The Figure of the Butcher across Language and Socio-cultural Traditions: A Focus on the Italian Region of Campania

The role of the butcher has gained particular relevance in societies over time because of its great influence on popular customs and beliefs. This paper intends to explore the history and evolution of butchery from a socio-cultural perspective, but also investigate how the professional role of the butcher has given rise to the development of other specific field-related crafts and professions with a focus on Italy’s Campania region and to a certain extent, on the UK. In this respect, specific Neapolitan terminology is brought to the fore and through a contrastive Neapolitan-English analysis of the term ‘butcher’, a subtle linguistic connection between these two languages is revealed.