Posts from June 2010

Finché, o finché non?

Posted by Serena 6 Comments
Jun 30 2010

Finché is a tricky little word that can create a few problems for the student of Italian due to the fact that it changes meaning depending on whether or not it is followed by ‘non’. Let’s have a look:

Finché means ‘per tutto il tempo che’ (for all the time that), and it is normally translated into ‘as long as’ or ‘while’. Here are some examples of how to use it:

finché piove non possiamo uscire di casa = we can’t go out while it’s raining

restate finché volete = stay as long as you (plural) want

ti amerò finché vivo = I will love you for as long as I live

ha continuato a lavorare finché c’era luce = he kept working while it was still light / for as long as the light lasted

finché c’è vita, c’è speranza = while there’s life, there’s hope

-

Finché non means ‘fino al momento in cui’ (‘until the moment in which’), and is normally translated as ‘until’. The ‘non’ in this case is a false negative which is not translated.  Here are some examples:

finché non smette di piovere non possiamo uscire di casa = we can’t go out until it stops raining

non ti muovere finché non lo dico io = don’t move until I say so

ha continuato a lavorare finché non ha fatto buio = he kept working until it got dark

abbiamo aspettato finché non è arrivato Mario = we waited until Mario arrived

finché non avrai finito i compiti non andrai fuori a giocare = you can’t go out to play until you’ll have finished your homework

So, to summarize:

finché = ‘as long as’ or ‘while’

finché non = ‘until’

Bocca di Rosa

Posted by Serena 5 Comments
Jun 27 2010

A few days ago all the major Italian newspapers reported that Liliana Tassio, who is believed to have been the inspiration behind the song Bocca di Rosa (Rose Mouth) by il cantautore (the singer-song-writer) Fabrizio De Andrè, had died in Genova, at the age of 88.

Published in 1967, Bocca di Rosa is a ballade dedicated to a prostitute who arrives one day in the small village of Sant’Ilario near Genova, bringing with her love, and passion. The jealous wives of the village soon denounce Bocca di Rosa to the authorities, who expel her from the town. Escorted by the Carabinieri to the railway station, she finds that all of the village men are there to bid her farewell, including the police superintendent. But in these little communities news travel fast, and when the train arrives at the next station an even larger crowd is waiting there to welcome Bocca di Rosa, showering her with flowers and kisses. Amongst the crowd is the priest, who promptly invites the recently exiled prostitute to participate in the procession of the Virgin Mary through their village!

Here are the abridged lyrics of De Andrè’s famous ballade:

La chiamavano Bocca di Rosa
metteva l’amore metteva l’amore
la chiamavano Bocca di Rosa
metteva l’amore sopra ogni cosa.
Appena scese alla stazione
del paesino di Sant’Ilario
tutti si accorsero con uno sguardo
che non si trattava di un missionario.
C’è chi l’amore lo fa per noia,
chi se lo sceglie per professione.
Bocca di Rosa nè l’uno nè l’altro
lei lo faceva per passione.
Ma la passione spesso conduce
a soddisfare le proprie voglie
senza indagare se il concupito
ha il cuore libero oppure ha moglie.
E fu così che da un giorno all’altro
Bocca di Rosa si tirò addosso
l’ira funesta delle cagnette
a cui aveva sottratto l’osso.
………

E quelle andarono dal commissario
e dissero senza parafrasare:
"Quella schifosa ha già troppi clienti
più di un consorzio alimentare".
E arrivarono quattro gendarmi
con i pennacchi con i pennacchi
e arrivarono quattro gendarmi
con i pennacchi e con le armi.
Il cuore tenero non e’ una dote
di cui sian colmi i carabinieri
ma quella volta a prendere il treno
l’accompagnarono malvolentieri.
Alla stazione c’erano tutti dal
commissario al sagrestano
alla stazione c’erano tutti
con gli occhi rossi e il cappello in mano.
A salutare chi per un poco
senza pretese, senza pretese
a salutare chi per un poco
portò l’amore nel paese.
C’era un cartello giallo
con una scritta nera, diceva:
"Addio Bocca di Rosa
con te se ne parte la primavera".
Ma una notizia un po’ originale
non ha bisogno di alcun giornale
come una freccia dall’arco scocca
vola veloce di bocca in bocca.
E alla stazione successiva
molta più gente di quando partiva
chi manda un bacio, chi getta un fiore,
chi si prenota per due ore.
Persino il parroco che non disprezza
fra un miserere e un’estrema unzione
il bene effimero della bellezza
la vuole accanto in processione.
E con la Vergine in prima fila
e Bocca di Rosa poco lontano
si porta a spasso per il paese
l’amore sacro e l’amor profano!

