Neapolitan language

File:WIKITONGUES- Foffo speaking Neapolitan.webm]]

File:Maria_Flora_nella_canzone_%27O_pisciavinolo_-_1895.jpg

Largely due to massive Southern Italian migration in the late 19th century and 20th century, there are also a number of Neapolitan speakers in Italian diaspora communities in the United States, Canada, Australia, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Mexico, and Venezuela{{Citation needed|date=September 2023|reason=no inline citation}}. However, in the United States, traditional Neapolitan has had considerable contact with English and the Sicilian languages spoken by Sicilian and Calabrian immigrants living alongside Neapolitan-speaking immigrants and so the Neapolitan in the US is now significantly different from the contemporary Neapolitan spoken in Naples{{Citation needed|date=September 2023|reason=no inline citation}}. English words are often used in place of Neapolitan words, especially among second-generation speakers{{Citation needed|date=September 2023|reason=no inline citation}}. On the other hand, the effect of Standard Italian on Neapolitan in Italy has been similar because of the increasing displacement of Neapolitan by Standard Italian in daily speech{{Citation needed|date=September 2023|reason=no inline citation}}.

File:Giambattista Basile.jpg (1566–1632), author of a collection of fairy tales in Neapolitan that includes the earliest known versions of Rapunzel and Cinderella]]

Neapolitan is a Romance language and is considered as part of Southern Italo-Romance. There are notable differences among the various dialects, but they are all generally mutually intelligible.

Italian and Neapolitan are of variable mutual comprehensibility, depending on affective and linguistic factors. There are notable grammatical differences, such as Neapolitan having nouns in the neuter form and a unique plural formation, as well as historical phonological developments, which often obscure the cognacy of lexical items.

Its evolution has been similar to that of Italian and other Romance languages from their roots in Vulgar Latin. It may reflect a pre-Latin Oscan substratum, as in the pronunciation of the d sound as an r sound (rhotacism) at the beginning of a word or between two vowels: e.g. doje (feminine) or duje (masculine), meaning "two", is pronounced, and often spelled, as roje/ruje; vedé ("to see") as veré, and often spelled so; also cadé/caré ("to fall") and Madonna/Maronna.{{cite encyclopedia |title=Campania |encyclopedia=The dialects of Italy |year=2006 |last=Sornicola |first=Rosanna |author-link=Rosanna Sornicola |editor1-last=Maiden |editor1-first=Martin |editor2-last=Parry |editor2-first=Mair |publisher=Routledge |location=London |url=http://wpage.unina.it/sornicol/Articoli/Campania.pdf |access-date=30 December 2023}} Another purported Oscan influence is the historical assimilation of the consonant cluster {{IPA|/nd/}} as {{IPA|/nn/}}, pronounced {{IPA|[nː]}} (this is generally reflected in spelling more consistently: {{Wikt-lang|nap|munno}} vs Italian {{Wikt-lang|it|mondo}} "world"; {{Wikt-lang|nap|quanno}} vs Italian {{Wikt-lang|it|quando}} "when"), along with the development of {{IPA|/mb/}} as {{IPA|/mm/}}~{{IPA|[mː]}} ({{Wikt-lang|nap|tammuro}} vs Italian {{Wikt-lang|it|tamburo}} "drum"), also consistently reflected in spelling. Other effects of the Oscan substratum are postulated, but substratum claims are highly controversial. As in many other languages in the Italian Peninsula, Neapolitan has an adstratum greatly influenced by other Romance languages (Catalan, Spanish and Franco-Provençal above all), Germanic languages and Greek (both ancient and modern). The language had never been standardised, and the word for tree has three different spellings: {{Wikt-lang|nap|arbero}}, {{Wikt-lang|nap|arvero}} and {{Wikt-lang|nap|àvaro}}.

Neapolitan has enjoyed a rich literary, musical and theatrical history (notably Giambattista Basile, Eduardo Scarpetta, his son Eduardo De Filippo, Salvatore Di Giacomo and Totò). Thanks to this heritage and the musical work of Renato Carosone in the 1950s, Neapolitan is still in use in popular music, even gaining national popularity in the songs of Pino Daniele and the Nuova Compagnia di Canto Popolare.

