# Godfather dialect



## Aeneas

After recently viewing the Godfather films, I noticed that (remarkably) I was able to understand a great deal of the Italian they spoke.  This leads me to believe that they were not speaking Sicilian, but rather the form of Italian I learned in Rome.
Does any native speaker have insight into this?  
Thanks.


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## Agattau

Hi,

I noticed in those films on the occasions they speak Sicilian dialect, it sounds to me more like an American Sicilian’s than a proper Italian Sicilian’s. I know this because I’m in the UK and the films here don’t get “doppiati”. 

Sicilian dialect, out of all the Italian dialects (quite a few of them) is the most difficult to understand; even native speaker from other regions of Italy will have a hard time understanding everything; people in the north even more so; for foreigners is virtually impossible. The dialect is rather straightforward, bordering on arrogant. Southern dialects are in general pretty hard to understand, but in the north too there are a couple that I personally don’t understand.

Naples’ is another pretty tough one; I just don’t know how people from abroad learning Italian don’t go nuts. Naples’ is a beautiful one, I like it a lot, very musical.

These two are proper dialects that have their own accents and some slang words.

Roman’s on the other hand more than anything has an accent which use LOTS of slang words; if you don’t understand it, it’s probably slang (NYC comes to mind). Roman’s is by far the funniest, nicest and unique accent of Italy if not the world (and I’m not saying it ‘cause I was borne there), I just love it. Roman’s in general are a pretty unique friendly bunch of people, and I’m sure everyone who’s traveled around Italy will confirm that. 


Northern accents suck . . . (juuust kidiiiiiig)  

...hope this answer your Q.


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## lsp

Agattau said:
			
		

> ... Roman’s on the other hand more than anything has an accent which use LOTS of slang words; if you don’t understand it, it’s probably slang (NYC comes to mind). Roman’s is by far the funniest, nicest and unique accent of Italy if not the world (and I’m not saying it ‘cause I was borne there), I just love it. Roman’s in general are a pretty unique friendly bunch of people, and I’m sure everyone who’s traveled around Italy will confirm that.


Yes! I just love it, too!!


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## Silvia

Agattau (your name sounds Sardinian),

I completely disagree with everything you said in your post #2, except for in the Godfather (movie) they speak Sicilian-American, but I should listen to the English version. That movie had a great success in the States, and I do wonder why. I should see the entire trilogy. I will.

If truly spoken, and very quickly, almost any dialect is uncatchable. I can assure you no Sicilian would understand Milanese, unless he/she has been taught by another Milanese 

As for preferences, it's just personal, I don't think Roman dialect is the best, rather boastful, often rude...


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## mimitabby

I am an Italian American, and I wonder why the gangster-italian cult is so popular. I find it seriously offensive.
about Romano being "the best"  Silvia, everyone likes  their own dialect best.


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## Aeneas

So, would you consider the difference between Sicilian/Roman/Milanese dialects to be simliar to the Catalan/Spanish differences?  Some people consider those two to be different languages, as I'm sure some Italians do with their dialects.  Does anyone know what fine line separates dialects and languages?
Thanks for the comments.  This is very interesting to me.
And Agattau, after spending 5 months in Rome, I agree that Romans are a delightful and fascinating bunch.


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## Freddie di Baccala

I have about as much Italian language training as Aeneas (5 months) and I was also able to understand the Sicilians quite well in Godfather I. The scene that comes to mind is when Michael and his two bodyguards are walking up to town discussing the vendetta and why all the men are gone. It was as if my Italian teacher (a Roman) herself was speaking. Apollonia's father was also not difficult to understand.

I agree that the Naples dialect is hard to decipher, and assumed that the Sicilian would be even more difficult for me, being farther from Roma, but did not find that to be the case in Godfather I.


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## mimitabby

Freddie
thanks for leading us back to the original question. I don't think they were speaking Sicilian either.

M


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## EricB

Agattau said:
			
		

> (and I’m not saying it ‘cause I was borne there)



If I may, I'd like to make a tiny grammar point.  In US English, this would mean "and I'm not saying it 'cause I was *carried* there."  "Born" would indicate you were given birth to there.  They're both pronounced the same, and they're both past participles of "bear" (as in the verb meaning "to carry").

