Tarantino (; Tarantino: or u tarandíne; , ), also known as the Cataldian vernacularN. Gigante (2002), Dizionario della parlata Tarantina (so called, from the twentieth century onward, in honor of the city's patron saint), is a transitional language or dialect, most of whose speakers live in the southeastern Italian region of Apulia, especially in the Apulian city of Taranto (with specific varieties in some neighboring municipalities). The dialect is also spoken by a few Italian immigrants in the United States, especially in California.
In Taranto, differences are found between the Old Town variant of Tarantino and that of the Borgo Nuovo.G. Rohlfs, Scavi linguistici nella Magna Grecia (1975), Congedo Today it is also spoken in the nearby municipalities of Statte and Leporano by the majority of the populationISTAT data (2011), Diffusione dei dialetti locali in Puglia, while in Monteiasi it displays more distinctly Salentine features.
From a linguistic point of view, Tarantino occupies a transitional position between the Salentino dialects (belonging to the group of Extreme Southern Italian dialects) and the Apulo-Barese dialects (belonging to the Intermediate Southern Italian group)Rohlfs, G. (1977), Grammatica storica dei dialetti italogreci. BeckSavoia, L.M. (2017), I dialetti italiani: storia e struttura. Il MulinoPellegrini, G.B. (1977), Carta dei dialetti italiani. Pacini Editore.
The distinctiveness of Tarantino has often been attributed to its Greek substratum, dating back to antiquity and maintained until the sixteenth century, when Greek was still spoken alongside Romance vernaculars in the areaHorrocks, G. (2010), Greek: A History of the Language and its Speakers. Wiley-BlackwellKatsoyannou, M. (2015), The Greek Linguistic Heritage in Southern Italy. Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies. This feature links Tarantino to the Extreme Southern Italian dialects (Salentino, Southern Calabrian, and Sicilian), with which it shares numerous lexical and structural elements of Greek originLedgeway, A. (2020), Greek and Romance in Southern Italy: History and Contact. Oxford University PressRohlfs, G. (1956), Vocabolario dei dialetti salentini.
Recent studies have highlighted that these characteristics are not merely borrowings, but genuine structural elements deriving from the ancient Magna Graecia koineDe Angelis, A. (2017), Microvariation in Southern Italo-Romance. Mouton de Gruyter.
History
The Tarantino dialect traces its origins into ancient times, when the territory was dominated by the Messapii.
The colonisation by the Greeks founded Taranto not only as the capital of Magna Graecia, but also as a centre of poetry and theatre. Greek maintained extraordinary vitality and left considerable influence on Tarantino, both in vocabulary (with hundreds of Greek terms still attested today across all semantic fields) and morpho-syntax (grammar), as attested, for example, by De Vincentiis (1872)De Vincentiis, D.L. (1872). Vocabolario del dialetto tarantino, p. 145 and by more recent studies by Ledgeway (2020),Ledgeway, A. (2020). Greek and Romance in Southern Italy, Oxford, p. 189 with features such as the loss of the infinitive and the particular system of hypothetical marking that bring Tarantino closer to the other Extreme Southern Italian dialects, and a very peculiar accent that scholars linked to Doric. Some examples are: Over 700 Greek terms in core lexical domains (e.g. "apele" < άπαλος for "soft", "'nanghe" < ανάγκη for "desire") Peculiar syntactic structures such as the loss of the infinitive (e.g. "vogghie cu mange" instead of "voglio mangiare") Phonetic traits such as vowel reduction (η > i, ω > u)
These influences are still found in many Tarantino words of Greek origin.
Subsequently, the city of Taranto became a Roman city, thus introducing much Vulgar Latin vocabulary.
The process of Latinization in the Taranto area displayed particular characteristics. The Vulgar Latin that developed here preserved numerous archaisms. At the same time, as highlighted for example by Rohlfs and by Gigante (2002)Gigante (2002), p. V, certain phonetic features, such as the particular treatment of vowels, reveal the influence of the Oscan substratum. Some examples are:
Preservation of archaisms such as the construction "scere + gerund" (e.g. "sce mangienne" for "he is eating") from Latin "ire iendo" Oscan features in vowel articulation, responsible for later diphthongizations (o > ue)
During the Byzantine and Lombard periods, Tarantino acquired diphthongization: the short o changed to ue and the short e changed to ie; moreover, its vocabulary was further enriched with new words.
Contrary to what is often maintained in traditional literature, Lombard influences were marginal and limited to a few lexical loans common to the entire Romance areaFanciullo, F. (1996). Fra Oriente e Occidente: per una storia linguistica dell'Italia meridionale, p. 132, 135. The characteristic Tarantino diphthongizations, often erroneously attributed to Germanic influence, instead find their explanation in the Oscan substratum, as demonstrated by the recent studies of Loporcaro (2009)Loporcaro, M. (2009). Profilo linguistico dei dialetti italiani. Laterza, p. 178, 181, 183. Some examples are:
Lombard influence was limited to a few terms (e.g. "guerra", "faida") Diphthongizations (e.g. "muerte" for "morto") derive from the Oscan substratum Byzantine Greek further enriched the lexicon (e.g. "zimmere" < τσίμμαρο for "goat")
With the arrival of the Normans in 1071, a slow process of realignment of the Tarantino dialect with the other Southern Italian vernaculars began, and with the Angevins all the way through to 1400, the dialect lost much of its Eastern influences and was influenced by the French and Gallo-Italic elements. In 1502, the city went under Catalan-Aragonese rule.