The language has no official status within Italy and is not taught in schools. The University of Naples Federico II offers (from 2003) courses in Campanian Dialectology at the faculty of Sociology, whose actual aim is not to teach students to speak the language but to study its history, usage, literature and social role. There are also ongoing legislative attempts at the national level to have it recognized as an official minority language of Italy. It is a recognized ISO 639 Joint Advisory Committee language with the ISO 639-3 language code of nap.

Here is the IPA pronunciation of the Neapolitan spoken in the city of Naples:

|-

| hallowed be thy name

| {{lang|nap|santificammo 'o nomme tuojo.}}

| {{lang|nap|santificammö 'o nommë tuójö.}}

| {{IPA|nap|sandifiˈkamm(ə) o ˈnommə ˈtwoːjə|}}

|-

| Thy kingdom come,

| {{lang|nap|Faje veni' 'o regno tuojo,}}

| {{lang|nap|Fajë vëni' 'o régnö tuójö,}}

| {{IPA|nap|ˈfɑːjə vəˈni o ˈrɛɲɲə ˈtwoːjə|}}

|-

| Thy will be done,

| {{lang|nap|sempe c'a vuluntà toja,}}

| {{lang|nap|sèmpë c'a vuluntà tójä,}}

| {{IPA|nap|ˈsɛmbə ˈkɑ: vulunˈda (t)ˈtɔːjə|}}

|-

| on earth as it is in heaven.

| {{lang|nap|accussì 'n cielo, accussì 'n terra.}}

| {{lang|nap|accussì 'n ciélö, accussì 'n terrä.}}

| {{IPA|nap|akkusˈsi nˈdʒjeːlə akkusˈsi nˈdɛrrə|}}

|-

| Give us this day our daily bread

| {{lang|nap|Fance ave' 'o pane tutte 'e juorne,}}

| {{lang|nap|Fancë ave' 'o panë tuttë 'e juórnë,}}

| {{IPA|nap|ˈfandʒ aˈve o pˈpɑːnə ˈtutt e ˈjwornə|}}

|-

| and forgive us our trespasses

| {{lang|nap|e liévace 'e riébbete}}

| {{lang|nap|e liéväcë 'e riébbëtë}}

| {{IPA|nap|e lˈljeːvəʃ(ə) e ˈrjebbətə|}}

|-

| as we forgive those who trespass against us,

| {{lang|nap|cumme nuje 'e luvamme all'ate.}}

| {{lang|nap|cummë nujë 'e luvàmmë all'atë.}}

| {{IPA|nap|ˈkummə ˈnuːjə e lluwammə alˈlɑːtə|}}

|-

| and lead us not into temptation,

| {{lang|nap|Nun ce fa' spanteca',}}

| {{lang|nap|Nun cë fa' spantëca',}}

| {{IPA|nap|nun dʒə ˈfa ʃpandəˈka|}}

|-

| but deliver us from evil.

| {{lang|nap|e liévace 'o male 'a tuorno.}}

| {{lang|nap|e liéväcë 'o malë 'a tuórnö.}}

| {{IPA|nap|e lˈljeːvəʃ(ə) o mˈmɑːl(ə) a ˈtwornə|}}

|-

| Amen.

| {{lang|nap|Ammèn.}}

| {{lang|nap|Ammèn.}}

| {{IPA|nap|amˈmɛnn(ə)|}}

|}

Neapolitan orthography consists of 22 Latin letters. Much like Italian orthography, it does not contain k, w, x, or y even though these letters might be found in some foreign words; unlike Italian, it does contain the letter j. The following English pronunciation guidelines are based on General American pronunciation, and the values used may not apply to other dialects. (See also: International Phonetic Alphabet chart for English dialects.)