I'm not sure if this same distinction is true in the UK.

That said, thanks for the great info on accents and dialects, Agattau!


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## lsp

mimitabby said:
			
		

> I am an Italian American, and I wonder why the gangster-italian cult is so popular. I find it seriously offensive.
> about Romano being "the best"  Silvia, everyone likes  their own dialect best.


Maybe so for you and Silvia, but I don't have my own, I'm neither Italian nor Italian-American.


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## Agattau

Sorry, was a beautiful sunny day today in London, got to make the most of it.


			
				Silvia said:
			
		

> Agattau (your name sounds Sardinian),


It is Sardinian’s. (Grandfather’s side) - Are you from Milan?

I afraid don’t know much about Sardinian’s; more than a dialect to me it’s like another language! (just google my name and see what I mean - I don’t know a word of it)



> I completely disagree with everything you said in your post #2, except for in the Godfather (movie) they speak Sicilian-American, but I should listen to the English version.



I knew it would some arise some controversy... It was bound to attract some form of disagreement - The same ol’ North v South differences still continue. But I totally understand your point of views. 



> That movie had a great success in the States, and I do wonder why. I should see the entire trilogy. I will.


It's a beautifull film, good acting, very enjoyable, like most American films. I know, the downside is that it gives an insight of only one aspect of Italy, and this is where I think some Italians are not too happy thinking everybody abroad believes every Italians is a Mafioso, heh... which is ridiculous.

I suspect it may be not your cup of tea… I suggest something like the Horse Whisperer maybe or something...



> If truly spoken, and very quickly, almost any dialect is uncatchable. I can assure you no Sicilian would understand Milanese, unless he/she has been taught by another Milanese


I too think that Sicilians won’t understand Milanese and viceversa, but from where I stand I find it easier to follow a discussion in quick Milanese’s or any northern dialects – I may loose a couple of words here and there, but still somehow retaining the meaning – than a discussion in thick Sicilian’s where at times I would get lost. I spent one crazy year in Verona in the Air force (cunpolsory service) where I met and lived close together with guys from all over the country (some of my best mates where from Torino, Bologna, Genova and Catania). 



> As for preferences, it's just personal, I don't think Roman dialect is the best, rather boastful, often rude...


Haha… you are confusing rude with the character of the Romans in being spontaneous, open, TRUE, maybe in your face if you like, which I agree sometimes may not be well received or everybody cup of tea… but rarely hostile or mean IMO, which I can’t say the same of some northern towns; the level of ignorance, random meanness I witnessed in Verona was a disgrace and a shame IMO - what a bunch of boors!

But I don’t even live in Italy anymore so I won’t be dragged into some stupid North v South argument of anybody; I can’t be bothered 

-Massimo


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## Agattau

EricB said:
			
		

> If I may, I'd like to make a tiny grammar point. In US English, this would mean "and I'm not saying it 'cause I was *carried* there." "Born" would indicate you were given birth to there. They're both pronounced the same, and they're both past participles of "bear" (as in the verb meaning "to carry").
> 
> I'm not sure if this same distinction is true in the UK.
> 
> That said, thanks for the great info on accents and dialects, Agattau!


You're very welcome... thanks for pointing that out. it was my mispelling, it should've been "born"


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## Silvia

Massimo, Sardinian IS another language. Sicilian is not, it's a dialect. That movie might not be my cup of tea, maybe you're right. I have the impression it's loved by males mainly. I can't tell right now.

Not to get off topic, it's difficult for Italians to answer Aeneas question, unless they saw the Godfather's movies in English (something rare, though we have DVDs nowadays).


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## lsp

Silvia said:
			
		

> That movie might not be my cup of tea, maybe you're right. I have the impression it's loved by males mainly.


I don't think that is accurate. It is widely appreciated as a great, historic (even milestone) film, one of the few that remained true to its origins- a great book. Gender notwithstanding.


