Dialect, the local language
The idiom of Bregaglia
In Bregaglia, Italian has been the official language since the Reformation. But beneath the formal surface, in everyday speech, in proverbs, memories and even in young people’s text messages, a more intimate and emotional language lives on: Bregagliotto – or ‘Bargaiot’/‘Bregaiot’, as the people in Bregaglia call it depending on their origins.
Origin and influences
Bregagliotto is a distinct language situated between Lombard and Romansh, which fully reflects the region in which it developed: an Alpine transit valley, a link between Lombard and Graubünden cultures, shaped by movements of emigration and immigration.
In summary, it can be said that:
- The vocabulary shows many similarities with Romansh (puter, vallader);
- The grammar is more similar to Lombard;
- Some terms are loanwords from German (particularly in the case of ‘bargaiot’, such as vasciùs, which comes from the German Waschhaus), from Italian (particularly in the case of ‘bregaiot’) or from other languages.
Local variations
The Bargaiot/Bregaiot is not standardised: it varies from place to place, and from neighbourhood to neighbourhood.
Sottoporta (Bregaiot): geographically situated below the Roman fort ‘Nossa Dona’, it is more Lombard in character, with influences from neighbouring Italian villages. In Soglio, the more frequent use of double consonants is particularly noticeable (similar to the dialect of Villa di Chiavenna) and, unlike in the other villages, the rolled ‘r’, which is not pronounced softly. In all the villages of Sottoporta, verbs in the past participle generally end with an open vowel.
Sopraporta (Bargaiot): geographically situated above the Roman fort ‘Nossa Dona’, closer to Romansh. In contrast to the Sottoporta variant, the vowels – which are often doubled – are stressed, and verbs in the past participle often end with a double closed vowel. In this variant, the soft, guttural ‘r’ is much more prominent, which is the main characteristic of Bregagliotto.
A short dictionary
| English | Bargaiot (Sopraporta) | Bregaiot (Sottoporta) |
| the house | la ciäsa | la cäsa (Bon./Cas.) / la cà (Sog.) |
| the fountain | la brona | la funtäna |
| the water | l'aua | l'ägua |
| the trousers | lan calcia | lan bräga (Bon./Cas.) / lan cälcia (Sog.) |
| the sheep | la norza | la feda |
| I | ie | mi (Bon./Cast.) / gé (Sog.) |
| good morning | bundì | bundì |
| good evening | buna seira | buna sera |
| hello | ueila/uei | ueila/uei |
| yes | scì | scì |
| no | no | no |
| thanks | grazia | grazie/grazia |
| to go ("I am going") | indär ("ie vun") | andè ("mi/gé i vòi") |
| to open ("I have opened") | zarär ("ie à zaraa") | brisciar ("gé/mi i à brisciü") |
| to chat ("I have chatted") | cianciär ("ie à cianciaa") | ciaculä ("gé/mi i'à ciaculä") |
| Bregaglia | Bargaia | Bregaia |
| Vicosprano | Visavran / Vico | Savrän / Vico |
| Roticcio | Ruticc | Ruticc |
| Maloja / Maloggia | Malögia | Malög(g)ia |
| Casaccia | Casa(a)cia | Casaccia |
| Bondo | Bond | Bond |
| Castasegna | Castasegna | Castasegna (Bon./Cas.) / Casctascegna (Sog.) |
| Soglio | Soi | Soi |
| Spino | Spin | Spin |
| Sotto Ponte | Sot Punt | Sot Punt |
| Promontogno | Prumantögn | Prumantögn |
| Pizzo Badile | Piz Badil | Piz Badil |
| Maira (the river) | la Maira | la Mera / la Mäira |
| Who are you? What’s your name? | Tü ci ét? In cusa at clamat? | Tü chi èt / Ca at in nom? |
| I am called... / I am... (name) | Ie'm clam... / Ie sun (al/la)... | Mi/Gé'm clam... / Mi (i) sun (al/la)... / Gé som (al/la)... |
| What time is it? | Che ura él? | Che ura él/èl? |
| I am from... (name of the village) | Ié sun da... | Mi/Ge sun/som da... |
Literature
One of the most significant works written in Bargaiot is La Stria (The Witch), a tragicomedy from 1875 by the author Giovanni Andrea Maurizio.
- La stria, ossia i stinqual da l'amur : tragicomedia nazionale Bargaiota : quädar di costüm da la Bragaia ent al secul 16 : Bergamo, Bolis 1875
Also remarkable are the publications by Luigi Giacometti:
- Elementi per una grammatica del dialetto Bregagliotto di Sopraporta. Poschiavo: Tipografia Menghini SA, 2003
- Ragord. Tun e Mazza, Rama e Risc. Ricordi e modi di dire bregagliotti. Poschiavo: Tipografia Menghini SA, 2006
- La Cläv d’Argent. Poesia e Prosa in dialet Bargaiot. Poschiavo: Tipografia Menghini SA, 2009
- Dizionario del dialetto bregagliotto. Variante di Sopraporta. Traduzioni in italiano, romancio, tedesco. Coira: Pro Grigioni Italiano, Lugano: Edizioni Casagrande, 2012
- Repertorio del dialetto breagliotto a partire dai termini in italiano e in tedesco. Complemento del Dizionario di Luigi Giacometti Collana «Storia dei Grigioni». Coira: Pro Grigioni Italiano, Lugano: Edizioni Casagrande, 2015
The following book, featuring poems, verses and idioms in the original language with German translations, is also highly recommended:
- Das Bergell in Versen di Klaus Reinhardt e Andreas Kley. Olten: Knapp Verlag, 2019