All Romance languages are closely related. Although Neapolitan shares a high degree of its vocabulary with Italian, the official language of Italy, differences in pronunciation can make the connection unrecognizable to those without knowledge of Neapolitan. The most striking{{citation needed|date=March 2025}} phonological difference is the Neapolitan weakening of unstressed vowels into schwa (schwa is pronounced like the a in about or the u in upon).{{efn|name=diaeresis|In recent studies on Neapolitan variants in Campania, there has been a tendency to mark silent vowels – pronounced as schwas ⟨ə⟩ – with diaeresis ({{serif|{{char|◌̈}}}}). While it may help novice speakers, it is not an established trait of the Neapolitan language.}} However, it is also possible (and quite common for some Neapolitans) to speak standard Italian with a "Neapolitan accent"; that is, by pronouncing un-stressed vowels as schwa or by pronouncing the letter s as {{IPAblink|ʃ}} (like the sh in ship) instead of {{IPAblink|s}} (like the s in sea or the ss in pass) when the letter representing {{IPAslink|s}} is in initial position followed by a consonant, but not when it is followed by a dental occlusive {{IPAslink|t̪|t}} or {{IPAslink|d̪|d}} (at least in the purest form of the language) but by otherwise using the vocabulary and grammatical forms of Italian.

Therefore, while pronunciation presents the strongest barrier to comprehension{{citation needed|date=March 2025}}, the grammar of Neapolitan is what sets it apart from Italian. In Neapolitan, for example, the gender and number of a word is expressed by a change in the accented vowel because it no longer distinguishes final unstressed {{IPAslink|a}}, {{IPAslink|e}} and {{IPAslink|o}} (e.g. luongo {{IPA|nap|ˈlwoŋɡə|}}, longa {{IPA|nap|ˈloŋɡə|}}; Italian lungo, lunga; masc. "long", fem. "long"), whereas in Italian it is expressed by a change in the final vowel. These and other morpho-syntactic differences distinguish the Neapolitan language from the Italian language and the Neapolitan accent.

Neapolitan has had a significant influence on the intonation of Rioplatense Spanish spoken in Buenos Aires and the surrounding region of Argentina and in the entire country of Uruguay.Colantoni, Laura, and Jorge Gurlekian.[http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract;jsessionid=43F6CF4CEB6223AA2ED40C7926999F70.tomcat1?fromPage=online&aid=236145 "Convergence and intonation: historical evidence from Buenos Aires Spanish"], Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, Volume 7, Issue 02, August 2004, pp. 107–119, Cambridge Journals Online

While there are only five graphic vowels in Neapolitan, phonemically, there are eight. Stressed vowels {{lang|nap|e}} and {{lang|nap|o}} can be either "closed" or "open" and the pronunciation is different for the two. The grave accent ({{lang|nap|à}}, {{lang|nap|è}}, {{lang|nap|ò}}) is used to denote open vowels, and the acute accent ({{lang|nap|é}}, {{lang|nap|í}}, {{lang|nap|ó}}, {{lang|nap|ú}}) is used to denote closed vowels, with alternative {{lang|nap|ì}} and {{lang|nap|ù}}. However, accent marks are not commonly used in the actual spelling of words except when they occur on the final syllable of a word, such as {{lang|nap|Totò}}, {{lang|nap|arrivà}}, or {{lang|nap|pecché}}, and when they appear here in other positions, it is only to demonstrate where the stress, or accent, falls in some words. Also, the circumflex is used to mark a long vowel where it would not normally occur (e.g. {{lang|nap|sî}} "you are").

The following clusters are always geminated if vowel-following.

File:Carnevale_Scampia_01.jpg

The Neapolitan classical definite articles (corresponding to the English word "the") are {{lang|nap|a}} (feminine singular), {{lang|nap|o}} (masculine singular) and {{lang|nap|i}} (plural for both).

Before a word beginning with a consonant:

"C:" = the initial consonant of the following word is geminated if followed by a vowel.

These definite articles are always pronounced distinctly.

Before a word beginning with a vowel, {{lang|nap|l’}} or {{lang|nap|ll’}} are used

for both masculine and feminine, singular and plural. Although both forms can be found, the {{lang|nap|ll’}} form is by far the most common.

