GRAMMAR of the SICILIAN LANGUAGE * GRAMMATICA dila LINGUA SICILIANA Alissandru F. Caldiero Alime' figghi eli figghi di me' figghi Grammar of the Sicilian Language / Grammatica di la Lingua Siciliana Copyright© 1984,1989,1990,1994, and 2008 by Alissandra F. Caldiero All Rights Reserved. NOTICE: “Grammar of the Sicilian Language” by Alissandru Caldiero may be printed only for personal use and study ~ not for sale or distribution in any form. For more information please e-mail the author: wordshaker@usa.net NOTA BENE: “Grammar of the Sicilian Language” by Alissandru Caldiero (Grammatica di la Lingua Siciliana di Alissandru Caldiero) si puo stampare solo per studi e per uso personale — no per vendersi o per distribuirsi in qualsiasi forma. Per ottenere pitt informazione inviate un e-mail a l'autore: wordshaker@usa.netCONTENTS / INDICT PRIFAZIONI FOREWORD. I: THE ALPHABET / L'ALFABETU, Vowels Shifting Vowels Consonants. Irregular Pronunciation of Certain Consonants .. Some Orthographic Changes The Letter J... Special Consonants The Letter DD. The Accent. Contraction. Blision BSecocmi danse I: ARTICLES / ARTICULI Definite Article Indefinite Article. Ill: NOUNS / SUSTANTIVI Gender 14 ‘Number .... The Plurals of Special Nouns Nouns Ending in -cu, -ca, -gu,-g¢ 17 IV: ADJECTIVES /AGGITTIVI Agreement... Position . Compound Adjectives... V: COMPARATIVES AND SUPERLATIVES / CUMPARATIVI E SUPERLATIVI Comparatives of Equality Comparatives of Inequalit Supetlatives..nenne a Comparatives and Superlatives of Special Adjectives. Vi: SUFFIXES / SUFFISSI Noun Suffixes Noun and Adjective Suffixes Adjective Suffixes..VII: PRONOUNS / PRONOMI Subject Pronouns... The Subject Pronoun Vossia Stressed Object Pronouns Indirect Object Pronouns. Direct Object Pronouns Relative Pronouns... 3 Baa) 34 VIII: DEMONSTRATIVE ADJECTIVES AND PRONOUNS / AGGITTIVI DIMUSTRATIVI E PRONOMI Demonstrative Adjectives Demonstrative Pronouns... Other Demonstrative Pronouns... IX: INDEFINITE ADJECTIVES AND PRONOUNS / AGGITTIVI INDEFINITIVI E PRONOMI Indefinite Adjectives and Pronouns... ‘The Indefinite Pronoun Ni... X: POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES AND PRONOUNS / AGGITTIVI PUSSESSIVI E PRONOMI XI: NUMERALS / NUMIRI Cardinal Numbers Ordinal Numbers. Indeterminate Numbers. Miscellaneous Numbers. XII: REGULAR VERBS / VERBI REGULARI The First Conjugati The Second Conjugation. The Future Tense .. 52 XII: IRREGULAR VERBS / VERBI IRREGULARI 1, Dari (to give). 2. Jiri (t0 go)... Semi-Irregular Verbs XIV: AUXILIARY VERBS / VERBI AUSILIARI 1. Aviri (to have). The Contracted Form of Aviri.. 2. Essiri (to be).. Other Auxiliary VertXV: OBSERVATIONS ON CERTAIN VERB FORMS / OSSERVAZIONI SUPRA CERTI FORMI VERBALI ‘The Gerund Transitive Verbs... Intransitive Verbs... Imminent Action. ‘The Verb Pozza (to be able) XVI: REFLEXIVE VERBS AND PRONOUNS / VERBI RIFLESSIVI E PRONOML.... XVI: ADVERBS / AVVERBI Adverbs of Place 81 Adverbs of Time 83 Adverbs of Manner 84 Adverbs of Quality and Quantity. Adverbs of Affirmatioi Adverbs of Negation... Adverbs of Doubt. Other Adverbs. Superlative Adverbs. The Position of Adverbs XVIII: PREPOSITIONS / PRIPOSIZIONI 1. Di (of, from, about, ete.)... 2. A (to, for, in).. 3. Nni (in, on, at, to 4. Intra (in, within, inside) 5. Ntra (between, among)... 6. Pi, Pri (for) 7. Cu (with). Other Prepositions XIX: CONJUNCTIONS / CUNGIUNZIONI 1. Ca (that) 2. Ca (because, for, since). 3. Comu (like, how much, etc.) Paired Conjunetions. Other Conjunctions XX: THE QUESTION / LA DUMANNA. XXI: SPECIAL CONSTRUCTIONS / CUSTRUZIONI SPICIALI Emphatic Constructions. Doubling .. 108 109 XXII: IDIOMATIC EXPRESSIONS / SPRISSIONI IDIOMATIC ...XXIII: USEFUL WORDS AND PHRASES / PALORI E FRASI UTILI Telling Time. The Hours of the Day Times of the Day. Days of the Week 13 4 M4 4 Months of the Year . M5 The Seasons ..... MS Salutations. 115 ‘Nomenclature of the Human Body wool 16 Relationships. 120 XXIV: INTERJECTIONS / INTERIEZIONI. 121 APPENDICES / APPENDICI Appendix A: IRREGULAR VERBS / VERBI IRREGULARI..... 125 Appendix B: CONJUGATIONS FROM VARIOUS GRAMMARS / CUNSUCAZIONI NNI LI VARIT GRAMMATICI 1. The First Conjugation (-ari) from Various Grammars. 2. The Second Conjugation (-iri) from Various Grammars. 3. The Conjugation of aviri from Various Grammars 154 158 162 4, The Conjugation of essiri from Various Grammars 167 Appendix C: . MORE ON NOUNS / DICCHIU SUPRA LI NOMI 1. Nouns with Special Constructions. .. ATI 2. The Gender of Certain Nouns.. 3. The -a Plural Endin, AT 172 Appendix D: DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SICILIAN & ITALIAN / DIFFIRENZI NTRA L'ITALIANU E LU SICILIANU.. 173 Appendix E: SELECTED SICILIAN TEXTS FROM 11th thru 20th CENTURY / SILEZIONI DI TESTI SICILIANI DILU 11 A LU 20 SECULU ... wl 79 BIBLIOGRAPHY / BIBLIOGRAFIA. Books Texts. 207] 208PRIFAZIONI Nto 1969 mi vinni 'n manu un libru di puisia. A prima vista mi parsi strana l'apparenza di Ii palori, Doppu ca liggivi na para di versi,ristai maravigghiatu a scupriri ca eranu scriti nnni la me lingua nativa. U libru era ntitulatu "La Peddi Nova" di lgnaziu Buttitta, Sinu a ddu puntu nun avia mai vidutu u sicilianu scrittu. Pi mia avia sempri statu sulamenti parratu, Nun c' bisognu di dillu: a seuperta di st’utra diminzioni stracanciau tutti i me’ pinzamenti. D’allura aiu fattu tanta strata. Pianu pianu aiu arrivatu a caniisciri a natura cumplicata e munimintali di la tradizioni littiraria siciliana. Ed é cu umilitati ca offru stu travagghiu d'amuri a tutti chiddi ca vulissiru gudiri sta tradizioni, spicialmenti ddi siciliani c'nnu statu trachiantati 'n terri luntani, Tu nun sugnu un grammaticu. Iu fazzu u pueta. Ma sunnu i pueti ca pi quasi quattru seculi annu statu i maiuri guardiani e praticanti di la palora scritta di la lingua siciliana, Spiramu ca ncuminzamu a usari u sicilianu nun sulu pi Ia pui tru, ma pi seriviri littri a Yamici, pi scriviri diarii e cunsibari i mimorii di nostri avi Nta Sicilia, nni li prifazioni di certi grammatichi e vucabularii, V'auturi sprimanu u disiu di pirpituari l'usu di la lingua italiana, e d'aiutari é maistri di li scoli limintari a livari di la patrata e scrittura di li soi alunni ddi tirribili "sicilianismi.” Nui, aliunni, nun sulu disiamu di pirpituari, ma macari di ncuraggiari !'usu di la lingua siciliana cu tutti i soi pussibilitati, Na lingua tannu é lingua quannu avi 6 so cumannu i mezzi e a capacitati di cumunicari ogni idea, imuzioni e sintimentu ca un populu senti a nicissitati di sfucari. Tuttu chistu a lingua siciliana u pussedi. E si a avutu un usu limitatu a statu pi mutivi pulitici, e no pi mancamenti linguistic E cussi si prisenta sta grammatica. Si ci avissiru a ssiri errurio straviduti, speru di birsarili nni la prossima edizioni. A cosa ca cunta é ca si publicassi na grammatica in cui tutti i formi maiuri e funnamintali di la nostra lingua sunnu cudificati e prisintati a chiddi ca la vulissiru prisirvarila e dissiminarila, Comu putiti custatari nni la bibiliografia, na grammatica pi natura nun po ssiri u travagghiu di na sula pirsuna, Dunca, vogghiu ricanusciri u me gran d&bitu, e ringraziari a tutti chiddi c'annu fattu sta strata primu di mia, Alissandru F, CaldieroFOREWORD In 1969 I came across a book of poetry. At first glance, there was something unusual about the way the words looked. After reading a few verses, I was amazed to discover that they were written in my native tongue. The book was Ignaziu Buttitta’s "La Peddi Nova" (New Skin). Up to that time I had never seen written Sicilian, For me it had been purely oral. Needless to say, the discovery of this added dimension altered all my ideas. Since then, a lot of water has gone under the bridge. I have slowly come to realize the monumental and complex nature of the Sicilian literary tradition, And it is with humility that I offer this labor of love to all those who would share in that tradition, especially those Sicilians who have been transplanted onto foreign soil. Jam not a grammarian. Iam a poet. Yet it is the poets who for the past four centuries have been the chief guardians and practioners of the written word in the Sicilian language. Let us hope that we will begin to use Sicilian not only for poetry and drama, but for writing letters to friends, for writing journals, and to preserve the memories of our ancestors. In Sicily, in the introductions to certain grammars and dictionaries, the authors speak of their desire to perpetuate the use of Italian, and to help teachers in elementary schools to eliminate from the speech and writing of their pupils those terrible "Sicilianisms." We, on the other hand, not only wish to perpetuate, but even encourage the use of the Sicilian language with all its possibilities. A language is truly a language when it has at its command the means and the capabilities of communicating every idea, emotion, and sentiment that people have the need to express. All this the Sicilian language possesses. And if it has had a limited use, been due to politics, and not because of linguistic deficiencies. has And so this grammar is presented. If there should be any errors or oversights, it is my hope that they will be corrected in a subsequent edition. The important thing is that a grammar appear in which all the major and fundamental structures of our language are codified and presented to those concerned with preserving and disseminating it, As you can see by the bibliography, a grammar, by its very nature, cannot be the work of one individual. Therefore, | wish to acknowledge my deep debt and gratitude to all those who have walked on this road before me. Alissandru F. Caldiero‘THE ALPHABET ‘The Sicilian alphabet is made up of 23 letters. 2@) hi (hacea) a@u) so) iQ Fert) c(i) jG longa) (casi) ag) 1(ell) oy dd (da mem) 0) eo (enn) vq f(eff) 00) 2 (zeta) co) Po) Vowels ‘There are five vowels, two of which have both a long and a shott pronunciation. © @asin father, ‘Me matri avi sitant' ani. ‘My mother is soventy years old. © easinever. ‘Bra sempri curren. She was always running, © jasink. Adds nun ck vost jt cs tdi. He didn't want to go with them, © oasinor, Lione veru si trova nto cori. Real gold is found in the heart. © wasin full, U puzan era funni funn, ‘The well was very deep. ‘The vowels and u are pronounced long, in words where they are accented and come before an a© fasin machine, Tdda u pigghia e u déteza, She takes it and fixes it. © asin tune, A luna 2 tunna tuna sta sira. ‘The moon is very round tonight, In Sicilian speech there is a tendency to separate certain diphthongs. For example, the words ‘Piatt, planu, and chiovu are pronounced with three syllable: pi-a-tu, pi-a-nu, chi-o-va, ‘Shifting Vowels ‘The vowels ¢ and o are known as “shifting vowels." This is because, as a rule, when they lose their tonic accent, they change respectively into fand u. vere becomes viritd bite becomes cuttira Resta becomes tistdrdie ‘Verbs containing ¢ and o also follow this rule and shift their vowels when conjugated, crew circa erchi elredti crea edreanu trom trv trovi truvhti trove trovany ‘This rule admits but few exceptions. One exception is any word made up, in pat of another ‘complete or root word. In such a case, the vowel in question does not shift.” For example, in ‘otugrafia the o does not shift because fotu is a root wort; in corpuracioni the o does not shift ‘because corpu isthe root word; in cuntempurdniu the e does not shift because fempu isthe root word. “The Sicilian ianguage, for the most part, does not have unsccented o's and e's, Consonants ‘© Kis always silent. It is mainly used to render the hard sound of the consonants ¢ and g when these occur before the vowels ¢ or # (see ch and gh below). © ebefore a, 0, oru is pronounced as in come. Casa (house), cori (heart), cunortu (comfort). 2‘The consonant c before ¢ or /is pronounce as in child. CCetu (sky), ccir (Chickpeas) © ch orcek occurs only before ¢ orf and is pronounced as in kind. Chicchiart (to stutter), chidda (that one) . © g before a, 0, or u is pronounced as in game. Largu (wide), garigghia (a particle) ‘The consonant g before ¢ or is pronounced as in gem. Genté (people), gintiti (gentle). © gh orggh occurs only before ¢ or / and is pronounced as in give. Figghis (son), muggheri (wife), stigghi (tools). © gis always followed by u and is pronounced as in quick. ‘Acqua (water), quannu (when). ‘The remaining consonaats (l,m, n, p,, 8 tv, and z) are similar to their English counterparts, Irregular Promunelation of Certain Consonants ‘The Sicilian language has certain phonetical peculiarities, ‘© Whenever a consonant is reproduced twice, itis pronounced with double force as n in “unnerve," rnnimicu (enemy), addin (goodby), etc. © Initial consonants are pronounced with double force, if they come after an accented word or ‘word that bas Jost a consonant in respect to its Latin derivative (@.., cum = cu; ad = a), ‘ut ttl is pronounced eu tutti a tia is pronounced a tla © Incertain words, the letters d,b, gi, gu, and n are pronounced with double force. ‘bom (bbomu), bedda (bbedda), libre (libbru), dabbitu (dddbbim), danny (ddannu), girs (girs), guia (ggula), nom (noms)1 Afterthe words di cul oro, consonants are never pronounced with double force. di firensi is never pronounced di ffirenzi cui ta dict is never pronounced cui ll dict ‘iu o Maria is never pronounced in 0 Mmaria’ © Atthe beginning of words, the letter z is usually pronounced with double force (dz). zappa (hoe) is pronounced zzappa ita (bride) is pronounced zzita iu (uncle) is pronounced zziu One exception is the word zagara (the orange blossom) which is pronounced with a soft z. (© The letior vis sometimes pronounced bb, when it comes after an accented or monosyllabic word, ‘cx vui (with you) is pronounced cu bbui. cchi vecchiu! (What an old man!) is pronounced chi bbecchiu! When ie lotr s occurs betwen two vowel tha sof pronunciation rosa (cose), cosa (thing), cisiri (to sow), etc. ‘© Insome areas of Sicily (e.g,, Catania and Ragusa), the letter d has a soft, light r sound. dent (tooth) is pronounced remti vidiri (to see) is pronounced viriri pedi (foot) is pronounced peri ‘Some Orthographic Changes ‘There's been such a widespread change in the pronunciation of certain consonants that it has affected the way they are written.© Incertain words !has become 7, ultima (last) can also be written as urtimu «alma (soul) can also be written as arma calmer (atleast) can also be written as armenu © In certain words ns has become nz. semi (together) can also be written as nzemi nnsalata (salad) can also be written as nzalata ‘sensu (sense) can also be written as sence ‘cunsidirari (to consider) can also be written as cumeldivard insari (to think) can also be writen as plazari © Before a vowel, ng hes become ne, Angilu (angel) can also be written as ancitu vangelu (gospel) can also be written as vancelu ‘mangiari (to eat) can also be written as manciari ‘The Letter 3 ‘The letter is both a vowel and a consonant. ‘When it comes between two vowels, it functions as a vowel and is pronounced es in "yes." As such, itis perfectly replaceable by the letter i, In modern Sicilian this replacement is occurring ‘more and more. aju (have) can also be written as aiu prijari (to pray) can also be written as priari ‘When the etter j comes at the beginning of a word, it functions as e consonant and can have one. of three pronunciations, 1, After words ending in an unstressed syllable, the letter j retains its primary sound and is ‘pronounced as in yes. ‘quatirs jorna (four days) Ju vistitu jance (the white suit)2. After most phonetically accented words or a monosyllable thet has lost a consonant in respect to its Latin fom (eg., cum = cx), the letter js pronounced as in gone, tri joa is pronounced tri ghioma ‘¢ jomu is pronounced a ghiorne 1 Jana is pronounced cu Ghiana ‘The letter jis also pronounced as a hard g after the word ogni (each). ‘ogni jornu is pronounced ogi ghiornu ‘These changes at times may be reflected in the orthography. 3, After the words in, wa, or San, the letter j ia pronounced asin onion. un jormu is pronounced un gnormu ‘San Jabicw is pronounced San Gnabicu Spectal Consonants © €i(6) is pronounced as in amure, ‘ghuri lover), cuginu (cousin) (© sc before ¢ and iis pronounced as in shine,