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## mimitabby

Silvia said:
			
		

> Massimo, Sardinian IS another language. Sicilian is not, it's a dialect. That movie might not be my cup of tea, maybe you're right. I have the impression it's loved by males mainly. I can't tell right now.
> 
> Not to get off topic, it's difficult for Italians to answer Aeneas question, unless they saw the Godfather's movies in English (something rare, though we have DVDs nowadays).



Silvia, yes, this is true at least in my family. THe guys love it and and the women roll their eyes and are disgusted. and Aggattau was really close to right on.
Since that movie and its knock off, the sopranos hit the airwaves, people are much more apt to ask me when I tell them I am of italian ancestry "Do you know
someone who's in the mafia?" or "are you related to someone in the mafia?"
no kidding.


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## motobliquo

mimitabby said:
			
		

> I tell them I am of italian ancestry "Do you know
> someone who's in the mafia?" or "are you related to someone in the mafia?"
> no kidding.



Hi, Mimi
I cannot tell you how often they ask me this kind of question.
I just laugh about these stupid prejudices: corruption exists everywhere, but only the sothernitalian criminality deserves a name (mafia, camorra, ’ndrangheta, S.C.U.), or serial tv, movies and tv reports as well.
Too bad for Nothernitalian (or elsewhere) politicoes, because their actions have no tv audience; and nobody care if they send down here toxic wastes to hide in our ground. 
Thanks to their actions if our radioactive mozzarella tastes good! 
Baciamo le mani!
R....(Hush.....«H» I wrote)
Please, pardon my odd English.


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## Lakeview

Aeneas said:
			
		

> So, would you consider the difference between Sicilian/Roman/Milanese dialects to be simliar to the Catalan/Spanish differences? Some people consider those two to be different languages, as I'm sure some Italians do with their dialects. Does anyone know what fine line separates dialects and languages?
> Thanks for the comments.  This is very interesting to me.



Aeneas,

I can't contribute anything to the discussion on differences between Sicilian, Roman, etc.

You've asked a second question in your post above which I'd like to address, but which probably warrants its own thread.  I'll apologize to the moderators and other forum members in advance .

The line separating dialect and language (if such a line exists) is indeed fine and often troubled.  The distinction may be complicated by both political and national considerations.  In some cases, a "national language" may simply be the language of that segment of the population which historically has had more political, military, and/or economic influence.  Languages spoken by other groups might then be relegated to "dialect" status.

What I've written above only begins to scratch the surface of the dialect/language question.  Far more knowledgeable people than I have written lengthy works on that very question.

I will say that I personally would have much less hesitation in describing Catalan as a separate language, rather than a dialect of Spanish.  It seems to me that there are enough differences in vocabulary, pronunciation, and grammar to warrant that distinction, though others may refute that claim.


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## lsp

Lakeview said:
			
		

> The distinction may be complicated by both political and national considerations.  In some cases, a "national language" may simply be the language of that segment of the population which historically has had more political, military, and/or economic influence.  Languages spoken by other groups might then be relegated to "dialect" status.


Hence the saying, "A language is a dialect with an army and a navy.”


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## ivanbcn

"_from where I stand I find it easier to follow a discussion in quick Milanese’s or any northern dialects – I may loose a couple of words here and there, but still somehow retaining the meaning – than a discussion in thick Sicilian’s_ "

The fact is that almost nobody in the northern and the central regions (Rome, Tuscany) speaks anymore the real dialect/language their grandfathers used to speak; they rather speak (me too, I`m from Rome) a simplified version of  standard Italian filled with regional words and idioms as well as characterized by a regional accent, that makes the foreigners think of a real dialect (which is not);

instead in the South (Naples, Sicily...), they usually keep on speaking in a closer way to their grandfathers' and their original language/dialect, (once I heard a friend of mine speak with her teacher: astonishing that she was her teacher!), the "language they speak hasn`t been influenced so much by the standard Italian (as in the North or in the Centre of Italy), maybe even due to a lower level of literacy in this sense

This could be why the southern dialects sounds so difficult (if compared to the northern or central)

Then, add that Florence/Tuscany had been providing the norm for centuries, and only in the last century Rome, Milan, Turin have replaced it. (all towns from the North and the Centre of Italy)


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## Aeneas

Would the southern dialects' vocabulary likely be more closely related to Latin, since words are more often passed down through the generations?  
Do the schools in the south teach the vocabulary (and maybe grammar rules) of the dialect or the standard Italian?


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## Silvia

Aeneas said:
			
		

> Would the southern dialects' vocabulary likely be more closely related to Latin, since words are more often passed down through the generations?


 Where did you get this idea from?  Dialects are the result of Latin and some kind of corruption.


> Do the schools in the south teach the vocabulary (and maybe grammar rules) of the dialect or the standard Italian?


 Dialect is not taught at school.


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## Aeneas

I was asking if southern dialects resemble Latin to a greater extent because they didn't evolve and modernize.  I gather that the language has continued to change, but in a direction different than northern Italian, and still away from Latin.


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## mimitabby

Aeneas said:
			
		

> I was asking if southern dialects resemble Latin to a greater extent because they didn't evolve and modernize.  I gather that the language has continued to change, but in a direction different than northern Italian, and still away from Latin.


Southern dialects contain parts of greek, italian, latin, spanish and french.
and of course, some stuff of their very own.

in my little italian town in Calabria,  FIGLIO is pronounced HIGLIO.
what's that from?
chi sa!


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## Outsider

Aeneas said:
			
		

> So, would you consider the difference between Sicilian/Roman/Milanese dialects to be simliar to the Catalan/Spanish differences?  Some people consider those two to be different languages [...]


The Spanish government, for example.



			
				Aeneas said:
			
		

> I was asking if southern dialects resemble Latin to a greater extent because they didn't evolve and modernize.  I gather that the language has continued to change, but in a direction different than northern Italian, and still away from Latin.


I think Ivanbcn was only talking about the recent evolution of Italian dialects -- say, the last hundred years.


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## Silvia

Aeneas said:
			
		

> I was asking if southern dialects resemble Latin to a greater extent because they didn't evolve and modernize.  I gather that the language has continued to change, but in a direction different than northern Italian, and still away from Latin.


 Those are distorted facts. Southern dialects have evolved just like Northern dialects have, there are areas where dialects are more used and others where they are less used. As an example, Veneto and Campania are the regions where dialect is most used (the former is in the North and the latter is in the South).

Ivan explained the reality very well. If your parents or grandparents don't teach you their dialect, it is destined to die, no matter where you live. Dialects doesn't have to be confused with slang and/or accents. There are poets and writers who have written or write in their own dialect and are considered at the same levels as others who write in Italian. Usually though, they are not included in our school programs.


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## Silvia

Silvia said:
			
		

> I should see the entire trilogy. I will.


 Finally, I managed to see The Godfather (#1).

1. For the parts in Italian, the movie has no subtitles (except for maybe an incorrect "bonasera, bonasera" at the beginning of the movie... in spite of the correct pronunciation of Marlon Brando)

2. That was not bad, at least for Italians, because I could understand every single word.

3. Some things don't work properly... Apollonia who supposedly lived at Corleone, a small village in Sicily, speaks Italian with a Roman accent. There are other such incongruencies.

4. Now I understand why it was so successful in America, it's a great movie, and not offensive, at least for me. I'm not Sicilian, but I don't think a Sicilian would be offended either. On the other hand, in a couple of scenes, some bad remarks are used involving black people and homosexuals (though the word guinea is used all the time, to emphasize the low opinion americans have about Italians)

5. I guess it's a good reconstruction, historically speaking, in spite of the incongruencies above (see point #3).

6. Even Marlon Brando tries to speak Italian as best as he can, dialect is heard now and then though.


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## lsp

Silvia said:
			
		

> ....  5. I guess it's a good reconstruction, historically speaking, in spite of the incongruencies above ...


 The more accepted plural noun is incongruities. This may be an AE/BE difference though, I have no information about that.


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## Manuel_M

lsp said:
			
		

> The more accepted plural noun is incongruities. This may be an AE/BE difference though, I have no information about that.


