Legnanese dialectRecognizing the arbitrariness of definitions, the term "language" is used in the nomenclature of entries in accordance with ISO 639-1, 639-2 or 639-3. In other cases, the term "dialect" is used. (native name ''legnanés'',

IPA IPA commonly refers to: * International Phonetic Alphabet, a system of phonetic notation ** International Phonetic Association, the organization behind the alphabet * India pale ale, a style of beer * Isopropyl alcohol, a chemical compound IPA ...

: ) is a

dialect A dialect is a Variety (linguistics), variety of language spoken by a particular group of people. This may include dominant and standard language, standardized varieties as well as Vernacular language, vernacular, unwritten, or non-standardize ...

of the

Lombard language The Lombard language (,Classical Milanese orthography, and . ,Ticino, Ticinese orthography. Modern Western orthography and Classical Cremish Orthography. or ,Eastern Lombard, Eastern unified orthography. depending on the orthography; pronuncia ...

(belonging to the western branch) that is spoken around

Legnano Legnano (; or ''Lignàn'') is a town and ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Milan, province of Milan, about from central Milan. With 60,259, it is the thirteenth-most populous township in Lombardy. Legnano is located in the ...

, a municipality in the

metropolitan city of Milan The Metropolitan City of Milan (; , ) is a Metropolitan cities of Italy, metropolitan city (not to be confused with the Milan metropolitan area, metropolitan area) in the Lombardy region of Italy. It is the second most populous metropolitan ci ...

Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...

. It is spoken by about 30 percent of the population of the area in which it is spread. Legnano, starting in the 11th century, began to bond with

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

. The village of Legnano represented, for those coming from the north, the gateway to the Milanese countryside and thus had an important strategic function for the city of Milan. The link between Legnano and Milan also influenced the Legnano

vernacular Vernacular is the ordinary, informal, spoken language, spoken form of language, particularly when perceptual dialectology, perceived as having lower social status or less Prestige (sociolinguistics), prestige than standard language, which is mor ...

, which began to differentiate itself from the neighboring Bustocco dialect. Due to the frequent contacts between the two cities, the

Milanese dialect Milanese (endonym in traditional orthography , ) is the central variety of the Western dialect of the Lombard language spoken in Milan, the rest of its metropolitan city, and the northernmost part of the province of Pavia. Milanese, due to t ...

began to "contaminate" the dialect spoken in Legnano. Despite this trend, the Legnano dialect continued to preserve - over the centuries - a considerable difference from the Milanese dialect. An important distinctive phonetic trait that is present in Legnanese and neighboring Bustocco, and that differentiates these dialects from the idioms of contiguous

isoglosses An isogloss, also called a heterogloss, is the geographic boundary of a certain linguistic feature, such as the pronunciation of a vowel, the meaning of a word, or the use of some morphological or syntactic feature. Isoglosses are a subject of s ...

, is the preservation of unaccented final vowels. However, due to the contamination of the Milanese dialect, the Legnano vernacular, unlike the Bustocco dialect, does not preserve the final atonal vowel for many words. Another feature that differentiates the Legnano dialect from the Bustocco dialect concerns the intervocalic -r. In the Legnanese vernacular it has been preserved, while in the Bustocco vernacular it has been eliminated. The plays of the Italian dialect theater company "''I Legnanesi''" are written in the Legnanese dialect.

History

The oldest

linguistic substratum In linguistics, a stratum (Latin for 'layer') or strate is a historical layer of language that influences or is influenced by another language through contact. The notion of "strata" was first developed by the Italian linguist Graziadio Isaia A ...

that has left a trace in Legnanese and of which there are some records is that of the ancient

Ligurians The Ligures or Ligurians were an ancient people after whom Liguria, a region of present-day north-western Italy, is named. Because of the strong Celtic influences on their language and culture, they were also known in antiquity as Celto-Liguria ...

... However, the information available for this idiom is very vague and extremely limited. The picture that can be drawn for the populations that replaced the Ligurians, the

Celts The Celts ( , see Names of the Celts#Pronunciation, pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples ( ) were a collection of Indo-European languages, Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient Indo-European people, reached the apoge ...

(or "Gauls"), is quite different.. The linguistic influence of the Celts on the local language was striking, so much so that even today the dialect of Legnano is classified as "

Gallo-Roman Gallo-Roman culture was a consequence of the Romanization (cultural), Romanization of Gauls under the rule of the Roman Empire in Roman Gaul. It was characterized by the Gaulish adoption or adaptation of Roman culture, Roman culture, language ...

