Becoming Italian Word by Word

A Foreign Correspondent on Italians and the Italian Language

The Italians

British journalist John Hooper got to know the country, its people and its language by spending decades living and writing in Italy as a correspondent for The Guardian. In his best-selling chronicle, The Italians, Hooper provides droll insights for casual or seasoned tourists as well as enlightening definitions of Italian words one rarely finds in dictionaries or learns in classes.  Here are some examples:

    *copiare: literally, to copy, but used “euphemistically,” as Hooper puts it, for cheating at school. (Cheating in other contexts is barare, truffare or imbrogliare.) A successful Italian industrialist once bragged that “at school, I was the world champion at copiatura.”

    *furbo: an almost untranslatable word with “a range of meanings that in English go from ’smart’ to ‘cunning’ and from ‘crafty’ to ‘sly.’” Fare il furbo means to cut into a line. Non fare il furbo translates as “Don’t try to get clever with me.” “Furbo is not a compliment,” says Hooper, but Italians praise furbizia “in a tone of mixed surprise and complicit approval.”

    *fesso: idiot or fool, often used in contrast to furbo. A fesso isn’t dumb, but he’s foolish enough to go to the end of a queue and wait his turn or to tell the tax collector his actual income—unthinkable for a furbo.

    *ometto, stampella, angioletto, gruccia, attaccapanni, croce, appendiabiti, cruccia, stanfella, crocetta, crociera, appendina: all these words are used in different parts of Italy to refer to the same thing -- the humble coat hangar.

    *mammismo: “the phenomenon of sons unduly dependent on their mothers,” which, Hooper reports, may be unique in the Italian language but differs only in degree from the close relationship between mothers and sons in most Mediterranean societies.

    *il piacere di stare insieme: “the joy of being together,” the Italian love of communal social action.

    *il salotto buono: a term for an imagined refined drawing room where the powerful leaders of finance and industry make insider deals.

    *nepotismo: the giving of jobs to relatives, a word derived from the Latin nepos (nephew), inspired by the privileges once showered on the “nephews” (in reality, illegitimate sons) of Catholic prelates and popes.

    *raccomandazione, indicazione, segnalazione, spintarella: terms used for any exchange of reciprocal favors or the intervention of one person with another on behalf of a third. Italy’s Supreme Court declared the practice “so deeply rooted in custom and practice as to appear in the eyes of some people to be an indispensable instrument” for society to function.

    *bustarella: a “little envelope” packed with money that helps pave the way for needed permissions or extensions

    *più amato dagli italiani: most beloved by the Italians, a phrase used in advertisements or commercials for everything from sofas to crockery to rental firms. 

John Hooper’s engaging book inspires a single word for the author:  “Bravo!”

Dianne Hales is the author of MONA LISA: A Life Discovered and LA BELLA LINGUA: My Love Affair with Italian, the World's Most Enchanting Language.

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"Io non sono Charlie"

"I am not Charlie"

Like millions around the world, last week Italians sono andati in piazza (took to the streets) in manifestazioni di massa (mass demonstrations) of support for le vittime del massacro (the victims of the massacre) at Charlie Hebdo in Paris. With cartelli (signs) proclaiming “io sono Charlie” or “je suis Charlie” and symbolic matite (pencils) in their hands, they expressed tristezza (sadness) and solidarietà (solidarity).

A headline in La Stampa caught my eye: "Io non sono Charlie." In a mare delle di parole (sea of words) in the Italian press, columnist Elena Loewenthal offered a fresh and compelling perspective. Here is a summary of her argument:

“Io non sono Charlie. Nessuno di noi lo è più, ormai.” (I am not Charlie. None of us is him anymore, in fact). Io non sono Charlie because there is an abyss of difference fra perché fra chi è vivo e chi è morto ammazzato da una raffica di spari in nome di Allah (between those who live and those who are dead, killed by a burst of gunfire in the name of Allah). In this sense, tutti noi vogliamo fermamente non essere Charlie (all of us firmly want not to be Charlie).

Ma io non sono Charlie soprattutto (but above all I am not Charlie) because we are not all cartoonists, editorialists, policemen, Parisians, Jews. Il fondamento della libertà (the foundation of liberty) is the recognition that il mondo non è tutto uguale e noi nemmeno, anzi (the world is not equal, nor in fact are we).

Our fundamental value is esprimersi nella diversità che ci caratterizza in quanto individui (expressing ourselves in the diversity that characterizes us as individuals). Per il fanatico, siamo tutti Charlie. (To the fanatic, we are all Charlie). Ma non è così (but this is no so) because the greatest value of our culture lies nel riconoscimento che il mondo è vario (in the recognition that the world is diverse) —e persino bello (and even beautiful) because it is so.

Our culture is made up of volti e opinioni diverse (different faces and opinions) and is defined by its diversity and la libertà di essere tutti gli uni diversi dagli altri (the freedom to be all different from each other). Io non sono Charlie. Non sono un vignettista. (I am not Charlie. I am not a cartoonist.) But I claim the right to Charlie ad essere Charlie (Charlie being Charlie). For this we must batterci, scendere in piazza, gridare sulla rete (fight, take to the streets, shout on the network).

The main value (il valore principale) of our society is la diversità di ciascuno (the diversity of everyone) and il rispetto di questa diversità (respect of this diversity). For the fanatics we are all the same-- morti o vivi (dead or living), vignettisti o poliziotti (cartoonist or policeman). Precisely because non siamo Charlie (we are not Charlie) dobbiamo difendere strenuamente il diritto di Charlie alla sua libertà (we must strenuously defend Charlie’s right to his freedom)— la stessa nostra anche se siamo diversi da lui (the same as ours even though we are different from him).

Words and Expressions

una manifestazione di solidarietà -– a manifestation of solidarity

ricordare le vittime -– remember the victims

hashtag virale –- viral hashtag

libertà di parola ed espressione -– freedom of speech and expression 

Dianne Hales is the author of MONA LISA: A Life Discovered and LA BELLA LINGUA: My Love Affair with Italian, the World's Most Enchanting Language.

Love of Hometown in the Italian Language

 

campanilismo

 

"Is there an English word for campanilismo?” an Italian Facebook friend wanted to know. One dictionary came up with two, both somewhat pejorative: parochialism and provincialism. Another offered a better alternative: “local patriotism.”  But even this fails to capture the depth of an Italian’s feeling for all that lies within view of the local campanile (bell tower), traditionally the tallest and most prominent building in a town.  

For centuries, the residents of the “boot” (stivale), with no national government to rule them, no army to defend them and no flag to unite them, saw themselves as Neapolitans, Paduans, Venetians, Sicilians, citizens of a village rather than a country.  Italian tellingly uses the same word, paese, for both. 

Questioni di campanile (local squabbles) still ignite greater passion than national issues. Residents of different cities accuse each other of not seeing beyond their own campanile (vedere più in là del proprio campanile) or  not hearing the other bell, or side of a question (sentire l’altra campana).  

“We have campanilismo in everything—including language,” a Roman friend says. Depending on the local dialect, Italians might sit on a sedia, seggiola, or seggia; blow their noses into a fazzoletto, pezzuolo, or moccichino; and wear calzini, calzette, calze, calzettoni, calzettini, or pedalini with their shoes.

Even metaphors vary by region. Florentines call a blowsy lady an “unmade bed” and an aging cavalier a “tired horse.” The long-impoverished Calabrians lament their plight with sayings like, “Dogs only bite the poor.” When bored, Romans complain that they are “dying of pinches.”

Although children throughout Italy may play hooky, Umbrian kids marinano la scuola (“pickle” the school). Neapolitans fanno filone (make the big thread). Sardinians fanno vela (make the sail or go sailing). Depending on whether they’re from the east or west of their island, Sicilians fanno l’ora (make the hour) or fanno Sicilia (make Sicily).

Death too takes different forms in different places. Romans call it “the skinny woman.” When Italians in other regions die, they “go to the pointed trees" (cypresses, often found in Tuscan cemeteries), “make soil for chick peas" (a common vegetable), “stretch their legs,” or “wear the other trousers” (the good ones saved for special occasions).

Campanilismo fosters an our-belltower-is-higher-than-yours local pride as well as a tendency to view even folks on the next hilltop with a certain amount of suspicion—and sometimes derision. “Non fare il Genovese” (Don’t act like someone from Genoa!) I’ve heard one friend chide another—in other words, don’t be cheap. “Fare alla romana”  (Do like a Roman) translates into going Dutch.

Every time we’ve headed for Pisa, once home of hated tax collectors, someone has intoned, “Meglio un morto in casa che un pisano all’uscio!” (Better a corpse in the house than a Pisan at the door!) The Pisans’ response: “Che dio t’accontenti!” (May God grant your wish!)

Words and Expressions

il proprio campanile –- one’s own town

campanilista –- chauvinist

suonare il campanello –- to ring the bell

tenere qualcuno sotto una campana di vetro -- to keep someone in a bubble, be over-protective

stare in campana -- be very careful, watch one’s back, stay on one’s toes

Dianne Hales is the author of LA BELLA LINGUA: My Love Affair with Italian, the World's Most Enchanting Language and MONA LISA: A Life Discovered. 

How does campanilismo sound? Click below to find out:

The American President in the Italian Language

Barack Obama a Roma

"Veni, vidi, vici." (I came, I saw, I conquered). Julius Caesar reported to the Senate in Rome in 47 B.C. Last week in Rome President Barack Obama also came, saw and conquered—largely with his words (spoken in English, with the exception of  “Buon pomeriggio!” (Good afternoon!) to the giornalisti at the official press conference).

The President’s busy day began with an incontro col Papa (a meeting with Pope Francis) at the Vatican. "Santità, sono un suo grande ammiratore” (Holiness, I am your great admirer), Obama told the Pontiff, with whom he spoke of many issues—soprattutto, la povertà e le ineguaglianze (above all, poverty and inequality).

"Sua Santità ha la capacità di aprire gli occhi della gente su questi problemi” (Your Holiness has the capacity to open people’s eyes to these problems), the President said, adding, "La mia fede cristiana mi porta a credere che devo trattare gli altri come voglio essere trattato io" (My Christian faith leads me to believe that I must treat others as I want to be treated myself).

The President also invited the popular Pope to visit America. "La gente negli Usa impazzirebbe per vedere Papa Francesco” (The people in the United States would go crazy to see Papa Francesco), he assured him.

In meeting with the Presidente della Repubblica, Giorgio Napolitano, Obama once again expressed parole di ammirazione ed elogio (words of admiration and praise), noting that "L'Italia è fortunata ad avere un uomo di Stato così forte, che aiuta il Paese in momenti così difficili" (Italy is fortunate to have such a strong statesman, who helps the country in such difficult moments).

Italy’s new Prime Minister, Matteo Renzi, described President Obama as “una fonte di ispirazione ed un modello da emulare" (a font of inspiration and a model to emulate). He also ha preso in prestito (borrowed) Obama’s slogan from his first presidential campaign: “Al presidente Obama vorrei dire, con grande forza, che quel messaggio 'yes, we can' oggi vale anche per noi in Italia  dove finalmente vogliamo dire che è possibile cambiare le cose.” (To President Obama, I would want to say, with great force, that this message—‘yes, we can'—is also valid for us in Italy, where finally we want to say that it is possible to change things.”

What struck Obama most about Prime Minister Renzi, he told the press, was his energia (energia)—as well as his visione (vision) and ambizione (ambition). “Il premier saprà portare avanti l'Italia."  (The premier will know how to lead Italy forward.)

After his official meetings, the American President ha fatto il turista (played the tourist). During a visita privata (private visit) to the Colosseum, il monumento simbolo della capitale (the monumental symbol of the capital), Obama exclaimed, "Eccezionale, incredibile!... è più grande di alcuni degli attuali stadi di baseball!" (Outstanding, incredible! It’s bigger than several actual baseball stadiums!”

Italy’s ministro per i beni e le attività culturali (Minister of Cultural Heritage and Activities) tweeted “Un orgoglio per il nostro Paese vedere lo stupore e l'ammirazione nei suoi occhi” (A pride in our country to see the awe and admiration in his eyes.)

“Minister of Culture?” Obama said when introduced. “Great job!”

The Minister replied in English: “In Italy, it’s the best job.”

The President’s final words? I like to think they were the same ones that are always in my heart when I leave la città eterna: Arrivederci, Roma!

Words and Expressions

conferenza stampa –- press conference

globalizzazione –- globalization

il vertice -– the summit

il pranzo ufficiale –- the official lunch

Dianne Hales is the author of LA BELLA LINGUA: My Love Affair with Italian, the World's Most Enchanting Language and MONA LISA: A Life Discovered.

Click below for the White House video of President Obama and Prime Minister Renzi's press conference: 

Women Taking Charge in the Italian Language

Le donne italiane

  Italian Women

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 this year le donne italiane (Italian women) are celebrating a major breakthrough.

In creating his cabinet, il nuovo primo ministro (the new prime minister) Matteo Renzi of the partito democratico (Democratic Party) chose—for the first time ever--un numero uguale di ministri uomini e donne (an equal number of male and female ministers). 

