"Italian is fine for writing, where you don't need the voice, but to tell a fact you need our language, which glues the story together and makes it show." - Erri De Luca, Italian writer
Bergamo dialect - Languages grow, die, change and spread following the history and actions of their speakers. Every time you visit a new place, you must remember to pay attention to to the role of language within the city's everyday life. It is necessary to identify the echoes of linguistic manifestations that are still firmly established and present in the life of the dialect community. This is why today we have decided to tell Bergamo from an entirely different perspective: take a plunge into the past and discover the origins of the Bergamasque dialect!
You will be able to enrich your experience as a tourist by dwelling on the landscapes, characters, events and traditions that have made the history of this beautiful city. Enjoy reading!
Bergamo dialect - the history
Bergamo dialect, along with Brescia and Cremasque, is a dialect originating in the Lombardy region and belongs to the linguistic strain of the Gallo-Italic languages. It is currently spoken, in all its different varieties and nuances, in the territory of the province of Bergamo and partially in the Cremasque area. The history of the Bergamo dialect finds its origins in the Vulgar Latin grafted onto the earlier Celtic language spoken by the Gauls.
Obviously, this language variety has undergone various modifications over time. The most important ones occurred during the Lombard dominations involving the presence of Germanic terminologies. Here are a few examples:
- abresiàs: to grieve, from German abbrechen, 'knock down'
- bank: bench, from Germanic bank
- bala: ball, from Germanic bale
- bülo: stepwise, from high German bule 'close friend'
- lóbia: gallery, from Germanic lauba, 'porch'
Bergamo dialect - cultural mediation
The first records date back to the late Middle Ages thanks to some acts of private transactions. There are, however, several poetic compositions from the 13th century that highlight the large presence of Bergamascan in the literary sphere. The work of cultural mediation made by writers, notaries and men of culture allowed the dialect to strengthen and spread.
In this sense, the 14th century saw the birth of interesting glossaries and exercises used to facilitate translation from dialect to Latin and vice versa. Historically, however, during the Middle Ages Italy consecrated the Tuscan dialect as the only variant used for communicative exchanges between different regions and in different social contexts.
It was from that time that people began to use the Bergamasque only at the local level. For official writings, however, there was a tendency to favour the so-called standard Italianwhich found its official recognition mainly due to the territorial political unification in 1861.
Bergamo dialect - not only among the elderly
While it is true that today it is older people who use dialect, it should not be forgotten that in certain situations younger people also like to make use of the richness of Bergamascan. The reason? The Bergamasque dialect allows expressing oneself, venting and communicating in a direct and concrete manner. In the private and family sphere, it is not uncommon to hear some proverb or dialect word, especially when heated discussions come into play.
Any husband from Bergamo has heard - at least once in his life - the expression Dìghel al tò scèt. This expression is usually uttered by the wife following a stunt pulled by her son. Also famous is the phrase Fam mia dà fò, which is used when one is in the middle of a heavy argument.
Most Italians are then familiar with the nice term for a bergamasco doc: the famous pota. This term is often used as a filler or as a substitute for other longer and more elaborate expressions. Indeed, pota encompasses multiple meanings (basically, on the other hand, in truth) and tries to demonstrate the obviousness of a situation.
In fact, there are many expressions that people born and raised in Bergamo are used to hear and repeat from an early age. Al fa mia frècc o al piöf amò are said when talking about the weather, especially during the autumn season. There are various sayings linked to the natural and rural world: this shows how the people of Bergamo are deeply attached to their land.
Bergamo dialect - the bilingual dictionary
In short, Bergamascan is still alive and well, and lends itself to different uses depending on the communicative exchange. This is one of the reasons that led to the creation of a bilingual, Italian-Bergamo dictionary. Created in 2004 by Carmelo Francia and Emanuele Gambarinithis vocabulary encapsulates Bergamo's history, folklore and local traditions.
This is a very important result because it testifies to the existence of the dialect trying to remove stereotypes and preconceptions (rurality, illiteracy, ignorance, inferiority and poverty). Salthough no dialect lessons are given at school, the modern generations are not entirely unfamiliar with Bergamo dialect, either because of grandparents and parents, or because of those colloquial expressions incorporated into current Italian.
Bergamo dialect - cooking
But Bergamascan is a versatile language that also finds space and importance with regard to traditional cuisine and recipes belonging to the peasant world. And so, if you want to visit the province of Bergamo and discover the delicacies of the Bergamo area, it is a good idea to learn a few 'technical' terms related to the culinary sphere. Try the tasty baccalà bertagnìtaste the soft foiàde and taste the sweet frìtole.
You won't be able to leave this city without tasting the local specialities! Carve out some time to go to some quaint little restaurants and taste jugged harethe famous casoncèi, the soft Turta Donizèt… in short, bon appétit and bon bergamasque!
