Becoming Italian Word by Word

April fool--or fish--in the Italian language

il pesce d'aprile

April fool 

According to legend, a raven on Noah’s ark set off on April 1 to search for a sign that the flood waters had receded, but it never returned. Others trace the madcap holiday back to the year 1564, when Pope Gregory introduced a new calendar that changed the beginning of the new year from April 1 to January 1. Some people who didn’t believe or wouldn’t accept the change kept celebrating New Year’s Day on the first of April. Others tried to show how silly these original April fools were  by sending them on pointless errands or tricking them into thinking something false was true.

Somehow the fool came to take the form of a fish in Italy.  Children try to tape a paper cutout of a little fish  (pesciolino) to the back of a schoolmate. “Have you seen it?” they chant. “Who?” the unwitting child asks.  “Il pesce d'aprile!”

In a country of pescatori (fishermen), and marinai  (sailors ), il pesce swims through daily life—and language.  In Italian you’re sano come un pesce  (healthy as a fish rather than an ox).  A big shot is un pesce grosso (big fish).  But be wary: I pesci grossi mangiano i piccini. The big fish eat the small fry. 

You don’t need a pole and bait to go fishing in Italian. Buttarsi a pesce (literally throw yourself like a fish) means to dive into an activity headfirst or with enthusiasm. Non sapere che pesci pigliare (not know which fish to pick) refers to being at a loss and not knowing which way to turn. Rather than the early bird catching the worm, in Italian chi dorme non piglia pesci (he who sleeps doesn’t catch the fish.) 

But in Italy, as everywhere,  “L’ospite è come il pesce; dopo tre giorni puzza.”  (Guests are like fish, after three days they stink.)

 
Words and Expressions

*trattare a pesci in faccia — to mistreat, to humiliate, to mortify

*un pesce fuor d'acqua — a fish out of water

*un pesce lesso — a boiled fish (boring person)

*prendere un granchio -- to take a crab (make a blunder, overshoot the mark)

*pescivendolo -- fishmonger

*pescheria -- fish shop

Dianne Hales is the author of La Bella Lingua: My Love Affair with Italian, the World's Most Enchanting Language.

 

Celebrating Women in the Italian Language

la donna

woman

Italy celebrates la giornata della donna (woman’s day) on March 8, when husbands, boyfriends, and bosses present the women in their lives with bouquets of yellow mimosa. This international celebration is a relatively recent invention, created in 1911, but la donna has always played a complex, critical role in Italian life -- and language.

No one may have understood this better than Nicolò Tommaseo, a nineteenth-century essayist and iconoclast  whose passions included women and words. He demonstrated his devotion to the latter by compiling the Dizionario dei sinonimi, an encyclopedic narrative dictionary of Italian synonyms, published in 1864, and unmatched in any other language and literature. 

Italian alone, he contended—and in particular the Tuscan dialect that shaped the language—captures sfumature (nuances), the same word Italian uses for the subtle brush strokes of artists like Leonardo da Vinci.

 In Italian, for instance, a donna can also be a:

    *donna allegra or donna di facili costumi -- a woman of easy virtue 
    *donna di casa -- housewife (also called a casalinga)
    *donna di mondo -- worldly, sophisticated woman
    *donna di servizio –-housemaid, domestic help
    *prima donna -- leading lady
    *donnina -- clever or sensible girl
    *donnino -- womanly or mature girl who takes on adult responsibilities despite her young age
    *donnetta -- common or ordinary woman, also an old maid or a woman of no value
    *donnaccia -- bad-tempered woman, tart, prostitute
    *donnone -- tall, imposing or large woman
    *donnicciola -- simple or stupid woman.  gossip, or if used for a man, sissy or coward 

    A donnaiolo, however, is no lady, but a ladies’ man or womanizer.

