Page 30 - Italian-American Herald - May 2024

30 ITALIANAMERICANHERALD.COM | MAY2024 ITALIAN-AMERICANHERALD ITALIAN MADE FUN & SIMPLE
What is a dialect? Separating facts from myths (part 2 of 3)
In part one of this three-part series, we provided an example of an Italian proverb in Italian and the same proverb in six Italian “dialects.” However, linguists continue to debate as to whether they are dialects or romance languages.
For the most part, linguists agree that the dialects of Italy are often mistakenly called “Italian dialects” which implies their derivation is from the Italian language. Most of these languages, if not all, pre-exist modern Italian, and therefore cannot develop from it.
Most linguists agree these dialects, together with all the other romance languages, are instead, with a few exceptions, dialects of vulgar Latin. This was Latin spoken by the people, and it is distinguished from literary Latin. It is this “classical” Latin which is studied by students today in schools where it is taught.
There is a hard-to-die myth regarding the origin of romance languages and their dialects still found in various instructional texts. Some polyglots opine that these languages evolved around the beginning of the 5th century A.D., when Rome began to lose control of its enormous empire, due to the contamination of Latin with the non-Latin languages spoken in the colonies.
Prior to this date, myth has it that classical Latin was spoken in Italy and in the lands conquered by the Romans. Linguists concede that it was also accompanied by the vernacular or everyday language of the people, but in a single common version. Also spoken were other languages of the various regions of the Roman Empire.
In Italy it is evident that a condition of “diglossia” has existed since the first expansion of Roman rule. There was a coexistence of a “cultured” and “codified” language used for official documents of the state and religious communication both in speaking and writing and the “local” vernacular languages which were not codified nor written.
These “local languages” were numerous due to the low mobility of the populations. Over time they developed their own specific way of speaking, different from that of neighboring countries. Since communications between neighboring countries were frequent, a “dialect continuum” was formed in Italy whereby dialects close to each other are similar while the differences gradually increase as dialects spoken in areas further away from each other are compared.
These vernacular languages were not written and not taught with grammatical or pronunciation rules. This lack of structure, along with their coexistence of other non-Latin languages, increased the variability of the dialects of vulgar Latin, and generated the enormous dialectal variety in Italy.
Here are a few more examples of these differences. Italian and Tuscan: Gallina vecchia fa buon brodo. Sardinian: Puddha bezza faghet brou bonu. Corsican: Ghiallina vecchia fa buon broda. Leccese: Jaddina ecchia fa bon brodu.
Piemontese: Galina veja a fa bon brod. Triestino: Galina veccia fa bon brodo. (An old hen/chicken makes good broth)
This issue’s featured surnames continue with additional surnames beginning with the letter V.
VERRATTO – This surname derives from the Verrino river in Molise. The river’s name derives from the Latin word “verrus,” meaning a male pig used for reproduction. This surname is only present in the Bureau of Vital Statistics in nine of Italy’s 20 regions. It is most present in Molise’s northern neighbor, Abruzzo. Variation: VERRATTI. VERRECCHIA – This surname also derives from the Latin word “verrus.” It evolved into a surname for someone that worked with pigs. It is present in the Bureau of Vital Statistics in 14 of Italy’s 20 regions.
It is most prevalent in Lazio and least in Calabria. Variations: VERRECCHIO, VERROCCHIO, VERRETTA, VERRETTI, VERRICELLO, VERRICELLI, VERRENA.
VIELMI – This surname derives from the first name Guglielmo which comes from the German name consisting of “wilian,” meaning will, and “hëlma,” meaning helmet. This surname is only present in the Bureau of Vital Statistics in 11 of Italy’s 20 regions. It is most prevalent in the region of Lombardia. Variations: VIELMETTI, VIELMINI.
VIERI – This surname derives from the first name Oliviero. It is present in the Bureau of Vital Statistics in 12 of Italy’s 20 regions. It is most prevalent in the region of Tuscany.
VIRGA – This surname derives from
the word “verga,” meaning stick used by shepherds and farmers. It probably evolved into a surname for someone’s ancestors who were shepherds, farmers and farmhands. It is most prevalent in Sicily and least in Trentino Alto-Adige.
VIRRINA – This surname also derives from the Latin word “verrus” meaning male pig. It is very uncommon with very
low numbers center in parts of Lazio and Abruzzo. Variation: VIRRINI.
VESPA – This surname derives from the Italian word “vespa,” meaning wasp. This surname is present in the Bureau of Vital Statistics in 19 of Italy’s 20 regions. It is most present in Lazio. The one region where it
is not registered is Val d’Aosta. Variations: VESPONE, VESPINI, VESPUCCI.
VESTINI – This surname derives from the ancient italic population Vestini, located in the area between Pescara and Atri in the Abruzzo region. This surname is present in the Bureau of Vital Statistics in only seven of Italy’s 20 regions. It is most prevalent in Campania and least in Piemonte.
VILLA – This surname derives from the Latin word “villa,” used in the Middle Ages for a small village. This surname is present in the Bureau of Vital Statistics in all of Italy’s 20 regions. It is most prevalent in Lombardia and least in Molise. Variations: VILETTI, VILLINO, VILLOTTA, VILLONE, VILLASCO, VILLATA.
VINCELLI – This surname probably derives from the Latin word “vinco,” meaning wicker; also derived from the Latin and Italian verb “vincere,” meaning to win. This surname is present in the Bureau of Vital Statistics in 15 of Italy’s 20 regions. It is most prevalent in Molise.
VINCENZI – This surname derives from the first name Vincenzo, derived from the Latin “vincens” meaning the winner. This surname is present in the Bureau of Vital Statistics in 19 of Italy’s 20 regions. It is most prevalent in Emilia-Romagna and least in Val d’Aosta. The region that is missing is Basilicata.
You can research your surname on these two websites:
• surnames.behindthename.com/names/usage/italian/ • cognomix.it/mappe-dei-cognomi-italiani.