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PHONOLOGY
PART II

Some suggestions

If we want to transcribe the dialect, as it has spoken, it always needs to transcribe the consonants that are doubled during the dialog.
- me 'ccattate 'nu bbelle ccappelle 
- pecché fî qquescî? ... 
We could also omit this type of transcription but for the words, that have by itself the double initial consonant, it becomes obligatory to write it with double consonant.
We write Frangische c'è 'ccasate [it. Francesco si è accasato] because 'ccasate is apheresis of accaste. The double initial consonants with the apostrophe indicated an apheresis and we must be transcribed and pronounced them as double.
   Gn and scj, in initial position of word, they often have an phonic accentuation (they should be double) and we can be written them with the apostrophe, that it will indicated their strengthening.
  The phonemes / p, t, d, k, f, v, m, n, r, l, ts / they distinguish them from those Italian because in initial position they often double them or, they probably stay double, because they are the apheretic forms of the correspondent verbs that (losing the initial vowel) they stay with the double consonant.

 [1] - The Italian term accattare [to look for to get something in every manner; to scrape together somehow; to beg, etc...] it has a different meaning from the dialect accattà or 'ccattà [to buy, to give birth]

[2] - in the dialect term 'mmetà there is the assimilation to mm of the Latin-Italian group nv.

The same phonemes [p, t, d, k, f, v, m, n, r, l, ts] can double by enphasis.

Really the dialect is always enphatic.

In initial position (at times also intermediary or final) a same simple or double consonant can produce different meanings:

cande =  1ª e 3ª pers. sing del pres. ind. del v. candà [to sing]
'ccante = avv. [nearby]

case = house
'ccase = 1ª or 3ª pers. sing of the pres. ind. of the v. 'ccasà.

còjje = 1ª and 3ª pers. sing of the pres. ind. of the v. còjje [to gather]
'ccòjje = 1ª and 3ª pers. sing of the pres. ind. of the v. ccòjje [to strike].

cote = pp. of the v. cojje [to gather]
'ccote = pp. of the v. ccojje [to strike]

mòlle = rubber band (sost.)
mmòlle = soft (agg.)

nase = [nose, noses]
'nnase = 1ª and 3ª pers. sing of the pres. ind. of the v. 'nnasà [to sniff]

scigne = monkey.
'scigne = you go down. - 2ª pers. sing of the pres. ind. of the v. scégne [to go down]

sciocche = 3ª pers. sing del pres. ind. del v. sceqquà (to snow)

sciòcche = cabbage
'sciòcche = silly

tacche = heel, heels
'ttacche = 1ª and 3ª perses. sing of the pres. ind. of the v. 'ttaccà [to attach]

vascià = to kiss
'vvascià = to lower

vasce = kiss
va'sce = low

We must be noticed however that always the phonemes / p, t, d, k, f, v, m, n, r, l, ts / in intervocalic position and within the sentence (phonosyntax), they can double, so that phonetically two different words will become (but not always) entirely equal. It is the preposition to determine the doubling of the simple initial consonants.

Mittet' a ccòjje (it. mettiti a cogliere)
Mittet' a 'ccòjje (it. mettiti a colpire)

Une l'ada còjje (it. uno lo deve cogliere)
Une l'ada 'ccòjje (it. uno lo deve colpire)

 

Vallu a pparà (it. vallo a parare)
Vallu a 'pparà (it. vallo a uguagliare) 

Fammu parà (it. fammelo a parare)
Fammu 'pparà (it. fammelo uguagliare) 

 

Dallu a ttaccate (it. menalo a colpi di tacco)
Fallu sta 'ttaccate (it. fallo stare legato) 

Damm 'u tacche (it. dammi il tacco)
Dammu c'u 'ttacche (it. dammelo che lo lego) 

 
The occlusive and bilabial sonorous phonemes  / b / and the sonorous palatal affricate / gj / in the dialects of Molise and in other of  Center-Southerners have the tendency to grow stronger themselves both in initial position that in intervocalic position.

CONSONANTAL GROUPS  EXTRANEOUS TO ITALIAN

[*] the gu of the group ngur is a digramma.

Some considerations

The facility, the immediateness of the dialect can for example be seen [and I was almost about to say per esembio] in the terminology.

The areoplane velave pruopie 'ngopp' to nnu.  

In this sentence there are two words areoplâne and pruopie, that very often the industrious students (addicted more to the light past that to the hard studious present) they ungrammaticate in Italian [areoplano for aeroplano and propio for proprio]. Italian complicates us the life! As it teaches us the diction, it is more difficulty to pronounce aeroplano and proprio that not areoplano and propio. The difficulty of the pronunciation is due: in the first word to the initial hiatus ae [the very cunning Greek feared it and so they abolished it], in the second's instead to the repetition of the consonantal group pr.

1 - L'areoplâne velâve pruòpeje 'ngòpp' a nnu (Sanmartinese).
2 - L'aeroplano volava proprio su di noi (Italian).

The dialect sentence is more linear, phonemically speaking, less fatiguing. So also we are eliminated the work and the inopportunity of the hiatus and the consonantal repetition. The closing of the vowels mostly contributes to the lightness of the whole phonemic of the sentence 1.
    As it regards the hiatus, the sanmartinese as other dialects of neighbourhood and the Center-South, it contrives expedient as the apheretic suppression of the initial vowels. Such subtraction is almost noticed in all the words that start for 'n and 'm as ngoppe, 'ndande, 'nghemenzà,  mbarà, 'mmetelì, 'mbortande; in the words that begin with double consonant as 'ccasà, 'ccattà, 'ttaccà, 'ttappà, 'ssassîne, 'ssaprì, 'ffegà, 'llendà, 'lluscià, 'mmepelì, 'pparà, 'rretà, 'mmendà, etc.
We avoid so the hiatus in speaking dialect with the wise combination of apheresis, apocopation and elision.

The monosyllables both tonic and atonic have the tendency at times to grow stronger themselves consonantally.

- ne' tté nejènde da dice
- m'u dici' a mme
- se sso' llore. 

Sejenghe cadût' a 'n dèrre. In Italian a' n derre is translated with a terra. The n prefers, in spite of the rules grammaticated [sic], to make itself follow from dental sonorous d instead of the dental explosive t. Economy and facility of use. Even in spoken language  there cannot be waste. Popular wisdom!
The dialect is full of these phonemic facilitations really because it follows a proper road, not conforming, not founded a priori

The n and the m tend more to make themselves follow from a sonorous consonant instead of one unvoiced.
We have in the dialect [almost always for theirs to evolve themselves from the Latin] the strong tendency to modify the groups nt and nc respectively in nd and ng. The c in the group nc can be palatal or guttural and consequently the dialect group can be both palatal and guttural. Ex.: venge [it. vincere], ghianghe [bianco]

The n followed by the dental sonorous d is typical of the Center-Southern dialect and, therefore, the terminations are always sonorous that (through a process of assimilation from Italian -ante, -inte, -ente, -unte, -onte) they have their dialect derivative in -ande, -inde, -ende, -unde, -onde according to the scheme:

We generally prefer however to write them in Italian and to pronounce them in dialect. Ex.: 
- cantante (as it is written) 
- candande (as it is pronounced)

The digraph mp or the labial sonorous m followed by the labial explosive p, in the dialect it turns it into mb, or the m is followed with the labial sonorous b.

Also this consonantic group is preferred to write it in Italian and to pronounce it in dialect. Ex.: The Italian word campo can be written campe in dialect but is always pronounced cambe.

The dialect sanmartinese (as many other's Senter-Southerners) tends strongly to become voiced the adjoining consonants.

When in the correspondent Italian words there are already voiced groups as mb, nd, ld, in dialect often they have the tendency to double the first consonant for the so-called phenomenon of the assimilation.

  The same phenomenon of assimilation happens for the verbs in Italian (consequential from the fourth Latin conjugation) ending in -ondere (or -orre), -andere (or -arre), - èndere, -indere that in dialect they respectively are -onne, -anne, -enne, [-inne]

There are obviously some exceptions (always consequential verbs from the third Latin conjugation) that they also include the verbs finished in -àngere (or -ancere), - èngere (or -èncere), -ìngere (or  ìncere) that in dialect they change the suffixes in -agne or -égne:

The same terminations are not able to allow the suffix mutation too

Morphologically the sanmartinese dialect is characterized by the particular one:

a - closing of the vowels
b - accentuation very often of the initial syllable of word
c - frequent suppression of the vowels and initial syllables (apheresis), of the vowels and final syllables (apocopation and elision).
d - from the easiest fonemicization and therefore from greater musicality and coloring.

THE GROUPS LATINI CO AND CU

The words quertelle, qquertatore, quentatore, qquendà, quenzemà, 'qquesà, quecchiare, are originate from the Latin, as after all the respective words Italian coltello, scorciatoia, contatore, raccontare, consumare, accusare, cucchiaio. 
The Latin-Italian group co and at times cu have the strong tendency to become que in dialect. The unvoiced velar c followed by o or by u (in atonic syllable) it turns it into unvoiced labiovelar qu.

The groups co or cu in the altered forms losing the tonicity they still turn it into que.

The Italian palatal gl in dialect is always assimilated in jj

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