Tommaseo further distinguished between una donna cattiva and una cattiva donna (English speakers would translate both as a bad woman).  However, the phrases do not have the same meaning in Italian. Una cattiva donna dresses badly and presents herself poorly, while una donna cattiva is spiteful and full of malice. Either could be una cattiva moglie (bad wife), who isn’t good at running a household and caring for a family, or una moglie cattiva, with a mean or wicked spirit.

Words and Expressions:

fare la primadonna -- to act like a primadonna

"Chi dice donna dice danno" -- Who says woman says damage (women are synonymous with harm)

"Quel che donna vuole Dio lo vuole" -- What woman wants, God wants.

"Né donna, né tela a lume di candela" -- Choose neither a woman nor linen by candlelight (to avoid  a nasty surprise the next morning)

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

One thing is certain: La donna, by any and all names, has always enraptured the Italian uomo (man). Here is the legendary Pavorotti singing Puccini's lyrical tribute from Manon Lescaut:

The Pope Makes History in the Italian Language

Il Papa si dimette

The Pope Resigns

“Nevica spesso a Roma?” I asked as flurries fell on a February day. (Does it often snow in Rome?)

“A ogni morte di papa,” my friend replied. (At every death of a pope.) Which, I figured out, meant hardly ever—or, as we would say in English, “once in a blue moon.” A pope’s stepping down is even rarer: a once-every-six-centuries (una volta ogni sei secoli) phenomenon.

The resignation of Pope Benedetto XVI, more often referred to by his family name of Papa (pronounced with the accent on the first syllable to distinguish it from “papà” for “Dad”) Ratzinger in Italy, hit like “un fulmine a ciel sereno” (a lightning bolt in a clear sky). And indeed lightning did strike St. Peter’s just hours after the announcement.

Such an estremamente raro (extremely rare) event last occurred circa 600 anni fa (about 600 years ago). The più recente (most recent) resignation was that of Pope Gregory XII -– on July 4, 1415. In the Divine Comedy, Dante damned Pope Celestine V, who resigned in 1294, for his gran rifiuto (great refusal) and placed him among the slothful in hell.

Precedenti tanto antichi (such ancient precedents), the press reported, aumentano lo stupore (add to the shock) of Pope Benedict’s announcement. Only six other popes hanno abbandonato il pontificato (have abandoned the pontificate).

"Lascio per il bene della Chiesa.” (I leave for the well-being of the Church.) Pope Benedict announced. “Vivrò una vita di preghiera." (I will live a life of prayer.)

Newspapers quoted the Pope’s “ultimo tweet”(last tweet): “Dobbiamo avere fiducia nella potenza della misericordia di Dio. Noi siamo tutti peccatori, ma la Sua grazia ci trasforma e ci rende nuovi.” (We must have faith in the power of God’s mercy. We are all sinners, but his grace transforms us and makes us new.)

In the coming weeks the collegio cardinalizio (college of cardinals) must select a new pontiff from several leading candidates or “papabili” (those eligible or likely to be pope). They include an American, a Brazilian, a Canadian, several Africans and a few Italians.

"Morto un papa se ne fa un altro,” Italians say with a shrug. When a pope dies—or, in this case, si dimette (resigns)--another is made. In other words, no one is irreplaceable.

Popes creep into other common expressions in Italian. English speakers, for instance, may aspire to live like a king; Italians, “stare come un papa” (to be like a pope). But even a king might miss the main point of an experience. In such situations, one might as well andare a Roma e non vedere il papa (go to Rome and not see the pope).

Words and Expressions

cardinalesco, cardinalizio –- pertaining to a cardinal

il trono di San Pietro –- St. Peter’s throne

elezione pontificia –- papal election

fumata bianca –- -white smoke, which signals that the conclave has elected the new pope

fumata nera --  black smoke), which signals that the conclave hasn’t yet made a choice

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

Bad Weather in the Italian Language

l’alluvione, l'inondazione

the flood 

Un paese in ginocchio (a town on its knees). Manca tutto: luce, acqua, gas. (Lacking everything: light, water, gas).  Gli unici mezzi di trasporto gommoni e motoscafi (the only means of transportation dinghies and motorboats). I fiumi in piena (rivers cresting). I ponti sott’acqua (bridges under water). Le strade chiuse (roads closed).

