u/LectraShock

Hi all, first post on reddit.

My family is from Petilia Policastro, Calabria. I grew up hearing Italian and some of those words stuck with me through the years. I don't speak Italian so I'm at a loss. Unfortunately, all of my family members are dead now so there is no one I can ask.

They used a dialect word that sounded like “goo-NYAH-nya” (sometimes I hear it as “gunauwna”).

It's possibly spelled: 'nguàgna, nguagna, or 'nguagnu.

They would attach this word to a car, a building, or some object that looked funny or not quite right. After one of them would say it, everyone else would laugh hysterically.

Does anyone recognize this word or know how it’s spelled or what it means?

Thank you!