". However, it was the Roman domination, which replaced the Celtic one, that shaped the local language spoken in Legnano, so much so that the lexicon and the grammar of this language are of

Romance Romance may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings ** Romantic orientation, the classification of the sex or gender with which a pers ...

derivation. However, the influence of the

Latin language Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

in the dominated territories was not homogeneous. The idioms spoken in the different areas were in fact influenced by the earlier linguistic substrata. Each area was characterized by a greater or lesser characterization towards ancient Ligurian or Celtic languages, and Legnanese was no exception. However, data on the real influence of these two substrates on the various dialects are very scarce and of different interpretation.. This has given rise to a debate among linguists that has led to great caution in attributing a given phonetic feature of the Legnanese dialect to the Ligurian or Celtic substratum. Via_Mediolanum-Verbannus

The birth of modern Italian dialects can be traced back to the situation after the

fall of the Western Roman Empire The fall of the Western Roman Empire, also called the fall of the Roman Empire or the fall of Rome, was the loss of central political control in the Western Roman Empire, a process in which the Empire failed to enforce its rule, and its vast ...

.. The local population suffered an administrative, economic, demographic and cultural regression that led to the formation of small communities isolated from each other. Because of the isolation suffered by these groups, the language spoken evolved into different variants that were characteristic of the community that used them. The linguistic boundaries of these dialects were then defined in later centuries with the establishment of parishes. These parishes were, in fact, the reference point of a particular community, which gathered around them to discuss and solve everyday problems.Such issues could be religious or civil in nature. As a result, each parish had its own

isogloss An isogloss, also called a heterogloss, is the geographic boundary of a certain linguistics, linguistic feature, such as the pronunciation of a vowel, the meaning of a word, or the use of some morphological or syntactic feature. Isoglosses are a ...

, whose linguistic boundaries have survived, with minor modifications, until the 21st century. Legnano, from the 11th century, began to connect with

.. The town of Legnano, in fact, represented an easy access to the Milanese countryside for those coming from the north, since it was located at the outlet of the Olona Valley, which ends in

Castellanza Castellanza is a town and ''comune'' located in the province of Varese, along the boundary of the province of Milan, in the Lombardy region of northern Italy. Overview The toponym refers to the ''castellanze'' (plural form, singular ''castellanza' ...

;. such a gateway therefore had to be closed and strongly defended to prevent an attack on Milan, which was also facilitated by the presence of an important road that had existed since Roman times, the Via Severiana Augusta, which connected ''

Mediolanum Mediolanum, the ancient city where Milan now stands, was originally an Insubres, Insubrian city, but afterwards became an important Ancient Rome, Roman city in Northern Italy. The city was settled by a Celts, Celtic tribe belonging to the Ins ...

'' (modern Milan) with the ''Verbannus Lacus'' (Lake Verbano, i.e.,

Lake Maggiore Lake Maggiore (, ; ; ; ; literally 'greater lake') or Verbano (; ) is a large lake located on the south side of the Alps. It is the second largest lake in Italy and the largest in southern Switzerland. The lake and its shoreline are divided be ...

).. Its route was later taken over by

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

to build the Simplon highway.. Milan's relationship with Legnano was not only military, but also economic: Milan was supplied with part of the food produced by Legnano and the other contadi that surrounded the Milanese capital.. From the Middle Ages, an increasing number of Milanese noble families began to stay in Legnano at various times of the year and to purchase properties in the town... This role aggravated the friction with

Busto Arsizio Busto Arsizio (; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the south-easternmost part of the province of Varese, in the Italy, Italian region of Lombardy, north of Milan. The economy of Busto Arsizio is mainly based on industry and commerce. It is the ...

, which instead continued to be linked to Seprio. The link between Legnano and Milan, and the presence of Milanese noble families, also influenced the Legnano dialect, which began to differentiate itself from the Busto dialect. Due to the frequent contacts between the two cities, the

began to "contaminate" the language spoken in Legnano. In spite of this trend, however, the Legnano dialect continued - over the centuries - to preserve a remarkable diversity from the Milanese dialect.. This "contamination" continued until the 19th century, when it accelerated. The process was so rapid that, in the same century, slight differences were created even between the vernaculars spoken by contiguous generations.. This process of contamination of the Milanese language was later joined by that of the

Italian language Italian (, , or , ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family. It evolved from the colloquial Latin of the Roman Empire. Italian is the least divergent language from Latin, together with Sardinian language, Sardinian. It is ...

