Ideas for blogs come in all shapes and sizes. This blog, which deals with nomi alterati (altered nouns) was inspired by a short filastrocca (nursery rhyme) by Luigi Grossi:

 

L’ombrello

Se il tempo e’ piu’ brutto che bello,

c’e’ chi porta l’ombrello.

Se pero’ chi lo porta e’ un bambino,

l’ombrello e’ un ombrellino.

Se invece lo porta un bagnino,

cresce di misura e di nome,

e si chiama ombrellone.

Se invece lo porta il pagliaccio,

allora si chiama ombrellaccio.

 

The umbrella

If the weather is more bad than good,

there are those who carry an umbrella.

If however the person who carries it is a child,

the umbrella is a ‘little umbrella’.

If instead a lifeguard carries it,

it grows in size and in name,

and is called ‘big umbrella’.

If instead a clown carries it,

then it’s called ‘bad umbrella’.

 

This little filastrocca doesn’t translate very easily into English because it is based on the use of nomi alterati (altered nouns). In Italian, by simply adding a suffix to the end of a noun we can give more information about it. It’s not as difficult as it sounds, believe me! Let’s take the word ombrello (umbrella): this is the basic noun. The suffix –ino (-ina for the feminine) adds the meaning of “little”, “small” or “young”, therefore if we add the suffix –ino to the noun ombrello we have the word ombrellino meaning “little umbrella”. Here are some other examples: questo e’ il mio gattino (this is my little cat/kitten); la mia sorellina si chiama Anna Maria (my little sister is called Anna Maria)

You can also use the suffix –etto (-etta for the feminine), to denote the concept of “little” or “small”. For example, the word cornetto (a croissant or a type of ice cream) is the diminutive form of corno (horn) and literally means “small horn”, whilst the famous Italian spaghetti (from the word spago, string) are nothing more than “small strings”!

Now with a wave of our magic wand we can make the ‘little umbrella’ grow into a ‘big umbrella’. By simply adding the suffix –one to ombrello we create ombrellone (lit. “big umbrella”, as in the parasol used on the beach). You can add the suffix –one (-ona for the feminine) to various nouns in order to give the idea of ‘big’ e.g. ma che gattone! (what a big cat!); Giorgio e’ un raggazzone (Giorgio is a big lad).

The third type of umbrella in our filastrocca is an ombrellaccio (bad umbrella). The suffix –accio (-accia for the feminine)  has nothing to do with size, adding instead the idea of ‘badness’, either from a moral point of view or to describe the condition of something, e.g. ma che gattaccio! (what a bad cat), dov’e’ il cestino della cartaccia? (Where’s the waste paper basket?)

So by using the appropriate suffix we can subtly change almost any word, but be aware: not all words ending in –ino, –etto, –one or –accio are altered nouns; they just happen to share the same characteristic ending. Mulino for example is not a little mule (mulo), but a mill; burrone is not big butter (burro), it’s a ravine; and focaccia is not a bad seal (foca), it’s a type of bread.