# How do people who say 'gabba-gool' spell capicola? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 10, 2014, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-who-say-gabba-gool-spell-capicola/706858 "2014-12-10T17:01:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-who-say-gabba-gool-spell-capicola/706858/1 "2014-12-10T17:01:10Z")
I heard someone mention ‘gabba-gool’ on the radio today. Since he’s a vegan, he didn’t know what it was (other than something to eat). I knew it’s a regional pronunciation of ‘capicola’ (or ‘capicolo’). That made me wonder… How do people who pronounce ‘capicola’ as ‘gabba-gool’ spell ‘capicola’? Do they say the dialect and write the word? Or do they spell it phonetically? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-who-say-gabba-gool-spell-capicola/706858/2 "2014-12-10T17:06:42Z")
Who wants to know? ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-who-say-gabba-gool-spell-capicola/706858/3 "2014-12-10T17:07:42Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I heard someone mention ‘gabba-gool’ on the radio today. Since he’s a vegan, he didn’t know what it was (other than something to eat). I knew it’s a regional pronunciation of ‘capicola’ (or ‘capicolo’). That made me wonder… > > How do people who pronounce ‘capicola’ as ‘gabba-gool’ spell ‘capicola’? Do they say the dialect and write the word? Or do they spell it phonetically? As I hear them say it, it is more like kappa-coal. In any case, they still spell it capicola. Dropping final vowels from Italian words was pretty common among the ethnic Italians where I grew up. They were 2nd and 3rd generation Americans. They couldn’t really speak Italian and they mangled the pronunciation of the words they did know. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-who-say-gabba-gool-spell-capicola/706858/4 "2014-12-10T17:13:34Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Who wants to know? What did I tell you about nosing around over here, you can go back to Johnny and tell him I said “Thanks, but no thanks”. ---
**Author:** ![TSBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@TSBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TSBG)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-who-say-gabba-gool-spell-capicola/706858/5 "2014-12-10T17:24:10Z")
On the Sopranos, they were definitely using a g. It’s not just an Americanized thing, it’s about regional dialects versus “standard” Italian. My father speaks pretty standard Italian, but my mother’s family had some influences from Tuscan and northeast dialects in their speech. And I once had a girlfriend whose parents distinctly said “manigot” instead of the standard “manicotti,” which my family used. Turning c’s into g’s is a southern Italian thing, maybe left over from Arabic or Greek influences? Which was a long-winded way of saying I have no idea how they spell it. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-who-say-gabba-gool-spell-capicola/706858/6 "2014-12-10T17:40:21Z")
> [@TSBG](#): > > On the Sopranos, they were definitely using a g. It’s not just an Americanized thing, it’s about regional dialects versus “standard” Italian. My father speaks pretty standard Italian, but my mother’s family had some influences from Tuscan and northeast dialects in their speech. And I once had a girlfriend whose parents distinctly said “manigot” instead of the standard “manicotti,” which my family used. Turning c’s into g’s is a southern Italian thing, maybe left over from Arabic or Greek influences? > > Which was a long-winded way of saying I have no idea how they spell it. 🙂 I never once heard anyone from my father’s side even speak of Capicola, much less see it written down. I knew what capicola was, but had to look up gabagoo when I started watching the Sopranos. However, Nana did threaten me with a wooden spoon more times than I can count. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-who-say-gabba-gool-spell-capicola/706858/7 "2014-12-10T17:40:52Z")
[Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capicola) says it can be spelled ‘gabagoul.’ ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-who-say-gabba-gool-spell-capicola/706858/8 "2014-12-10T17:44:23Z")
My MIL calls Mozzarella “musadel.” Her folks were from Sicily. ---
**Author:** ![Lukeinva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lukeinva/32/17872_2.png) [@Lukeinva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lukeinva)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-who-say-gabba-gool-spell-capicola/706858/9 "2014-12-10T17:44:38Z")
Kappa coal is how I have heard it as well. They drop the trailing a. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-who-say-gabba-gool-spell-capicola/706858/10 "2014-12-10T18:06:21Z")
I grew up in a largely Italian neighborhood in the Bronx. There were many people who were first or second generation immigrants, mostly from the Naples area. “Gabagool” is a dialect pronunciation of capicola, especially in Sicilian, but that’s the way it was pretty much pronounced in my neighborhood too. If you saw it in the deli the sign would be spelled “capicola.” Likewise mozzarella would be spelled that way, even though everyone (including non-Italians) pronounced it “mootzarel.” Southern Italian dialects frequently drop the final vowel. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-who-say-gabba-gool-spell-capicola/706858/11 "2014-12-10T18:07:14Z")
