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ArchivesRe: Sicilian names
in reply to a message by Lucille
There aren't names that are specifically Sicilian or Southern Italian, but there's some names that are much more common in Sicily than elsewhere. Some traditional Italian names tend to be very regionalized.
Very stereotypical Sicilian names are Calogero and Rosalia. Ciro and Gennaro are used predominantly in the Naples area.
In general, I have the impression that traditional Marian names like Carmela, Concetta, Assunta are much more common in the South (not only Sicily) than North. However, they aren't common for younger people.
Formerly Known as Murasaki
http://italiangirlatlarge.blogspot.com/
"A desk is a dangerous place from which to view the world."
John LeCarré
Very stereotypical Sicilian names are Calogero and Rosalia. Ciro and Gennaro are used predominantly in the Naples area.
In general, I have the impression that traditional Marian names like Carmela, Concetta, Assunta are much more common in the South (not only Sicily) than North. However, they aren't common for younger people.
Formerly Known as Murasaki
http://italiangirlatlarge.blogspot.com/
"A desk is a dangerous place from which to view the world."
John LeCarré
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Replies
"There aren't names that are specifically Sicilian or Southern Italian," That is not true. As other Italic linguistic modalities, Sicilian is very different from standard Italian (which is mainly Toscan Italian), enough different to be considered a separate language by a part of Romance linguists. That means that even if standard Italian names are used, the Sicilian counterparts also exists and sometimes are very different from the standard ones. For instance, the Italian masculine ending -o contrasts with the Sicilian masculine ending -u (Italian Gaetano, Sicilian Jtanu) or the Italian -e vs the Sicilian -i (Salvatore vs Sabbaturi).
There is a little list of Sicilian names:
http://scn.wiktionary.org/wiki/Catigur%C3%ACa:Noma_propi_siciliani
There is a little list of Sicilian names:
http://scn.wiktionary.org/wiki/Catigur%C3%ACa:Noma_propi_siciliani
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Interesting! I'd be wary of citing Wikipedia as a source for names, though. That link seems to say that Wikizziunariu is a common Sicilian name, meaning "Wikipedia." I think someone is pulling our leg there.
Don't know enough Italian to read what is listed about all of them. Some, like Franciscu and Natali, seem to have close matches to well-known names. Others, I'm less sure of. Calabria is a region of Italy - did not know it was a name. And others, I simply cannot read what is on the page for them.
Don't know enough Italian to read what is listed about all of them. Some, like Franciscu and Natali, seem to have close matches to well-known names. Others, I'm less sure of. Calabria is a region of Italy - did not know it was a name. And others, I simply cannot read what is on the page for them.
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It says it's a list of Sicilian proper names, but they aren't all people's names, Aropa's supposed to be Europe, and Giappuni Japan.
I've noticed there's a few of these Wikipedias in various Italian dialects now, and indeed I've been wondering if they're not meant to be tongue-in-cheek. The dialects are not used in formal or official context and it's not like anyone needs a wikipedia in dialect when there's the Italian one.
I've noticed there's a few of these Wikipedias in various Italian dialects now, and indeed I've been wondering if they're not meant to be tongue-in-cheek. The dialects are not used in formal or official context and it's not like anyone needs a wikipedia in dialect when there's the Italian one.
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First, I offered the Wikipedia link only because it was easily reachable and as example (I didn't have at hand my informations about Sicilian or Corsican names) to show that the differences between Sicilian and [Toscan] Italian names exist and are noticeable.
Second, proper name are nouns that are exclusive to one reality. That is, place names, personal names (first names, family names, nicknames), mythological names, engine names (plane names, boat names, etc.)... All the linguistic elements studied by Onomastics are proper names. That is why a list of "proper names" can offer non-person's names.
Third, the "dialects" not always are really what a linguist would consider a dialect and not a differenciate language (in the dialectal/linguistic distribution a lot of political questions are in game). This was true in the past with some Romance languages in relation to French and/or Spanish (Occitan, Catalan, Franco-Provençal, Aragonese, Asturian) and it still is true in relation to Italian. Some linguistic realities presented as dialects in Italy (and, but this is another thing, condemned to home life/minor uses, underestimate, ridiculed, etc.) are in fact languages by itselfs. In the case of Sicilian and Corsican, for example, the linguistic reality seems enough clear to consider them Romance differenciate languages.
And, even if Sicilian was not a differenciate language and just a dialect of the [Toscan] Italian, some (if not all) of the names used in this dialect would be exclusive to Sicilia and its influence area.
ETA: a good introduction to Romance languages and its dialects is Les langues romanes, by Charles Camproux (PUF, Paris, 1984, Col. Que sais-je?)
Second, proper name are nouns that are exclusive to one reality. That is, place names, personal names (first names, family names, nicknames), mythological names, engine names (plane names, boat names, etc.)... All the linguistic elements studied by Onomastics are proper names. That is why a list of "proper names" can offer non-person's names.
Third, the "dialects" not always are really what a linguist would consider a dialect and not a differenciate language (in the dialectal/linguistic distribution a lot of political questions are in game). This was true in the past with some Romance languages in relation to French and/or Spanish (Occitan, Catalan, Franco-Provençal, Aragonese, Asturian) and it still is true in relation to Italian. Some linguistic realities presented as dialects in Italy (and, but this is another thing, condemned to home life/minor uses, underestimate, ridiculed, etc.) are in fact languages by itselfs. In the case of Sicilian and Corsican, for example, the linguistic reality seems enough clear to consider them Romance differenciate languages.
And, even if Sicilian was not a differenciate language and just a dialect of the [Toscan] Italian, some (if not all) of the names used in this dialect would be exclusive to Sicilia and its influence area.
ETA: a good introduction to Romance languages and its dialects is Les langues romanes, by Charles Camproux (PUF, Paris, 1984, Col. Que sais-je?)
This message was edited 2/21/2011, 11:20 PM
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But aren't those dialect variants, and therefore, used only when speaking dialect, ie never in an "official" context. Someone known as Sabbaturi would be still legally Salvatore, and be Salvatore on documents. Therefore I wouldn't personally consider the likes of Jtanu or Sabbaturi as Sicilian names in their own right, but rather as dialect forms of Italian names. I don't have the impression that you can't really say there's a Sicilian naming tradition that's entirely separate from the Italian one.
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Interesting, although I have never heard any in use. I've never heard of a Jtanu or a Sabbaturi, but I know of plenty of Gaetanos and Salvatores.
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