 
In BE, one would be more likely to say _incongruence/incongruences_, in the view of this non-native speaker.


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## Silvia

Thanks for letting me know, lsp. I guess an Italian would tend to use incongruence, because of its similarity to incongruenza.


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## MarcB

Re: dialect. In popular speech some use the word for different accents, regionalisms and languages. Linguistically a dialect is a version of the same language that differs from the standard often derived from the standard. Languages usually are different even though some languages developed from the same original language family, such as Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and others. In Italy Albanese is the same as Albanian and not a dialect of Italian even though it has been spoken in some parts of Italy for generations. Catalan (spoken in Spain, Italy and France) is not the same as Castilian Spanish, both are Latin languages. In Andalusia they speak the same language as Madrid although they seem very different they are mutually intelligible.


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## pannone

Silvia said:
			
		

> Finally, I managed to see The Godfather (#1).
> 
> 1. For the parts in Italian, the movie has no subtitles (except for maybe an incorrect "bonasera, bonasera" at the beginning of the movie... in spite of the correct pronunciation of Marlon Brando)
> 
> - I was just searching for some information on Dialects and came upon this.  When Marlon Brando says "bonasera, bonasera" it's because the man's name who wants help and that he is talking to is named "Bonasera." Just to clear that up. Sorry....I'm a godfather fan!


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## Cnaeius

Aeneas said:
			
		

> I was asking if southern dialects resemble Latin to a greater extent because they didn't evolve and modernize. I gather that the language has continued to change, but in a direction different than northern Italian, and still away from Latin.


 
Hi Aeneas,
 
I think that in italy it has happened quite the contrary: dialects have evolved much faster than standard Italian. As Italian language experts teach us, take into account that so-called standard Italian became a “real” spoken language only in the last one-two century, the last with respect to the other Romance languages. Before those centuries it was an exclusive language of culture, spoken only by erudite people and this fact inhibited the normal evolution that a language has. That’s why we Italians can read Dante, Boccaccio, Petrarca ecc (1200-1300) quite easily, without any “translation”.
In the present the situation is changed. Now Italian is a widely spoken language. So it evolves as faster as a dialect
Ciao


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## Willi

I agree with Cnaeius.
I think that dialects are also more expressive than Italian, that's why many of the slang words (although a proper slang doesn't really exist in Italian) come from dialects. I think this is also the reason why Agattau, in his post # 2, says that roman dialect is the funniest, he can 'feel' its expressiveness. (I am from Milan and I think the Milanese is the funniest  ) I think that dialects express the character of the people speaking them much better than Italian, although, of course, now that Italian is a real spoken language it's evolving as the dialects.

Willi


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## moodywop

And I agree wholeheartedly with Cnaeius and Willi . Thank you, Cnaeius, for explaining so clearly the language situation in Italy. Unfortunately it is often Italians themselves who propagate misleading stereotypes about dialects. Here are some examples.

In this forum I have seen dialects described as "variants" of standard Italian, which is of course ludicrous.

I also find this remark from a post in an old thread puzzling to say the least:



> I think many people from the Neapolitan area can't speak Italian, even if they were striving..


 
People from Naples are genetically predisposed not to learn Italian? 

And what about this statement, by a former member:



> I tell you from now, if you think to go to learn Italian in the South and enjoy the Mediterraneoum See, forget it, because they do not speak proper Italian. I am from Milan, and I do not understand what the people from the south say.


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## ElaineG

> Mediterraneoum See


 
I think we can automatically discount this advice; even my 12 year-old tutees in Sicily knew the difference between see (vedere) and sea (il mare).


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## Victoria32

I have been told to "add my thoughts" to an old thread about dialect - but none of these old threads actually answers my question! What I wanted to know was about mutual intelligibility and the like... 

This is interesting anyway... 
VL


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## gioprava

Hi..


h***://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immagine:Idiomi_italiani.jpg

(sorry but I've got to go now, but that's a map of some of the dialects spoken in Italy... later I'll try to add some considerations)

Hope it helps


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## gioprava

> My question is - having seen a posting on cultural, where a woman talks about regional pronunciations (North vs South) : are dialects that big of an issue? Are they ever mutually unintelligible as _spoken_ Cantonese and Mandarin are (for example)?




