Anyone familiar with Calabrian dialect?

[Bill Raymond]

I came across this cartoon that seems to be in Calabrian dialect. Perhaps if my standard Italian were better I could understand the Calabrian. It's really clear without even knowing Italian what the gist of what they're saying is. However, I'm curious about some of the vocabulary: Specifically, "stortazzu", but also the use of the word "ca". An of our Italian members help me out?
https://www.facebook.com/icalabresi/pho ... =1&theater

[John LaTorre]

I wish my Dad was still here. His first language was Barisi, which isn't much different from Calabrizzi. (When he took an exam in college on Italian, he flunked it, which is when he first realized that Barisi wasn't Italian.) I'm sure he would have known.

But from what I remember, he and his brother and sisters used "ca" sort of in the way we'd say "eh." As for "stortazzu," I have no idea, except that the context would suggest that it meant "dimwit" or something like that.

[Bill Raymond]

Thanks John. "ca" as an interjection or "intensifier" would make sense and "stortazzu" may derive from "storta", "twist or sprain"; it's obvious that it does mean something like "idiot" or "lame-brain" or "dimwit".