Becoming Italian Word by Word

Bold, Beautiful and Dangerous in the Italian Language

La bella figura

A few years ago we set off to sail the islands (le isole) of the Tuscan archipelago with some mariner friends. After a few hours on the sky-blue Tyrrhenian sea (Mare Tirreno), my husband Bob (Roberto in Italy) broke out a bottle of champagne for a toast.

A crisis (crisi) emerged: There were no flutes on board. The champagne was so buono (good); the plastic boat glasses, so brutti (ugly). Si doveva fare qualcosa. (Something had to be done.) With a quick phone call, we headed into the nearest port –- Giglio Porto, now world-famous as the site of the shipwreck (naufragio) of the giant cruise liner, the Costa Concordia.

The port (il porto), teeming with ferries (traghetti) and commercial boats, offered no place to dock. The captain maneuvered our boat close to the pier. A young waiter (cameriere) came running from a dockside restaurant (conveniently owned by the captain’s cousin) with four champagne glasses (calici) chilling in an elegant ice bucket (secchiello del ghiaccio).

He raised the bucket as high as he could. Our co-captain Erasmo (above), dangling by one arm from the railing, leaned down from the prow. The boat rocked, up and down (su e giù), to and fro (avanti e indietro). For long moments, the bucket seemed suspended in mid-air. Then Erasmo lifted it triumphantly with one arm like a soccer champion (un campione del calcio).

We applauded. The fishermen (i pescatori) in the harbor cheered and waved. A few motorboats sounded their clacson (horns). The captain’s cousin (cugina) blew kisses from her restaurant railing. To us, it seemed an Italian variation on the classic Grey Poupon commercials. To Italians, it was a perfect example of “bella figura” a term that goes beyond making a good impression to describe a distinctive flair that transforms mundane moments into memorable ones.

“Una tendenza teatrale” (a theatrical tendency) is part of Italy’s charm, the acclaimed journalist Beppe Severgnini noted in a column in Corriere della Sera, yet it also is “alla radice di molti nostri problemi” (at the root of many of our problems). “Non soltanto sul mare”(not only on the sea), he added.

“Cosa insegna questa nave che affonda?” (What does this sinking ship teach us?) Severgnini asked. “Una volta ancora, un italiano è caduto nella trappola della bella figura.” (Once again an Italian has fallen into the trap of la bella figura.) Someone—either the captain, as his employers claim, or the ship owners, as he claims—could not resist the dramatic gesture of offering an inchino (a bow or salute) by coming close to shore to display the boat’s magnificent silhouette.

La grande nave (the great ship) sarebbe apparsa magicamente e si sarebbe esibita, con luci e sirene” (would have appeared magically and displayed itself, with lights and horns), wrote Severgnini. Instead things went terribly wrong. 

Troppo bello, meno buono. Too much of the beautiful and too little of the good, Italians say. But this may be changing. The captain of the Costa Concordia is “tanto poco amato” (so little loved), Severgnini observed, because he didn’t see the danger and then non ha saputo affrontarlo ed è andato via (didn’t know how to deal with it and went away)--non una bella figura, per niente (not a bella figura at all).

Words and Expressions

fare una cattiva or una brutta figura –- cut a bad or poor figure

per figura –- for show only

figuraccia -- bad figure

fare un inchino –- make a bow

Che figura! -- What a disgrace! How embarrassing! 

Dianne Hales is the author of LA BELLA LINGUA, My Love Affair with Italian, the World's Most Enchanting Language. 

The Most Famous Obscenity in the Italian Language

La parolaccia

Bad Language

It has become the oscenità (obscenity) heard round the world. After the shipwreck of a cruise liner (nave da crociera) off the Tuscan coast, an officer of the Italian Coast Guard, angered by the captain’s abbandono (abandoning) of his ship, bluntly ordered him to go back on board. His exact words were: “Vada a bordo, cazzo!”

Reporters and bloggers have translated this phrase into English in a variety of ways, from a mild “Go on board, damn it!” to “Go on board, for %&*#’s sake!” to a much stronger, “Get the *&#!= back on board!” Italians are interpreting the slogan as an impassioned cry to all citizens to stop thinking only about themselves, to face harsh realities and to do what’s best for their country. The phrase has gone viral (si è diffusa viralmente) and appears on banners, tee-shirts, aprons and throw pillows (above).

Obscenities like cazzo “were among the oldest, if not the oldest, words in human history,” Vito Tartamella, author of Parolacce, told me when I interviewed him in Milan as part of my research for LA BELLA LINGUA. ”Civilization couldn’t exist without them. Instead of throwing rocks at each other, men learned to hurl insults and vulgarities.”

“Do Italians curse more than other people?” I asked.

