Conversation in Sicilian/English

First the question is in Sicilian, with the answer in Sicilian, and then the question and answer follow in English.

Quannu stavi criscennu a casa, in famigghia e amisci, comu parravanu Italianu o Siculianu?

--Sicilianu

When you were growing up and at home, around family and family friends, how would people speak Italian or Sicilian?

--Sicilian

Quannu aivi a scola, comu t’insignavanu in Sicilianu o Italianu?

-- I maistri parravanu e insignavanu sempri in Italianu. Ni mannavanu in punizzioni si parravamu in Sicilianu cu l’amisci o chi maistri. Ni punivanu puru quannu scrivemiru in Sicilianu.

When you were going to school, what was the education system like in regards to the spoken language?

--Teachers spoke and taught in Italian, all the time. We were punished if we spoke to our friends or teachers in Sicilian and we were punished if we even wrote in Sicilian.

Quannu aveviru a ricriazioni , qual’era a lingua chi parraviru chiu spissu e picchi?

-- Dipinneva, si incuminciavinu a parrari in Sicilianu, ci rispunneva in Sicilianu. Si incuminciavanu in Italianu, ci rispunnevu in Italianu. Era comuni ca i picciotti si cumpurtassiru accussi pi ricreazioni.

When you had free time, such as “recess”, what language were you most likely to speak in and why?

--It depends, if I was approached and the conversation is initiated in Sicilian, I would respond in Sicilian. If the conversation was started in Italian, I would respond in Italian. This way of speaking was very common at school during free time.

Fora a scola e a casa, quannu usami l’Italianu, si mai, in Sicilia?

-- Parravu l’Italianu chi negozzianti, chi duttura, avvocati chi vecchi ri l’eta ri me nonni.

Outside of school and outside of the home, when were you to use Italian, if ever, in Sicily.

--I would start a conversation in Italian if I were speaking with a store owner, like a jewelry shop owner, a doctor, a lawyer, someone older like my grandparents that I do not know personally.
Picchi sti cosi canciavinu comu parravi?

-- U Sicilianu e considerate a lingua re poviri.

U sicilianu è insignatu a kiddi ca un sa passanu buona percio si parri in sicilianu si consideratu poviru. Nuddu voli essiri consideratu poviru in società. Un è consideratu comu lingua ri rispettu quannu parri cu chiddi ca sa passanu bona.

Why?...Why would this change the way you speak?

--Sicilian is considered the “language of the poor.” Sicilian is thought to be lower class and therefore if you use it, you are considered lower class. No one wants to be looked at as poor or below society. It’s not considered a respectable language when using it with someone who you feel is middle class or above middle class, or someone of higher respects.

Allura, po pinsari qualchi vota ca tu o unu ra to famigghia gliu a viriri u dutturi e tutti rui parraviru in Sicilianu?

-- No, l’unica vota ca possu pinsari ca putissi succeriri e si qualchi anzianu nca un s’insignò mai l’Italianu e ca u SIcilianu era l’unica cosa ca capevinu. Pero a me generazioni e chiddi dopo ra mia canuscinu l’Italianu , e canuscinu u Sicilianu, e va bene accussi.

Okay, but can you think of a time when either yourself or a family member did go see the doctor, and both of you spoke in Sicilian and it was “okay?”

--No, not really. The only time I could think of is if someone who was really old, like a great grandparent who just never learned Italian and could only use Sicilian to communicate. My generation and the ones following me are expected to know Italian, and if they know Sicilian, that’s okay too.

Si eri fora a Sicilia ca to famigghia o chi to amisci, parri in Sicilianu o Italianu e picchi?

--Nuatri parramu in Sicilianu, un n’interessa si I cristiani ni talianu .
If you were to travel outside of Sicily with family or friends, would you speak Sicilian or Italian, and why?

--We would speak Sicilian; we would not mind that others would look at us or stare.

Picchi pero si mi riscisti ca l’autra genti pensa ca chiddi ca parranu u Sicilianu un sa passanu bona?

