Romanesca cauliflower; Romanesco

For the vegetable, see Romanesco broccoli.

Advertisement in Romanesco at Roman subway station

Romanesco is a Romance language spoken in Rome, Italy. It is one of the Central Italian dialects, and considered close to Tuscan and Italian.

There are notable grammatical and idiomatic differences. Rich in expressions and sayings, Romanesco is used informally by most natives of Rome.

History

Diffusion

Originally Romanesco was spoken only inside the walls of the city of Rome, while the little towns surrounding the Eternal City had their own dialects; nowadays these dialects have almost disappeared and they have been replaced with a kind of Romanesco, which therefore is now spoken in an area larger than the original one.

Noteworthy figures

In fact today, Romanesco can be considered more of a regional idiom than a true language or dialect. Classical Romanesco, that made popular by Giuseppe Gioachino Belli, is in the process of disappearing. Replacing it is a more vulgar parlance called "Romanaccio." External forces such as immigration and the dominance of Italian are playing a role in the transformation.

Romano Proper, spoken in the city of Rome and the immediate surrounding areas, is somewhat different from the rest of the Romanesco dialects.

Ma nun c'è lingua come la romana

Pe' dì una cosa co' ttanto divario

Che ppare un magazzino de dogana.

"Le lingue der monno"

- G.G. Belli

External links

• A description of the Roman dialect alternate URL

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