| Castelmezzano | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Italy |
| Region | westernBasilicata |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | None (mis) |
| Glottolog | cast1245 |
The dialect ofCastelmezzano is a Romance variety spoken inCastelmezzano in theProvince of Potenza inItaly. It constitutes a dialect of theNeapolitan language that differs from the rest (and from neighbouring importedGallo-Italic varieties) in its treatment of Latin back vowels, showing an evolution more reminiscent ofEastern Romance: Latin /ŭ/ merges with /ū/ rather than with /ō/.
Castelmezzano is but the kernel of anarea, dubbed theVorposten (German for 'outpost') byLausberg, which shares the same vowel development. It includesCastronuovo di Sant'Andrea,Sant'Arcangelo,Roccanova,San Martino d'Agri,Aliano (andAlianello),Gallicchio,Missanello,Armento,Pietrapertosa,Anzi,Campomaggiore,Albano di Lucania,Trivigno,Brindisi di Montagna,Corleto Perticara andGuardia Perticara.
This type of vocalism may once have been characteristic of most of southern Italy and possibly even other areas that now haveItalo-Western vowel outcomes.[1] It can be viewed as a compromise, in that it has a Sardinian-like treatment of the back vowels, as is also observed in thesouthern part of the Lausberg area, while also having an Italo-Western-like treatment of the front vowels (merging Latin /ĭ/ with /ē/), as found in other varieties of Neapolitan.
| Latin | Root form | Vowel | Castelmezzano dialect | Dalmatian | Romanian | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| piper | *pipum,*piprum | /ɪ/ | pépë | pepro | - | Romanian has got the borrowing "piper". |
| digitus | digitum | /ɪ/ | [?] | detco | deget | |
| fīlum | - | /iː/ | filë | fil | fir | |
| cor | *corum | /ɔ/ | córë | cur | - | Romanian has got the borrowing "cord". |
| bonus | bonum | /ɔ/ | [?] | bun | bun | The vowel was shifted from/o/ to/u/, yielding "bun" in Romanian, as part of vowel reduction. |
| focus | focum | /ɔ/ | [?] | fuc | foc | |
| somnus | somnum | /ɔ/ | [?] | samno | somn | The Dalmatian result may be tied to the consonantal cluster/mn/ or to the retention of the word-final vowel. |
| sōl | sōlem | /oː/ | sólë | saul | soare | The Dalmatian and Romanian terms are only diphthongized due to not having been followed by/u/ or/i/. |
| vōx | vōcem | /oː/ | [?] | baud | boace (archaic) | The Dalmatian and Romanian terms are only diphthongized due to not having been followed by/u/ or/i/. Romanian has got the neologism "voce". |
| bōs | *bōvum | /oː/ | [?] | bu | bou | |
| tōtus | tōtum | /oː/ | [?] | tut,tot | tot | The function as pronoun may be the reason for the Dalmatian alternative form. |
| furca | furcam | /ʊ/ | fùrchë | fuarca | furcă | |
| surdus | surdum | /ʊ/ | [?] | suard | surd | |
| nux | *nucem,*nucum | /ʊ/ | [?] | nauc | nuc | |
| lūna | lūnam | /uː/ | lùnë | loina | lună | |
| mūrus | mūrum | /uː/ | [?] | moir,mor | mur | The Dalmatian variant does not seem to reflect the most usual outcomes. |
| crūdus | crūdum | /uː/ | [?] | croit | crud |
A comparison of vowel changes shows only limited relatability of the languages and the dialect yet Dalmatian sound changes may sometimes differ from the usual phonological development that can be ascertained.
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