“They curse differently,” said Tartamella, noting that, unlike French, German, or English speakers, Italians express powerful emotions like anger, disgust, surprise and horror with sexual obscenities rather than scatalogical ones.  

Cazzo, which dates back to about 1300, may stem from a dialect word for the maschio dell’oca (male goose), slang for the membro virile (masculine member or organ). Other linguists have traced it to an ancient word for "ladle" and to nautical terms associated with the lusty spirit of sailors long at sea.

Sebbene bandita dalla conversazione civile (although banished from polite conversation), cazzo, as my etymological dictionary notes, has remained sempre vitalissima (always very lively). The Italian writer Italo Calvino insisted that no precise equivalent for cazzo exists in any language.

I’ve heard Italians use it as an expression of surprise (cazzo!), praise (cazzuto), boredom (scazzo), anger (incazzato), approximation (a cazzo) or plain and simple contempt (cazzone). Among the “usi di cazzo” (uses of cazzo) at the Urban Dictionary website are col cazzo (never), alla cazzo (at random), non capirci un cazzo (not understand anything) and cazzi miei (my own business). If you read Italian or Neapolitan, Wikipedia offers even more—and more colorful—expressions.  

Under Mussolini’s Codice Rocco of 1930, the use of cazzo and other parolacce (dirty words) became a crime. Of course, Italians didn’t stop swearing; they just found new ways to do so. Instead of porca puttana! (damn whore), they said porca vacca! (damn cow) or they substituted figlio di buona donna (son of a good woman) for figlio di puttana.

Cavolo (cabbage) became a nice, green way to avoid the use of the very strong word cazzo. For instance, if you feel the need to ask “What the hell do you want?”, you might say “Che cavolo vuoi? “ without sounding vulgar. And if someone is spouting nonsense, you are better off saying “Non dire cavolate" (Don’t talk bullshit)) than using a harsher word like cazzate.

However, given the circumstances of the cruise liner’s sinking, “Vada a bordo, cavolo!” would never have sufficed.

Words and Expressions

turpiloquio --  foul language

bestemmia –- blasphemy

bestemmiare come un turco –- to curse or blaspheme like a trooper (Turk)  

bestemmiare il francese –- to mangle French

non mi importa un cavolo –- I don’t give a cabbage (damn)

Dianne Hales is the author of LA BELLA LINGUA: My Love Affair with Italian, the World's Most Enchanting Language. 

Shipwrecked in the Italian Language

 

il naufragio

shipwreck, total ruin

The sight of a huge cruise ship (nave da crociera) lying on its side (su un fianco) in the water, as if sleeping (come addormentata), was startling enough. But I immediately recognized the island (l’isola) in the background: Giglio, part of the Tuscan archipelago (arcipelago toscano) in the Tyrhennian sea (il mar Tirreno).

I’ve spent many happy days swimming and sailing in these beautiful waters, but I also have been warned about their dangers. Seafarers along the rocky peninsula of Monte Argentario say “C’è mare” (literally, there’s ocean) when the sea is rough (mosso). Combined with a tug at the lower eyelid, the phrase also implies, “Watch out. Pay attention.”

Even a lupo di mare (sea wolf, or expert mariner) needs more than a bussola (compass) to navigate these waters safely. In a guide for marinai (mariners) in the area, I found warnings of scogli isolati (scattered large rocks) that are “poco visibili con mare mosso” (barely visible in high seas).

According to news reports, the Costa Concordia ha urtato uno scoglio (collided with a large rock), causing a huge squarcio (gash), and imbarcava acqua (was taking on water). To date,eleven people are known to have drowned (annegati), and others remain missing (dispersi).

“Quella roccia non è sulle carte nautiche.” (That rock is not on the nautical map,” said the captain, who was arrested and charged with omicidio colposo plurimo, naufragio e abbandono della nave (multiple manslaughter, shipwreck and abandoning ship.) Members of the crew (l’equipaggio) have accused him of “osare troppo” (venturing too far) from the designated route.  

Over the years the sea's harsh lessons about life’s dangers have made their way into the Italian language. Urtare (to collide with), for instance, can also mean “to run afoul of.” Essere in urto means “to be on bad terms”; mettersi in urto con qualcuno, “to fall out with someone.” Naufragare (to be shipwrecked) can also be used figuratively as “to be ruined” or “to flop.” In the sense of a “total ruin” or a “wreck,” a naufragio can happen anywhere and leave you affogato nei guai (overwhelmed by troubles).

Navigare in cattive acque (sailing in bad waters) is the Italian equivalent of skating on thin ice. If you find yourself in this predicament, don’t tirare i remi in barca (draw the oars on the boat, or give up). But if you hear the cry “Scialuppe a mare!”, it’s time to launch the lifeboats. And remember: In tempo di tempesta ogni buco è un porto. (Literally, in stormy times, every hole is a port—or, as English speakers say, any port in a storm.)

