Sicilian and Italian are two different Romance languages, not a language and its accent or its variety. An Italian speaker with no exposure will not be able to understand a full conversation in Sicilian. I am an Italian teacher from Catania, I speak both but I teach Italian to English and Spanish speakers (and not only).
Sicilian doesn't simply develop as a regional version of modern Standard Italian. It developed alongside the varieties that eventually contributed to Italian, but was also influenced by languages spoken in the territory under successive occupations.
If you are curious, here is a closer look at whether Sicilian is a language or a dialect.
Lexical overlap doesn't make it on language a variety of another. For example, Spanish and Italian share enormous amounts of vocabulary but nobody thinks that Spanish is an Italian dialect.
What you notice first is the sound
There are some differences a listener actually hears and they are connected to the vowels, word endings, to the rhythm of a sentence. Also, some sounds only exist in one and not the other. For what regards the word endings, Sicilian has three unstressed vowels: a, i, u; where Italian has an unstressed o or e, Sicilian usually has u or i. Words like figlio (son) or cane (dog) change into figghiu and cani. For sure when, as a foreigner, you hear Sicilian, you will notice that sentences sound like they are full of u and i.
In Sicilian, stressed vowels are five, not seven. It has a simple i, e, a, o, u system in stressed position. Italian, instead, distinguishes open and closed e and o (pèsca vs pésca).
Also, in Sicilian there are some sounds that Italian doesn't have. Some are also quite noticeable, like the retroflex dd: Italian -ll- becomes dd: bello → beddu, cavallo → cavaddu. Beddu/bedda is one of the Sicilian words I use the most, when I want to convey a warmer message to what I am saying. Depending on the context, beddu/bedda can convey: beautiful, lovely, sweet, affectionately something like "my dear" or "sweetie". When used among friends or family, it doesn't necessarily sound romantic. For example, you can address a male friend asking "come stai, beddu?" (how are you, mate?), or "grazie, beddu" (thanks mate).
This dd is not and English d. For a normal d in Italian, you have to put the tip of your tongue against your upper front teeth and release the d sound.
For Sicilian dd you need to curl the tip of your tongue slightly backward and to touch the roof a little farther back than where you make a normal d. Don't add an extra vowel. It is a retroflex sound.
When Sicilian sounds almost like Italian
According to some of the students who have visited me in Catania, the words sometimes sound almost familiar, but what I mentioned above will make the words sound different. Especially during gatherings with Sicilian friends, they often heard words such as "frati" (brother), "fimmina" (female), "sempri" (always) or "troppu" (too much). These words are very similar to the Italian words "fratello", "femmina", "sempre" o "troppo".
There are also some other words or sound shifts you can learn to hear, that are related.
| Sicilian | Italian | English |
|---|---|---|
| Patri | Padre | Father |
| Matri | Madre | Mother |
| Figghiu | Figlio | Son |
| Manciari | Mangiare | To eat |
| Beddu | Bello | Beautiful |
| Cavaddu | Cavallo | Horse |
| Cori | Cuore | Heart |
| Suli | Sole | Sun |
| Bonu | Buono | Good |
There are, however, also some unrelated pairs that illustrate the influence of the languages that have shaped Sicily over the centuries: accattari is close to the French acheter (to buy). If you click here you can get to know more about the influences on the Sicilian language and why sometimes it's not possible to follow a conversation.
Grammatical differences between Sicilian and Italian
Sicilian grammar presents plenty of differences compared to Italian grammar. Some of these differences, however, are more noticeable than others. For example, the use of the past tense is different: spoken Italian in most of Italy uses "ho mangiato" (I ate) for things that happened today, yesterday or even years ago. In Sicilian, we prefer the simple past "manciai" (I ate).
In spoken Sicilian, the future tense is often avoided, in favour of the present tense with a time expression. For example, to say "tomorrow I am going to Syracuse" we would say "dumani vaiu a Siracusa". Also the word order plays a role. For example, Sicilian often puts the verb last: "cu tia vogghiu parrari", meaning "voglio parlare con te" (I want to speak with you).
Another grammatical difference is that many Sicilian plurals and in -i regardless of the gender of the words. For example, some feminine words that would end in -e like "strade" become "strati" (streets) in Sicilian. Similarly, the Italian word porte becomes porti (doors) or case becomes casi.
The following gives you a better understanding of what was mentioned above:
- Sicilian: "aieri manciai cu me frati e dumani vaiu a Catania."
- Italian: "ieri ho mangiato con mio fratello e domani andrò a Catania."
- English: yesterday I ate pasta with my brother and tomorrow I'm going to Catania.
Your family's Italian
If your family came from Sicily, you may have grown up with words that you were told were Italian, but that were actually Sicilian. At some point, you might have heard a different pronunciation of familiar words or even words you didn't recognise and consequently found yourself questioning your Italian.
Many families left Sicily and the rest of southern Italy and at home they used to speak Sicilian. Over the years and generations, those words where often mixed with English. So, these days, a word can look wrong to an Italian and still be exactly what your grandmother used to say.
What you are speaking, therefore, may be a form of Sicilian that left Sicily a long time ago. Even today, you can still hear some Americanised Sicilian/Italian words in New York. For example "gabagool" is used for "capocollo", "prosciutt" for "prosciutto", "goombah" which is related to "compare" can be used to refer to a close male friend.
What if you are learning standard Italian?
To visit Sicily you don't need to learn Sicilian. Of course the locals would love it if you tried to speak Sicilian or simply use a few Sicilian words, but it is not necessary. Nobody expects a visitor to speak Sicilian. What you should expect, however, is to hear Sicilian around you, everywhere, at the market, on a bus, or on the streets the conversation might switch from Italian to Sicilian.
There are some very common words such as "amunì" (let's go) that you are likely to hear and recognise, but you don't need to use any of these expressions yourself. Most people will simply switch back to Italian for you and you will be fine.
I teach Italian, not Sicilian. If you want to know what learning standard Italian involves, my lessons are built for English and Spanish speakers (and not only!) who want to be understood anywhere in Sicily and throughout Italy.
Sicilian and Italian went their own ways, that's why, despite sharing the same roots, they can sometimes be difficult to understand. Italian became the language of school and government, while Sicilian remained the language of the streets and the family.
If you would like to start learning Italian, book a trial lesson with me!