They called her Bocca di Rosa
she put love, she put love 
they called her Bocca di Rosa
she put love above everything.
As soon as she got off at the station 
in the little village of Sant’Ilario
everybody knew at a glance
that she wasn’t a missionary.
There are those who make love because of boredom, those who choose it as a profession. Bocca di Rosa did neither, she did it for passion.
But passion often leads to the satisfaction of one’s own desires
without investigating whether the object of ones lust has a free heart or a wife.
And so it was that from one day to the next Bocca di Rosa attracted
the fatal fury of the bitches 
from whom she had taken the bone. 
……..

And the bitches went to the chief of police, saying, without mincing their words, "That dirty woman has already too many clients, even more than a food shop".
And four guards arrived
with their plumes with their plumes
and four guards arrived
with their plumes and their weapons.
A soft heart is not a quality 
for which the carabinieri are noted,
but on that occasion they unwillingly accompanied her to catch the train.
Everybody was at the station, from the
chief of police to the sacristan
everybody was at the station
with red eyes and their hats in their
hands.
To say goodbye to someone who for a little while, without pretention, without pretention, to say goodbye to someone who, for a little while, brought love to their village.
There was a yellow board
with black writing on it, saying:
"Farewell Bocca di Rosa
you take spring away with you".
But unusual news doesn’t need a newspaper: it quickly flies from mouth to mouth as the arrow shoots from the bow. And at the following station were 
many more people than when she left 
some blowing a kiss, some throwing a flower, some booking a couple of hours.
Even the priest who, whilst saying a prayer of mercy or the last rites, doesn’t despise the ephemeral good of beauty,
wants her near him in the procession.
And with the Virgin at the front and Bocca di Rosa close by
he leads through the village
love both sacred and profane!

Ricetta del Nocino

Posted by Serena 1 Comment
Jun 24 2010

Today is the 24th of June, il giorno di San Giovanni (Saint John’s Day), the traditional day on which to begin making il Nocino, a liqueur concocted from noci col mallo (green walnuts) that has its origins in the Emilia-Romagna region. A small glass of Nocino is often drunk after meals as a digestivo (digestive).

Legend has it that in order to make a ‘divine’ Nocino the walnuts should be picked during the night of the 23rd and the 24th of June by a barefooted virgin who should wait beneath a walnut tree and gather any green walnuts that fall to the ground. If the walnuts remain untouched by anyone but the virgin the nocino will remain pure. If anyone else touches the walnuts however, it will be corrupted. For this reason the night of the 23rd and the 24th of June is known as la notte delle Vergini Scalze (the night of the barefooted Virgins).

Well, I’m hardly a barefooted virgin (I always wear shoes when I go outside!) and I don’t go out at night to pick my walnuts, but nevertheless the result is still excellent! I follow a recipe published in the mid 19th century by Pellegrino Artusi, who is perhaps the most famous Italian cookery book author.

Ingredienti:

30 noci col mallo; 
un litro e mezzo di alcool per liquori a 95 gradi;
750 gr. di zucchero fino;
2 gr. di cannella in polvere;
10 chiodi di garofano interi;
4 decilitri di acqua;
la scorza di un limone non trattato.

 Ingredients:

30 green walnuts; 
One and a half liters of pure 95 degree alcohol (for liqueur);
750 grams of caster sugar;
2 grams of ground cinnamon;
10 cloves, whole;
400 ml of water;
rind of 1 lemon, not treated.
Preparazione:

Dopo aver pulito e tagliato in quattro spicchi le noci, mettere tutti gli ingredienti in un recipiente capiente di vetro.

Chiudere bene il recipiente e lasciarlo in un luogo caldo e assolato a macerare per 40 giorni, rimescolando di tanto in tanto.

Una volta trascorso il periodo, filtrare ed imbottigliare il liquore.

Se il Nocino fosse troppo alcolico, si può diluire con un po’ di acqua di sorgente.

Laciare a maturare fino all’autunno inoltrato.

 Preparation:

Having cleaned the walnuts and cut them into four segments, put all the ingredients in a large glass container.

Close the container well and leave it in a warm, sunny place to steep for 40 days, mixing it every now and then.

At the end of this period, filter and bottle the liqueur.

If the Nocino is too alcoholic, you can dilute it with a little spring water.

Leave it to mature until late autumn.

Fidarsi – part 3

Posted by Serena 7 Comments
Jun 21 2010

Fidarsi – ‘to trust’, is an intransitive reflexive verb, in other words a reflexive verb that is followed by a preposition.

When we want to say that we trust someone or something we use the preposition ‘di’, hence ‘fidarsi di qualcuno/qualcosa’. Here are some examples of how to use it:

Present:

mi fido di te – I trust you

la gente non si fida dei politici – people don’t trust the politicians

vi fidate di quella vecchia macchina? – do you (plural) trust that old car?

Present perfect:

non mi sono mai fidato di lui – I never trusted him

Lucia si è fidata di zia Rosa e le ha confidato tutto – Lucia trusted aunt Rosa and confided everything to her

ci siamo fidati del nostro istinto – we trusted our instincts

When we want to say that we trust that someone will do something, or that something will happen we use the preposition ‘che’. N.B. the verb following ‘che’ uses the subjunctive form (highlighted in red):

Present:

la gente non si fida che i politici siano onesti – people don’t trust politicians to be honest

vi fidate che quella vecchia macchina vi porti fino a Roma? – do you trust that old car to get you to Rome?

Present Perfect:

Lucia si è fidata che la zia Rosa tenesse segreto quello che le aveva confidato – Lucia trusted that aunt Rosa would keep secret that which she confided in her

non mi sono mai fidato che lui fosse una persona per bene – I never trusted that he was an honest person

When we want to say to ‘trust oneself/himself/ourselves’ etc. with the meaning of ‘to feel up to something’, or ‘to be able to do something’, we use either the preposition ‘di’ or ‘a’:

Present:

vi fidate di/a guidare quella vecchia macchina fino a Roma? – do you feel up to/trust yourselves to drive that old car to Rome?

Present Perfect:

Lucia si è fidata di/a raccontare il suo segreto a zia Rosa – Lucia felt able to tell her secret to aunt Rosa

To say that someone or something is trustworthy we use ‘affidabile’ (singular) or ‘affidabili’ (plural):

La zia Rosa è una persona affidabile – Aunt Rosa is a trustworthy person

la macchina è vecchia ma affidabile – the car is old but trustworthy

i politici non sono affidabili – politicians are not trustworthy

Fidarsi – Part 2

Posted by Serena 2 Comments
Jun 18 2010

In "Fidarsi – Part 1" I wrote about an article that I had recently read in the Italian magazine ‘Focus’ entitled "Fidarsi è rischioso, non fidarsi è peggio" ("To trust is risky, not to trust is worse"), which is a more optimistic version of the Italian proverb "fidarsi è bene, non fidarsi è meglio" (to trust is good, not to trust is better). One aspect of the article that I found particularly poignant was the discussion about trust between different cultures.

In everyday life when we interact with others people, such as a local storekeeper for example, or someone we happen to sit next to on the bus, we ask ourselves subconsciously, "è affidabile?" (is he/she trustworthy?). "Valutiamo soprattutto lo sguardo, tendendo a diffidare di chi non guarda negli occhi, ma anche l’espressione, l’aspetto, la voce" (We evaluate above all their way of looking at us, having the tendency to distrust those who don’t look us in the eyes, but also their expression, attitude, and voice) says Antonella Marchetti of the Università Cattolica di Milano. Sometimes, during the process of making this judgment, our prejudices and stereotypes interfere: "Non mi fido perché quelli lì sono violenti, ladri, pericolosi" (I don’t trust those because they are violent, thieves, dangerous).

In this instance two factors influence our judgment: il sospetto verso chi è diverso o estraneo al gruppo, e la difficoltà di interpretare velocemente le intenzioni di chi ha una cultura diversa, con una lingua e regole di espressione delle emozioni differenti (the suspicion of whoever is different or outside the group, and the difficulty of rapidly interpreting the intentions of those who come from a different culture, with a different language and different rules for expressing emotions.)

For this reason we need to develop our knowledge of, and empathy with other cultures, languages and customs. Eccoci: in our own small way, you and I are undertaking that process through our discussions in these blogs. Think, for example, of my blog ‘L’Italiano in Cinque Parole’ in which we explored perceptions of Italy and Italian culture.

For me the most interesting outcome of that blog (see http://www.transparent.com/italian/litalia-in-cinque-parole/) is the fact that the overwhelming majority of comments concerned the Italian people, their friendliness, helpfulness and empathy. A very encouraging and flattering result, but not what one might expect on face value.

Italy is the land of history, art, architecture, the Rinascimento, pizza, wine, coffee, fashion etc., and tourists seem to spend most of their time taking photos of each other standing in front of leaning towers, renaissance churches, gondolas, and so on. Yet at the end of the day, what comes through as the most important factor is la gente (the people)!

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