In 1801 the city was once again under the dominion of French troops, who left their mark with their Franco-Provençal language.
The 20th century represented a period of profound transformations for the Tarantino dialect. Industrialization and massive internal migratory flows accelerated a process of regional standardization, with a progressive attenuation of the most distinctly Salentino features that had characterized the dialect up to the first decades of the 20th centurySavoia, L.M. (2017). I dialetti italiani: storia e struttura. Il Mulino, p. 304Loporcaro, M. (2009). Profilo linguistico dei dialetti italiani. Laterza, p. 291De Angelis, A. (2019). "Dialetto e identità a Taranto". Rivista Italiana di Dialettologia 43: 89-114Archivio Comunale di Taranto, Fondo Demografico (1951-1971).
Taranto has long been linked to the Kingdom of Naples, which would explain some words in common with the Neapolitan dialect.
Classification The complex classification of the Tarantino dialect
Over the last two centuries, the debate over the classification of the Tarantino dialect has divided southern Italian dialectology. The fundamental question is whether it should be considered:
An Upper Southern Italian dialect (the "intermediate southern" group) with Salentino influences An Extreme Southern Italian dialect (the "extreme southern" group) with local peculiarities An autonomous variety within one of these two groups, given its uniquenessLoporcaro, M. (2009). Profilo linguistico dei dialetti italiani. Laterza, p. 152-155
Upper-southern hypotheses
Michele De Noto, in the pioneering "Appunti di fonetica del dialetto di Taranto", was the first to note phonetic divergences from SalentoDe Noto, M. (1897). Appunti di fonetica sul dialetto di Taranto (vocalismo e consonantismo). Trani: V. Vecchi. 39 pp. Rosa Anna Greco ("Ricerca sul verbo nel dialetto tarentino")Greco, R.A. (1955). Ricerche sul verbo nel dialetto tarantino. In "Rivista di Studi linguistici salentini", vol. 6, pp. 71-120. Congedo Editore and G.B. Mancarella ("Nuovi contributi per la storia della lingua a Taranto")Mancarella, G.B. (1957). Nuovi contributi per la storia della lingua a Taranto. Taranto: Edizioni del Centro Studi Tarantini. highlighted features shared with the central-southern area, for example:
Metaphony and conditioned diphthongization (e.g. 'nzore, proche) Voicing of postnasals (-NT- > -nd-) Verbal system with double endings (-amme, -emme)
Extreme-southern hypotheses
Heinrich LausbergLoporcaro (2009) in Profilo linguistico dei dialetti italiani, p. 159, Gerhard RohlfsRohlfs, G. (1977) Grammatica storica dei dialetti italogreci. Beck, p. 203De Angelis (2017) in Microvariation in Southern Italo-Romance, p. 114 instead argued for membership in the Sicilian-Salentino group, noting, for example:
Open vowel outcomes (cuedde, strette) Use of the conjunction "cu" + indicative in place of the infinitive Nearly 1000 Greek loanwords shared with Salento
The decisive evidence: deep extreme-southern elements
Recent studies show that Tarantino shares with Extreme Southern Italian dialects structural traits which, according to Thomason & Kaufman, and other authors already mentionedLedgeway (2020), p. 401Katsoyannou (2015), cit. 4, belong to levels 4-5 of the borrowability scale (loans possible only in cases of prolonged bilingualism or substrate)Thomason, S.G. & Kaufman, T. (1988). Language Contact, Creolization, and Genetic Linguistics. University of California Press. p. 74-76:
Salentino syntax:
Loss of the infinitive ("vogghie cu vvoche" = I want to go) Double conditional marking ("ce aveve, te dave" = if I had, I would give you) Greco-Salentino periphrastic constructions
Grecanic prosody:
Final stress (as in Griko) Vowel reduction (eta>i, omega>u) Syllable-timed "effort" rhythm and "Magna Graecia prosody"Rohlfs (1977), p.210Fanciullo (1996), cap. 3
Deep lexicon:
Over 700 Greek loanwords in "resistant" domains (body, kinship, nature) Lexical calques (e.g. "tremindere" < θωρω for "to look")
As shown by LedgewayLedgeway (2020), p. 187-215 and FanciulloFanciullo (1996), p. 90-110, 132-135, these elements - especially syntax and prosody - represent the fingerprint of Greek-Latin bilingualism, marginal instead in the Apulian-Barese dialect. The presence of:
Level 5 structural borrowings (morphosyntax) Greek loanwords in protected lexical domains Grecanic phonological traits
would make it impossible to classify Tarantino as a simple Upper Southern variant, a dialect diasystem in which these elements are virtually absent. Rather, as Katsoyannou suggestsKatsoyannou (2015), it should be considered a linguistic bridge between the two groups, with an Extreme Southern base enriched by subsequent inputs.
Phonology Vowels In addition to the typical five Italian vowels a e i o u, the Tarantino dialect also has another five: e and o are close vowels, a has a particularly close, almost semi-mute sound, and i and u are called "hard vowels", since they are pronounced with a notable vibration of the vocal cords; vowels with an acute accent are all long and have double value compared to Italian ones. There are also the open vowels e and o (always short) and those with a circumflex accent a e i o u often used (especially in the case of o) to indicate the contraction of a vowel with a consonant or another vowel:
core (cuore), from Latin cor, cordis, from which it does not inherit the u of Italian cuore; bbone (buona), from the Latin root bonu-, from which it does not inherit the u of Italian buona; sce o cineme (to go to the cinema), contraction of a'u (a lu); scenne' da machene (to get out of the car), contraction of da la.