Not long ago we were reading bulletins like these about flooded areas in the eastern United States. The latest reports come from Italy, where downpours (acquazzoni) have allagato (inundated) much of the country, from Venice in the East to the Maremma in the west.

“Albinia è disastrata,” a friend e-mails from the village in western Tuscany termed the "epicentro della catastrofe” (epicenter of the disaster). The entire town was “sommersa dopo l'eccezionale ondata d’acqua” (submerged by an exceptional wave of water).

Many people took refuge (si sono rifugiate) on roofs (sui tetti). Others barricaded themselves on the high floors of their houses (ai piani alti delle case). Some were rescued by Vigili del Fuoco (fire and rescue workers) in helicopters (elicotteri) that shuttled up and down (hanno fatto la spola) to reach people who remained isolated in their homes (per cercare le persone rimaste isolate nelle loro case). 


"L'acqua ci ha preso alle spalle" (the water hit us on the back), said one resident. Now la gente (the people), con una scopa in mano (with a broom in hand), are trying to ricacciare (drive back) l’acqua marrone (brown water) from their cucine e salotti (kitchens and living rooms).

The countryside in Umbria also has been alluvionata (flooded). In some places an ocean of mud (fango) swept away houses and shops. Volunteers called angeli del fango (mud angels) are working to help homeowners salvage their property.

Il Tevere (the Tiber) overflowed its banks in areas north of Rome. A kennel of dogs (gli ospiti di un canile) perished when the level of the river rose too quickly (il livello del fiume è salito troppo velocemente) for a rescue. Some bridges were damaged and roads flooded, leading to caos alla circolazione (traffic chaos).

In Venice high water (acqua alta) overtook 70 percent of the city, including Piazza San Marco, where a few tourists went swimming (hanno fatto il bagno). The flooding, which caused incalculable damage (danni incalcolabili) to the city known as La Serenissima, was the sixth-worst (il sesto peggiore fenomeno di allagamento) in its history.

“Hai bisogno di qualcosa?” (Do you need anything?) I asked a friend in the hard-hit Maremma, which declared un stato di emergenza (state of emergency).

“Si, un’arca!” she replied. (Yes, an ark!)

If the worldwide maltempo (bad weather) continues, sooner or later we all may end up in the same boat.

Words and Expressions

Protezione civile –- Civil Protection and Emergency planning organization 

operazioni di soccorso –- rescue operations

bollettino metereologico / bollettino meteo -- official weather information source  

Il diluvio universale –- the Deluge (in biblical times)

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

Noah's ark image ©Denis Kelly/Dreamstime.com

Click below for a news report in English on the flooding:

The American Election in the Italian Language: The Results

“Altri quattro anni!”

“Four More Years!”

“L’America ha scelto Obama,” the Italian press reported. The first words of the triumphant President came via twitter, un cinguettio che i democratici non dimenticheranno (a tweet that the Democrats will not forget): “Four more years.” (Altri quattro anni.)  His message to his supporters was simple: “You made this possible. Thank you.” (Voi lo avete reso possibile, grazie.)

After a long, costly and bitter campaign (una campagna lunga, costosa e aspra), America had prepared for il grande martedì delle elezioni (the great Tuesday of the elections). The polls (i sondaggi) continued to predict a dramatic head-to-head (testa a testa) contest between President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, the Republican candidate (il candidato repubblicano).

In the last 48 hours of the political marathon (maratona politica), the campaigns hanno bruciato (“burned”) some three million dollars (tre miliardi di dollari) as the two candidates participated in fourteen events in eight states.

