{"id":147,"date":"2009-06-12T10:30:42","date_gmt":"2009-06-12T14:30:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/?p=147"},"modified":"2009-06-12T10:30:42","modified_gmt":"2009-06-12T14:30:42","slug":"parliamo-l%e2%80%99italiese-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/parliamo-l%e2%80%99italiese-part-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Parliamo L\u2019Italiese, part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In my last blog I had a look at the way in which English words have been incorporated into the Italian language. In part two I thought it would be interesting to take<\/span> a look at \u2018the other side of the coin\u2019, and discover some of the less obvious Italian words that we use in everyday English, i.e. not<\/span> pizza<\/strong>, spaghetti<\/strong>, cappuccino<\/strong>, and so on. But first of all I\u2019d like to direct you to this interesting BBC article which indicates that Anglicization is not necessarily that popular amongst us Italians: <\/span>http:\/\/news.bbc.co.uk\/2\/hi\/europe\/7608860.stm<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Italian words have long been a feature of the English language, particularly in the fields of\u00a0art, architecture, and music. In fact the vast majority of expressive musical terms are Italian, largely due to the fact that the practice of indicating speed and strength in musical notation began in 17th century Italy. The huge popularity of Italian music helped to disperse this practice and we continue to use the terminology today. Let\u2019s look at a few examples:<\/span><\/p>\n

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Forte<\/strong> \u2013 in musical terms means loud. In Italian it can also mean: strong, tough, considerable, severe, and, if you\u2019re describing a color, bright.<\/span><\/p>\n

Piano<\/strong> – in musical terms means soft. In Italian it can also mean: slowly, flat, floor (as in lui abita al primo<\/strong> piano<\/strong> \u2013 he lives on the first floor), plain (geographical), carefully (as in andarci piano<\/strong> \u2013 go carefully), and plan (as in piano d\u2019emergenza<\/strong> \u2013 emergency plan).<\/span><\/p>\n

From these two musical terms derives the name of the musical instrument, Piano, which is an abbreviation of pianoforte<\/strong>. The name pianoforte (originally piano e forte<\/strong>) describes the qualities of the instrument, literally soft and loud.<\/span><\/p>\n

Adagio<\/strong> – in musical terms means slow. This isn\u2019t used much in spoken Italian, we prefer to use piano<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Allegro<\/strong> – in musical terms means lively or fast. In spoken Italian it means happy, or jolly.<\/span><\/p>\n

Andante<\/strong> -in musical terms means \u2018at a moderate pace\u2019. Andante<\/strong>, (walking\/going) is the present participle of the verb andare<\/strong> which means \u2018to walk\u2019, or \u2018to go\u2019, and is not commonly used in spoken Italian.<\/span><\/p>\n

Then there is Andantino<\/strong>, which instructs the musician to play faster than Andante<\/strong>, and <\/span>Andante ma non troppo <\/strong>which literally means: at a moderate pace but not too moderate! So how fast is that? che ne so io!<\/strong> (how would I know!).<\/span><\/p>\n

This is just a small selection of the many descriptive musical terms which have been adopted from the Italian language. There are also, of course, many musical instruments other than the pianoforte that have Italian names, e.g. Violin from violino<\/strong>, which is a diminutive of viola<\/strong>, then there is cello which is an abbreviation of violoncello<\/strong> which is itself a diminutive of violone<\/strong> or \u2018big viola\u2019, and so on, \u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026phew!<\/span><\/p>\n

Closely linked to music we have the word ballerina<\/strong> which is a female ballet dancer. In Italian we also have the word ballerino<\/strong> for a male ballet dancer, and both of these words come from the Italian verb ballare<\/strong> meaning to dance. The word ballet itself has come into the English language via French, and originated in Italian as balletto<\/strong>, which is the diminutive of ballo<\/strong> (ball).<\/span><\/p>\n

In the field of architecture<\/span>\u00a0we have such words as balcony from balcone<\/strong>, and campanile from\u2026..well campanile<\/strong> (bell tower), however many other words that are often cited as having been adopted from Italian have actually come into the English language from Latin via French or various other convoluted routes. Baluster is a particularly interesting example, having come into English from the French word balustre<\/strong> which came from the Italian balaustra<\/strong>, which came via Latin from the Greek word balaustion<\/strong>, the name of the wild pomegranate flower which is shaped like? yes a baluster<\/strong>! Then of course there’s the word balustrade<\/strong> which is a row of balusters<\/strong> with a railing on the top to form a kind of banister<\/strong>, and just to stretch things a bit further banister<\/strong> is a corruption of barrister<\/strong>, which is itself a corruption of baluster<\/strong>! mamma mia \u2026 mi fa male la testa!<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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From these examples we can see that the adopting of \u2018foreign\u2019 words is nothing new, especially when a new art or science, with its own special terminology, spreads throughout different cultures. For me it also highlights what a rich and rewarding experience learning a new language can be, because in the process you also relearn your own language, and discover something of its roots. If you would like to do a bit of research yourself you will need a good English dictionary which gives you the etymology, or linguistic roots, of each word. Beware, however, of lists which you might find on the internet, they are usually full of errors! If you find anything interesting please share it with us in the comments section.<\/span><\/p>\n

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In my last blog I had a look at the way in which English words have been incorporated into the Italian language. In part two I thought it would be interesting to take a look at \u2018the other side of the coin\u2019, and discover some of the less obvious Italian words that we use in…<\/p>\n

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