Posts in October 2009

Tavolo or Tavola?

Posted by Serena
Oct
31
2009

Following my article about new trends in Italian kitchens, a reader asked me whether the words tavolo (table) and tavola (table) are interchangeable, and if there is any difference between the two. Well, I’m afraid that this is yet another idiosyncratic use of the Italian language, so let’s see if I can clarify it for you.

Nowadays the masculine word tavolo, which originates from the feminine word “tavola” (Latin “tabula”), is used almost exclusively to describe a piece of furniture, e.g. il tavolo della cucina (the kitchen table), il tavolo da pranzo (the dining table), il tavolo da disegno (the drawing table), il tavolo da stiro (the ironing board), il tavolo da biliardo (the snooker table). We also use the word “tavolo” for a table in a restaurant, so if you want to book a table for four people, you’ll have to say vorrei prenotare un tavolo per quattro per favore (I would like to book a table for four please).

On the other hand, the feminine word tavola, which also means a plank or a board, is used to describe the dining table, not as a piece of furniture, but with reference to the table as a place where meals are eaten. In this case we have a whole series of idiomatic expressions based around the act of eating a meal at the table. These are the most common ones:

apparecchiare la tavola (to lay the table)

sparecchiare la tavola (to clear the table)

portare / servire in tavola (to bring food to the table)

il pranzo / la cena è in tavola (lunch / dinner is on the table)

andare / mettersi / sedersi a tavola (to sit down to eat at the table)

essere / stare a tavola (to be sitting eating at the table)

chiamare a tavola (to call people to the table)

tutti a tavola! or simply a tavola! (everybody to the table! i.e. come and sit down to eat!)

servizio da tavola (dining set, i.e. plates, cutlery, glasses)

biancheria da tavola (table linen)

uva da tavola (eating grapes)

Now please don’t ask me why a table in a restaurant is called un tavolo and not, as you might expect, una tavola, because I haven’t got a clue!

However, don’t forget that leggere il giornale a tavola è maleducato (to read the newspaper while eating is bad manners), but it’s OK leggere il giornale al tavolo (to read the newspaper at the table)!  

To finish with, a funny proverb: chi canta a tavola e fischia a letto, è matto perfetto (whoever sings at the dinner table and whistles in bed, is perfectly crazy)!

 
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Colloquial Italian - 1. Ecco

Posted by Serena
Oct
28
2009

As many students of the Italian language have discovered, there is a big difference between the Italian learnt in a language class and everyday colloquial Italian. In fact many students suffer a serious blow to their confidence when, having diligently studied in their language class, they first set foot in Italia and come face to face with the natives, e non capiscono un cavolo di niente (and they don’t understand ‘a cabbage of’ anything)! There are various reasons for this phenomenon, but probably one of the main ones is that everyday spoken Italian is peppered with little phrases and expressions which are largely neglected in language classes with their tendency to focus much more on grammar and rules. Amongst the most difficult colloquial expressions to grasp are those with multiple meanings, such as today’s subject: ecco.

Ecco, a little word which we Italians use all the time, can often be difficult for foreigners to pin down because it doesn’t have a single equivalent in English. So here are some everyday examples which illustrate its usage:

1. with the meaning of ‘well’ or ‘well now’ when you are beginning an explanation, or working out what to say:

Ecco, io lavoro per il comune (well now, I work for the council)

2. used frequently in everyday conversation as an exclamation of agreement meaning ‘that’s right’ often followed by appunto or esatto (exactly): ecco, appunto! (that’s right, exactly!)

3. with the meaning of ‘here’ or ‘there’:

Eccoci arrivati a casa (no satisfactory translation for this into English, but it means something like ‘here we are, we’re home’), eccovi finalmente! (there you are, finally!), dove sei? – eccomi (where are you? – here I am). As you can see, in this case the word ecco is combined with the direct personal pronoun mi, ti, lo, la, ci, vi, li, le e.g. ecco (here/there) + vi (you [plural]) becomes eccovi (here/there you are). Obviously the choice of ‘here’ or ‘there’ depends on the situation.

4. with the meaning of ‘here is / are’ or ‘there is / are’:

Ecco il libro che mi hai prestato (here is the book which you lent me), ecco lassù il castello (there is the castle up there), ecco le tue scarpe (here are your shoes). 

5. with the meaning of ‘this is’ or ‘that is’:

Ecco come vanno fatte le cose in Italia! (this is / that is how things are done in Italy!), vuoi il mio consiglio? eccolo (do you want my advise? this is / that is it).

6. with the meaning of ‘that’s why’:

Giorgio: Sono stato in vacanza per tre settimane – Lucia: ecco perché non ti ho più visto! (Giorgio: I’ve been on holiday for three weeks – Lucia: that’s why I haven’t seen you!).

7. at the end of a summary or explanation we sometimes say ecco tutto (that’s all).