Dal Colorado alla Virginia, dal Wisconsin all'Ohio (from Colorado to Virginia, from Wisconsin to Ohio), the President took the advantage (vantaggio). Ultimately he ended up with a decisive majority of votes in tasca (in pocket), with strong support from minorities (le minoranze), women (le donne), and the young (i giovani).

Not all aspects of the American election translated into Italian. “Early vote,” for instance, remained “early vote” in Italian articles. One reporter described New Jersey’s hefty Governor Chris Christie as “il governatore extra large.” And in any language Bruce Springsteen remained “il Boss.”

The President ended the longest of days (la lunghissima giornata) in Chicago, his home town, with his wife Michelle and daughters Malia and Sasha. “Finirò quello che ho iniziato” ("I will finish what I started"), he promised in an emotional speech.

"Lo abbiamo realizzato insieme, ecco come abbiamo fatto campagna elettorale ed ecco chi siamo" ("We have achieved this together; this is how we campaigned and how we are”), he told the cheering crowd.  "Sarò più forte ed ispirato di prima" ("I will be stronger and more inspired than before").

For the United States, he predicted, “Il meglio deve ancora venire” (The best is yet to come).

Words and Expressions

i risultati –- the results

il vincitore –- the winner

stati-chiave -– key states

la rielezione –- the re-election

i sostenitori  –- the supporters

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

The American Election in the Italian Language: Voting

Un presidente da votare in garage

Voting (for President) in a Garage

One of the most charming accounts I’ve read on the American way of voting was written by the distinguished journalist Federico Rampini in his book San Francisco-Milano:

One Tuesday morning (martedì mattina) when he was living in San Francisco, Rampini awoke to discover a line of people (una fila di persone) in front of a garage (di fronte a un garage) in his neighborhood. He thought someone must have posted a “for rent” sign (un cartello “affittasi”) since whenever an apartment became available, eager renters would form lines in the street (si formano code per la strada).

“Invece, no” (instead, no), he discovered, “era una fila di elettori” (it was a line of voters). “Il vicino aveva messo a disposizione il garage come seggio per le presidenziali.” (A neighbor had made available his garage as a polling station for the presidential vote.)

Much to Rampini’s surprise, there was no poliziotto (police officer), only a sign stating that la propaganda elettorale (political advertising) was forbidden. Niente scuole requisite (no schools requisitioned), nessuna mobilitazione di forze dell’ordine (no mobilization of law enforcement officers).

In Milan Rampini had always voted in a middle school (scuola media), under the vigilance of soldiers in uniforms (sotto la vigilanza dei soldati in divisa). By comparison, the greatest democracy in the world (la più grande democrazia del mondo) held its elections without the outward appearance (esteriorità) -- somewhat alarming (un po’ allarmante) -- that gives a dramatic character (un carattere drammatico) to Italian elections.

Usually un’agenzia bancaria (a bank branch) in Rampini's neighborhood offered itself as a voting site (come sede elettorale). But on this particular Tuesday the employee (impiegato) who had the key forgot that voting began at 7:00 a.m. (alle sette). He showed up at 8:30 a.m. (alle otto e mezza), the opening hour (orario di apertura) for the bank.

For that hour and a half, the official in charge ha fatto votare all’aperto con le schede appoggiate sui cofani delle auto posteggiate (allowed voting in the open, with the ballots leaning on the hoods of the parked cars). Some may have grumbled (brontolato) about the limited privacy (la scarsa privacy), but the voting process went forward.

Rampini could not help but wonder: La superpotenza americana, campionessa nell’industria tecnologica, non potrebbe usare metodi un po’ meno arcaici? (Couldn’t the American superpower, champion of technological industry, use methods a little less archaic?)

In fact, some have proposed that everyone vote from home, online (votare da casa, online). But what if some anarchist hacker (hacker anarcoide) decided to sabotage the race to the White House (la corsa alla Casa Bianca)?

