Brindisino: A Beginner's Guide

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So, if you think you know Italian and expect to be able to communicate or even understand the Brindisini (citizens of Brindisi), you might have a rude awakening. That's because most Brindisini speak Italian as a second language. The first language, what they speak at home, with their friends, and even at work in some cases, is the very local dialect, Brindisino. A dialect is not just an accent or a different pronunciation than Italian, it's a completely different language with different origins and a set of grammar rules unto itself. Heading to a neighboring city like Mesagne or Lecce will bring you to a completely different dialect. So learning Brindisino will really only help you understand the people of Brindisi. And so it goes for every single city in Italy.

To straighten a few things out: in Italy there are three different "languages" that almost every Italian knows. The Italian that should be understood in all the cities is called "Italiano Standard". Then, within each of the 20 regions, there is a species of Italian, derived from the standard language, with a regional spin, known as, "Italiano Regionale". Finally there is the dialect, a completely different language. In many cities, only the elderly generation knows the dialect, and in some places they even teach the dialect at school to prevent it from going into extinction. In America we are not familiar with "dialect" in the same way that Italian's are. There is no American paragon, as much as accent and jargon may vary within the 50 states.

Dialects are more common in the south and least detectable in Florence, where Italiano Standard was born when Dante used the people's language (rather than latin) to write "The Divine Comedy".

To understand the dialect Brindisino, it's helpful to understand a bit about Brindisi's history. Being a port city and the Adriatic gateway to the Eastern world has led to numerous occupations by the Byzantine Empire and Spain. Constant contact with Greece also permeates the language and culture. (There is a small town in Puglia, belonging to the province of Lecce, called "Calimera", meaning "Good Morning" in Greek; in the Salento peninsula you can get Greek radio stations...). So we have a mix of Spanish, Greek, and Arabic. Sometimes you can catch a trace of Latin lineage in a few words, due to a Roman occupation. Basically the language is a mutt.


The hardest part about learning Brindisino is that, like all dialects, it is much easier spoken and listened to than written or read. This is because everyone kind of has his or her own idea of how to write it. We'll give it a try, though.

Disclaimer: If you attempt any of these in front of a real Brindisino be prepared to be laughed at. I use it as a cutesy ice breaker at family events. They appreciate the effort, but learning Brindisino mostly serves for comprehension. You can figure out what they're talking about, if you're getting ripped off, if someone is hitting on you, etc.

Let's start with the basics:
Pronunciation:

a lot of words seem to start with " 'n" or " 'm" and have a consonant following. the pronunciation is strange, but just go with it.
"'mndi" = me ne sto

In Italian "ch" makes a "k" sound. In Brindisino "ch" (followed by "e" or "i") resembles Spanish and is soft.
Example: Che= ce

"O" usually turns to "U" or "UE".
Examples: Morto= Muerto Porto= Puerto Sonno= Suenno

the article "il" turns to "lu"

words that use the letter group "Pi" followed by a vowel turn to "Ki".
Examples: Piove= Kiove Piangere= Kiangere Piu'= Kiu'

the double L as in Bella turns to a double D, and sometimes transforms a whole word
Examples: Bella=Bedda Sorella= Sorda(meaning deaf in Italiano standard) Soldi=Sordi
Ella=edda

"V" can be pronounced as "Way","Ue" in Italiano
Vuoi= Ue
Che vuoi= Ce ue

A lot of short words have the suffix "ni":
Si= Sini
No= Noni
Perche= Perceni
Cosi= Cosini

Pronunciations without detectable patterns:

dove= addu

"ho" as in Ho capito= Aggiu capitu

me ne sto andando= 'mndi sta vau

domani= crai

occhi= ueki

alici fritti (fried and marinated sardines) = franfruliki

orecchiette, the best pasta, shaped like little ears = stacchiodi
*to me this is most bizarre. Orecchiette are particular to Puglia, they originated here. Why aren't they called, then, Stacchiodi?

words that just seem to come out of nowhere and perhaps don't have a corrisponding Italiano Standard:

to organize, chat, and make pretty things all at once=frattisciare

a bunch of junk (can apply to food, gossip, or trinkets)= fidisciamenti

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