In Neapolitan, the gender of a noun is not easily determined by the article, so other means must be used. In the case of {{lang|nap|’o}}, which can be either masculine singular or neuter singular (there is no neuter plural in Neapolitan), the initial consonant of the noun is doubled when it is neuter. For example, the name of a language in Neapolitan is always neuter, so if we see {{lang|nap|’o nnapulitano}} we know it refers to the Neapolitan language, whereas {{lang|nap|’o napulitano}} would refer to a Neapolitan man.

Likewise, since {{lang|nap|’e}} can be either masculine or feminine plural, when it is feminine plural, the initial consonant of the noun is doubled. For example, consider {{lang|nap|’a lista}}, which in Neapolitan is feminine singular, meaning "the list". In the plural, it becomes {{lang|nap|’e lliste}}.

There can also be problems with nouns whose singular form ends in {{lang|nap|e}}. Since plural nouns usually end in {{lang|nap|e}} whether masculine or feminine, the masculine plural is often signaled orthographically, that is, by altering the spelling. As an example, consider the word {{lang|nap|guaglione}}, which means "boy" or (in the feminine form) "girl":

More will be said about these orthographically changing nouns in the section on Neapolitan nouns.

A couple of notes about consonant doubling:

• Doubling is a function of the article (and certain other words), and these same words may be seen in other contexts without the consonant doubled. More will be said about this in the section on consonant doubling.
• Doubling only occurs when a vowel follows the consonant. No doubling occurs if it is followed by another consonant, such as in the word spagnuolo (Spanish).

The Neapolitan indefinite articles, corresponding to the English a or an, are presented in the following table:

In Neapolitan there are four finite moods: indicative, subjunctive, conditional and imperative, and three non-finite modes: infinitive, gerund and participle. Each mood has an active and a passive form. The only auxiliary verbs used in the active form is {{Wikt-lang|nap|avé|(h)avé}} (Eng. "to have", It. {{lang|it|avere}}), which contrasts with Italian, in which the intransitive and reflexive verbs take {{lang|nap|èssere}} for their auxiliary. For example, we have:

;Neapolitan

{{interlinear|lang1=nap|

|Aggio stato a Napule ajere.

|AUX.have.1SG.PRES be.PTCP.PAST in Naples yesterday

|I was in Naples yesterday.}}

;Italian

{{interlinear|lang=it

|Sono stato a Napoli ieri.

|AUX.be.1S.PRES be.PTCP.PAST in Naples yesterday

|I was in Naples yesterday.}}

In Neapolitan, many times the initial consonant of a word is doubled. This is called raddoppiamento sintattico in Italian as it also applies to the Italian phonology.

• All feminine plural nouns, preceded by the feminine plural definite article, {{lang|nap|’e}}, or any feminine plural adjective, have their initial consonant doubled.
• All neuter singular nouns, when preceded by the neuter singular definite article, {{lang|nap|’o}}, or by a neuter singular adjective, have their initial consonant doubled.
• In addition, other words also trigger this doubling. Below is a list of words that trigger the doubling of the initial consonant of the following word.

However, when there is a pause after the "trigger" word, the phonological doubling does not occur (e.g. {{lang|nap|tu sî (g)guaglione}}, "You are a boy", where {{lang|nap|sî}} is a "trigger" word causing doubling of the initial consonant in {{lang|nap|guaglione}}, but in the phrase {{lang|nap|’e do sî, guaglió?}} "Where are you from, boy?", no doubling occurs. Neither does doubling occur when the initial consonant is followed by another consonant (other than {{lang|nap|l}} or {{lang|nap|r}}), e.g. {{lang|nap|’o ttaliano}} "the Italian language", but {{lang|nap|’o spagnuolo}} "the Spanish language", where {{lang|nap|’o}} is the neuter definite article).

This doubling phenomenon happens phonologically (in pronunciation), and the doubling is not required in spelling. The same thing happens in Italian, where multiple words trigger first-consonant doubling, e.g. {{lang|it|la casa}} but {{lang|it|a (c)casa}}, {{lang|it|io e (t)te}}, etc.

