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Siciliano Italian
Italian with Sicilian underneath: three vowels instead of seven at the end of words, ll turned to dd, and the verb at the end of the sentence.
Palermo and western Sicily
5sound rules15words and phrases8everyday lines
Neutral fine anywhere Casual friends, street Vulgar swearing Insult aimed at a person
How it sounds
Left: the sound, in pine. Middle: standard spelling. Right: meaning.
S1Final o and e become u and i
Sicilian has only 3 final vowels, and it carries into Italian spoken on the island.
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| beddu | bello | beautiful |
| latti | latte | milk |
| ù mari | il mare | the sea |
S2Ll becomes dd
A sound made with the tongue curled back. Bello becomes beddu, and quella becomes chidda.
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| beddu | bello | beautiful |
| cavaddu | cavallo | horse |
| chidda | quella | that one |
NoteStart here. It is the Sicilian sound in one word.
S3Tr sounds like chr
The t and r fuse into a sound close to English chr, as in tree.
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| chreno | treno | train |
| quatchru | quattro | four |
| chre | tre | three |
S4The verb goes last
Sicilians put the verb at the end for emphasis, a word order other Italians notice immediately.
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| Salvo sono | Sono Salvo | I'm Salvo |
| Bello è | È bello | it's beautiful |
| Stanco sono | Sono stanco | I'm tired |
S5Passato remoto for yesterday
The south uses the simple past where the north says ho mangiato.
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| Ieri andai al mare | Ieri sono andato al mare | yesterday I went to the sea |
| Mangiasti? | Hai mangiato? | have you eaten? |
| Lo vidi stamattina | L'ho visto stamattina | I saw him this morning |
Words and phrases
15 entries, each tagged by register.
W1Reactions
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| amunì! | andiamo! | come on, let's go!casual |
| talìa! | guarda! | look!casual |
| unni sì? | dove sei? | where are you?casual |
| che camurrìa | che seccatura | what a paincasual |
| minchia! | cavolo! | wow! damn! (the island's all-purpose word)vulgar |
| babbìare | scherzare | to joke aroundcasual |
W2People
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| il picciotto | il ragazzo | young mancasual |
| bedda / beddu | bella / bello | darling, beautifulcasual |
| babbu | scemo | fool (in Sicily, not dad)insult |
| scantarsi | spaventarsi | to get scaredcasual |
W3Street food
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| l'arancina | l'arancino | fried rice ball (Palermo says it feminine)neutral |
| le panelle | le panelle | chickpea frittersneutral |
| lo sfincione | lo sfincione | thick Palermo pizzaneutral |
| il pane ca meusa | il pane con la milza | spleen sandwichneutral |
| la granita con brioche | la granita con brioche | the summer breakfastneutral |
Everyday lines
Scenes and the lines that go with them.
L1Street food in Palermo
Eaten standing up, at the market or the corner.
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| Un pane e panelle | Un pane e panelle | a roll with chickpea fritters |
| Mi dà un'arancina al burro | Mi dà un'arancina al burro | a rice ball with ham and cheese, please |
| Quanto le devo? | Quanto le devo? | what do I owe you? |
L2Breakfast in summer
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| Una granita alla mandorla con brioche | Una granita alla mandorla con brioche | almond granita with a brioche |
| Con panna sopra | Con panna sopra | with cream on top |
L3Out and about
| How it's said | How it's written | English |
|---|
| Amunì, ca è tardu | Andiamo, che è tardi | come on, it's late |
| Talìa chi beddu | Guarda che bello | look how beautiful |
| Unni semu? | Dove siamo? | where are we? |