8. to say that something is done, or finished we often use ecco fatto (‘that’s it’ or ‘it’s done / finished’)

Ecco fatto il blog (that’s the blog finished).

 
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Domina L’Angolo Cucina

Posted by Serena
Oct
25
2009

It seems that the good old Italian kitchen, quel locale per antonomasia (that quintessential room) which was once the traditional focal point of the home, is slowly but surely being ousted by l’angolo cucina (the corner kitchen). In Italy the kitchen once represented il focolare e il cuore della casa (the hearth, and the heart of the house), and for many, particularly those who live in the older houses in rural areas, it still does. In our village, for example, to be invited into someone’s home is synonymous with being invited into their kitchen, where we inevitably end up sitting a fare due chiacchiere (chatting), a bere un caffè (drinking a coffee), o forse un bicchiere di vino (or maybe a glass of wine). In the winter particularly, little groups of neighbors will gather at each others houses and sit around la stufa (the stove) or il forno a legna (the wood fired oven) in the kitchen, passing the time of day.

Here in Lunigiana we also have il gradile (more commonly known as il seccatoio), a small building in which le castagne (the chestnuts) would be dried ready for grinding into farina di castagne (chestnut flour). Il gradile was also once used as a primitive kitchen, with an open fire in the middle of the room over which, supported by un paio di alari (a pair of firedogs), was placed il testo (a heavy iron skillet). This was the preferred method for cooking such traditional recipes as la pattona, la torta d’erbe, and il testarolo. These days the use of il gradile as a kitchen is increasingly rare, but we have been lucky enough to sample these dishes cooked in the traditional manner and I can testify, non c’è paragone! (there’s nothing like it!)

However, whether we like it or not, social trends change, and with the migration of young people to larger towns and cities, where they tend to live in un appartamento (an apartment) as a much smaller family unit, the kitchen seems to have lost its relevance.  A recent survey of 30,000 newly constructed habitations shows that the presence of a separate room for the preparation of food is becoming increasingly rare. In northern Italy for example, only 9% of bilocali (two room apartments) have a separate kitchen. The figure goes up to 10% for central Italy, and even in the more traditional south barely reaches 12%. Trilocali (three room apartments) don’t fare much better, with only roughly a quarter possessing una cucina tradizionale (a traditional kitchen). Only when we look at quadrilocale (four room apartments) and larger does the presence of a kitchen reach 70%.

In Italy, when we talk about the number of rooms an apartment has we do not usually include the locali di sevizio (service rooms, such as the kitchen, bathroom, or storage room), therefore an apartment described as a bilocale may in reality consist of more than two rooms. However, for the majority of people these days, the use of an angolo cucina incorporated into il soggiorno (the living room) is more efficient and allows the creation of a smaller, more economical apartment which serves the same function as the traditional home.

Another factor which has no doubt contributed to the decline of the kitchen is the change in our eating habits. Whereas in the past the family would riunirsi (get together) around the kitchen table three times a day it seems that these days us Italians like to eat out much more frequently. A recent survey has shown that 80% of Italians regularly eat meals outside the home, and of these 44%  do so at least once a day!

 
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Il Congiuntivo Part 5 - Trapassato

Posted by Serena
Oct
22
2009

This article, which deals with il congiuntivo trapassato (the pluperfect subjunctive), concludes my series about the use of the subjunctive form. In order to construct the pluperfect subjunctive you simply use the imperfect subjunctive of the auxiliary verbs essere and avere (see Part – 4 of this series: Congiuntivo Imperfetto), followed by the past participle of the main verb. Here are a couple of examples that illustrate how the pluperfect subjunctive is constructed:

Andare (to go), this uses the auxiliary verb essere

Io fossi andato/a, tu fossi andato/a, lui fosse andato, lei fosse andata, noi fossimo andati/e, voi foste andati/e, loro fossero andati/e

Finire (to finish), this uses the auxiliary verb avere

Io avessi finito, tu avessi finito, lui/lei avesse finito, noi avessimo finito, voi aveste finito, loro avessero finito

In order to know whether to use ‘essere’ or ‘avere’ you will need to understand the rules that apply for the ‘passato prossimo’ (present perfect). You can refresh your memory by reading my article about transitive and intransitive verbs.

 

The congiuntivo trapassato is used when talking about the past to refer to things that had already happened, e.g. ‘I had gone’, ‘you had finished’ etc. You should use the congiuntivo trapassato to:

1. say what you thought, wished or hoped about something in the past. Here are some examples: speravamo che non avesse piovuto (we hoped it hadn’t rained); Lucia pensava che Maria fosse partita sabato scorso per le vacanze (Lucia thought that Maria had left last Saturday for her holidays); ero stupita che tu fossi rimasto ancora (I was surprised that you had remained longer); avevo paura che Carlo non ce l’avesse fatta a superare l’esame (I was worried that Carlo hadn’t been able to pass the exam).