What TSBG said. Another example is “fangul!” = “fanculo!” = “via a fare in culo!” (“go pleasure yourself in your posterior!”) ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-who-say-gabba-gool-spell-capicola/706858/12 "2014-12-10T18:12:22Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > My MIL calls Mozzarella “musadel.” > > Her folks were from Sicily. There’s a Sopranos episode called [The Telltale Moozadell.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Telltale_Moozadell) One of my favorite bits of Sopranos trivia: It contains a brief uncredited appearance by the fifteen-year old Lady Gaga. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-who-say-gabba-gool-spell-capicola/706858/13 "2014-12-10T18:19:06Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > What TSBG said. Another example is “fangul!” = “fanculo!” = “via a fare in culo!” (“go pleasure yourself in your posterior!”) And _Stugotz_, the name of Tony’s boat, is from either _questo cazzo_ (this dick) or _testa di cozzo_ (dickhead). ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-who-say-gabba-gool-spell-capicola/706858/14 "2014-12-10T18:33:04Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > If you saw it in the deli the sign would be spelled “capicola.” Likewise mozzarella would be spelled that way, even though everyone (including non-Italians) pronounced it “mootzarel.” Southern Italian dialects frequently drop the final vowel. Thanks, **Colibri**. Presumably the deli guy used the dialectical pronunciation, while using the correct spelling? I’ve heard ‘mootzarel’ when Dean Martin sang it in _That’s Amore_. I’ve never seen _The Sopranos_. I didn’t have HBO when it started, and I hate coming in at the middle of things. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-who-say-gabba-gool-spell-capicola/706858/15 "2014-12-10T18:37:45Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I’ve heard ‘mootzarel’ when Dean Martin sang it in _That’s Amore_. You did? I have Dean’s recording of that song and, although he mentions wine, pizza pie and pasta fagioli, “mootzarel” isn’t mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![TSBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@TSBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TSBG)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-who-say-gabba-gool-spell-capicola/706858/16 "2014-12-10T18:47:29Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Thanks, **Colibri**. > > Presumably the deli guy used the dialectical pronunciation, while using the correct spelling? > > I’ve heard ‘mootzarel’ when Dean Martin sang it in _That’s Amore_. > > I’ve never seen _The Sopranos_. I didn’t have HBO when it started, and I hate coming in at the middle of things. If you have HBO now, you can watch the whole thing on HBO GO. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-who-say-gabba-gool-spell-capicola/706858/17 "2014-12-10T18:56:34Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Presumably the deli guy used the dialectical pronunciation, while using the correct spelling? I assume so, since everyone else did, but I don’t recall ordering it there. > [@Scumpup](#): > > pasta fagioli It took me a long time to realize that this was the way “pasta fazool” was actually spelled. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-who-say-gabba-gool-spell-capicola/706858/18 "2014-12-10T19:09:42Z")
> [@TSBG](#): > > And I once had a girlfriend whose parents distinctly said “manigot” instead of the standard “manicotti,” which my family used. Same in my neighborhood. Another common dialectal word in which “c” turns to "g’ is _goombah_, for friend or associate, from _compare_, literally the godfather of one’s child (and thus a close personal friend). _Goombah_ is also used for Mafiosi in general or a derogatory word for Italians. Also frequently heard on The Sopranos was _goomah_, meaning mistress, from _commare_, godmother of one’s child. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-who-say-gabba-gool-spell-capicola/706858/19 "2014-12-10T19:09:53Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Presumably the deli guy used the dialectical pronunciation, while using the correct spelling? That’s how I’ve seen/heard it myself, too. Same with “pasta e fagioli,” as mentioned above. Might be said “pasta fazool,” but I’ve never seen anything but “pasta e fagioli” in print. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2014, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-who-say-gabba-gool-spell-capicola/706858/20 "2014-12-10T19:13:28Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > You did? I have Dean’s recording of that song and, although he mentions wine, pizza pie and pasta fagioli, “mootzarel” isn’t mentioned. Hm… Now you have me checking my memory. Could have been another song. (My iPod is more reliable than my memory, but I don’t feel like listening to Dean Martin music right now. 😉 ) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-people-who-say-gabba-gool-spell-capicola/706858.md?page=2)