surname registered with the vital statistics bureau is Le Marche.
SASSONE – This surname derives from the name of a place that includes the word “sasso,” meaning stone or rock. It possibly also originated from the first name Sasso
or Sassone, of German origin, to indicate someone from Saxony, a population that came to Italy with the Lombards. It is most prevalent in Piemonte probably because of its proximity to Germany. It is a surname that is registered with the bureaus of vital statistics in 19 of Italy’s 20 regions. Le Marche is the only region that currently has no record of this surname registered with vital statistics. Variations: SASSI, SASSO, SASSOLI, SASSOLA, SASSETTI.
SAVERIO – This surname derives from the first name Saverio, derived from the Spanish family name “Xavier.” It is a surname that is registered with the bureaus of vital statistics in only 13 of Italy’s 20 regions. It
is most prevalent in Lombardia. Variation: SAVERIA.
SABINO – This surname derives from the first name Savino or Sabino, originating from the name of a pre-Roman population, the Sabines. It is a surname that is registered with the bureaus of vital statistics in 18 of Italy’s 20 regions. It is most prevalent in Campania. It is not present in Val d’Aosta and Molise. Variations: SAVINI, SAVINO, SAVINIO, SAVINA, SABINI, SAVINELLI.
SBARAGLIA – This surname derives from the verb “sbaragliare,” meaning to
rout or to beat. It was probably used as a nickname for a courageous person. It is a surname that is registered with the bureaus of vital statistics in only 10 of Italy’s 20 regions. It is most prevalent in Campania and least in Sicily. Variation: SBARAGLIO.
SBORGIA – This surname derives from the noble surname “Borgia,” or from the Latin word “burgus,” meaning castle or fortress.
It is a surname that is registered with the bureaus of vital statistics in only eight of Italy’s 20 regions. It is most prevalent in Abruzzo and least in Sicily.
SCAFA – This surname derives from
the name of the town of Scafa, province
of Pescara, derived from the Latin word “scapha,” meaning valley. It is a surname that is registered with the bureaus of vital statistics in only 13 of Italy’s 20 regions, and sparsely at that. The region with the most families with this surname is found in Campania. Variations: SCAFATI, SCAFATO, SCAFATA.
SCANNELLA – This surname derives from the dialect word “scanna,” meaning non arable land. It also derives from the Latin word “scamnum,” meaning land between two valleys. The name of the town of Scanno, province of L’Aquila originates from that.
The surname would also be given to those originally from that town. It is most prevalent in Sicily and least in Emilia-Romagna. Variations: SCANNO, SCANNELLO.
SCARANO – This surname derives from the old Italian “Scarano,” meaning bandit, used as a nickname. It is a surname that is registered with the bureaus of vital statistics in all of Italy’s 20 regions. It is most prevalent in Campania and least in Val d’Aosta. Variation: SCARANI.
You can research your surname on these two websites:
• surnames.behindthename.com/names/usage/italian/ • cognomix.it/mappe-dei-cognomi-italiani.