The next time that he voted in Milan, Rampini pledged, he would bring a photo to the middle school with its uniformed soldiers. It would show the garage where American voters (elettori americani) chose the President of the United States (il Presidente degli Stati Uniti)—and the bank that left the voters on the sidewalk (sul marciapiede).

Words and Expressions

giorno delle elezioni -- election day

il trionfatore –- the victor

deporre il voto nell’urna elettorale –- to place one’s vote into the ballot box

spoglio dell’urna –- vote counting

seggio elettorale –- polling station

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

The American Election in the Italian Language: The Race

La corsa presidenziale

The Presidential Race

"Questa corsa è testa a testa” (This race is head to head—or, as Americans are more likely to say, neck-to-neck), La Repubblica reports. “Tutto si decide nelle prossime settimane.” (Everything will be decided in the coming weeks.)

Italian journalists generally concluded that President Barack Obama was the winner of the last two debates (dibattiti). "Se fosse una battaglia vera" (if it were a true battle), one paper noted, Obama "l'avrebbe davvero vinta in punta di baionetta" (would have won by a bayonet point -- more colloquially, by  the skin of his teeth). However, the economic crisis has helped (la crisi economica ha aiutato) Governor Mitt Romney in national polls.

The big issues in the debates were work, taxes, the economy, green energy, the spread of weapons, immigration policies, and the disparity between the salaries of men and women (il lavoro, le tasse, l'economia, l'energia verde, la diffusione delle armi, le politiche per l'immigrazione, e la disparità tra gli stipendi di uomini e donne).

Wondering how some of the phrases that lit up Twitter and made headlines in the United States sounded in Italian, I culled a few examples of le gaffe (the gaffes or mistakes) and le battute spiritose (witty remarks):

*The 47 percent (il quarantasette per cento): These are the Americans whom, as one article put it, Romney sees as “parasites maintained by the government” (parassiti mantenuti dal governo). He has since clarifed that he cares about 100 percent of citizens (il cento per cento dei cittadini).

*Bayonets and horses (baionette e cavalli): Romney argued that the U.S. Navy has fewer ships than in 1916 (meno navi che nel 1916). To which Obama replied, “But Governor, we also have fewer bayonets and fewer horses.” (Beh, Governatore, abbiamo anche meno baionette e meno cavalli.)

*Bengazi (Bengasi): When Romney disputed Obama’s claim that he had referred to the assault in Libya as an “act of terrorism” (atto terroristico) the day after the attacks, he began to stammer (balbettare). "Just read the transcript" (basta leggere i verbali), replied Obama. Candy Crowley, the moderator (la moderatrice), then interjected that the President had indeed used the term within 24 hours (nel giro di 24 ore).

*The economic crisis (la crisi economica): “With Obama, we will end up like Greece" (con Obama finiremo come la Grecia), Romney argued, blaming the President for unemployment and debt (disoccupazione e debito).    Obama responded that his opponent wants only to lower taxes on the rich (solo diminuire le tasse ai ricchi).

For Italians, Romney’s turn to the center (la convergenza al centro) has been the greatest surprise of the race. “Obama vince ma convince?” (Obama wins, but does he convince?) asked a commentator. In a very short time, we will find out if the bayonets truly are enough to repel the cannons (basteranno davvero le baionette per respingere le cannonate).

Words and Expressions

politica estera –- foreign policy

il candidato –- the candidate

lo sfidante -- the challenger

il sondaggio –- poll, survey

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

The American Election in the Italian Language: All the President's Women

 

Le donne del Presidente

The President’s Women

The enthusiastic support (il forte sostegno) of American women for President Barack Obama fascinates the Italian press. The president certainly isn’t the first politician who warms women’s hearts (il primo politico che scalda i cuori femminili),  but he is a different type of “ladies’ man” (which doesn’t quite translate into Italian—although un rubacuori, literally heart-stealer, or un Casanova come close).