File:Viola Carofalo.jpg wearing a T-shirt with Neapolitan {{lang|nap|je so’ pazzo}} ("I am crazy.")]]

• The conjunctions {{lang|nap|e}} and {{lang|nap|né}} but not {{lang|nap|o}} (e.g. {{lang|nap|pane e ccaso}}; {{lang|nap|né (p)pane né (c)caso}}; but {{lang|nap|pane o caso}})
• The prepositions {{lang|nap|a}}, {{lang|nap|pe}}, {{lang|nap|cu}} (e.g. {{lang|nap|a (m)me}}; {{lang|nap|pe (t)te}}; {{lang|nap|cu (v)vuje}})
• The negation {{lang|nap|nu}}, short for {{lang|nap|nun}} (e.g. {{lang|nap|nu ddicere niente}})
• The indefinites {{lang|nap|ogne}}, {{lang|nap|cocche}} (e.g. {{lang|nap|ogne (c)casa}}; {{lang|nap|cocche (c)cosa}})
• Interrogative {{lang|nap|che}} and relative {{lang|nap|che}} but not {{lang|nap|ca}} (e.g. {{lang|nap|che (p)piense?}} {{lang|nap|che (f)femmena!}} {{lang|nap|che (c)capa!}})
• {{lang|nap|accussí}} (e.g. {{lang|nap|accussí (b)bello}})
• From the verb "{{lang|nap|essere}}", {{lang|nap|so’}}; {{lang|nap|sî}}; {{lang|nap|è}} but not {{lang|nap|songo}} (e.g. {{lang|nap|je so’ (p)pazzo}}; {{lang|nap|tu sî (f)fesso}}; {{lang|nap|chella è (M)Maria}}; {{lang|nap|chilli so’ (c)cafune}} but {{lang|nap|chilli songo cafune}})
• {{lang|nap|chiú}} (e.g. {{lang|nap|chiú (p)poco}})
• The number {{lang|nap|tre}} (e.g. {{lang|nap|tre (s)segge}})
• The neuter definite article {{lang|nap|’o}} (e.g. {{lang|nap|’o (p)pane}}, but {{lang|nap|nu poco ’e pane}})
• The neuter pronoun {{lang|nap|’o}} (e.g. {{lang|nap|’o (t)tiene ’o (p)pane?}})
• Demonstrative adjectives {{lang|nap|chistu}} and {{lang|nap|chillu}} which refer to neuter nouns in indefinite quantities (e.g. {{lang|nap|chistu (f)fierro}}; {{lang|nap|chillu (p)pane}}) but not in definite quantities (e.g. {{lang|nap|Chistu fierro}}; {{lang|nap|chillu pane}})
• The feminine plural definite article {{lang|nap|’e}} (e.g. {{lang|nap|’e (s)segge}}; {{lang|nap|’e (g)guaglione}})
• The plural feminine pronoun {{lang|nap|’e}}, e.g., {{lang|nap|’e (g)guaglione ’e (c)chiamme tu? "}}
• The plural masculine pronoun {{lang|nap|’e}} preceding a verb, but not when {{lang|nap|’e}} is an article; in {{lang|nap|’e guagliune ’e (c)chiamme tu?}}, the first {{lang|nap|'e}} is an article, so it does not trigger doubling; the second {{lang|nap|'e}} does trigger doubling because it is a masculine plural pronoun.
• The locative {{lang|nap|lloco}} (e.g. {{lang|nap|lloco (s)sotto}})
• From the verb {{lang|nap|stà}}: {{lang|nap|sto’}} (e.g. {{lang|nap|sto’ (p)parlanno}})
• From the verb {{lang|nap|puté}}: {{lang|nap|può}}; {{lang|nap|pô}} (e.g. {{lang|nap|isso pô (s)sapé}})
• Special case {{lang|nap|Spiritu (S)Santo}}

{{Portal|Languages|Italy}}

• Languages of Italy
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• Sicilian language

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite book |last1=Iandolo |first1=Carlo |title=A lengua 'e Pulecenella: Grammatica napoletana |date=2001 |publisher=Franco Di Mauro |location=Sorrento |isbn=978-8885263710 |language=it}}
• {{cite book |last1=De Blasi |first1=Nicola |last2=Imperatore |first2=Luigi |title=Il napoletano parlato e scritto: Con note di grammatica storica |date=2001 |publisher=Dante & Descartes |location=Napoli |isbn=978-8888142050 |edition=2nd |language=it |trans-title=Written and Spoken Neapolitan: With Notes on Historic Grammar}}
• {{cite web |last1=Del Vecchio |first1=Emilano |title=Neapolitan: A Great Cultural Heritage |url=https://termcoord.eu/2014/07/neapolitan-great-cultural-heritage/ |publisher=TermCoord |date=3 July 2014}}
• {{cite web |last1=Verde |first1=Massimiliano |title=Consegnato il primo Certificato Europeo di Lingua Napoletana |url=https://www.napolitoday.it/eventi/consegnato-primo-certificato-europeo-lingua-napoletana.html |trans-title=Granted the first European Certificate of the Neapolitan language |website=NapoliToday |language=it |date=17 June 2017}} First Course of Neapolitan Language according to the QCER CEFR with the Patronage of City of Naples realized by Dr.Massimiliano Verde "Corso di Lingua e Cultura Napoletana" with a document of study in Neapolitan Language by Dr.Verde

First public document in Neapolitan Language of the XXI century according to a text of Dr.Verde; the touristic Map of the III Municipality of Naples in Neapolitan Language:

• {{cite news |last1=Palmieri |first1=Paola |title=Napoli per turisti: arriva la prima mappa con info in napoletano e italiano! |url=https://grandenapoli.it/napoli-arriva-la-mappa-turistica-info-napoletano-italiano/ |work=Grandenapoli |date=22 June 2017 |language=it |trans-title=Naples for tourists: Released the first map with text in Neapolitan and Italian!}}
• {{cite news |title=A Napoli nasce la prima mappa turistica con info in italiano e napoletano |url=https://www.vesuviolive.it/ultime-notizie/202855-napoli-nasce-la-mappa-turistica-info-italiano-napoletano/ |work=Vesuvio Live |date=21 June 2017 |language=it}}

{{Sister project links|auto=1|d=Q33845|wikt=Neapolitan|b=Neapolitan|s=nap:Main Page|iw=nap}}

• [http://www.napoli.com/viewarticolo.php?articolo=34942 Neapolitan recognized by UNESCO] {{in lang|it}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20080621074948/http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/translation/Neapolitan/ Websters Online Dictionary Neapolitan–English]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20051107211735/http://www.italica.rai.it/principali/lingua/bruni/mappe/mappe/f_dialetti.htm Interactive Map of languages in Italy]
• [http://www.sorrentoradio.com/ Neapolitan on-line radio station]
• Neapolitan glossary on Wiktionary
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20011006092632/http://www.lastoriadinapoli.it/vocab.asp Italian-Neapolitan searchable online dictionary]
• [http://starling.rinet.ru/cgi-bin/response.cgi?root=new100&morpho=0&basename=new100\ier\rom&first=0 Neapolitan basic lexicon at the Global Lexicostatistical Database]
• {{usurped|1=[https://archive.today/20121205043117/http://www.torreomnia.com/Testi/argenziano/dizionario/presentazione.htm Grammar primer and extensive vocabulary for the Neapolitan dialect of Torre del Greco]}}
• [https://www.napoletanita.it/ Neapolitan language and culture] {{in lang|it}}
• [https://langsci-press.org/catalog/book/16 Prosodic detail in Neapolitan Italian] by Francesco Cangemi. Berlin: Language Science Press. pp. 187 Free download.
• [https://www.napolitoday.it/eventi/consegnato-primo-certificato-europeo-lingua-napoletana.html Consegnato il primo Certificato Europeo di Lingua Napoletana] {{in lang|it}}

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