{"id":133,"date":"2009-05-04T04:10:59","date_gmt":"2009-05-04T08:10:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/?p=133"},"modified":"2009-05-04T04:10:59","modified_gmt":"2009-05-04T08:10:59","slug":"ombrello-ombrellino-ombrellone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/ombrello-ombrellino-ombrellone\/","title":{"rendered":"Ombrello, ombrellino, ombrellone"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ideas for blogs come in all shapes and sizes. This blog, which deals with nomi alterati <\/strong>(altered nouns)\u00a0was inspired by a\u00a0short filastrocca <\/strong>(nursery rhyme) by Luigi Grossi:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

L\u2019ombrello<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Se il tempo e\u2019 piu\u2019 brutto che bello,<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

c\u2019e\u2019 chi porta l\u2019ombrello.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Se pero\u2019 chi lo porta e\u2019 un bambino,<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

l\u2019ombrello e\u2019 un ombrellino<\/span>.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Se invece lo porta un bagnino,<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

cresce di misura e di nome,<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

e si chiama ombrellone<\/span>.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Se invece lo porta il pagliaccio,<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

allora si chiama ombrellaccio<\/span>.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n

The umbrella<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

If the weather is more bad than good, <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

there are those who carry an umbrella. <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

If however the person who carries it is a child, <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

the umbrella is a \u2018little umbrella\u2019. <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

If instead a lifeguard carries it, <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

it grows in size and in name, <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

and is called \u2018big umbrella\u2019. <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

If instead a clown carries it, <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

then it\u2019s called \u2018bad umbrella\u2019.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

This little filastrocca<\/em> doesn\u2019t translate very easily into English because it is based on the\u00a0use of nomi alterati <\/strong>(altered nouns). In Italian,\u00a0by simply adding a suffix to the end of a noun we can give more information about it. It\u2019s not as difficult as it sounds, believe me! Let\u2019s take the word ombrello <\/strong>(umbrella): this is the basic noun. The suffix \u2013ino<\/strong> (-ina<\/strong> for the feminine) adds the meaning of \u201clittle\u201d, \u201csmall\u201d or \u201cyoung\u201d, therefore if we add the suffix \u2013ino<\/strong>\u00a0to the noun ombrello<\/em> we have the word ombrellino<\/span><\/strong> meaning \u201clittle umbrella\u201d.\u00a0Here are some other examples: questo e\u2019 il mio gattino<\/span><\/strong> (this is my little cat<\/span>\/kitten); la mia sorellina<\/span> si chiama Anna Maria<\/strong> (my little sister<\/span> is called Anna Maria)<\/span><\/p>\n

You can also use\u00a0the suffix \u2013etto<\/strong> (-etta <\/strong>for the feminine), to denote the concept of \u201clittle\u201d or\u00a0\u201csmall\u201d. For example, the word\u00a0cornetto<\/strong> (a croissant or a type of ice cream)\u00a0is the diminutive form\u00a0of corno<\/strong> (horn)\u00a0and literally means \u201csmall horn\u201d,\u00a0whilst the famous Italian\u00a0spaghetti<\/strong> (from the word spago<\/strong>, string) are nothing more than \u201csmall strings\u201d!<\/span><\/p>\n

Now with a wave of our magic wand we can make the \u2018little umbrella\u2019 grow into a \u2018big umbrella\u2019. By simply adding the suffix\u00a0\u2013one<\/strong> to ombrello<\/strong> we create\u00a0<\/span><\/span>ombrellone<\/strong><\/span> (lit. \u201cbig umbrella\u201d,\u00a0as in the parasol used on the beach). You can add the suffix \u2013one <\/strong>(-ona<\/strong> for the feminine) to various nouns in order to give the idea of \u2018big\u2019 e.g.\u00a0ma che\u00a0gattone<\/span>!<\/strong> (what a big cat<\/span>!); Giorgio e\u2019 un raggazzone<\/span><\/strong> (Giorgio is a big lad<\/span>).<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The third type of umbrella in our filastrocca<\/em> is an ombrellaccio<\/strong><\/span> (bad umbrella). The suffix \u2013accio<\/strong> (-accia<\/strong> for the feminine)\u00a0 has\u00a0nothing to do with size, adding instead the idea of \u2018badness\u2019, either from a moral point of view or to describe the condition of\u00a0something,\u00a0e.g.\u00a0ma che\u00a0gattaccio!<\/span><\/strong> (what a bad cat<\/span>), dov\u2019e\u2019 il cestino della cartaccia<\/span>?<\/strong> <\/em>(Where\u2019s the waste paper<\/span> basket?)<\/span><\/p>\n

So\u00a0by using the appropriate\u00a0suffix\u00a0we can subtly change almost any word, but be aware: not all words ending in \u2013ino, \u2013etto, \u2013one<\/em> or \u2013accio<\/em> are altered nouns; they just happen to share the same characteristic ending. Mulino<\/strong> for example is not a little mule (mulo<\/strong>),\u00a0but a mill; burrone<\/strong> is not big butter (burro<\/strong>), it\u2019s a ravine; and focaccia<\/strong> is not a bad seal (foca<\/strong>), it\u2019s a type of bread.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ideas for blogs come in all shapes and sizes. This blog, which deals with nomi alterati (altered nouns)\u00a0was inspired by a\u00a0short filastrocca (nursery rhyme) by Luigi Grossi: \u00a0 L\u2019ombrello Se il tempo e\u2019 piu\u2019 brutto che bello, c\u2019e\u2019 chi porta l\u2019ombrello. Se pero\u2019 chi lo porta e\u2019 un bambino, l\u2019ombrello e\u2019 un ombrellino. Se invece…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[728,732,809],"class_list":["post-133","post","type-post","status-publish","hentry","category-grammar","tag-italian-diminutives","tag-italian-grammar","tag-nomi-alterati"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t