Obama is not a seducer (non è un seduttore), Vittorio Zucconi recently wrote in La Repubblica, who knows how to hypnotize women with charm (che sappia ipnotizzare le donne con lo charme), with the ability to make them feel the center of the universe for even a few seconds  (con l’abilità di farle sentire al centro dell’universo anche per pochi secondi) as Bill Clinton did.

However, the President clearly feels at ease among and with women (a proprio agio fra e con le donne). He grew up in a universe of grandmother and aunts (cresciuto in un universo di nonne e zie), formed and influenced by women (formato e influenzato da donne).

Like almost half of American children, Obama came from a home headed by a single mother (madre sola or single), whom Italian papers describe as “un pò scapestrata e vagamente hippie” (a bit wild and vaguely hippie).

His maternal grandmother (la nonna materna), deputy director of a bank in Honululu, told him that he was destined for great things (destinato a grandi cose). Instead of fairy tales and books of adventure (delle favole e dei libri di avventura) when she tucked him in bed in the evening, she read passages from the Constitution and Declaration of Independence (Costituzione e della Dichiarazione di Indipendenza).

His married life (la sua vita matrimoniale) seems impeccable (inappuntabile). No shadow of gossip (nessun’ombra di pettegolezzo) has ever touched him and Michelle. After 20 years of marriage the "first couple" (prima coppia) still seem as happy and in love (felice e innamorata) as the early days of their marriage.

The Italian press finds it surprising that Obama has welcomed -- it is said with enthusiasm (si dice con entusiasmo) -- his mother-in-law (la suocera), the seventy-four-year-old (settantaquattrenne) Marian Robinson, to serve as "babysitter in chief." It definitely helps, reporters observe, that the White House has 132 rooms, five private apartments, 35 bathrooms and 412 doors that can always be discreetly closed (132 stanze, cinque appartamenti privati, 35 bagni e 412 porte che possono essere sempre discretamente chiuse).

There is another woman in Obama’s world (nel mondo di Obama) but one who moves in her own orbit (secondo una propria orbita): Secretary of State (Segretario di Stato) Hillary Clinton.  Perhaps in four years (fra quattro anni), at age 69, she will change the conversation. No longer will we talk about one of the women of the President (una delle donne del Presidente) but about the woman President (la donna Presidente).

Words and Expressions

First Lady -- Italians generally use the English since prima donna can have a negative meaning

Casa Bianca –- White House

coppia presidenziale –- Presidential couple

votante femmina, elettrice -- female voter

femminismo –- feminism

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

The American Election in the Italian Language: The Democrats

The Democratic President

Il Presidente democratico

Since the times of Franklin Roosevelt, solo un presidente democratico (only one Democratic president) -- Bill Clinton -- has managed a farsi rieleggere (to get himself re-elected). President Barack Obama non intende essere da meno (intends to do no less), but as journalists in Italy and elsewhere have noted, “Non sarà facile” (It will not be easy).

At last week’s convention, “Mom-in-chief” (which didn't translate) Michelle Obama ha raccontato il lato umano del presidente (talked about the human side of the President). By concentrating sull'aspetto privato e familiare senza mai nominare gli avversari (on the private and familial aspect without ever naming adversaries), she conveyed the message: “il vero sogno americano siamo noi" (We are the true American dream).

The following evening former President Clinton ha infiammato i democratici (inflamed the Democrats) with a speech that ended in un tripudio, ovazioni, applausi ritmati ed Obama che sale sul palco per abbracciarlo (in jubilation, ovations, rhythmic applause and Obama coming onto the stage to embrace him).

In his acceptance speech, President Obama reminded Americans that they face una scelta non solo tra due candidati o due partiti ma tra due visioni del futuro (a choice not only between two candidates or two parties but between two visions of the future). Rather than offering troppo facili promesse (too easy promises), he declared, "Non faccio finta che la strada che vi indico sia veloce o facile" (I do not pretend that the road I indicate to you is fast or easy). But of one thing, non ha dubbi (he has no doubts): "I nostri problemi possono essere risolti, le nostre sfide vinte" (Our problems can be solved; our challenges overcome).

However, since he was elected to dire la verità (tell the truth), the President reminded delegates that la verità è che ci occorre più di qualche anno per risolvere sfide che si sono accumulate per decenni (the truth is that it takes more than a few years to resolve challenges that accumulated over decades).

Quando tutto sarà detto e fatto (when all is said and done),  il Commander in Chief urged voters: Ricordatevi che dalla vostra scelta dipende il futuro vostro e dei vostri figli (Remember that your future and your children’s depends on your choice).

As he expressed his faith in “voi, il popolo Americano” (you, the American people), the hall exploded in shouts of “Ancora quattro anni!” (Four more years!)

Words and Expressions

votare –- to vote

liberale -- liberal

conservatore –- conservative

i sondaggi –- the polls

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

 

The American Election in the Italian Language: The Republicans

La Sfida Repubblicana

The Republican Challenge

“Il vangelo di Mitt Romney” an Italian headline proclaimed, “The gospel” of the Republican presidential candidate. Poco conosciuto (little known) in Italy, il primo candidato mormone nella storia d'America (the first Mormon candidate in the history of America) emerged in the coverage of last week’s Republican convention.

“Il mio fantastico Mitt” (my fantastic Mitt), his wife Ann said in her speech, “è un marito esemplare da 43 anni (is an exemplary husband of 43 years), un padre affettuoso (a loving father) è un cristiano devoto che dona il 10% del suo reddito in carità (and a devout Christian who gives 10 percent of his income to charity).

"Quattro anni fa mi augurai che Barack Obama riuscisse, perché amo l'America” (Four years ago I wished that Barack Obama would succeed, because I love America) Romney told the assembled Republican delegates. “Oggi dico: è tempo di voltare pagina” (Now I say: it’s time to turn the page).

When Romney ha preso la parola (took to the floor), he attacked the President “sul suo punto debole: il bilancio di governo” (on his weak point: the government budget), reported one of Italy’s most distinguished journalists, Federico Rampini, in La Repubblica. His speech touched “le corde del patriottismo (the chords of patriotism), della nostalgia per i tempi dorati della crescita (of nostalgia for the golden times of growth) e delle aspettative di un costante progresso nel tenore di vita da una generazione all'altra (and of expectations of constant progress in the quality of life from one generation to another).”

Rampini's article summarizes Romney’s piano in cinque punti per creare 12 milioni di posti di lavoro (five point plan to create 12 million jobs):

    *indipendenza petrolifera (oil independence), attraverso la totale libertà di trivellare (through the total freedom to drill).

    *facoltà di scegliere dappertutto le scuole migliori -- cioè private. (Ability everywhere to choose the best schools—that is, private ones.)

    *ritorsioni commerciali contro la Cina e chiunque faccia "concorrenza sleale" (trade retaliation against China and anyone who makes “unfair competition”)

    *bilancio in pareggio "per non fare la fine della Grecia" (balanced budget so as not to end up like Greece)

    *la massima deregulation per le imprese (maximum deregulation for business), along with sgravi fiscali (tax cuts) and l'abrogazione della riforma sanitaria di Obama (repeal of Obama’s health care reform).

Unlike American journalists, Italian reporters did not accuse anyone of parlare a torto e traverso (speaking wrongly and crookedly) or of prometere mari e monti (promising seas and mountains -- “the moon,” we would say in English). They also refrained from using the wonderful Italian word I would have have chosen for the long-winded speechifying of this (and any other) convention: sproloquio.

Words and Expressions

discorso, orazione –- speech

parlatore, oratore –- speechmaker

campagna elettorale –- election campaign

tribuna poltica –- party political broadcast

Dianne Hales is the author of La Bella Lingua: My Love Affair with Italian, the World's Most Enchanting Language. 

For a clip of the classic Italian comic Toto trying to get out the vote, click below: