Barese dialect (natively dialètte barése; ) is an Italoromance dialect belonging to the southern intermediate group, spoken in the Apulia and Basilicata regions of Italy. Considered to be a variant of Naples dialect. Influences include Messapian, Oscan, Greek, Old French, Franco-Provençal and Spanish, creating one of the most distinct Italian dialects both phonetically and lexically.

Region

Assigning local dialects to strict geographical areas is often problematic. Regardless, the Bari dialect is used predominantly within the province of Bari in central Apulia, and in the province of Barletta-Andria-Trani. It is also spoken in the western part of the province of Taranto, in some towns in the western part of the province of Brindisi and in the north eastern part of the Basilicata region. In the north of the Apulian region, the province of Foggia, the Foggian dialect is spoken and may be seen as a variant of the Bari dialect, although significantly influenced by Neapolitan dialects, while in the city of Taranto the Tarantino dialect is spoken, which is quite similar to the Bari dialect. In the Italian cinema of the Commedia all'Italiana, Barese has been made famous by actors such as Lino Banfi, Sergio Rubini, Gianni Ciardo, Dino Abbrescia, and Emilio Solfrizzi. There are also numerous films shot exclusively in Bari dialect: amongst the most notable is LaCapaGira which was admired by film critics at the Berlin International Film Festival. Many local theatre companies produce light comedy shows in dialect, often focusing on the comic linguistic opportunities presented by the millions who left the region during the 20th century in search of work in northern Italy and overseas.

Extracts in original Barese

The Lord's Prayer The Hail Mary The Salve Regina The Angel of God

Extracts from variants of cities in the Murgia hinterland (Gravinese and Ruvestine)

Preghìre de la not - Night prayer (gravinese)

Prayers written according to the rules of the Seminar for studies and in-depth study of the Bari dialect of the Ancient World and Modern Times. The last prayer is written according to the oral tradition handed down in Gravina in Puglia.

Attòn nuostǝ - Holy Father (ruvestine)

Note: ǝ (e mute) š (sc), č (ch), ň (gn), ų semivowel, k (hard c) Prayer written according to the studies of the expert of local history and local languages, the ruvestine Angelo Tedone

Orthography

Alphabet

The Barese alphabet comprises the following letters:

Accents

In Barese the use of the accents is obligatory: The monosyllables do not need to be accented, with some notable exceptions, such as à (preposition), é (conjunction), mè (adverb), and some others. Examples: The accents are important and are often used to show the differences between words that are otherwise written in the same way, but which have different pronunciations. Examples:

Linguistic features

Within the Province of Bari and surroundings many dialects exist which, while similar to Bari dialect, have various vocal differences. For example, the expression Che c'è? in standard Italian, meaning "What's the matter?" or "What's up?" is variously produced as: Meanwhile, the conjugation of verbs sees changes such as: Essere ("to be" in standard Italian) Essere ("to be" in Barese) Fare ("to do" or "to make" in standard Italian) Fare ("to do" or "to make" in Barese) Avere ("to have" in standard Italian) Avé ("to have" or "to have to" in Barese)