Other than Italian, which main Romance language is closest to Sicilian?

[Sikeliot]

I personally think Romanian.
Romanian is said to be similar to the southern Italian dialects above all, and I can see the similarity.

[Sikeliot]

Here is something from the Sicilian language on Wikipedia (on a homepage) so I can show you guys who do not know, what it looks like. To me it definitely looks more like Romanian than like Spanish, French, and Portuguese.

"Lu sci è nu sport ndividuali mmirnali. Si pratica ntâ nivi sutta diversi formi. Li formi principali sunnu lu sci alpinu e lu sci nordicu; cchiù ricenti è lu sviluppu dû sci alpinismu.
Lu sci alpinu si pratica scinnennu di na calata di na muntagna câ nivi, aiutannusi cu na para di sci ô piedi. Òi li sci pû sci alpinu cchiu diffusi sunnu li carving, cchiù curti e cchiù làrichi dî sci classici chi si usàvanu nzinu a mità di l'anni '90, e ancora ccchiù curti e cchiù làrichi dî sci pû sci nordicu, chi si pratica appuiannusi cû na para di vastuna e caminannu nti trazzeri chiani câ nivi. Lu sci alpinismu, si pratica cu na para di sci cu attachi spiciali pî scarpuna, chi pirmettinu di spustarisi ntê muntagni facennu puru li cchianati.
Lu sci si po fari puru intra na sala tuttu l'annu macari cuanu fa caudu fora: è lu casu di certi stabbilimenti chiusi dû mediu orienti (ci ni sunu nti l'Emirati Àrabbi Uniti) assai cuntruversi pi lu mpattu ambintali."

[alfieb]

Romanian, then Sardinian, then Spanish, followed by Portuguese, and finally French.

I don't know enough of Catalan to place it, but it would definitely be after Romanian and Sardinian.

[Sikeliot]

Romanian, Sicilian, and Sardinian evolved first from Latin, so they probably have similarities as a result. All of them have words ending in -u and do not form the plural like the others (no -es plurals).

[alfieb]

Sicilian doesn't even have "e" plurals. Where Italian words end in the feminine plural "e", Sicilian words usually end in "i".

[alfieb]

English:
Women

Sicilian:
Fìmmini

Italian:
Donne

Romanian:
Femei

Catalan:
Dones

Spanish:
Mujeres

Portuguese:
Mulheres


Notice that the only word even similar to ours is the Romanian word.

[Sikeliot]

How does it work in Sicilian when handling possession? Like in Romanian, 'my house' is "casa mea" and in Spanish it'd be "mi casa", "minha casa" in Portuguese, "la mia casa" in Italian etc.

Romanian has it the opposite way. How does Sicilian put the word order when dealing with possession? I'd assume like Romanian, the original Latin way.

[Slycooper]

Latin based languages

[Sikeliot]

Also what would you say a Sicilian person speaking English sounds like?

My grandfather died when I was young and he was the only one who spoke with an accent. My mother just says he had a very old world sounding accent and it didn't really sound like anything particular other than what it was..

[alfieb]

http://scn.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suggettu_verbu_uggettu

La lingua siciliana esti na lingua di stu gèniri"

("Subject-Verb-Object

The Sicilian language is a language in this genre")

[alfieb]

Also what would you say a Sicilian person speaking English sounds like?

My grandfather died when I was young and he was the only one who spoke with an accent. My mother just says he had a very old world sounding accent and it didn't really sound like anything particular other than what it was..

http://accent.gmu.edu/browse_language.php?function=detail&speakerid=316

This guy is from Messina, and speaking English. He would probably sound like your grandfather.

[Sikeliot]

http://accent.gmu.edu/browse_language.php?function=detail&speakerid=316

This guy is from Messina, and speaking English. He would probably sound like your grandfather.

Almost exactly.
I can't quite tell what the accent sounds like in the grand scheme of things though.. it doesn't sound like what we think of as "Italian" and it also doesn't sound Spanish, Portuguese, and definitely not French.

Maybe just a general "old world" sound?

[alfieb]

Why struggle to compare it to something else? It's only Sicilian, just as French is only French.

He doesn't even sound much different from how I remember my own grandfather.

[Sikeliot]

Why struggle to compare it to something else? It's only Sicilian, just as French is only French.

I'm wondering what people who heard someone speaking English like that, would think they were hearing. It was curious because they say Romanians sound "Slavic" when they speak English, and I was wondering if the same applied here.

[Gospodine]

I'm wondering what people who heard someone speaking English like that, would think they were hearing. It was curious because they say Romanians sound "Slavic" when they speak English, and I was wondering if the same applied here.

I might be way off, but that accent recording alfieb posted seems to me like it could be from a Yiddish-speaking Ashkenazi or a Ladino-speaking Sephardi. I've also heard Persian accents that sounded somewhat similar.

In some places it does sound "Eastern European" but by and large it's unquestionably Romance though not as melodic and "sing-songy" as the common stereotype of Italian accents goes.

[Sunphq]

I might be way off, but that accent recording alfieb posted seems to me like it could be from a Yiddish-speaking Ashkenazi or a Ladino-speaking Sephardi. I've also heard Persian accents that sounded somewhat similar.

In some places it does sound "Eastern European" but by and large it's unquestionably Romance though not as melodic and "sing-songy" as the common stereotype of Italian accents goes.

