The dialect of Castelmezzano is a Romance variety spoken in Castelmezzano in the Province of Potenza in Italy. It constitutes a dialect of the Neapolitan language that differs from the rest (and from neighbouring imported Gallo-Italic varieties) in its treatment of Latin back vowels, showing an evolution more reminiscent of Eastern Romance: Latin /ŭ/ merges with /ū/ rather than with /ō/.
| Castelmezzano | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Italy |
| Region | western Basilicata |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | None (mis) |
| Glottolog | cast1245 |
Castelmezzano is but the kernel of an area, dubbed the Vorposten (German for 'outpost') by Lausberg, which shares the same vowel development. It includes Castronuovo di Sant'Andrea, Sant'Arcangelo, Roccanova, San Martino d'Agri, Aliano (and Alianello), Gallicchio, Missanello, Armento, Pietrapertosa, Anzi, Campomaggiore, Albano di Lucania, Trivigno, Brindisi di Montagna, Corleto Perticara and Guardia Perticara.
This type of vocalism may once have been characteristic of most of southern Italy and possibly even other areas that now have Italo-Western vowel outcomes.[1] It can be viewed as a compromise, in that it has a Sardinian-like treatment of the back vowels, as is also observed in the southern part of the Lausberg area, while also having an Italo-Western-like treatment of the front vowels (merging Latin /ĭ/ with /ē/), as found in other varieties of Neapolitan.
Comparison of vowel changes
| Latin | Root form | Vowel | Castelmezzano dialect | Dalmatian | Romanian | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| piper | *pipum, *piprum | /ɪ/ | pépë | pepro | - | Romanian has got the borrowing "piper". |
| digitus | digitum | /ɪ/ | [?] | detco | deget | |
| fīlum | - | /iː/ | filë | fil | fir | |
| cor | *corum | /ɔ/ | córë | cur | - | |
| bonus | bonum | /ɔ/ | [?] | bun | bun | The vowel was shifted from /o/ to /u/, yielding "bun" in Romanian, as part of vowel reduction. |
| focus | focum | /ɔ/ | [?] | fuc | foc | |
| somnus | somnum | /ɔ/ | [?] | samno | somn | The Dalmatian result may be tied to the consonantal cluster /mn/ or to the retention of the word-final vowel. |
| sōl | sōlem | /oː/ | sólë | saul | soare | The Dalmatian and Romanian terms are only diphthongized due to not having been followed by /u/ or /i/. |
| vōx | vōcem | /oː/ | [?] | baud | boace (archaic) | The Dalmatian and Romanian terms are only diphthongized due to not having been followed by /u/ or /i/. Romanian has got the neologism "voce". |
| bōs | *bōvum | /oː/ | [?] | bu | bou | |
| tōtus | tōtum | /oː/ | [?] | tut, tot | tot | The function as pronoun may be the reason for the Dalmatian alternative form. |
| furca | furcam | /ʊ/ | fùrchë | fuarca | furcă | |
| surdus | surdum | /ʊ/ | [?] | suard | surd | |
| nux | *nucem, *nucum | /ʊ/ | [?] | nauc | nuc | |
| lūna | lūnam | /uː/ | lùnë | loina | lună | |
| mūrus | mūrum | /uː/ | [?] | moir, mor | mur | The Dalmatian variant does not seem to reflect the most usual outcomes. |
| crūdus | crūdum | /uː/ | [?] | croit | crud |
A comparison of vowel changes shows only limited relatability of the languages and the dialect yet Dalmatian sound changes may sometimes differ from the usual phonological development that can be ascertained.