il computer italiano

il computer italiano
the Italian computer

    The first time I visited an internet café in Rome, I quickly learned that, despite its  English name, an Italian computer—whether computer da tavolo  (desk-top) or computer portatile (lap-top)—speaks  Italian.

    When I turned on (accendere) il computer, it asked for my nome utente (user name). 
“How do I connect  (connettersi) to the Internet?” I asked the manager (who spoke two languages: Italian and Chinese). After showing me which keys to click (cliccare), he started to dictate a website address:  “Vuvuvu.punto.”   I typed  “vvv.” before realizing that was how Italians say www.  

    When I tried to check e-mail  (controllare la posta), I found myself immersed in a vocabulary lesson in Italian computerese (computer jargon), including:

    posta in arrivo -- inbox
    rubrica - address book
    aiuto – help
    stampa  -- print
    chiudi - close
    rispondi - reply
    invia – send
    invia allegato – send attachment
    inoltra – forward
    elimina, cancella - delete
    salva – save
    cestino -  trash
    cartella – folder
    sposta -  move to..
    svuota la cartella – empty folder
    esci -  log out

    Things got more complicated when I tried to open or close a document  (aprire / chiudere il documento), compose a new message (nuovo messaggio) or simply  find the essential @ key (called chiocciola for the snail it resembles).  With a bit of doing, I managed to download (scaricare) some stuff and compress (zippare) a file.  I toyed with the idea of creating an Italian pseudonimo (alias) and visiting a stanza della chat (chat room) or forum (discussion board).  Instead I went shopping for Italian DVDs and placed some of my choices in a functional carrello (shopping cart) and others in a far more evocative  pozzo dei desideri (wishing well).

    Then the moment came when I uttered the words I’d hoped never to use:   “Il mio computer non funziona.” (My computer isn’t working). 

    “È bloccato?” (Is it frozen?) the manager asked.

    “È morto!” (It’s dead!) I replied, panicked that all my information was lost (perso), damaged (danneggiato) or deleted (eliminato). 

    He expertly pressed a series of keys and rebooted (riavviare).

    “È risuscitato!“ I exclaimed. “It’s come back to life!”

Sayings and Expressions

computare – compute, calculate, estimate
computista – bookkeeper, accountant
bozza – draft
mail spazzatura or, more politely, posta indesiderata – spam, junk mail
il tasto destro del mouse – the mouse right button