-- Picchi e a nostra cultura, a nostra identità, u sicilianu semu nuatri. Picchi n’amu accanciari pi chiddi ca sa pensanu accussi? Nuatri u consideramu comu na cosa bona. Potemu parrari ri tuttu senza preoccuparci si qualcunu ni senti o ni capisci. Si qualcunu ni rici qualcosa cia rispunnemu in Italianu e ci riscemu cosa ni pensamu.

Why though would you speak it if you told me and are aware people think it is below or of lower class?

--Because it is our culture, our identity, it is who we are. Why should we change our selves’ temporarily for those who think otherwise? We consider it a blessing. It allows us to speak our minds without always having to worry about someone understanding or hearing us. If someone makes a comment, we respond in Italian and let them know how we feel.

Pirciò, si parri u Sicilianu o nord, tu po capiri u dialettu ru nord e iddi possunu capiri u dialettu ro sud? Si a risposta è no, picchi?

-- No, picchi I nostri dialetti sunnu compelamenti diversi. Ci sunnu similarita e ni putemu capire ma e difficili.

Okay, so, if you speak Sicilian in the north, would you understand the northern dialect and would they understand your southern dialect. If not, why?

--No, because our dialects are very far apart. There are similarities and we might be able to understand each other, but it would be very difficult.

Allura picchi a nazioni, comu società, e cultura diciriu a continuari a chiamari sti differenti modi ri parrari “dialetti”?

-- Pensu picchi avi qualcosa a chi fari cu l’unità, l’identità ra nazzioni. Ci su sempri stati azzuffatini fra chiddi ru nord e chiddi ru sud. U nord pensa ca chiddu ro sud su tutti poveri, senza industri, e senza erucazioni. Avi assai ca u nord si voli separari ro sud. Pensu ca si sti dialetti vennu chiamati lingui , ni rassi na ragiuni pi ogniuno irisinni pi fatti so. L’italia prima era accusi ci vosiru anni prima ca si misiru nzemulla. 1942 fu l’annu.

Then why do you think the nation state, as a society, and culture decide to continue to define these different ways of speaking, “dialects”?

--I think the big reason is for unity, our national identity. There has always been a struggle between the north and the south. The north sees the south as poor, below standards, not industrialized, and uneducated. The north, for a long time has been trying to separate itself from the south. I believe that if the state were to start calling these different dialects a language, this would give the nation state as a whole a reason to split up into separate states or powers, just as Italy once started. It took years for Italy to become unified, it was not until 1942.

Chi pensi ca sta succirennu o Sicilianu o Sud? Va bene, sta criscennu o sta murennu? Picchi?

--Sta murennu, comu rissi prima, e a lingua re poveri.

What do you think is happening to Sicilian in the south? Is it steady, growing, or dieing? Why?

--It’s dying. Like I said before, it’s seen as lower class, beneath society.

Ma un riscist ca I famigghi u usanu a casa? Comu sta murennu?

-- Un esempiu ti fazzu. I me zii, parranu Sicilianu cu so figghia. Però so figghia un cià rispunni in Sicilianu. So figghia u capisci u Sicilianu pero si arrispunni nda manera, i me zii a puniscinu o ci risciunu ru n’arrispunniri in tali manera. Un vonnu ca a picciridda usa u Sicilianu pi parrari cu l’autri.

But didn’t you also say that families use it in the home? How is it then dieing?

--For example, my aunt and uncle, they speak Sicilian all the time around their young child. However, their child does not respond or speak in Sicilian. Their child can understand the dialect, but if she responds, her parents punish her or at the very least tell her not to use that dialect. They do not want their daughter growing up speaking Sicilian in every day communication.

Va bene, pero tu riscisti ca parrati u sicilianu senza problema picchi è a to cultura a to indentità. Poi riri ca I Siciliani accuminciaru a canciare a so cultura e a so società pi esseri chiù initi comu nazioni?

--Si, puri u nu vogghi ammettiri , a Sicilia sta canciannu lentamente pi accittari ca fannu parti ri l’Italia. Puri si l’Italia e unita comu territoriu , nuatri un semi uniti comi cristiani o nazioni. Nuatri pinsamu ca aiuterà a fare i Sicilianu uguali nell’occhi ri tutti. U Sicilianu sarà parratu rarreri i porti chiusi.

Okay, but you also said that you speak it freely because it’s your culture, your identity. Would you say that Sicilians are then starting to change their culture and society to meet the culture of a more unified Italy?

--Yes, as much as we don’t want to or want to see it for what it is, Sicily is slowly changing to accept these changes and become more unified with the rest of Italy. Although Italy is unified in terms of territory, we are certainly not unified in terms of people or a nation state. We feel this will help Sicilians be seen as equals. Sicilian will eventually be spoken only behind closed doors.

Okai, si tu avissi figghi e stavi ancora in Sicilia, comu ci parrassi chi to figghi e comu voi ca i to figghi ti rispunessiru?

-- Pensu ca è importanti ri mantiniri a cultura ri unni vinemu e parrari u nostru dialettu. Io pensu ca ci parrassi in Sicilianu accussi su possunu insignari, capiri, sintirlu, Un m’interissassi si u parrassiru in pubblicu. C’insignassi comu parrari cu l’anziani chi cristiani rispittati ra cumunità però u mi pirmittu mai ri limitaricci a so lingua. Forsi pi chistu u Sicilianu sta canciannu accussi lentu, però su sicura ca cancerà.

So, if you were to have children and you were still living in Sicily, how would you decide to speak around your children and how would you expect them to respond?

--I think it is important to still preserve the culture and heritage by speaking the dialect around them. I would speak Sicilian around them so they can learn it, hear it, and understand it. I would not mind if they spoke Sicilian in public. I would teach them to be polite around elders and more respected people of the community, but I would not limit their language. I am sure this is the reason why the transition from speaking Sicilian to Italian is slow, but still inevitable and ever changing.

L’internet e i chat aiutanu a rallentari a scumparsa ro Sicilianu?

--Pensu ca aiuta a mantaniri u Sicilianu vivu. I cristiani u usanu senza vergogna. E un’altra manera ri mantiniri u Sicilianu vivu senza parrarlu. L’unicu problema e si u Sicilianu un si parra chiù, chiddi ca unnu sannu un s’insignirannu o ci veni difficili picchi re diffirenzi.
How do you see the Internet and online chatting playing a role?

--I think it helps preserve Sicilian. People use it all the time without judgment. It is a way to keep Sicilian alive without having to speak it. The only problem is that if it ever becomes an unspoken language, those who don’t know won’t learn, or it will be very hard for them to learn because of the differences.

Ti senti qui megghiu chattari in sicilianu ca quannu parri normalmenti?

--No, per ora no. Immaginu ca un indomani cosi cancierannu e parrero la mia lingua ca me famigghia e chi me amici stritti, e sull’internet.

Do you feel any more comfortable using Sicilian online than you do in actual conversation?

--No, not right now. I imagine at one point I will have to continue to change as culture changes and limit my use to my family and close friends, and mostly online.

Works Cited

Okay, so what's going on? What's happened?

Okay, so the post you have all been probably just wanting to read. Now that you have had the opportunity to get a brief history lesson on the origins of Italian, the origins of Sicilian, the differences, similarities, and battle between what is a language and what is a dialect, we can finally discuss what is going on. As I mentioned in the last post,
I want to sort out, setting aside academia and linguistics and get a grasp as to why Sicilian is accepted as a dialect and not a language. I want to see the changes Sicilian has made culturally and politically, and the results of these changes. I had the opportunity to communicate with Sicilians via the Internet and ask probing questions. I wanted to know what is going on and how does technology play a vital role into this whole mess of "dialects versus language."

To help me explain what has been going on over the past generations up to this point, I spoke with five different Sicilians who are still currently living in Sicily. All of the people I spoke with were between the ages of 17 and 27. Both males and females were asked the same questions. They all have had the opportunity to experience the current changes after being told what the situation use to be like. There was no one over the age of 30 that could be found in the chat room. I had to go by what I was told assuming it was true and accurate. Who better to ask than someone expereincing the changes, right?

I asked specific questions to get a sense of what is going on and where technology falls into the topic of Sicilian as a dialect. The actual conversation is in its own post for those who are interested to see the questions and the general response I received from most of the people I spoke with. The complied results are in English and Sicilian.