. The Milanese dialect also played an important role in Legnano for another reason, this time a social one. Until the beginning of the 20th century, two dialects were in use in Legnano: the lower classes used the dialect of Legnano proper, while the wealthier citizens spoke the Milanese vernacular. Already in the Middle Ages, it was common for some Milanese noble families to stay in Legnano at different times of the year, which helped to accentuate this tendency. Between the 18th and 19th centuries, the Legnano dialect, like all Lombard idioms, lost the remote past tense,Biondelli reports that the Milanese dialect was the first Lombard variant to lose this verbal tense. See Biondelli, Bernardino: ''Essay on Gallo-Italic dialects'', 1853. which was replaced by the

perfect tense The perfect tense or aspect (abbreviated or ) is a verb form that indicates that an action or circumstance occurred earlier than the time under consideration, often focusing attention on the resulting state rather than on the occurrence itself. A ...

Features

Phonetics

An important phonetic feature present in the Legnano and Bustocco dialects, and which distinguishes these dialects from the idioms of the adjacent isoglosses, is the preservation of unaccented final vowels.. Specifically, the phenomenon of their elision - with the exception of -a - began around the 9th century in France,

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

Emilia-Romagna Emilia-Romagna (, , both , ; or ; ) is an Regions of Italy, administrative region of northern Italy, comprising the historical regions of Emilia (region), Emilia and Romagna. Its capital is Bologna. It has an area of , and a population of 4.4 m ...

and

, that is, in areas once dominated by the Celts.In the dialects of the Po Valley, the ''-a'' was instead preserved, while in France it was changed to the silent ''-e.'' See Giorgio D'Ilario, ''Dizionario legnanese'', 2003, p. 31. For example, in the Milanese dialect one says ''temp'' ("time"), ''oeucc'' ("eye") and ''oreggia'' ("ear"), while in Legnano the terms used to express the same concepts are ''tempu'', ''ögiu'' and ''urégia''. The same preservation of atonal vowels is also found in the dialects of

Galliate Galliate is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Novara in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin, about northwest Milan and about northeast of Novara. Galliate borders the following municipalities: Cameri, Nova ...

and

Borgomanero Borgomanero (; ) is a (municipality) in the Province of Novara in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin, about northwest of Novara and about 60 km northwest of Milan. Borgomanero borders the following municipalities ...

.. This rule has also been applied to relatively recent words. For example, "''cassetto''" (drawer), which entered the vocabulary in the 15th century, is written as ''cassett'' in the Milanese dialect, while in Legnano it is written as ''casétu''. However, due to the contamination of the Milanese dialect, the Legnano dialect does not preserve the final atonal vowel for many words. For example, in Busto Arsizio one says ''düu'' ("hard") and ''udùi'' ("smell"), while in Legnano the same concepts are expressed with ''dür'' and ''udùr''. Another important difference between the Legnanese and Bustocco dialects concerns the intervocalic -r.. In the Legnanese dialect it has been preserved, while in the Bustocco dialect it has been eliminated. In fact, in Busto Arsizio one says ''candìa'', ''uona'' and ''sia'' to refer to "candle", "

Olona The Olona (''Olona'' in Italian; ''Ulona'', ''Urona'' or ''Uòna'' in Western Lombard) is an Italian river belonging to the Po Basin, long, that runs through the Province of Varese and Metropolitan City of Milan whose course is developed entire ...

" and "evening", while in Legnano one uses the terms ''candìra'', ''Urona'' and ''sira''. This peculiarity, which distinguishes the Legnano dialect from the Bustocco dialect, is also borrowed from the Milanese dialect. The fall of the intervocalic -r is also subject to changes in many French dialects.. An example of a comparative table between the Milanese, Legnanese and Bustocco dialects is as follows:

Lexicon

The Legnano dialect was characterized by a peculiar lexicon that was gradually impoverished over the centuries due to the standardization of the Legnano dialect into Milanese and, later, into Italian.. Once the specific term in the Legnano dialect to refer to the rainbow was ''rasciùm'' (later the Legnanese began to use the word ''arcubalén'' to express the same concept). Another example is ''ragiù'', which in the Legnanese dialect means "head of the family" (the local association "''Famiglia Legnanese''" still uses this term in the 21st century to define the office corresponding to the representative head of the association).. The Busto dialect is no less diverse. In Busto Arsizio, for example, there are five words to define "fog": ''nébia'', ''caligiu'', ''brögia'', ''scighéa'' and ''luèsa''. In past centuries, the term used to refer to Legnano was also different. The less wealthy population, who used the actual Legnanese dialect, called their town ''Lìgnan'', while the wealthier classes, who spoke the Milanese dialect, called their town ''Legnàn''. By the beginning of the 20th century, however, the first word had become obsolete. Other archaic words of the Legnanese dialect that have disappeared are ''ardìa'' ("iron wire". Later the people of Legnano began to use the term ''fil da fèr''), ''bagàtu'' ("shoemaker". Later the term ''sciavatìn'' came into use), ''buarùm'' ("mud made by melting snow". Later the generic word ''palta'', meaning "mud", came into use),. ''instravilà'' ("to put on the right track"). and ''insurmentì'' ("to fall asleep". Later the people of Legnano began to use the term ''indurmentàs''). Like all languages, the dialect of Legnano has been enriched with

neologisms In linguistics, a neologism (; also known as a coinage) is any newly formed word, term, or phrase that has achieved popular or institutional recognition and is becoming accepted into mainstream language. Most definitively, a word can be considered ...

, even in relatively recent times. An example is ''Cantunificiu'', which is the Legnanese word for the Cantoni Cotton Mill..

Verbs

The Legnanese dialect, unlike Italian, has four verb conjugations..

The auxiliary verb "vès" (to be)

* Present Indicative: ''mì (a) sóm, tì te sé, lü (a) l'é, nün (a) sèm, vióltar (a) sì, lur (a) ìn''. * Imperfect Indicative: ''mì (a) sévu, tì te sévi, lü (a) l'éva, nün (a) sévum, vióltar (a) sévi, lur (i) ìvan''. * Future Indicative: ''mì (a) saró, tì te saré, lü (a) l'sarà, nün (a) sarèm, vióltar (a) sarì, lur a (a) saràn''. * Present Conjunctive: ''che mì sìa, che tì ta sìa, che lü l'sia, che nün sìum, che vióltar sìi, che lur sìan''. * Imperfect subjunctive: ''che mì füsu, che tì te füsi, che lü l'füs/füdés, che nün a füsum, che vióltar füsi, che lur a füsan''. * Present conditional: ''mì sarìa/sarisu, tì te sarìa/sarisi, lü a l'sarìa/sarìs, nün sarìum/sarìsum, vióltar sarisi, lur sarìan/sarìsan''. * Infinite present: ''vès'' * Past participle: ''sta''.

The auxiliary verb "avé" (to have)

* Present Indicative: ''mì ó, tì t'é, lü l'à, nün èm, vióltar avì, lur àn''. * Imperfect Indicative: ''mì évu, t'évi, lü l'éva, nün évum, vióltar évi, lur évan''. * Future Indicative: ''mì avaró, tì avaré, lü l'avarà, nün avarèm, vióltar avarì, lur avaràn''. * Present Conjunctive: ''che mì abia, che tì abia, che lu l'abia, che nün àbium, che vióltar avì, che lur àbian''. * Imperfect subjunctive: ''che mì avésu, che tì t'avési, che lu a l'avés, che nün avésum, che vióltar avisi, che lur avésan''. * Present conditional: ''mì avarìa/avarisu, tì t'avarìa/avarisi, lu l'avaria/avarìs, nüm avarìum/avarìsum, vióltar avarisi, lur avarìan/avarìsan''. * Infinite present: ''avé''. * Past participle: ''vü''.

The first conjugation: "saltà" (to jump)

* Present Indicative: ''mì (a) saltu, tì te salti, lù l'salta, nün (a) saltum, vióltar (a) saltì, lur (i) saltan''. * Imperfect Indicative: ''mì (a) saltavu, tì te saltavi, lù l'saltava, nün (a) saltàvum, vióltar (a) saltavi, lur (a) saltàvan''. * Future Indicative: ''mì (a) saltaró, tì te saltaré, lü l'saltarà, nün (a) saltarèm, vióltar (a) saltarì, lur (a) saltaràn''. * Present Conjunctive: ''che mì (a) saltu, che tì te salti, che lü l'salta, che nün (a) saltum, che vióltar (a) saltì, che lur (i) saltan''. * Imperfect subjunctive: ''che mì saltasu, che tì te saltasi, che lü l'saltàs, che nün saltàsum, che vióltar saltasi, che lur saltàsan''. * Present conditional: ''mì saltarisu, tì te saltarisi, lü l'saltarìs, nün saltarìsum, vióltar saltarisi, lur saltarìsan''. * Infinite present: ''saltà''. * Past participle: ''saltà''