I'm from Verona, and here you can see how many differences there are in just one town and its province: 
the italian word is *mercoledì* (wednesday) and here are all the differences between the little countries in the province (that are written in dialect too...)
*Mèrcoli, Mèrcodi *(Poejan) *Mèrcori *(Vilabart.), *Mèrcore, Mèrcordi* (Vigasi, Bonferar), *Mèrculi* (Veronela), *Mèrco* (a.Garda), *Mèrcoldi* (Valpolesela)

I understand them all, but I know that they are quite incomprehensible for someone who cames from southern ( and even cetral..) Italy.

During my compulsory military service I was with people coming from Chioggia, near Venise: about 80 km from Verona.... I didn't understand a word: the same for some people coming from Bergamo (120 km)...

This is due to many different things: dominations from different countries in the past ( Austrian never dominated southern Italy, and Arab never came in northern Italy...)
And as Italy was divided in lots of little countries each one with its rules, rulers, foreign interestsetc, you can undertand how complicated is all the question.
Nowadays everyone undarstands italian ( school and television have done a lot in this sense), but my grandmother spoke only dialect ( even if she undarstood italian..)

Bye, Giovanni 

(if I made mistakes, please correct them, Thank you)


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## Pirlo

I've noticed a few people have stated that the dialect spoken in The Godfather _(The greatest film ever created!)_ is hard to understand. I find this odd because, I've only been learning Italian for a few months and once I watched the film again, the Italian was suprising _easy_ to understand in some scenes. 

When Michael is in the Restaurant with Tattaglia and the police officer, they begin to speak Italian, which to my memory was along the lines of:
"Io ho grande rispetto per il tuo padre.."​That appears to be straight-forward Italian to me, perhaps I'm missing something? When Michael Corleone is in Sicily; it had been harder to understand, perhaps they're only speaking the Sicilian dialect in certain scenes in the film? 

Ciao,
Pirlo


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## Jamila

Vorrei solo portare alla vostra attenzione due piccoli esempi di uso del dialetto sempre nel cinema.

Alcuni giorni fa per televisione ho visto il film "La lupa" (1995) di Gabriele Lavia con Raoul Bova, non capivo quasi niente, dialetto: siciliano.

Quasi tutti i film di e con Massimo Troisi sono per me quasi incomprensibili, dialetto: napoletano.

Se avete occasione provate a dare un'occhio (e un orecchio), purtroppo io proprio non saprei dove recuperarli in internet!


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## Victoria32

gioprava said:


> I'm from Verona, and here you can see how many differences there are in just one town and its province:
> the italian word is *mercoledì* (wednesday) and here are all the differences between the little countries in the province (that are written in dialect too...)
> *Mèrcoli, Mèrcodi *(Poejan) *Mèrcori *(Vilabart.), *Mèrcore, Mèrcordi* (Vigasi, Bonferar), *Mèrculi* (Veronela), *Mèrco* (a.Garda), *Mèrcoldi* (Valpolesela)
> 
> I understand them all, but I know that they are quite incomprehensible for someone who cames from southern ( and even cetral..) Italy.
> 
> During my compulsory military service I was with people coming from Chioggia, near Venise: about 80 km from Verona.... I didn't understand a word: the same for some people coming from Bergamo (120 km)...
> 
> This is due to many different things: dominations from different countries in the past ( Austrian never dominated southern Italy, and the Arabs never came into  northern Italy...)
> And as Italy was divided in  to lots of little countries each one with its rules, rulers, foreign interests etc, you can undertand how complicated is all the question.
> Nowadays everyone undaerstands italian ( school and television have done a lot in this sense), but my grandmother spoke only dialect ( even if she undarstood italian..)
> 
> Bye, Giovanni
> 
> (if I made mistakes, please correct them, Thank you)


Very interesting, gioprava! I have made one or two little corrections, if that is okay.)


