Many Italian-Americans have Neapolitan and Sicilian roots and, among them, a great part has certainly fond memories of their grand parents or parents speaking in the “dialect” of their own native land. Some, I am sure, probably also learned it, a sincere and loving way to bond with family, but also to keep alive the connection with their ancestral home.

Neapolitan and Sicilian are special idioms, even for Italians: first of all, while in the rest of Italy regional dialects are usually left in the safe – and relatively hidden – haven of the home, and they seldom make an appearance among the younger and more formally educated, In Naples and Palermo everyone – and I mean, everyone – knows the dialect. From the waiter at your local restaurant to the university professor, everyone can switch from Italian to dialect and viceversa, and they do so with ease and aplomb.