The dialect of Campagna belongs to the large group of central-southern Italian dialects, which cover a large part of the former Kingdom of Naples: from the southern Marche and Abruzzo to lower Lazio, Campania, Basilicata, northern Calabria and Salento. Within this linguistic space, several subgroups can be distinguished: for Campagna, on the one hand, the Campanian dialects (Campania and lower Lazio) and, on the other hand, the Lucanian and Cilento dialects. In fact, the city is located in a position of geographical and cultural hinge between the Sele plain and the inland Apennines, and this “border” condition is reflected in the local dialect.
The dialectological study highlights how the campagneso shares with other central-southern dialects numerous phonetic and morphological traits: the weakening of final atonal vowels, certain metaphonic phenomena, typical consonantal outcomes and specific verb forms. At the same time, elements emerge that bring it closer now to the Neapolitan variety, now to the Irpino-Lucano-Cilentano complex, helping to define Campagna as a frontier linguistic area.
Sources: Rubino Luongo, «Notes on Campagnese dialectology», in Identità campagnese. Culture, religion, society. Fonti e documenti, Campagna 500°, vol. 5, edited by E. Catone, B. D'Agostino, L. Luongo, scientific direction by G. D'Agostino, Campagna, Edizioni Giordano Bruno.
Campagna is territorially included in the Salerno area, between the coast and the mountains, and has historically absorbed influences from both Campania and Irpinia and Lucania. The analysis of local variants shows a dense network of correspondences with the Neapolitan - especially with regard to the vowel system, consonantal connections and certain lexical choices - but also affinities with the Lucano-Cilentan dialects, particularly in the more inland areas. Within this framework, the Campagnese dialect can be considered a local koine which brings into dialogue two large linguistic sets: that of Campania and that of Irpinia-Lucano-Cilento.
The study also emphasises that, in the past, the dialect of Campagna showed these transitional elements more clearly. Indeed, in the ancient texts and in the memory of the oldest speakers, forms appear that are now rare or have disappeared - e.g. articles, vowel outcomes and words heard as archaisms - that refer to the Lucanian and Cilento dialects. Together, these data confirm the image of a linguistically “porous” territory”, crossed by continuous exchanges along the Plain-Apennine axis.
For the parlance in use today, the author highlights a strong process of Italianisationschool, mobility and means of communication have brought the dialect closer to standard Italian and the urban varieties of Campania. Many ancient traits have faded or survived only in a few generations, while the lexicon has been enriched with borrowings and hybrid forms. This evolution, however, does not erase the role of dialect as a marker of identitycampagneso continues to be used in family relationships, neighbourly relations, proverbial expressions and forms of popular theatre.
Dialectological research invites us to read the dialect of Campagna not as a museum exhibit, but as a live system, which preserves traces of the Italic substratum and subsequent historical contributions (Greek, Arab, Norman) while adapting to social and cultural transformations. From this perspective, dialect becomes a valuable tool for understanding the deep history of the Campagnese community and its way of inhabiting the border between different worlds.