N.B. the congiuntivo trapassato is not used after the verb volere (to want)!

2. talk about the past after impersonal verbs followed by the conjunction che, such as sembrava che (it seemed that), si diceva che (it was said that), e.g. sembrava che Giorgio avesse cambiato lavoro (it seemed that Giorgio had changed job); si diceva che lui fosse stato in America da bambino (they said that he had been to America when he was a child).

3. talk about the past after impersonal constructions such as era facile / difficile che (it was  likely / unlikely that), era meglio che (it was better that), era un peccato che (it was a pity that), non era giusto che (it wasn’t fair that), e.g. Era un peccato che lei non avvese potuto completare il corso (it was a pity that she hadn’t been able to complete the course); sarebbe stato meglio che foste venuti ieri pomeriggio (it would have been better if you [plural] had come yesterday afternoon).

4. express a possibility or a condition that should have happened in the past following conjunctions built with che, such as a meno che (unless), nel caso che (in case), a condizione che (on condition that), purché (provided that), benché (even though/although). Here are some examples: gli zucchini sono morti benché li avessi innaffiati tutti i giorni (the zucchini plants died even though I had watered them every day); avevo promesso di portarti al cinema a condizione che tu avessi finito i compiti (I had promised to take you to the cinema on condition that you had finished your homework) 

5. talk about an imagined situation in the past following the conjuction se (if): se avessi vinto la lotteria avrei comprato una casa al mare (if I had won the lottery I would have bought a house by the sea); se Carlo avesse studiato di più avrebbe superato l’esame  senza problemi (if Carlo had studied more he would have passed the exam without any problem).

Phew, that’s that for the congiuntivo! I appreciate that for a lot of readers this has been a very challenging level of grammar, in fact it’s been pretty challenging for me to write! Therefore, in my next grammar articles I’m going back to basics, mainly in order to help readers who are beginning to learn, or have a basic knowledge of Italian.

A presto

 
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Firmato Diaz

Posted by Serena
Oct
19
2009

Here in Italy, as in many other parts of the world, it has long been fashionable to name one’s offspring after famous, or inspirational people. Once upon a time we Italians didn’t really have much choice about our first name, because the church decreed that it should be a ‘Christian name’ in the most literal sense. For females the most common one of course would be Maria, after La Madonna. My ‘Christian’ name for example is Maria Serena, my cousins are Maria Pia and Anna Maria, and I once had a friend with the wonderful name of Maria Etrusca (Etruscan Mary), oh how I envied her! In fact not so long ago in Italy our onomastico (name-day) was seen as more important than our compleanno (birthday), and people would receive gifts on the former rather than the latter.

Every day is a Saint’s Day. Today for example is Santa Laura, so if we see our friend Laura Vescovi later on it will be quite normal to wish her auguri (best wishes). Tomorrow will be ‘Santa Irene’, so anyone named Irene will celebrate her onomastico tommorrow.

All this leads me to a rather interesting and unusual first name: Firmato, and to discover its origins we need to travel back to the end of La Prima Guerra Mondiale (The First World War).

Armando Vittorio Diaz was the famous general and chief of general staff who in 1918 recovered what was left of the badly mauled Italian army and led them to victory against the Austrians. At the conclusion of the Battle of Vittorio Veneto, which ended WWI in Italy, Diaz issued, as a final address to the Army and the Nation, Il Bollettino della Vittoria (The Victory Bulletin). The Bollettino was probably written by General Siciliani, spokesperson for the General Staff.

Here are the final two paragraphs of the Bollettino della Vittoria: (You can find the complete text and a translation into English here).

 

L’Esercito Austro-Ungarico è annientato: esso ha subito perdite gravissime nell’accanita resistenza dei primi giorni e nell’inseguimento ha perdute quantità ingentissime di materiale di ogni sorta e pressoché per intero i suoi magazzini e i depositi. Ha lasciato finora nelle nostre mani circa trecento mila prigionieri con interi stati maggiori e non meno di cinque mila cannoni.

I resti di quello che fu uno dei più potenti eserciti del mondo risalgono in disordine e senza speranza le valli, che avevano disceso con orgogliosa sicurezza.

Firmato Diaz

 

Note the signature at the end of the Victory Address: ‘Firmato Diaz’, meaning ‘signed Diaz’. In the waves of patriotism following the Italian victory the entire Bollettino della Vittoria was frequently memorized by school children, always ending with those proud words ‘Firmato Diaz’. Many uneducated contadini (peasants) were very taken by the sound of those closing words, and erroneously believing Firmato to be  Diaz’s first name baptized their newborn sons Firmato (Signed).

Do you know anyone with an unusual name? Please share it with us in the comments section below.

 
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