What struck me in the Italian press coverage of this historic occasion were the commenti (comments) on the new ministers’ apparenza (appearance). Journalists blasted one minister for appearing in electric blue, a color sconosciuto in natura (unknown in nature) and another for her rouged cheeks, which made her look come Heidi in estate (like Heidi in the summer). A stylist urged the ministers to call Giorgio Armani for an emergency consultation.

"Stop alle allusioni sessiste rivolte alle ministre!" (Stop the sexist innuendos directed at the ministers!) blasted a Democratic Party leader, "Non è tollerabile” (it is not acceptable) to continue to focus on le caratteristiche fisiche di una donna (the physical characteristics of a woman) rather than le sue competenze (her competence).

But the issue extends beyond la moda (fashion) to the language itself. In English a lawyer — man or woman -- is always a lawyer. In Italian only a male lawyer is an avvocato. Linguists are still debating whether a female with the same credentials should be called an avvocata (a term used in prayers to the Madonna in her role as advocate or protector), avvocatessa (“essa” being the feminine ending in words like dottoressa for a female university graduate), avvocato donna (lawyer lady) or donna avvocato (lady lawyer). The same holds true for architetto (architect), chirurgo (surgeon), magistrato (judge) and other traditionally male professions.

Is a female minister a ministro or a ministra? The Italian press generally chose ministro. Curious, I submitted a news article to Google Translate, which consistently referred to each and every ministro as he—including the one described as all'ottavo mese di gravidanza  (in the eighth month of pregnancy).

The Italian language is “fortemente androcentrica” (strongly male-centered) and reflects centuries of “disprezzo per le donne” (contempt for women), says noted linguist Valeria della Valle, a professoressa at Rome’s La Sapienza,adding that  la lingua rispecchia e segue la realtà (language reflects and follows reality). In time sexist terms will run their course (esaurire il loro corso), she predicts, and  some day will serve only as a historical testament to the past.

An old Italian proverb declares, “Le parole sono femmine; i fatti sono maschi.” (Words are feminine; deeds are masculine.”) The new female ministers may usher in a new day when le parole non saranno più solo femmine, i fatti non più solo maschi. (Words will not longer be only feminine; deeds, no longer masculine.)

This would give le donne italiane more reason to celebrate—not just on International Women’s Day but all year long.

Words and Expressions

Il femminismo -- feminism (masculine), but la femminista (feminist)

il sessismo –- sexism

la discriminazione sessista –- gender discrimination

il maschilismo –- machismo

Il gentil sesso –- the fair sex 

Dianne Hales is the author of LA BELLA LINGUA: My Love Affair with Italian, the World's Most Enchanting Language and MONA LISA: A Life Discovered.

Click below to hear this famous aria about la donna mobile from Rigoletto:

The Word That Sums Up 2013 in the Italian Language

crisi

crisis

While “selfie” was hailed as the word of the year in the United States, Italians chose a far darker term. In a poll by La Repubblica, la parola più rappresentativa (the word most representative) of 2013 was crisi (crisis)--a reflection, the editors noted, of the drammi, tragedie e disvalori di un anno da dimenticare (the dramas, tragedies and negative values of a year to forget).

Italy’s crises came in several forms in 2013. La crisis economico-finanziaria (economic-financial crisis) dates back to 2008 and la grande recessione (the great recession), la più lunga dal secondo dopoguerra (the longest since the second world war).

There is also la crisi occupazionale e abitativa (the employment and housing crisis). In Bologna, for example, in five years la disoccupazione (unemployment) has increased by more than 120 percent. The number of those sfrattati e senzacasa (evicted and homeless) throughout Italy has also increased.

The crisi politica (political crisis) extends beyond what the paper refers to as la decadenza del Cavaliere (the decadence of former Prime Minister Silvio Berlosconi, nicknamed “the Knight”). The nubi all'orizzonte minacciano tempesta (threatening storm clouds on the horizon) include conflict between scissionismi (secessionists) and populismi (populists).

Then there’s the crisi sanitaria (health crisis). In un'indagine (a survey) of 60,000 famiglie (families), 11 percent said they had to go without "almeno una prestazione sanitaria”{ (at least one health service) that they needed in the last year.

The crisi territoriale e sociale (territorial and social crisis) involves the growing disparità (disparity) tra il Nord e il Sud della penisola (between the north and the south of the peninsula). Also increasing are le ineguaglianze tra i più ricchi e i più poveri (the inequalities between the richest and the poorest—or, more poetically, those who have un'identità, una dignità e un lavoro (an identity, a dignity, and a job) and those who, non avendo nulla (having nothing), are invisible agli occhi del mondo (to the eyes of the world).

Finally, there is la crisi di valori (the crisis of values). This is not new. Five centuries ago the noted Italian writer Ariosto described Italy as a fetid den of every known vice (vizio). These days the fetid vices include “hatespeech e le nefandezze d'ogni specie” (hate speech and atrocities of every kind).

Italy’s crises, the paper concluded, threaten to “rubare il futuro alla speranza, alla fiducia, alla ripresa…a renderle quasi impronunciabili” (to rob the future of hope, of trust, of recovery … to make them almost unpronounceable).

As someone who believes in the significance of words, I turned to my etymologic dictionary for perspective. There I found that la parola “crisi” (the word "crisis") was used as far back as the 1600s to describe a “fase della vita individuale o collettiva, particolarmente difficile da superare” (phase of individual or collective life, particularly difficult to survive).

Italy has indeed survived molte crisi (many crises). Once again, its citizens must, as the demonstrators in the photo are demanding, take back the future.

My wish for bell’Italia in 2014: a year that merits a far better word and brighter future.

Words and Expressions

crisi d’identità -– identity crisis

i movimenti di protesta –- protest movements

il diritto dei popoli -– the right of the people

una civiltà affacciata sull'abisso –- a civilization facing the abyss

Dianne Hales is the author of LA BELLA LINGUA and the upcoming MONA LISA: A LIFE DISCOVERED.

For a timeless ode to la povera patria (the poor fatherland), click here.

A Year of Italian Language and Culture: The Prince

 Il Principe 

Italy is commemorating the 500th anniversary of the writing of a classic work: Niccolò Machiavelli's Il Principe (The Prince). Although completed in 1513, the treatise by the man who "put the science into political science" wasn't published until 1532, five years after his death.

Machiavelli's name since penetrated the global vocabulary as an international byword for political cunning and pragmatism. However, no one, as T. S. Eliot observed, “was ever less Machiavellian than Machiavelli.” After fourteen years as a civil servant and diplomat in the Florentine Republic, Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527) was tried, tortured, and exiled after the Medici reclaimed power.

Frustrated in his forced retirement to his modest country home, Machiavelli began work on The Prince in the hope that a clear-eyed, no-nonsense tactical handbook would display his political acumen and win him a government position--a dream that never materialized.

At the time, the Medici Pope Leo X, son of Lorenzo il Magnifico, and his brother Giuliano seemed likely to form an Italian alliance, perhaps even a nation state.  As Machiavelli saw it, a Medici pope (or prince) who heeded his advice could bring a better future to Italy and perhaps even take up arms  to liberate the peninsula from its “barbarian” invaders—a vision of unification almost 350 years before the fact.    

What if this ruthless prince lost the adulation of his people?  Better to be feared than loved, shrugged Machiavelli, who observed that since men are generally ungrateful, vacillating, cowardly, and greedy, they might promise their souls to a prince yet  desert or betray him because love is fickle, while fear is not.  

As a case in point Machiavelli cited the notorious Cesare Borgia, called Il Valentino from his title as duke of Valentinois.  When his father, decadent and opportunistic,  assumed the papacy as Alexander VI, the two conspired to take over much of central Italy.  Machiavelli coolly describes how Borgia, to subdue unruly Romagna, “full of thefts, fights, and of every other kind of insolence,” hired   a “cruel and able” henchman and gave him full authority to do whatever was necessary to impose order.

Once the province was pacified, Borgia wanted to show the resentful populace that “if any form of cruelty had arisen, it did not originate from him but from the harsh nature of his minister.” So one morning the local citizens awoke to discover their hated overlord “placed on the piazza in two pieces with a block of wood and a bloody sword beside him.” Borgia had deftly accomplished his objective.   “The ferocity of such a spectacle,” Machiavelli wrote, “left the people satisfied and amazed at the same time.”   

When the Florentine Republic returned to power in 1527, Machiavelli applied for his old post but was rejected. He died soon thereafter.  His country, which ignored him in life, didn’t know quite what to say of him in death. His appropriately monumental tomb in Santa Croce, the burial site for Italy’s titans of history, reads simply, “To so great a name, no epitaph can do justice.” 

Words and Expressions

machiavellismo –- political cunning

machiavellico –- crafty

machiavellicamente –- in a crafty manner

vivere da principe –- to live like a prince

principesco -– princely, prince-like

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

To listen to a reading (in English) of The Prince, click below:

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.