Do you speak Nonnese?
Every town has its own dialect.
The words of Italian dialects, town by town: what they mean, where they come from, and whether someone from the place has checked them. Find the words your grandparents used.
lit: it has its words not yet: it lights up with 3 keepers
Try: scorpellecaciarapicciridduuagnòneabbiocco
Why bell towers
A dialect for every bell tower
In Italy the way people speak changes from one town to the next, sometimes from one neighbourhood to another. That's why here you enter through the town, not the region.
Every word says where it comes from
Next to every word there is its source and a badge that says how sure it is. Nothing passed off as certain.
Keepers check them
Three people per town who really speak the dialect confirm and correct the words. The bell tower lights up with them.
The bell towers
Enter your town, or your grandparents' town
The words, how to read them, the stories and the people who check them: every bell tower has its own page.
San Severo
San Severo dialect
297 words120 sourced
Naples
Neapolitan
3,285 words2,955 sourced
Rome
Roman
413 words372 sourced
Palermo
Sicilian
4,455 words4,160 sourced
Venice
Venetian
2,423 words2,182 sourced
Milan
Milanese
1,483 words1,387 sourced
Florence
Florentine
315 words264 sourced
Genoa
Genoese
845 words845 sourced
Nuoro
Sardinian
990 words982 sourced
Bari
Apulian
604 words583 sourced
Nothing passed off as certain
How you know a word is right
Every word has its badge, always next to the word. These are today's numbers.
Confirmed by a keeper from the town. None yet: yours could be the first.
Found in a dictionary or a collection, which we always cite.
From an indirect source: we need someone from the place.
No source: not in the dictionary, we ask you.
Is your town missing? Light its bell tower
It takes 3 keepers: people from the town who really speak the dialect. You can apply in a minute (the form is in Italian) and bring the first word.
Become a keeper