Neapolitan words, like Italian, can end either stressed or unstressed. If a word ends with a stressed vowel, that sound is typically pronounced; however when it is is unstressed the sound is typically replaced with a schwa (ə); this results in the sound of the final vowel often being lost. Overtim

The influences from France, but mostly Spain are likely due to the conquering and rule of these countries over the Kingdom of Naples. It is important to remember that Italy is a fairly recently unified country and that the influence of Spain on Naples is evident in both the language and culture. For

There are many interesting words and phrases in Neapolitan that relate to fear or trust in some way. Considering the precarious situation of many neighborhoods due to the Camorra, poverty, and disease, this could be an influence revealing itself in the language: avvermen-à-o-àje-àto - to develop wo

Neapolitan has a variety of terms of endearments, many of which have rather vulgar roots, though there are several that simply are used in an endearing way. Linella - literally means little girl Com' bell[e] sta linella - literally means "the little girl is so beautiful", this is the kind of sayi

Neapolitan can be particularly challenging for Italians to understand because of the way number and gender are expressed - in Italian the final vowel changes when a word is pluralized and that change is determined by the gender of the word (whether it's masculine, feminine, or neuter). In Neapolitan

Neapolitan is a Romance language from the Italic branch and is spoken frequently as a lingua franca throughout Southern Italy. Rather than being named for the city of Naples, Napoletano or Napulitano refers to the once expansive Kingdom of Naples. Neapolitan historically also served as a lingua fran

The Italian film, Benvenuti al Sud, plays on stereotypes and stark differences between Milanese and Neapolitan cultures. This comedy of errors highlights some of the key pragmatic differences in Naples. For example, in the first video below, the protagonist addresses the woman in the kitchen using t

In Neapolitan initial consonants are often doubled, under the following conditions: - all feminine plural nouns preceded by feminine definite articles or adjective - all singular neuter sounds preceded by a neuter singular definite article or adjective - words following "trigger words" (see list b

"Oscan is an extinct Indo-European language of southern Italy and a sister language to Latin and Umbrian. Oscan was spoken by a number of tribes, including the Samnites,[3] the Aurunci (Ausones), and the Sidicini. The latter two tribes were often grouped under the name "Osci". The Oscan group is par

The following video details how many sayings in Neapolitan take on a double meaning based on how they are said and in what context. Typically, these sayings can be used in a offensive and vulgar way or in a commendatory or even affectionate one. The sayings are as follows: "tu si nu' strunz'" "si pr

The following video shows common Neapolitan sayings with accompanying hand gestures. It is important to note that the pronunciation highlights the pronunciation of the double consonants and other phonological features detailed in the phonology sections I SPEAK NAPULITANO - The first School of neap

There are a lot of words in Neapolitan that distinguish certain areas of the city where you might buy certain items. The presence of these words could indicate the importance of these items to the Neapolitans: baccalajuolo, ola --> a salted cod vendor - baccala or salted cod is an important

"Our Father" in Neapolitan

Certain researchers indicate a pattern in Neapolitan where the [a] vs [ɑ] sounds are used somewhat interchangeably. Though they are not phonemes, they are socially stigmatized allophones denoting certain classes less privileged than others. While they are in free variation, there are also some exa

Neapolitan, like traditional Italian, has 22 Latin letters and does not include k,x,w, or y. The letter "j" is present in foreign words, though in Neapolitan it is much more common. "While there are only five graphic vowels in Neapolitan, phonemically, there are eight. Stressed vowels e and o can

Blogger Luca Delgado created this chart showing the influence of Catalan on Neapolitan words. Click on the image for more information about Spanish influence on Naples

'A bbella 'e ciglia tutte 'a sonno e nniscuino s''a piglia - Everyone wants to flirt with a beautiful woman but no one wants to marry her and face the risks and problems she might cause A' o ppeggio nun c'è ffine - Bad things have no limit 'O pesce fete d''a capa - The fish starts rotting at the

In Southern Italy the Passato Remoto tends to be used more frequently than in Northern parts, likely due to a different conceptualization of the timelines these tense represent. Prossimo refers to an event closer to the present, while remoto is a finished event in the past. While in the North, remot

Neapolitan has three genders: masculine, feminine, and neuter. The neuter case typically occurs in the following situations: Click on image to access original site

Click on the following images to learn more about important Neapolitan good luck charms and symbols

Excerpted from scholar Elizabeth Harper: CULT OF THE DEAD TIMELINE 1274:  Purgatory was formally accepted as Catholic doctrine and defined by the Church as “the place of purification through which souls pass on their way to paradise” at the second Council of Lyons. 1438-1443:  The Council of Floren

In older forms of Neapolitan, infinitives, gerunds, and participles could be inflected. The infinitive examples below show "-vo, -mo, and -no can be attached to infinitive forms, but the meaning is unclear. Many scholars are unsure of the exact meaning of these forms, but have agreed upon the rough

A corpus study on Catalan and Spanish loan words in Neapolitan reveals that the double of consonants occurs first as a phonological strategy of adopting these words and overtime shows up in written Neapolitan. The following chart shows some examples (image hyperlinks to paper)

Some Italian words that begin with a "b" sound present themselves in Neapolitan with a "v" sound. This could be influenced by huge Spanish influence on Neapolitan and the lack of distinction between the two sounds in Spanish. Examples: 'o vraccio - arm (italian = braccio) 'o vocca - mouth (italian

The following include some typical Neapolitan greetings buonase': "good evening", from buonasera, used in more cordial situations uè frate'tutt'appo'?: "hey brother, everything good?", from "tutto posto?" statte bbuono: wishes someone well ce verimm: "see you next time/ hope to see you soon", f

Coffee is an incredibly important part of Neapolitan culture and has several pragmatic features. Italians drink coffee at "bars"and typically will drink standing up. Cappucini are for mornings, only with espresso preferred for later in the day. The following video shows how to make traditional Neapo

This is a word that is used in a lot of particular contexts in Neapolitan, but is challenging to translate. It typically refers to a kind of craving that can't be clearly identified. It describes that feeling where you eep checking the fridge in the mood for some kind of food but you're not sure wha

Before the 17th century, Neapolitan allowed for the free variations of pre and postnominal positioning of possessives. Overtime the form was grammaticalized until postnominal was the only position available for possessives. (Ledgeway, 2009) In the following examples "vuoste," "soia," and "noste

The Tuscan dialect allows for the diphthongization of originally stressed open vowels [Ĕ] and [Ŏ]. Italian adopts this pattern with words such as "cuore" (previously core), "piece" (originally pede), and "nuovo" (previously novo). Neapolitan is distinct in that it allows for the ascending tonic di

Neapolitan has three main verb forms and four conjugations (the -í ending has two separate conjugations). Present indicative Imperfect Passato Remoto* Future * For more information about the passato remoto and passato prossimo see the syntax section