THE Italian dialects they possess a dual, conflicting nature, which contrasts, at least for some, with a small daily torment to an undeniable and immense cultural richness. If on the one hand they are the soul of our history, with roots that lie in centuries-old traditions, on the other they can become real sources of enormous annoyance. We therefore discover the winner – or rather, the “loser” – who stands out above the others.
A heritage to love… or to avoid?
Dialects contain an entire world made up of proverbs, sayings, names of plants, animals, hills, and crafts that tell the story of the rural and artisan past of our country. They are the beating heart of plays, films and literature, but also protagonists of everyday life, capable of bringing a note of color and a certain identity to conversations.
Yet, not everyone can appreciate them. When too strong a cadence infiltrates inappropriate contexts, or when the mix of Italian and dialect makes a speech incomprehensible, annoyance and misunderstanding can arise.
But which dialect is considered the most “irritating”? According to a survey conducted by Preply, the answer is clear: the Neapolitan leads the list of least loved.
The Neapolitan: king of controversy
The Neapolitan language, endowed with unmistakable musicality and “singing” vowels, has collected the greatest number of negative reviews, especially among young people. Perhaps it is due to its omnipresence on TV and in the cinema, or perhaps to the fact that Neapolitan is such a strong dialect that it is almost a language in itself. The fact is that he failed to win everyone’s hearts.
Immediately afterwards we find Sardinian and Sicilian, two equally famous but, evidently, divisive dialects. Next, the Venetian closes the top 4 of the least loved, probably due to his “sharp” cadence.
Who is saved?
Not all dialects suffer from this bad reputation. Again according to Preply, Genoese is the most popular, followed by Emilia-Romagna and Tuscan languages. The Genoese, with his delicacy and Ligurian roots, has managed to win over even the most sceptical, receiving very few negative reviews.
The data is surprising, considering that dialects such as Roman or Tuscan, despite being very widespread, often divide public opinion.
Love and hate
To be honest, it’s curious how much dialects can polarize discourse. You love them or hate them, there is no middle ground. Of course, some cadences (and who pronounces them, after all we are a deeply parochial country) may be more “intrusive” or difficult to digest, but it is undeniable that without dialects Italy would lose a piece of itself and its identity.
The general ranking
Here is the “dislike” ranking (the percentage indicates the aversion towards a given dialect), the result of a survey in which 1000 people over the age of 18 took part, of which 52% were men and 48 % women.
- Neapolitan 22.8%
- Sardinian 11.4%
- Sicilian 10.5%
- Venetian 9.1%
- Lombard 9.0%
- Piedmontese 6.6%
- Central Italian dialects 5.9%
- Friulian 5.6%
- Tuscan 5.1%
- Emilia Romagna dialects 2.9%
- Ligurian 2.6%