Since its origin, Sicilian has mostly been contained within Sicily. If heard outside of Sicily, it is because of people moved to a different region or migrated north. Sicilian, as a whole and compared to Italian is seen as a dialect used by those who come from a lower class. Sicilian is seen as a dirty way of speaking Italian, used by those who are uneducated. If someone uses Sicilian, they are stereotyped as uneducated, dumb, someone with a lack of capital in a lower class. This is the cultural stigma that is placed on the Sicilian and has always been the case.

The first question was, what "language" was spoken in the house when growing up? All answered quickly with Sicilian. However, there was some variation for those who either have children or, have family members who have young children. For example, those who have children currently growing up in the home will speak to their children in Sicilian, but their children will respond in Italian. If the child does not respond in Italian, the parents have to find a way to "remind" their child that they do not want them speaking Sicilian, but still want them to know the language, err, dialect. Parents will do this for many reasons.

The first reason is that the education system, even in Sicily is formed around speaking only Italian. All of the people I spoke to told me that there was no Sicilian allowed in schools. If children were caught speaking in Sicilian, they were punished in multiple ways ranging from a slap on the wrist to letting their parents know of the situation. Educators, even if they speak in Sicilian in their own personal time strive to get children away from speaking Sicilian and rely on Italian.

This really makes me think of Lessig's models of governance. I can't say it falls exactly under law because there are no actual imposed rules set that tell people, no, you can not use Sicilian and if you do here are the consequences. This type of governance would most likely fall under norms-social conventions and architecture or code.

It is difficult for education institutions to control the act of using Sicilian, but institutions do make an effort. These institutions are trying to shape children to the cultural norm that is set by central and northern Italy, to use Italian with as little variation possible.

With regards to architecture and code, I would equate materials, such as books, reading, signs, to architecture and code. Within the institutions Sicilian will not and can not be found in any writting, books, materials, or signs. This architecture makes it easier to change and shape the norms of this different society and culture.

So, I later asked, even if Sicilian is not allowed in school, did children still use it? Not everyone agreed nor had the same response. Most of the people I spoke with told me it depended on a few factors. The factor it depended on was if they were approached in Sicilian, they would respond in Sicilian, but if the conversation was started in Italian, then they would respond in Italian. Then, there were those that said they always just spoke in Sicilian and did not care, and then there was one that said regardless, he would speak in Italian when at school to avoid problems with administrators. However, everyone agreed that they only time Sicilian would be used, is if the teacher or an administer was not around like in transition to classes or at recess.

As we have talked about many topics in Global Studies 551, there seems to be a lot of "top-down" control going on here. The government and the education system is imposing that Italian be used instead of Sicilian, and do not allow children to use Sicilian in the school system. Doesn't anyone think if there was no such imposed rule and allowing people to speak freely, would there be this strong division among Italians? Italy for years struggled to become unified. Many monarchies were dissolved and instead of kingdoms and empires, Italy finally became Unified as one republic. Telling people how they should or should not speak creates a division of power, creates a division amongst people, and ultimately creates a new form of racism. Yes, its true, racism!

Race, although all born in the same country (Italy) is still an issue. There is a great divide between Sicily and Italy. As mentioned multiple times throughout the entire post, Sicily is seen as dirty, uneducated, poor, resource sucking state of Italy. Adding a completely different sounding version of Italian to where it sounds like its own langauge, and well, now we have an issue. The northerners for the majority are not to liking to southerners, and the only problem the south has with the north, is that they are not accepted because of the way southerners are viewed and judged!

Okay, so let us get back to questions to help understand some of these issues. The next big question I tackled was, if either of the people I spoke to, who live in Sicily were to use Italian, when would it be and why? The answer was mostly the same across the board. The general idea was they would use Italian if talking with people who commanded respect such as lawyers, doctors, an elder, or someone important/successful in the community like a Jewelry store owner. When I asked why, what is the difference if you all come from Sicily, why change? Everyone knows people have this idea in the back of their head that Sicilian is considered to be used by lower society, and no one wants to be judge as someone of a lower society. Okay, that is understandable, but then why bother to use a form of a language if you know ahead of time that you are judged by the way you speak?

