The Italian Language

“Cristiano” is a follower of Christ, so in some places in Italy, Maybe at some point in history, any Non Christian was not longer considered a “Real” person.
just speculating

I was talking about this with my uncle a while ago, he was the one that actually brought it to my attention. I wish I could find sources on this use of the word in particular.

I know it would be difficult, considering how distinct the language is.

Bari dialect (dialetto barese) is a dialect of Neapolitan spoken in the Apulia and Basilicata regions of Italy. Influences range from Old French to Norman, creating one of the most distinct Italian dialects both from phonetics and lexis point of view.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bari_dialect
 
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Great find Angela!

So turco (Turk) was the considered to be the opposite. At least in regards to the folk figure in Sicily. I'll ask my grandparents if they know about that folklore too.

In my part of Italy I remember the very old people threatening disobedient children by saying that "Barbarossa" would come and get us.

I know where this one comes from, I think: the Ottoman Corsair nicknamed "Barbarossa".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hayreddin_Barbarossa

Younger people said "Bandito Giuliano" would come get us, I guess in his reincarnated form. :)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvatore_Giuliano
 
In my part of Italy I remember the very old people threatening disobedient children by saying that "Barbarossa" would come and get us.

I know where this one comes from, I think: the Ottoman Corsair nicknamed "Barbarossa".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hayreddin_Barbarossa

Younger people said "Bandito Giuliano" would come get us, I guess in his reincarnated form. :)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvatore_Giuliano

Really inappropriate; in my area was very common, but now much less in use was to Terrified miss behaving children to be nice or else “L’omu niuru” will came and take them away.
[emoji50]
 
I know where this one comes from, I think: the Ottoman Corsair nicknamed "Barbarossa".

Interesting! I remember my grandmother on my dad's side would try to scare me and my cousins with Barbablù, when we would misbehave.
 
Funny:
H. Clinton new book
“What Happened” - Cu Fú -
 
In my part of Italy I remember the very old people threatening disobedient children by saying that "Barbarossa" would come and get us.

Instead where I come from the old people say "Mo v? la strolega (Zingara) e te se porta co essa".
 
Instead where I come from the old people say "Mo v� la strolega (Zingara) e te se porta co essa".

Oh, indeed, that one too. I was really afraid when they came around when I was little. I'm sorry to say that they weren't held in very high regard, not even in terms of dress. Even far into adulthood, if I wore what my mother considered too much jewelry, or, if God forbid, I wore red or something, she'd say, take it off, you look like a zingara. Of course, to my mother the only colors a lady would wear were white, cream, beige, grey, navy, and black, and if you wore big ear-rings you didn't wear a necklace, if you wore a watch, no bracelets, and on and on. The fight I had to wear big hoops when they were in style! Oh well, she taught me a lot, in every way, even if I did loosen it up a bit.

In terms of phrases that can't really be translated, or at least the emotional content is different:

Dai...I use it all the time

Meno Male: Less bad. It's hard to explain to non-Italians that when presented with good news we don't always say "Great"! Instead, we often say, well, it's less bad, as if bad is the default state, the outcome we expected, which I guess it is or has been for a lot of our history.

So much for the stereotypes about our sunny personalities, although I have to admit people are "sunnier" the further south you go. There was absolutely nothing particularly "sunny" about my father's family. Dour is more like it a lot of the time. Not that they aren't wonderful people. My favorite uncle was one of my father's brothers, one of the most compassionate, kind-hearted, generous, honest and loving men ever created, but it was hidden inside a very silent, yes, dour, personality. He spoke very little, he had very little tolerance for fools, he was an absolute terror as a boss, and even his humor was of the dry, sarcastic, ironic type. So much for stereotypes.
 
Asking Chat GPT plus the difference between the Barese dialect and standard Italian:

[FONT=Söhne]The Barese dialect is a variant of the Neapolitan language, which is part of the broader Italo-Romance family of languages. It is spoken primarily in the city of Bari and its surrounding province, located in the Apulia region in southeastern Italy. While it shares some similarities with Standard Italian, the Barese dialect has distinct features that set it apart:[/FONT]

  1. Phonetics and phonology: Barese has its own unique pronunciation and intonation patterns, which differ from Standard Italian. For example, in Barese, the "s" sound is often pronounced as "sh" (/ʃ/) and the "v" sound is replaced with "b." Additionally, there are significant differences in vowel pronunciation and the use of gemination (doubling of consonant sounds).
  2. Vocabulary: The Barese dialect has its own set of words and expressions that are unique to the region. Some words may have similar meanings to Standard Italian words but are used differently, while others may be completely exclusive to the dialect.
  3. Grammar and syntax: There are variations in the grammar and syntax of the Barese dialect compared to Standard Italian. For example, Barese tends to use more irregular verb conjugations, and the word order in sentences may differ from that in Standard Italian.
  4. Idiomatic expressions and cultural references: As is the case with any dialect or regional language, the Barese dialect includes idiomatic expressions and cultural references specific to its region. These expressions might not be understood by speakers of Standard Italian or other regional dialects.
[FONT=Söhne]Despite these differences, speakers of the Barese dialect are typically able to understand and communicate with speakers of Standard Italian, as the dialects share many common features and are part of the same linguistic family. It is important to note that the degree of mutual intelligibility may vary depending on the speaker's familiarity with both dialects.[/FONT]
 
It's to be noticed that this [sh] (maybe something between [sh] and as in Spanish dialects?) for S and for B (or some non clear between sound?) mark tendancies we find in other Mediterranean region as northern Iberia, extreme southwestern France and northern Corsica (uniquely for initial V- in this last region I think)...
 

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