Forums	Italy	Abruzzo	Genealogy	Lodging	Search

you are here: All Forums Archived

56: Re: Abruzzese Dialect Heritage Forums - January 2002

Posted by enn51- AT - att  --  NAME: eugene nero on 01/08/02 at 4:17 PM Subject:   Re: Abruzzese Dialect In Reply to: Abruzzese Dialect posted by Stefanie Kressaty on 01/01/02 at 7:44 PM: Yes, Stephanie, Abruzzese is not Italian standard and you're right, it is quite 'weird.' I knew that fact long before I ever went to Italy the first time in 1977. My relatives spoke Abruzzese here in the USA from 1899 til 1992. In fact we're about to see if my dad still speaks some, because I found his first cousin 2 weeks ago in Buenos Aires and that's the only language they'll be able to employ because he speaks English and she speaks Spanish. The first thing she said to me was "I've heard about your grandfather and his family for 70 years and that's how long I've been waiting for you to call!" When I stayed one month with my great aunt in 1977 in Lettopalena (CH), I grabbed a little of it because that's all she spoke. She kept saying "SAI" which to me meant: "You know" but to her meant very! Now after 24 of TV, they all speak both--even the oldest of my relatives there. Last june 21, I was leading a group of 39 relatives, in laws and friends through the old towns. My only aunt remaining became very ill and they asked me to convince a doctor to come to the hotel at 7am! Well, because of socialized medicine it took 1.5 hours to convince one to come to the hotel. I don't know what they would do with an emergency. He was a young guy, extremely bright who of course spoke perfect Italian. My aunt who had never been to Italy began blurting out a ton of the old stuff. We all had assumed that she had forgot everything, since her last sibling had died many years ago. The doctor understood her perfectly and I did half-way. It's funny that the next day when I sat down for a big dinner in a fancy villa in Montenerodomo with my 2nd cousins, I greeted one whom I was meeting the first time with "Aset!" which with my parents and their siblings meant "Sit." He was dumbfounded and responded that I used an Abruzzese phrase that dates back to the boat. Don't worry Abruzzese won't disappear for a long time, but it's very difficult. Remember, you'll have to learn Italian first, then go into the dialect. Good luck because that's tough stuff! Eugene Nero Miami Beach 305 993 5023 Follow Ups: