#just some cool facts and words about my town <3 i love bergamo a lot

[reflectionsofthesea]

Some cool expressions in Bergamasco (the dialect from the town I was born and raised in, Bergamo) and a comparison with italian.

Bergamasco is a very interesting dialect, because it borrows terms, sounds and letters from both german and french! This makes it sound very different from italian and other italian dialects.

A lot of grammatical components like the way verbs are structured, the sounds and pronunciation, and articles, are very similar to german and french.

And it also gives bergamasco-speakers like myself an advantage in speaking german, finnish or other languages that have the vowels ä, ö, ü (or the finnish y), since we already know how to pronounce them!

(green: Bergamasco, white: italian) Some expressions:

se fet? cosa fai? = what are you doing?

so mia. non lo so. = i don't know.

n'doe? dove? = where?

n'do set? dove sei? = where are you?

mochela. smettila. = stop it.

lassa sta'. lascia stare. = don't bother/leave it alone.

fa frecc. fa freddo. = it's cold.

fa colt. fa caldo. = it's hot.

mola mia. non mollare. = don't let go/don't give up.

fa' mia isè. non fare così. = don't be like that.

n'dondaret? dove vai? = where are you going?

n'che manera? perché? = in what way/ means 'why?'

borlà zò cadere = fall down

desdes fo'./rampa fo'. svegliati/muoviti = wake up, hurry up

gregnà ridere = to laugh

usa drè urlare dietro = to scream at someone

porta drè negot. non portarti dietro niente. = don't bring anything (with you)

lèa de terra levare da terra = scream/argue at someone so much you're lifting them from the ground

an va? andiamo? = shall we go? (from french on y va?)

so dré a maià. sto mangiando. = i'm eating. (from french  je suis en train de manger)

usa mia. non urlare. = don't shout

Some words:

rüt sporco = dirt (from german)

hümmia scimmia = monkey

cì maiale = pig

ca'al cavallo = horse

formagèr formaggiaio/lattaio = cheese maker (from french fromager)

articiòk carciofo = artichoke (from french artichaut)

oeuf, öf uovo = egg (from french oeuf)

frèr ferro = iron (from french fer)

rasga sega = handsaw

scèta bambina = little girl

Bergamasco is mostly spoken in the countryside and especially in the mountain villages and hills around Bergamo by older generations. It is not as commonly spoken in the main city, or used by younger generations. I learned it from my mom, and we speak it in the house daily. You can often hear it spoken by handymen, construction builders, artisans, and older men in the town.

A political party popular in Lombardia (Bergamo's Region) proposed years ago that Bergamasco should be thought in schools in Bergamo and around the province, but the idea was rejected. The sad reality is that Bergamasco, like a lot of italian dialects, is in danger of disappearing due to how less and less it's spoken and taught to younger generations. I personally really love Bergamasco and I love how unique and cool it sounds, and how it clearly shows the history of Bergamo as well: we went through the Austrian invasion, the German influence and also trades/exchanges with France, that contributed in the years to make the dialect sound the way it does now. It's a collection of my town's history and cultural exchanges and interaction (even if unfortunate ones, with Germany and Austria)

Most people from Bergamo and that speak Bergamasco have a very prominent specific accent (I do!) even when speaking normal italian. People from Bergamo are considered very matter-of-fact and straightforward, and the dialect reflects this nature very well: a lot of words and verbs are shorter than their italian counterpart, and the borrowed sounds from German make it sound harsher/more direct than italian does.

Bergamaschi wanted to avoid speaking so badly they even made their dialect as short and direct as possible, so they could use less words than regular italian and get to the point quicker.

#just some cool facts and words about my town <3 i love bergamo a lot #bergamasco #italian #italian dialect #language learning #langblr #dialects #italian language #learning italian #mine