Well, let me tell you, this got some people a little peeved. The idea is that the way they speak, Sicilian, it is their culture, their history, but even more important, part of their identity. The way Sicilians talk, their "language" plays an enormous role and is a huge piece of the pie that makes up Sicilians. It is what makes Sicilians unique. They all agreed this is what makes them "Sicilian" and not just "Italian". Their argument is that people in Rome speak differently just like people from Naples but no one says the way they speak is wrong and uneducated, so why is Sicilian not okay to use without being judged?

I tried to explain to them to look at the history of Sicily. From my own knowledge from taking history and cultural classes on Sicily and Italy, Sicily has always been an agricultural state. Sicily never really had the chance to industrialize like the north of Italy due to the lack of financial resources, and the quick growth of farming. Northern Italy is more well known for capital, banks, and having the first huge economic boom in Italy. Sicily just seemed to always lag behind. Even though Sicily had the first university and was first to get education in gear, Sicily is still seen as a parasitic state of Italy. The economy as a whole is not doing well, similar to America, and many in the north blame Sicily's lack of industrialization and lack of capital as a state for the sluggish economy. Sicily has never really had the chance to not be seen as anything but below societies (the north) standards.

Sicilians use the same argument for not changing the way they speak applies to when they travel outside of Sicily. I asked if they would speak strictly in Italian, even if it was amongst themselves when traveling outside of Sicily. Everyone responded, only if they were speaking to someone they did not know personally for the only purpose of being completely understood, not for the idea that Sicilian is a lower class form of Italian. Notice how I did not use the word "language." Everyone tried to stay away from defining Sicilian as another "language." Sicilians do not want to define the way they speak as a different language. They have a hard enough time fitting in with the rest of the state.

The hardest question that I asked everyone was if they thought that Sicilian, as a "language" was slowing dieing and being eradicated? Or, worse yet, will Sicilian just eventually vanish? Some, for pride reasons said no, it's not dieing at all and will always be around. Others were more realistic to say that slowly they believe Sicilian will eventually only be found in print and movies that already in some form of circulation. At this point though, no one thought the entire form of Sicilian was dead, just in the forms in which they use it. Here is where technology comes into play.

Even from just sitting in a chat room, without having to interject, respond, or even let people know I was really there, something interesting was going on. People who knew Sicilian were using it, even if there were others who were using Italian. It seemed as if even though Sicilian is supposed to be this "lower form" of communication, no one seemed to care. It was like all judgment was gone. There was no telling if someone who was using Italian knew Sicilian or the other way around. People who spoke in Sicilian only carried on conversations with those who responded in Sicilian and the same went for those in Italian. I did notice though that if there was criticism, it was about the topic of discussion, not for using Sicilian over Italian. There are no modes of governance or control over what form of the Italian is acceptable.

Those who use Sicilian are using it in in a digital way without worry. Using it online is a way to preserve the culture, and the "language." Many that I spoke with felt that the digital form of Sicilian will be all that is left with printed books, filmed movies, and recorded music. However, one mentioned what would it matter though if all Sicilian becomes is a form of writing because languages and forms of language are learned from passing it down by word of mouth. Meaning, if all Sicilian becomes is a form of writing, how can it survive if generations can't understand it? One chatter made a good point, if they do not use it in a verbal form, then there is a slim chance it will be carried on. Some think by the time their children have grandchildren, they will not have the opportunity to learn Sicilian.

So, I raised one more question, was using the Internet a form of preserving Sicilian, freely using Sicilian amongst non Sicilian speakers without feeling judged, and why?

The people that I spoke with did not feel concerned with being judge in everyday life, and especially when using the Internet and using Sicilian in their back and forth conversations. Everyone thought it was a way to help preserve their identity and their culture. They understand that as time moves along Sicilians are slowing accepting the changes to be a more unified republic and help eliminate race issues associated with being Sicilian due to the way they speak, but obviously at a cost. They feel they can reduce this "cost" by finding a way to use Sicilian without limits, without control, and without judgment. The Internet is a place where Sicilian can always be used without limits. There are no boundaries, no judgment, and certainly a way to spread the Sicilian culture.

Italian VS Sicilian

Here I will discuss how similar the vocabulary, the pronunciation, the grammar, and the usage of the language really are, or are not at all similarly related. You will see there are some similarities but also quite a few differences. Later, in a different post I will take more time to discuss the cultural and political differences, and what is really going on, why Sicilians call Sicilian a dialect but some scholars want to call Sicilian a language. This post is dedicated to the physical similarities and differences.