Words and Expressions

salvagente –- life preserver

scialuppa di salvataggio –- lifeboat

le operazioni di recupero –- rescue operations

naufrago –- castaway, shipwrecked person

andare a picco or andare a fondo –- to sink

lanciare un SOS –- to send an SOS, Mayday

Dianne Hales is the author of LA BELLA LINGUA: MY LOVE AFFAIR WITH ITALIAN, THE WORLD'S MOST ENCHANTING LANGUAGE.

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The New Words of 2011 in the Italian Language

nuove parole

new words

A single word captured the emotional state of the Italian people in 2011, a year of financial crisis (crisi finanziaria) and protest (protesta). In a poll of more than 10,000 readers of La Repubblica, a third chose indignato (outraged). Coming in second with 28 percent was the English word “spread,” which is exactly what indignazione (indignation) did last year.

Yet as I discovered in my dizionario etimologico (etymology dictionary), indignato is a very old word, dating all the way back to 1292, when it was first defined as ”vivamente sdegnato” (ardently disdainful or indignant). Boccaccio used the noun indignazione, defined as "vivo risentimento e sdegno" (intense resentment and disdain), in 1294.

Italians weren’t the only ones to indignarsi (feel outraged). In 2011 we saw tante proteste di arrabbiati, locali e globali (so many protests of angry ones, local and global). The American protesters, piantati nel cuore della Grande Mela (planted in the heart of the Big Apple), coined a new English expression: the 99 percent. The one percent, an Italian journalist explained to readers, is made up of the “pescicani (or pescecani or squali) di Wall Street” (the sharks of Wall Street).

Another English word, “default,” earned third place in the newspaper poll, with 11 percent of the votes. Thanks largely to the iPad and Kindle, “tablet” got six percent, although Americans are more likely to use “notebook” for an electronic reader. An equal number of votes went to equità; (equity). “Twit” (Italian for tweet) got 5 percent of the votes.

The also-rans among the nuove parole (new words) of 2011 were rigore (austerity) and nazione (a tribute to Italy’s 150th anniversary). A word English speakers might use for “slackers” also made the list: fancazzismo, a mix of apathy, total physical and mental laziness, and parasitism. So did  scialla, slang for “stai tranquillo”  or "stai sereno" (take it easy, keep cool, chill out), a popular expression among young people -- and the title of a 2011 movie by director Francesco Bruni about the relationship between a melancholy professor and a rebellious teenager (click below to hear the theme song).

Looking ahead, Italians worry whether the potential candidates for le parole del 2012 (words of 2012) might include povertà (poverty), fallimento (bankruptcy), disoccupazione (unemployment), and disperazione (desperation). Yet one word deserves a place on every year’s list: speranza (hope).

Words and Expressions

 muovere a sdegno -- rouse to anger

protestatore –- protester

fancazzista –- a lazy bones who doesn’t want to do anything

escort –- a nicer sounding word used to refer to the often underage prostitutes who took part in Berlusconi’s scandalous parties.

feisbuchista –- Facebook user

Dianne Hales is the author of LA BELLA LINGUA, My Love Affair with Italian, the World’s Most Enchanting Language.

Tips from Teachers and Students for Learning the Italian Language

Studiare italiano

Studying Italian

“What  is the most important thing to focus on when learning a new language?” a reader recently wrote. I posted his question on the LA BELLA LINGUA page on Facebook and got some great responses from Italian teachers and students.

“When learning a language like Italian, I feel the most important thing to focus on is the WHY,” says Christina Ball, director of the Speak! Language Center.  “Why are you learning Italian? What do you absolutely love about the language? Maybe it’s the way it makes you feel when you speak it, the thought of all the people you’ll be able to connect with when next in Italy (or in your Italian class at home!), the musicality, perhaps -- in the case of those with Italian heritage -- the way it makes you feel closer to your family, to your roots.”

As Christina wisely observes, “Learning a language is like any relationship. You’ll experience ups and downs, but remembering why you’re so committed will help you through those challenging moments so that you can enjoy the journey itself.” [Click here for more information on the programs Speak! is offering in Italy this year.]

“There is no one way or one golden method that you learn from,” observes Melissa Muldoon, the “crazy student” (studentessa matta) with a terrific blog in English and Italian, “You have to read, write, listen and speak the language and build your vocabulary every day. I at first concentrated primarily on grammar, learning conjugations and tenses. Then I began to branch out and found native speakers to converse with  on the internet. If you set aside time every day to create your own experience of immersion, you will get past the proverbial wall that all language learners hit at a certain point.”