Yiddish: http://accent.gmu.edu/browse_language.php?function=detail&speakerid=404

Yiddish Austria: http://accent.gmu.edu/browse_language.php?function=detail&speakerid=1164


Persian:

http://accent.gmu.edu/browse_language.php?function=detail&speakerid=172

http://accent.gmu.edu/browse_language.php?function=detail&speakerid=168

http://accent.gmu.edu/browse_language.php?function=detail&speakerid=176 - This one seems like an attempt to sound American lol

Sicilians:

http://accent.gmu.edu/browse_language.php?function=detail&speakerid=1489

http://accent.gmu.edu/browse_language.php?function=detail&speakerid=316

http://accent.gmu.edu/browse_language.php?function=detail&speakerid=218

http://accent.gmu.edu/browse_language.php?function=detail&speakerid=733 - Enna


Mainlanders:

http://accent.gmu.edu/browse_language.php?function=detail&speakerid=440

http://accent.gmu.edu/browse_language.php?function=detail&speakerid=219

http://accent.gmu.edu/browse_language.php?function=detail&speakerid=589

http://accent.gmu.edu/browse_language.php?function=detail&speakerid=1114

http://accent.gmu.edu/browse_language.php?function=detail&speakerid=1124

http://accent.gmu.edu/browse_language.php?function=detail&speakerid=1406 - The girl from Milan sounds almost English, and a bit American.

http://accent.gmu.edu/browse_language.php?function=detail&speakerid=1043

http://accent.gmu.edu/browse_language.php?function=detail&speakerid=1123 - Napoli


Sardinia:

http://accent.gmu.edu/browse_language.php?function=detail&speakerid=641


Maltese:

http://accent.gmu.edu/browse_language.php?function=detail&speakerid=409

http://accent.gmu.edu/browse_language.php?function=detail&speakerid=1359

[alfieb]

While the Sicilians are all from different areas, are different ages, and have differing levels of English proficiency, one can definitely tell them apart from the mainland Italians.

[Sikeliot]

I might be way off, but that accent recording alfieb posted seems to me like it could be from a Yiddish-speaking Ashkenazi or a Ladino-speaking Sephardi. I've also heard Persian accents that sounded somewhat similar.

In some places it does sound "Eastern European" but by and large it's unquestionably Romance though not as melodic and "sing-songy" as the common stereotype of Italian accents goes.

I was thinking of Yiddish speaking Ashkenazi but Yiddish is a Germanic language with Hebrew influence and I was afraid my opinion would be criticized so I didn't say it. But I thought that too. I also thought it sounded like some Hebrew accents too.

At the same time I'd know it was a European accent, of some kind, and not northern. So I'd probably eventually place it in Italy, and then toward the south. It sounds kind of like, but distinguishable from, the further away accents we mentioned.

[Gospodine]

Maltese:

http://accent.gmu.edu/browse_language.php?function=detail&speakerid=409

http://accent.gmu.edu/browse_language.php?function=detail&speakerid=1359

Holy cow that first one sounds very Lebanese.

[Sikeliot]

Holy cow that first one sounds very Lebanese.

It should sound more Tunisian. Maltese is an offshoot of Maghrebi Arabic not Levantine.

[alfieb]

Lebanese has more Western influence than Tunisian does, due to the French-language prominence.

[Gospodine]

It should sound more Tunisian. Maltese is an offshoot of Maghrebi Arabic not Levantine.

I know that, but honestly it reminds me of the user Farah, and her accent.

[RussiaPrussia]

its romanian

[askra]

Romanian, Sicilian, and Sardinian evolved first from Latin, so they probably have similarities as a result. All of them have words ending in -u and do not form the plural like the others (no -es plurals).

All plural words in sardinian language end with s!!!

[Comte Arnau]

Romanian, then Sardinian, then Spanish, followed by Portuguese, and finally French.

I don't know enough of Catalan to place it, but it would definitely be after Romanian and Sardinian.

We'll never know, because Sikeliot keeps on disregarding Catalan in all of his polls, who knows why. :rolleyes:

Catalan (and Occitan) is likely the closest Western Romance language to Sicilian after the Rhaeto-Padanian languages, at least in terms of lexicon. Besides, some Sicilian words are Catalan in origin, such as addunarisi, muccaturi or arruciari (according to Giarrizzo's Sicilian Etymological Dictionary). However, they're anecdotal in comparison to those in Sardinian.

Regarding phonology, I'm not that sure.

[Heart of Oak]

How does it work in Sicilian when handling possession? Like in Romanian, 'my house' is "casa mea" and in Spanish it'd be "mi casa", "minha casa" in Portuguese, "la mia casa" in Italian etc.

Romanian has it the opposite way. How does Sicilian put the word order when dealing with possession? I'd assume like Romanian, the original Latin way.

My house in English: simples

[Heart of Oak]

your all talking English so maybe; you should consider English in you poll:
makes sense to me an many others that I have spoken too:
If your using one languidge that many find sexy then include it in your girly poll:

[Dacul]

Well Sinbad you know that English language have about 40% of the words from Latin?
As a very strange thing,romanians,from all romance languages speakers are learning English very very easy.
And from all romance speakers,we do not have any difficulties in pronouncing English words.

[Sikeliot]

Catalan (and Occitan) is likely the closest Western Romance language to Sicilian after the Rhaeto-Padanian languages, at least in terms of lexicon. Besides, some Sicilian words are Catalan in origin, such as addunarisi, muccaturi or arruciari (according to Giarrizzo's Sicilian Etymological Dictionary). However, they're anecdotal in comparison to those in Sardinian.

I never think of Catalan or Occitan in my mind when I make the threads :lol: But it doesn't surprise me they'd be the closest Western Romance languages to Sicilian. the question is then what is closer -- them or Romanian?

[Dacul]

For slavic people,romanian is easiest to learn,I think,because similar words.
For english people,I suppose italian,because plenty of common words and so on.
No idea about scandos and people from Germany.