The Cilentan dialect (endonym: celendano or cilindanu; ), also known as Cilento dialect, is a Neapolitan dialect spoken in the area of Cilento, located in the southern part of the Province of Salerno, Campania, Italy.
Influences
It has been influenced, especially in the Vallo di Diano and in central Cilento, by the
Basilicata language as spoken in
Potenza and part of its Province of Potenza. In the towns of northern Cilento close to the urban area of
Salerno (for example
Agropoli,
Capaccio and
Paestum), the language is mainly influenced by Neapolitan, more specifically by the Salernitan dialect. In the southern corner of Cilento, the language is largely influenced by Sicilian, particularly the Calabrian variety of Sicilian.
Phonology
Consonants
Many words in Cilento are similar to their Neapolitan counterparts, but with slightly different consonants.
-
LL: The "ll" in certain Neapolitan words becomes an "dd" in Cilento, e.g. gallenèlla (, ) becomes gaddenèdda.
-
NF: The "nf" in certain Neapolitan words becomes an "mp" in Cilento, e.g. nfame (, ) becomes mpame.
See also
Bibliography