The second conjugation: "vidé" (to see)

* Present Indicative: ''mì (a) védu, tì te védi, lù l'védi, nün (a) védum, vióltar (a) vidì, lur (a) védan''. * Imperfect Indicative: ''mì (a) vidévu, tì te vidévi, lü l'vidéva, nün (a) vidévum, vióltar (a) vidévi, lur (a) vidévan''. * Future Indicative: ''mì (a) vedaró, tì te vedaré, lü l'vedarà, nün (a) vedarèm, vióltar (a) vedarì, lur (a) vedaràn''. * Present Conjunctive: ''che mì (a) védu, che tì te védi, che lü l'véda, che nün (a) védum, che vióltar (a) vedì, che lur (a) védan''. * Imperfect subjunctive: ''che mì vidésu, che tì te vidési, che lü l'vidés, che nün vidésum, che vióltar videsi, che lur vidésan''. * Present conditional: ''mì vedarisu, tì te vedarisi, lü l'vedarìs, nün vedarìsum, vióltar vedarisi, lur vedarìsan''. * Infinite present: ''vidé''. * Past participle: ''vistu''.

The third conjugation: "dèrvi" (to open)

* Present Indicative: ''mì (a) dèrvu, ecc., tì te dèrvi, lü l'dèrvi, nün (a) dèrvum, vióltar (a) dervì, lur (a) dèrvan''. * Imperfect Indicative: ''mì (a) dervivu, tì te dervivi, lü l'derviva, nün (a) dervévum, vióltar (a) dervevi, lur (i) dervévan''. * Future Indicative: ''mì (a) dervaró, tì te dervaré, lü (a) l'dervarà, nün (a) dervarèm, vióltar (a) dervarì, lur (i) dervaràn''. * Present Conjunctive: ''che mì (a) dèrva, ecc., che tì te dèrva, che lü l'dèrva, che nün (a) dèrvum, che vióltar (a) dervì, che lur (a) dèrvan''. * Imperfect subjunctive: ''che mì a dervisu, che tì te dervisi, che lü l'dervìs, che nün dervìsum, che vióltar devisi, che lur dervìsan''. * Present conditional: ''mì dervarisu, tì te dervarisi, lü l'dervarìs, nün dervarìsum, violtar dervarisi, lur dervarìsan''. * Infinite present: ''dèrvi''. * Past participle: "dervù".

The fourth conjugation: "sentì" (to hear)

* Present Indicative: ''mì (a) séntu, tì te sénti, lü l'sénti, nün (a) séntum, vióltar (a) sentì, lur (i) séntan''. * Imperfect Indicative: ''mì (a) sentivu, tì te sentivi, lü l'sentiva, nün (a) sentìvum, vióltar (a) sentivi, lur (a) sentìvan''. * Future Indicative: ''mì (a) sentaró, tì te sentaré, lü l'sentarà, nün (a) sentarèm, vióltar (a) sentarì, lur (i) sentaràn''. * Present Conjunctive: ''che mì (a) séntu, che tì te sénti, che lü l'sénta, che nün (a) séntum, che vióltar a sentì, che lur (i) séntan''. * Imperfect subjunctive: ''che mì sentisu, che tì te sentisi, che lü l'sentìs, che nün sentìsum, che vióltar sentisi, che lur sentìsan''. * Present conditional: ''mì sentarisu, tì te sentarisi, lü l'sentarìs, nün sentarìsum, vióltar sentarisi, lur sentarìsan''. * Infinite present: ''sentì''.

''"I Legnanesi"''

The plays of the Italian dialect theater company "I Legnanesi" are written in the dialect of Legnano. Their comedies, the most famous example of ''

en travesti Travesti is a theatrical character in an opera, play, or ballet performed by a performer of the opposite sex. For social reasons, female roles were played by boys or men in many early forms of theatre, and ''travesti'' roles continued to be use ...

'' theater in Italy, have as their subject satirical characters gravitating around a typical , the most prominent of which are Teresa, Mabilia, and Giovanni. The company, founded in Legnano in 1949 by Felice Musazzi, Tony Barlocco, and Luigi Cavalleri, is among the most important examples in Europe of dialect theater.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * {{Subject bar, portal1=Italy, portal2=Linguistics Western Lombard language Legnano Languages of Italy