Bari dialect or dialetto barese is a variety of Romance languages which has developed over time, changing with the numerous linguistic influences in the Apulia region of Italy due to invasion and occupation throughout the centuries [1]. Influences range from Old French because of the historical Norman rule and the Angevin sovereignty to an ancient pre-Roman Illyrian substratum, lending a characteristic inflection to the dialect, and placing it amongst the most distinct of Italian dialects both from the point of view of phonetics and lexis.

As assigning local dialects to strict geographical areas is often problematic, Barese may be seen, as with other local dialects, as a dynamic and changing language with regional differences determined by a range of geographical, historical and social factors. Nevertheless, Bari dialect may be identified predominantly within the province of Bari in central Puglia, and in the region of Barletta-Andria-Trani, which is characterized by variants such as Barlettano, Tranese and Andriese. The north of the Puglia region in the province of Foggia, where Foggian dialect is spoken, may be seen as a variant of Bari dialect, albeit heavily influenced by Naples dialects.

Bari  listen (help·info) (Bari dialect: Bare; from Latin: Barium) is the capital city of the province of Bari and of the Apulia (or, in Italian, Puglia) region, on the Adriatic Sea, in Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy after Naples, and is well known as a port and university city, as well as the city of Saint Nicholas. The city itself has a decreasing population of about 320,000, as of 2009, over 116 km², while the fast-growing urban area counts 653,028 inhabitants over 203 km². The metropolitan area counts 1 million inhabitants.

Bari is made up of four different urban sections. To the north is the closely built old town on the peninsula between two modern harbours, with the splendid Basilica of Saint Nicholas, the Cathedral of San Sabino (1035–1171) and the Swabian Castle built for Frederick II, which is now also a major nightlife district. To the south is the Murat quarter (erected by Joachim Murat), the modern heart of the city, which is laid out on a rectangular grid-plan with a promenade on the sea and the major shopping district (the via Sparano and via Argiro).