SICILIAN LANGUAGE
Understanding The Sicilian Language & Providing Professional Sicilian Interpreters, Translators and Transcriptionists
American Language Services (AML-Global) understands the importance of working in the Sicilian language. For over a Quarter of a Century, American Language Services has worked with the Sicilian language as well as hundreds of others from around the world. We offer comprehensive language services 24 hours, 7 days a week worldwide by providing Sicilian interpreting, translation and transcriptions services along with hundreds of other languages and dialects. Our linguists are native speakers and writers who are screened, credentialed, certified, field tested and experienced in a number of specific industry settings. The Sicilian language is unique and has very specific origins and characteristics.
Sicilian Culture and the Sicilian Language
Sicilian is a Romance language spoken in Sicily, although today Sicily is a region of Italy, the island was once a city-state in its own right, and as the Kingdom of Sicily ruled from Palermo over southern Italy, Sicily, and Malta. It later became a part of the Two Sicilies under the Bourbons, a kingdom governed from Naples that comprised both the island itself and most of Southern Italy. Sicily has its own unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, cuisine, architecture and language. The Sicilian economy is largely based on agriculture (mainly orange and lemon orchards); this same rural countryside has attracted significant tourism in the modern age as its natural beauty is highly regarded. Sicily also holds importance for archeological and ancient sites such as the Necropolis of Pantalica and the Valley of the Temples.
Gemination and Contractions in Sicilian Language
Rarely indicated in writing, spoken Sicilian exhibits syntactic doubling or raddoppiamento, which means that the first consonant of a word is lengthened when it is preceded by a vowel in the preceding word. This process of lengthening is also called gemination, which is a general term used for the lengthening of any sound.
The Sicilian Language Today
Sicilian is estimated to have millions of speakers. However, it remains very much a home language spoken among peers and close associates. The regional Italian dialect has encroached on Sicilian, most evidently in the speech of the younger generations. Poets in Sicily sometimes write in Sicilian. However, most speakers (especially the youngest ones) are literate just in Italian, not Sicilian. This implies a poor knowledge of the written language in all its formal grammar and spelling rules, in contrast to a still-wide diffusion of informal spoken Sicilian on the island. The education system does not support the language. Local universities do not carry courses in Sicilian, or where they do, it is described as dialettologia, that is, the study of dialects.
Who are You Going to Trust with Your Vital Sicilian Language Needs?
The Sicilian language is an important language worldwide. It is vital to understand the general nature and specific idiosyncrasies of Sicilian. Since 1985, AML-Global has provided outstanding Sicilian interpreters, translators and transcriptionsts worldwide.
