Bustocco and Legnanese
Encyclopedia
Bustocco and Legnanese are two similar dialects of the Western Lombard language, spoken in the areas of Busto Arsizio
(Province of Varese
) and Legnano
(Province of Milan
).
They are characterised by the Ligurian substratum
. While Legnanese is closer to the Milanese dialect, Bustocco is very similar to the modern Ligurian language
. In fact, there is the unstressed vowel u at the end of masculine nouns and other words (e.g. Bustocco gatu, secu, coldu, büceu, candu = Legnanese gatt, secch, cald, bicér, quand) and the elimination of some intervocalic consonants (e.g. Bustocco lauà = Legnanese lavurà). In both dialects the stressed a sounds like a mix between a and o.
A comic theatral group called I Legnanesi uses Legnanese (with simplified grammar and lexicon heavily based on Italian) in its shows.
Busto Arsizio
Busto Arsizio is a city and comune in the region of Lombardy, in northern Italy, 25 km north of Milan in the province of Varese.The economy of Busto Arsizio is mainly based on industry and commerce.-History:...
(Province of Varese
Province of Varese
The Province of Varese is a province in the Lombardy region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Varese but its largest city is Busto Arsizio....
) and Legnano
Legnano
Legnano is an Italian town and comune with 59.147 inhabitants in the province of Milan, about from Milan.It's crossed by the river Olona, and it's the 13th town for inhabitants in Lombardy....
(Province of Milan
Province of Milan
The Province of Milan : /) is a province in the Lombardy region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Milan. The provincial territory is highly urbanized, resulting in the third highest population density among the Italian provinces with more than 2,000 inhabitants/km2, just behind the provinces of...
).
They are characterised by the Ligurian substratum
Substratum
In linguistics, a stratum or strate is a language that influences, or is influenced by another through contact. A substratum is a language which has lower power or prestige than another, while a superstratum is the language that has higher power or prestige. Both substratum and superstratum...
. While Legnanese is closer to the Milanese dialect, Bustocco is very similar to the modern Ligurian language
Ligurian language (Romance)
Ligurian is a Gallo-Romance language spoken in Liguria in Northern Italy, parts of the Mediterranean coastal zone of France, Monaco and in the villages of Carloforte and Calasetta in Sardinia. Genoese , spoken in Genoa, the capital of Liguria, is its most important dialect...
. In fact, there is the unstressed vowel u at the end of masculine nouns and other words (e.g. Bustocco gatu, secu, coldu, büceu, candu = Legnanese gatt, secch, cald, bicér, quand) and the elimination of some intervocalic consonants (e.g. Bustocco lauà = Legnanese lavurà). In both dialects the stressed a sounds like a mix between a and o.
A comic theatral group called I Legnanesi uses Legnanese (with simplified grammar and lexicon heavily based on Italian) in its shows.