Standard Italians VS Regional 'Dialects'

What should you learn? Standard Italian or one of the many Italian regional languages such as Neapolitan, Sicilian, Sardinian, Venetian etc? Also are these dialects? Languages? How much do they differ from Standard Italian? And also, what's an insider perspective onto the feel of these "dialects"?
What happens when you use a regional language instead of standard Italian to try and communicate with Italians in Italy? Let's find out!

#metatron #italian #dialects

[xneapolisx]

I was born and lived in Napoli, but learned only Standard Italian. I didn't learn how to speak proper Neapolitan until I was in my early teens. I then moved to the USA when I was in 8th grade, not knowing any English, but which I mastered quite rapidly. One time I was asked by my 9th grade teacher to translate for another newly arrived Italian kid, who didn't know any English and was having a rough time. I tried to speak to him, but all I got was that his name was Giovanni and that he was from Bari. The kid spoke strictly in dialect and I only spoke Italian so I guess he understood me, but I sure couldn't understand him. My teacher was puzzled as to how two Italians couldn't understand one another. I was a bit puzzled myself, because I recall telling her, "Miss, I don't know what he's saying, but he's not speaking Italian." She looked at me as if I were crazy! 😅😊

[kevlarandchrome]

Please do the deep dive on the differences between dialects and languages, that sounds extremely interesting. I'm very much enjoying this channel Metatron.

[jacqueschouette]

I learned standard Italian and lived in both Sardinia and Sicily. I found that most local Italian speakers will sprinkle local words into their speech so I would pick up words that way and I would occasionally use those words. Words like the local version of andiamo or figlia or flglio. For a period of time, I had an email address where my email name was my name, but with the Sardinian modifier "eddu" at the end for 'little".

[StMiBll]

I had the good fortune of being immersed in Italian when visiting with a friend and her family in the North of Italy. Speaking conversational Spanish and a bit of French, I find it a bit easy to understand standard Italian and so was enjoying trying to converse as I listened and learned from my hosts.

One day I was introduced to an aunt I had not met yet and in exchange for my greeting she said something I could not understand at all and the. Asked a question I could not understand with exception of the word “dialetto”. I was shock that the “dialect” there was so incomprehensible to me and have been fascinated with “dialetti” since! Absolutely amazing how diverse Italy is linguistically.

[marcello]

I was quite surrounded by different Italian accents when growing up: my grandpa was born in Sicily, my grandma was born in Marche, in the 1950s they moved to Sardegna, where my father and his siblings were born, and then the whole family moved to Milan and later, one of my uncles moved to Rome.
My grandma used to tell me how Rai, along with school programs, played a rather big role in spreading Italian through the peninsula after WW2, an Italian which, despite coming from Florence, had some influences from Milan and Rome as well.

[sanfedista]

I am fluent in English, Italian Spanish and a dialect of calabria. There is a dialect of calabria that is an old griko that dates back to the magna grecia. It has since become extinct even in Greece and isn't spoken much by youth from what I understand so once the elderly speakers pass on it will be a defunct language. I believe archeologists/historians used the dialect to decipher old texts from the magna grecia. I wish I had the opportunity and time to learn this language/dialect and hear it spoken amongst the elders. Cheers

[davidbraun]

A noted Yiddishist, Max Weinreich, had once said, "A language is a dialect with an army and a navy."

[opulenceluxury]

Glad we are noble ones again. Anyone studying the beautiful and historic language of Italian is noble.

[scrooge]

Learned Italian at school, teacher was from Sardinian, but we learned neutral Italian. Fast forward many years, my kids traveled to Bergamo in the north, their Italian from school (same school) got them through.😊

[andrewcoates]

British guy that lives in Taranto here. It’s exactly how he says. Generally I started out learning Italian, then my colleagues inserted the odd few words into conversation so I picked those up, and then they start to speak more in Tarantino. A couple of little phrases I learned are like this:

Fa caldo: f sc’ cavd
Fa freddo: f sc’ frid
Ora andiamo a magiare: mo ama sce mangia
Che cazzo vuoi: c’è ue 🤌🏼
Andiamo: schiamn

[colin]

You are going to make me finally learn a language, thanks for all your videos man

[squeezy]

I'm studying Standard Italian but have a fascination for Piemontese, partly due to my interest in traditional music - there are a few resources that I've found, including Italian-Piemontese dictionaries.

[Epsilonsama]

I wanna learn more about the Japanese Plumber that speaks Nepolitano. 😂

[ShibaHamamatsucho]

My grandparents were and mom is Sicilian, and im still studying both italian and sicilian (from catania more specifically Randazzo) because i always refused to learn when i was a kid. I’m only around high a2 or low b1 level in italian. I chose to learn japanese for 6 years instead and got JLPT N1 and some other certificates. It feels weird that im able to speak way better in japanese than italian, since all of my family is italian. I feel like a shame to my family so I’m making sure I don’t give up

[calise]

My parents are from Abruzzo. That was the only Italian I was exposed to. When I was finally united with my relatives in Italy, I thanked them for hosting my new husband and I. A distant second aunt, clapped her hands and called out, she even thanked us in Lancianese ( local dialect) . It was all I knew. A year later I was Rome and thought wow, my Italian is very bad. I keep getting confused looks when I speak. That was when I found out, I could speak and understand Lancianese and that it really was different than standard Italian. I explained it to my son that trying to understand and speak standard Italian was like doing so through lots of static. But understanding my family’s dialect was a crystal clear signal. 😂

[mytzyxptlyx]

A small lesson in Sicilian would be excellent

[kronoschiarini]

Sono Italo Brasilliano (origine emiliana) e ho vissuto in Italia per quasi 8 anni. Vivevo tra Vicenza e Padova e sono riuscito ad imparare un pò del dialetto Veneto. Non ho avuto tanta difficulta, poi il loro dialetto se assomiglia tantissimo al'italiano, al portoghese e allo spagnolo. Per me è stato una bella esperienza imparare la lingua locale.

[iberius]

This video should be watched in tandem with your excellent "8 Italian accents" video that I often revisit!

[CjqNslXUcM]

Can you give a more in-depth explication of the differences in grammar and pronunciation between Italian, Siciliaan and Friulian and give us some sample sentences?

[eganengelhardt]

I've always wanted to learn Sicilian. I don't know why but I've always liked the sound of the language. The food's not bad either.