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## Cloudy-aw

Pirlo said:


> I've noticed a few people have stated that the dialect spoken in The Godfather _(The greatest film ever created!)_ is hard to understand. I find this odd because, I've only been learning Italian for a few months and once I watched the film again, the Italian was suprising _easy_ to understand in some scenes.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> When Michael is in the Restaurant with Tattaglia and the police officer, they begin to speak Italian, which to my memory was along the lines of:"Io ho grande rispetto per il tuo padre.."​That appears to be straight-forward Italian to me, perhaps I'm missing something? When Michael Corleone is in Sicily; it had been harder to understand, perhaps they're only speaking the Sicilian dialect in certain scenes in the film?
> 
> Ciao,
> Pirlo


 
(Sadly,) I can't easily understand dialects originary from Sicily or the south of Italy in general, but I remember having watched the first move of the saga in original language, and I can't remember of any bit of dialogue in Italian that I couldn't understand.

But the Italian bits of dialogues in the movie are not in plain Italian.
Apart of the accent in the pronounciation which is, of course, southern, also the dialogues are scattered with words and forms derived from dialects.
Most of these vartiations are easy to understand, becasue they are all words very similar to their straight Italian translation, but they remain "soft" dialectical forms.

The quote you mentioned is part of the dialouge between Michael Corleone and Sollozzo in that restaurant in the Bronx, a dialogue which is not in Italian and that contains lots of these dialectical forms.
Example (from my memory... sorry if there are msitakes)
"Tu 'a da sapere che chiddo ch'e' successo tra me e tu' patre fu tutta una questione de business. Io ho molto rispetto pe' tu patre, ma tu patre, pensa all'antica !"
EDIT : I've found this thread http://www.babelboard.de/showthread.php?t=4913 , from a competitor language forum , with the complete piece of dialogue, and its German translation...

I think I'll watch this movie again soon...
Ciao
C


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## UTrezzoto

Silvia said:


> Massimo, Sardinian IS another language. Sicilian is not, it's a dialect.



I know this thread is really really really old, haha, but I have to correct you here. Sicilian is indeed a language on its own, though it hasn't been officially recognized as one yet, that does not mean it's not a language on its own, it took till relatively recent for Napolitano to be considered an official language...  Sicilian has dialects within the language such as Catanese, Palermitano, Messinese, Agrigentino, etc. etc.... As for the rest of the conversation, the language in the Godfather part One is NOT Sicilian, it is Italian with Sicilian touches.  The language spoken in the flashback scenes of The Godfather part Two is Sicilian spoken by american actors so it's not really an official Sicilian, it's probably incorrect in many instances.  If you notice, the actual Italian actors in the flashback scenes (the landlord played by Leopoldo Trieste) does not speak in dialect, but rather standard italian as well as the "Manu niura" Fanucci, he also uses standard italian.

Back again to the Sicilian as a language discussion, of course if one hears today's "Sicilian" which is more like Italianized-Sicilian is not the real authentic Sicilian, for that is only spoken by the grandparents.  Watch "La Terra Trema" by Luchino Visconti, it was acted by the real people of Acitrezza, Catania in 1948 and is spoken in authentic Sicilian. You will not be able to understand hardly any of it.  I'm Sicilian American and even I have trouble understanding it even though it's the same Sicilian spoken by my grandparents whom were living in Acitrezza at the time of the shooting of the movie.


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## charyuop

Ok, maybe a we need to point out something. There is Italian, dialect and italianized dialect. Most of the dialects going back of many decades are really hard to be understood, while the dialects spoken nowadays have started using words very close to standard Italian.
I can use examples of the dialect I know (a small village in Molise). The old word for "grandfather" was tatarell, but nowadays they all say papanonn. That is just an example, but there are tons of these cases.

It is hard for foreigner people to understand the complex situation of dialects in Italy, many times we don't understand it ourselves LOL. So it is hard to tell if it is real dialect in the movie, italianized dialect or simple and mocking American form of Sicilian dialect. I guess only a real Sicilian (and from the right area, because Sicilian varies alot according to the province) can answer about the dialect used in the movie.


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