In this upcoming section, I want to discuss a more historical account of both Sicilian and Italian, differences and similarities between grammar, spelling, and structure. If technologically possible, I will also include audio samples of both Sicilian and Italian. I might not be able to find the same phrases in both Italian and Sicilian to do a complete "apples to apples" comparison, but it will allow listeners to hear distinct differences that equate to more of just an accent of the same language but rather something completely different.

I would like to give a brief history lesson between Sicilian and Italian. In itself, the history could be an entire book, but for our purposes, I want readers to grasp a basic understanding of the origins of Italian and then Sicilian.

First, I will share a brief history excerpt of Italian and its origins taken from about.com.

Origins

"Linguistically speaking, the Italian language is a member of the Romance group of the Italic subfamily of the Indo-European family of languages. It is spoken principally in the Italian peninsula, southern Switzerland, San Marino, Sicily, Corsica, northern Sardinia, and on the northeastern shore of the Adriatic Sea, as well as in North and South America. Considered a single language with numerous dialects, Italian, like the other Romance languages, is the direct offspring of the Latin spoken by the Romans and imposed by them on the peoples under their dominion. Of all the major Romance languages, Italian retains the closest resemblance to Latin. The struggle between the written but dead language and the various forms of the living speech, most of which were derived from Vulgar Latin, was nowhere so intense or so protracted as in Italy" (www.about.com).

Next, let's look at some very brief history of Sicilian from Lifeinitaly.com.

The Sicilian Language: Brief History

Thousands of years ago the island of Sicily was occupied by the original Sicilians, the most well-known being the Siculi. These people spoke a language that has not been spoken for millennia, but some words (mainly local names for plants) still survive in modern Sicilian. Once the Phoenicians and later the Ancient Greeks arrived, the indigenous peoples and their language were eventually supplanted. Dialects of Greek were mainly spoken in Sicily until the arrival of the Romans after the First Punic War. It was then that Sicilian received a substantial Latin influence but Greek continued to be the main language for centuries.

With the fall of Rome and the conquests of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian, Greek was further solidified as the Lingua Franca for most of Sicily. However a new layer would be added to the Sicilian language with the arrival of the Saracens from North Africa. The invasions did not stop there of course as the Normans, Hohenstaufens, Angevins and Aragonese all took turns ruling Sicily. While not every conqueror influenced the local language, most of the major occupiers have at least bequeathed a few words and phrases which have helped to make Sicilian so colorful.

It is easy to see that both Sicilian and Italian are influenced from different sets of languages, people, cultures and countries. Sicilian is influenced greatly by Arabic, Greek, and multiple African languages where as Italian is more greatly influenced by northern European countries and the ancient language of Latin.

Now, I want to show actual differences between the language. The word on the left is written in Sicilian, the word on the right is the Italian version. Both words mean the same and the translation is the English word on the right hand side. Notice the Sicilian "U" is used in place of the Italian long "O".

parrinu instead of prete (priest)
beddu for bello (beautiful)
iddu for egli (he) and idda for ella (she)
babbaluci instead of lumache (snails)
picciottu instead of giovanotto (young man)
cacoccila for carciofo (artichoke)
chiddu for esso (it)
chisstu for questo (this)

Notice how similar some of the words are to each other, like beddu and bello or chisstu and questo but yet how different words can be such as babbaluci and lumache (meaning snail). The words are completely different based on their origins. Babbaluci has Arabic influence where lumache has more of a northern European influence from romance languages. Notice the spelling as well, look how similar caroccila is to carciofo.

One can already get the idea on how similar some words are when it comes to spelling and actual word choice. Now, lets expand and look at some simple sentences and look at the practical use of both Italian and Sicilian.

Below I have compared a sample poem, first in Sicilian, then in Italian, and finally the English version. Below the poem you will find a link to take you to more examples as well as recordings of the poem in Sicilian.

Picchì Diu criau lu primu all'omu? Chi Dici? A cui putissi dumannari? "Diu lu fici, ci detti lu nomu, e cu nuddu si vosi cunsigghiari. Si c'era Eva, Diu di frunti a chidda, o sì o no, l'avia a diri idda!"

Perché Dio ha creato l'uomo primo? Che cosa ne pensi? Chi potrebbe chiedere? "Dio ha fatto di lui, gli ha dato un nome, e nessuno ha chiesto un consiglio. Eva era stato lì, di fronte a Dio la sua, senza dubbio, avrebbe avuto l'dire!

Why did God create man first? What do you think? Who could I ask? "God made him, gave him a name, and sought no one's advice. Had Eve been there, God facing her, no doubt, she would have had the say!"

The structure of where nouns, adjectives, and verbs fall remains the same in both cases as well as some of the words are the same in both poems. The differences though are that the words that mean the same in both poems, are completely different. Click the link below to see more poems and hear the poems read in Sicilian.
http://www.dieli.net/SicilyPage/SicilianLanguage/SicilianLang.html

So, although a short and simplistic history of Sicilian versus Italian, it is important to see and note that there is no clear cut and dry way to define whether or not Sicilian is a dialect of Italian, or a completely different language. There are too many similarities in words, structure but also an equal amount of differences. So, although there are scholars and websites that say Sicilian is too different to be a dialect so therefor it is a language, why do many in Italy (and Sicily) consider Sicilian a dialect and not a language?

This is the reason why I have created this post. I want to sort out, setting aside academia and linguistics and understand just why Sicilian is accepted as a dialect and not a language. I want to see the changes Sicilian has made culturally and politically, and the results of these changes. I had the opportunity to communicate with Sicilians via the Internet and ask probing questions. I wanted to know what is going on and how does technology play a vital role into this whole mess of "dialects versus language."

Dialect Vs Language

There are many ways to define a way a society or culture speaks in terms of is it a language or dialect. Some of the definitions are cut and dry, and some leave the definitions up for debate. The easiest way to explain the difference is this. If two people speak differently there can only be two possibilities. If the two can understand each other, the way people speak is considered a dialect of the same language, if the two cannot understand each other, then they are speaking separate languages.

This concept is called mutual intelligibility. However, while the dialect criteria of "mutual intelligibility" works most of the time, there are other criteria that distinguishes dialect from language.

When a person says "He done did it" while another says "He did it" both are using different dialects because grammatical differences are involved (Crystal, D. The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language). This is not so much the case when comparing Sicilian versus Italian, but you can see where there are contradictions.

It is also clear from the table above that cultural history, whether it be different, similar, and overlapping will also play a role into defining they way people speak as a dialect or a completely different language. What we really have to look at are how similar are the vocabulary, the pronunciation, the grammar, and the usage? Later, in a different link that is devoted to Sicilian versus Italian I will be able to show where there is overlap, and where there is still quite a large distinction. If possible, I will also have audio samples so you can even hear the difference.

The cultural and political battle.

Before I dive into research and information, I want to first give a background of myself, how I became involved and interested in the field.

I am a third generation Sicilian, only by 1/4 now because my mom has Germanic roots as well as my paternal grandmother. I have always been raised as an American and knew nothing about other cultures other than my own. Later, in high school, I met my current girlfriend. I quickly learned she was not of the same culture. She in fact had only been living in American for less than 10 years. Her parents and her little brother relocated to America for the "American dream" and better employment as well as educational opportunities.

Soon I quickly become mesmerized at what a different life they live inside and outside of the home. Besides their culture, I also learned they do not speak Italian, they speak Sicilian. There is quite a difference if you did not already know. This is not the same as I speak American but he speaks English.

This is exactly what this blog will focus on. The purpose of my research was to discover why Sicilian, being so different than Italian, is defined as a dialect and not a language. The reason: an ongoing political and cultural battle within its own boundaries. I will uncover the reasons why Sicilian is defined as a dialect, how it is struggling to hold on, what is the cause of it's near death, and how is technology keeping what is left of Sicilian alive.

I am going to have to give background information and define some terms such as dialect, language, and give structural differences and characteristics of Sicilian as well as Italian. Later, through my own experiences and with the aid of those who I was able to talk to over the internet, I will discuss what is going on right now and what people predict for the future.