Page 28 - Italian-American Herald - June 2024

28 ITALIANAMERICANHERALD.COM | JUNE2024 ITALIAN-AMERICANHERALD ITALIAN MADE FUN & SIMPLE
Language and regional
‘dialects’ – the debate continues
At the end of part two of this series, we concluded languages on the Italian peninsula evolved from Latin into Vulgar Latin. At the same time vocabulary from non-Latin languages began to increase the variability of the dialects of Vulgar Latin.
The Romans and the inhabitants of Italy in classical times spoke hundreds of dialects of Vulgar Latin, just as Italians spoke hundreds of so-called “Italian dialects” when Italy became a nation. The exceptions were people belonging to the cultured elite who spoke both the dialect and the more cultured and official language. The latter was Latin in the Roman era (but also Greek) and Italian in the Risorgimento era (but also French).
In ancient Rome, laws, sacred texts, and literature were written in classical Latin. Even the writings on the walls of the latrines were in classical Latin, albeit with errors and influences from the vernacular. Vulgar Latin, or rather, its dialects, did not leave written evidence until the eighth century AD, when these forms of language began to replace Latin also in writing.
Bilingualism was the norm until very recently, and just as in the first half of the 20th century, all Italians spoke one dialect or more while some also spoke Italian. In classical Italy, all Italians spoke one dialect of Vulgar Latin, and some also spoke Latin (understood as classical Latin). Just as there was no one who spoke only Italian in the Italy of the Risorgimento, it is difficult to imagine that there was anyone in Roman Italy who spoke classical Latin exclusively.
The so-called Italian dialects are none other than the descendants of these ancient dialects of Vulgar Latin. They also evolved in the same way as the Romance languages. The difference between dialects and languages is that, due to the vicissitudes of history, some dialects have become official languages of nations, while others have not had this luck. Those that today have an army and a navy are called “languages,” and almost all the others are dialects.
It should be noted that some dialects are called “languages” despite not having an army or navy, including Sardinian, Friulian, and Ladin. Often these “languages” exist only through their dialects. While they have not been codified, they do have a set vocabulary, pronunciation and grammatical structure which varies from one country to another. However, they rarely have consolidated writing rules. This is why it is proving so difficult in Sardinia to build a “common Sardinian language.” It is not even possible to rediscover a “primitive common Sardinian” which, if it ever existed, dissolved into dialects over two thousand years ago.
So what evidence is there that Italian dialects derive from dialects of Vulgar Latin, and
that this origin may date to well before the third century B.C.? Some of these dialects still retain characteristics of archaic Latin, such as the exclusively hard sound of the “c” (always pronounced like a k) in the Logudorese dialect of Sardinian. This feature (and others) had already long since disappeared from classical Latin in the fifth century A.D. and could not have been transmitted to Sardinian.
Furthermore, all dialects and Romance languages have certain characteristics in common which are not present in classical Latin. These include definite articles, which must have been present in the common language of origin. With all these complexities, linguists will continue to question as to whether these dialects are separate languages from standard Italian or just dialects.
In this issue we finish with Italian surnames that start with the letter V and move on to those beginning with the letter Z.
VINCIGUERRA – This surname is derived from two Italian words “vincere” meaning to win and “guerra” meaning war. It is registered in the Bureaus of Vital Statistics in all of Italy’s 20 regions. It is most prevalent in Sicily and least in Val d’Aosta and Sardinia. Variations: VINCIMALA, VINCIMALI, VINCIPROVA.
VISCO – This surname is derived from the Italian word “vescovo” meaning bishop which in turn is from the Greek “episkopos.” It is registered in the Bureaus of Vital Statistics in 19 of Italy’s 20 regions. It is most prevalent in Campania and least registered in Trentino Alto-Adige. It is not found in Val d’Aosta. Variations: VESCO, VESCHI, VISCHI, VISCOVO.
VITALE – This surname is derived from the first name Vitale, derived from the Latin greeting “Vitalis” meaning one who gives life or who will live well. It is registered in the Bureaus of Vital Statistics in all of Italy’s 20 regions in big numbers. It is most prevalent in Campania and least registered in Val d’Aosta.
VITELLI – This surname is derived from the Italian word “vitello” meaning veal and also derived from the first name Vito. It is registered in the Bureaus of Vital Statistics in 19 of Italy’s 20 regions. It is most prevalent in Lazio and least registered in Val d’Aosta. It is not found in Molise.
VOLPE – This surname is derived from the Italian word “volpe” meaning fox and also a nickname for either a physical or character feature. It is registered in the Bureaus of Vital Statistics in all of Italy’s 20 regions. It is most
prevalent in Campania and least registered in Val d’Aosta. Variations: VOLPI, VULPI, VOLPELLA, VOLPICELLA, VOLPINI, VOLPONI, VOLPATI.
ZABATINO – This surname is derived from the Italian word “Sabato” meaning Saturday. It is very rare and was originally given to children born on that day of the week. It is registered in the Bureaus of Vital Statistics in only five of Italy’s 20 regions. They are Sicily, Piemonte,Veneto, Lombardia and Basilicata.
ZACCARDI – This surname is derived from the first name Zaccaria or from the Neapolitan dialect word “zaccaro” meaning boy. It is registered in the Bureaus of Vital Statistics in 18 of Italy’s 20 regions. It is most prevalent in Abruzzo and absent from Calabria and Val d’Aosta. Variations: ZACCHI, ZACCHELLI, ZACCHETTI,. ZACCONI.
Zacomo – This surname derives from the first name Giacomo, Giacobo, Giacopo or Giacobbe, which all came from the Hebrew “Yaaquob” meaning God has protected. It is a very rare surname, but numerous Italians have it as a first name.
Zappa – This surname derives from
the Italian word “zappa” meaning hoe. It
is connected to the job of farmers and is registered in the Bureaus of Vital Statistics in 18 of Italy’s 20 regions. It is most prevalent
in Lombardia and least in Sardinia and absent from statistics of Basilicata and Molise. Variations: ZAPPACOSTA, ZAPPALORTO, ZAPPATERRA, ZAPPAVIGNA, ZAPPULLAM ZAPPAROLI, ZAPPATORE, ZAPPITELLI, ZAPPI.
You can research your surname on these two websites:
• surnames.behindthename.com/names/usage/italian/ • cognomix.it/mappe-dei-cognomi-italiani.
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