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Laura Lewakowski asked this question about My Brilliant Friend (My Brilliant Friend, #1):
What does it mean when someone"spoke in dialect", or in "thick dialect"? I understand that the book was originally written in Italian, but I'm not getting the importance of noting that the character was speaking in dialect at random times.
Martha Symbolically, speaking in dialect is done between family and people of the neighborhood; it's a way to identify who "belongs" and who is "other". It's…moreSymbolically, speaking in dialect is done between family and people of the neighborhood; it's a way to identify who "belongs" and who is "other". It's also a class thing - people of the same class share a dialect, but when talking to someone of a different class, like a teacher or banker, one switches to standard Italian. The most uneducated speakers can't speak standard Italian, which indicates they will never be able to leave their neighborhood.

Practically, the dialects are quite different, even to English-only ears. These videos let you listen to the differences between regional dialects. Northern speakers are affected by French and German, southern speakers by Greek, Arabic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwerQ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEEPy...

And for fun, watch the Detective Montalbano TV shows for a good dose of Sicilian,with captions!(less)
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My Brilliant Friend
by Elena Ferrante
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