My family comes from the Abruzzi and Napoli regions of Italy. They immigrated here (USA) around the 1900’s. All the words I have heard them say sound distinctly different from standard Italian. They drop all ending vowels, and stress is on the last syllable. e.g.

(I am guessing at the spelling here)

Spaghetti - Spaghétt
Mapena? - Mapín (dishtowel)
Campobasso - Campobáss (a town where we came from)
Gnocchi - Gnóck
Buongiorno - Buongiórn

I have heard this from a few other Italian families, however other italian families I know say the vowels. My last name Pastore, and is pronounced Pastór, however there are many Italians who consistantly tell us we are wrong, and it should be pronounced with the vowel at the end.

Has anyone ever heard this dialect, or know anymore about it?

Dear Robert,

   Italy has been full of dialects since Roman times. The best way to learn about them is to ask a native speaker but if you can’t find a native speaker the Romance and Italian language sections at any good university library have lots of information on them. There is an increasing amount of information about them on the internet too.

  Sincerely,
  Brian Costello
  Seattle, Wa.

The Italian Dialects

Language and Dialect on the Italian Peninsula

Sitran