help with Venetian dialect

[dinogrrl]

Hello wonderful people!

I've got a fantasy story that's set in early 18th-century Venice. I don't speak Italian, and definitely don't know the difference between the various regional dialects, so I'm looking for some help with a nickname in Venetian.

I have a priest who can use magic, who is not exactly a nice guy. Nobody likes to be around him, he's the kind of person you can just tell will erupt like a magic-spewing volcano the moment something doesn't go his way. My main character is ten when she first meets him and has a very visceral Do Not Like reaction to him, comparing him to a pack of rabid dogs. She is not told his name at the time, so in her mind she dubs him Father Mad Dog (creative, I know).

Several years ago I tried to parse "Father Mad Dog" into Italian/Venetian, and I don't know where I came to the conclusion that it'd be "Don Can' Pazzo" but that's what I've been using. I guess somewhere along the line I was under the impression that cane would get shortened to can when used like this. Is any of this correct? Or do I need another phrase entirely?

Comments

[winterbird]

You're so welcome! She's been my beta reader for many years (despite having English as a second language) and she's a legend.

I appreciated that she gave different options and explained *why* don can pazzo would sound a bit odd to a native speaker. I didn't know the differences between the Venetian and Italiano dialects myself, so I've learned a lot. :D

[dinogrrl]

The extent of my Italian knowledge is from being a classical musician, which is not helpful in this context :p but yeah, another character in the story (the child character's father, actually) is known for being able to switch accents/dialects to conceal his identity, so having more detail on what that would entail is excellent for my reference.