Here are some other useful tips:

*Especially in the beginning, focus more on simply expressing yourself and carrying on meaningful conversations vs. perfecting pronunciation and grammar. “Perfectionism can be a true obstacle,” Christina Ball notes, “not only to progress, but also to true enjoyment of another language/culture and your personal experience of it.”

*Don't worry about your vocabulary; it will grow naturally. Instead, learn the basic verb conjugations. Find Italian newspapers, which generally (but not completely) stick to the simpler conjugations, online, and read stories out loud.

*Immerse yourself. Listen to Italian CDs; watch Italian TV and DVDs; stream Italian music and news stations daily. You can find native speakers to Skype at  sites such as livemocha and mylanguageexchange.  They offer both free and paid programs.

*Talk to yourself in Italian. One student pronounces Italian phrases in front of the mirror every morning. Another practiced rolling her r’s while sitting on her scooter at stop signs in Italy.

*Stick with it. ”Surround yourself with Italian in every aspect -- listening, reading, speaking, and watching -- and don't stop for as many years as it takes you to learn the language,” urges Italian teacher Carolina Gengo di Domenico of Piazza di Carolina. 

*Enjoy yourself. “The most fun way for me to learn was marrying an Italian,” wrote one student, “but the verbs help!” (Unfortunately, as I replied to her, verbs don’t hug back.)

*Savor your successes,” another reader urges. “And downplay your everyday mistakes. Your listeners will, I can assure you.”

You can find additional tips and a PDF of my top ten secrets for learning Italian on the "Students and Teachers" page of my website. 

A fun way to start learning or review what you know is to watch the instructional videos by my friend Jodina Hahn Gallo, an Italian language teacher in San Diego. Vote for your favorite, and you could win a prize, including a signed copy of LA BELLA LINGUA!

The Ride of the Witch in the Italian Language

 

L’Epifania 

Epiphany 

Long after many Americans have taken down their Christmas trees and packed away the decorations, Italians continue to celebrate. The final feast is L’Epifania, on January 6, which commemorates the arrival of i re magi, the three kings who followed the bright Christmas star (stella cometa) to bring gifts for Baby Jesus (bambino Gesù). 

Italian children traditionally received their presents on Epiphany rather than Christmas. However, as Babbo Natale (Father Christmas) has become more popular in Italy, youngsters often get gifts on both holidays — if they’ve been good. 

The job of delivering nice gifts to good children and cenere e carbone (ashes and coal) to naughty ones belonged to La Befana, a good-hearted but very ugly witch. Her name comes from befania, a corruption of the Greek word epifania, which means apparition or manifestation. Outside its Epiphany context, befana refers to an ugly woman.

According to one legend, the Magi stopped by Befana’s house and invited her to accompany them on their trip to Bethlehem. She refused because she had too much housework. Regretting her decision, Befana gathered presents in a bag, hopped on her broomstick, and took to the skies. Unable to pick up the Magi’s trail, she stopped at every house along the way to leave gifts for the children, just in case the Christ Child was there.   

Different towns and regions of Italy traditionally celebrated L’Epifania in various ways. Some had a living crèche, with the village’s newest baby in the role of Jesus. In others three children dressed as the Magi with a golden star atop a pole sang pasquelle (little songs) about the three kings as they paraded through the streets. 

In Friuli in northern Italy, families gathered around a big Christmas log that had been burning for twelve days in a special raised hearth called a fogolar. Others lit giant bon fires in their fields. The Friulians believed these Epiphany fires—called pan e vin (bread and wine) in some places and vecja (old one in dialect) in others--lit the way for the three Magi en route to Bethlehem. 

Throughout Italy January 6 marks the end of the long holiday season. “L’Epifania,” an old saying goes, “tutte le feste si porta via.” (Epiphany carries away all the holidays.) However,  another festival—the pre-Lenten Carnevale—isn’t far away. As a dialect proverb says, “Dopo le sante feste de Natal, le santissime de carnaval!”  (After the holy feasts of Christma, the most holy ones of carnival!) 

Words and Expressions 

Italian children memorize verses about La Befana and recite them for their families. The best known are:

 La Befana vien di notte 

con le scarpe tutte rotte 

con le toppe alla sottana: 

Viva, viva la Befana! 

La Befana comes in the night 

With shoes completely broken 

With her skirt all in tatters 

Hurray, Hurray, La Befana! 

Another version:

Viene, viene la Befana

Vien dai monti a notte fonda

neve e gelo la circondan. 

neve e gelo e tramontana!

Viene, viene la Befana


Here comes, here comes the Befana

She comes from the mountains in the deep of the night

Snow and frost (ice) surrounds her

Snow and frost and the West wind

Click here to see more images of Italy’s beloved Epiphany witch: