Tag: insegnare

Categorie
Italian Language Napoletano Napoli Neapolitan Spain Spanish Teacher Translation

Lunfardo and Neapolitan dialect, a history of friendship

A slang invented to deceive the prison guards, a reverse dialect that comes from the other side of the ocean. Lunfardo is a dialect spoken in the suburbs of Buenos Aires, particularly in the port area.

In the book “Aproximación al lunfardo“, José Gobello says that the Lunfardo is neither a language, nor a dialect. According to its definition, Lunfardo is a vocabulario compuesto por voces de diverso origen que el hablante de Buenos Aires emplea en oposición al habla general. A vocabulary made up of voices of various origins that the people use instead of the general idiom.

And the desire to rebellion against the imposed society, activated through the use of a new and unwritten language, could have been born there in Argentina around the twentieth century.

A historical moment in which Argentina had recently gained its independence and had seen hundreds of Italian immigrants arrive in its land, mainly from Southern Italy.

In fact, the linguists affirm that Lunfardo is very similar to the Neapolitan dialect, especially in the musicality of the language. Obviously it also contains nuances of other spoken languages such as Genoese, Piedmontese and some words of the archaic Castilian.

Its use is very frequent, especially in the songs of the typical dance of these cities, the tango. Colloquially, it is called lunfa.

Today, some words of the Lunfardo have been incorporated into the common Spanish of the city of Buenos Aires and Montevideo, while many have fallen into disuse, or have a very infrequent use or limited to certain particular contexts. With the word lunfardo, many now tend to indicate all the slang of Buenos Aires and its surroundings, regardless of whether the origin of the term or of the neologism is linked to the real origin of the lunfardo or not.

The words that compose the Lunfardo are essentially verbs, nouns and adjectives. It is not possible to speak completely in Lunfardo, but at most it can be used terms that compose it.

The choice of a Lunfardism reflects a rebellion against linguistic standards and it is for this reason that it can be considered a unique phenomenon, which expresses a relationship with the world in an ironic, critical and contemptuous way.

Lunfardo is a 5,000-word argot (linguistic register of a social group, whose purpose is to exclude strangers from communication, encrypting the messages exchanged), rich in Italian and Neapolitan words, which is spoken in the cities of the Rio de la Plata.

Categorie
Italian Napoletano Senza categoria

Appriesso from French Après

“Vieni appriesso a me”, it’s a phrase of sincere friendship in Naples. It means: come with me, follow me. Whoever tells you this is asking you to trust him while he promises brotherhood and welcome.

The Neapolitan word “appriesso” has two main origins. The first is French and comes from the words apres which means “afterwards, then ..”, the second comes from the late ancient Latin pressum which means “close”. And in fact also in the Italian language, the regional one, below contains these meanings. But in Naples no.

Appriesso it is used for different meanings and situations. It mainly means follow me, that is, walk behind me so that I can show you the way to go. Both metaphorically and literally. If, for example, we get lost in an alley in Naples and ask for information from a stranger, this stranger is likely to tell us: “Vieni appriesso a me (follow me), I’m going in your same direction”. Or if we are in trouble because of an event in our life and we don’t know what to do, it happens that a dear friend of ours tells us: “Vieni appriesso a me, that is, trust me. Do what I tell you and you will see that everything will work out”.

It also has a geographical meaning. If we are in Naples and we have to go to a new place, it may happen that we ask the salesman of a shop for directions because we do not find the house number of the building in which we are headed. And so he will say to us: “Sta ‘cca, ‘o palazzo appriesso. It is there, in the adjacent building (or following this one here)”.

But the most beautiful and romantic meaning of this word is in its meaning of love. When in Naples a girl is courted by a boy it is said that that boy “va appriesso a lei”, that is, follows her with the mind. He lives behind her because he tries to reach her heart.

And finally it can also be a word often used by mothers who have to take care of very young children. Mothers in Naples “vanno appriesso” to their children because they are trying to keep them safe. Safe means first of all that they don’t get hurt but above all that they don’t follow a bad path.

Categorie
French Italian

Sciuè Sciuè from French ‘Echouè

The French domination has released many traces of its memory in the Neapolitan dialect. One of these traces is the way to say“sciuè sciuè”.

According to some linguists, the expression derives from the French past participle ‘Echouè which means “to fail, not to succeed”. And in fact in Neapolitan Sciuè Sciuè means precisely “to do something in a hurry”, “to do something superficially”. But this play on words does not have a negative meaning, on the contrary, it replaces negative thinking with a smile.

If in Naples you say Sciuè Sciuè surely you are not talking about something unfinished, but you are saying that something has been completed, in an approximate way. The positive side of the expression lies precisely in the fact that the work was carried out to the end, even if the smallest details were not taken care of.

Life runs fast and we all know that it’s impossible to take care of all the things we would like to do. Here, therefore, that the Neapolitan promises himself to do what he set out to do and also superficially, in order to obtain a result. The negativity of the French verb is therefore overcome on the positive side. From an optimistic point of view.

Was it impossible to do that thing? Well, I did it quickly, but I still did it. And perhaps it has done even better than planning actions.

Because things done quickly can be better than those done in time.

The will to achieve a goal make everything more special.

When is it that Neapolitans use sciuè sciuè? Let’s make 3 examples…

First of all when they have to cook. Sciuè sciuè is mainly used when cooking spaghetti with garlic and oil “aggio fatto ‘e spaghetti aglio e uoglio sciuè sciuè”. Or when we are late and have to get dressed quickly. The Neapolitan says: Don’t look at my clothing ‘cause this morning I dressed sciuè sciuè. And even when we have an important appointment, but first we have to clean at home, then we Neapolitans say “Aggio fatto ‘na passata ‘nterra e ‘ngopp ‘mobili sciùe sciuè ” : I washed the floor and the furniture quickly.

Categorie
English Familiarity History Italian Language Latin Napoletano Napoli Neapolitan Neighbourhood Past Senza categoria Spain Spanish Teacher Translation

Guappo from Spanish Guapo

Guappo ‘e casa e strunz ‘e piazza. “Boss in the house and asshole in the square”.

This is the phrase that my aunt always pronounced referring to her neighbor who, as soon as he got home from work, would scream at his wife and children. My aunt wanted to say precisely that this man, so docile when he was around town or at work, acted like a boss when he came home, to let off steam of all his frustrations. But he was really an idiot, a weak, an asshole, because he preferred to treat his relatives badly and not get angry with who he should have.

The guappo in Naples is that person who wants to behave like a boss, a bully, a rude. This word derives from the Spanish “Guapo” which means “Beautiful”. And in turn it probably derives from the Latin word Vappo which means a man who can’t do anything, a lazy. Furthermore, according to some historians of the language, it would also derive from the English slang Wop (With-Out Passport), which was used in the early 1900s in The United States to indicate Italians in a derogatory way.

The guappo must therefore be identified as that individual who likes to create havoc, noise, annoy and act as if he were a boss. He is the man who is always ready to throw himself into the fray of a fight, to create a controversy, to beat the others.

The word guappo is so widespread in Naples that it has created a series of other terminologies and idioms. For example, a Neapolitan refers to the word Guapparia when he means that someone is behaving like a guappo. Or in Naples it is also said: “The guapparia is rising”, to affirm that the nervousness is becoming so strong with respect to an event, that soon it is probable that a violent quarrel will also be reached.

As we have said several times, the Neapolitan dialect is a language that is expressed with much irony. The guappo can be a person who scares others and therefore, to destroy the image of a violent who scares us, in Naples they invented the way of saying Guappo di Cartone (guappo of Cardboard). Who is this kind of Guappo? It is that person who behaves like a boss but who does not know how to handle the situation well.

Above all, he is the one who has very weak enslaved people behind him, who deals with matters of little importance. In short, he is a person who behaves like a guappo only in certain circumstances that are not absolutely dangerous.

It may also be a person who promises revenge but who is actually afraid of facing the enemy and even that asshole in the square who said my aunt.

But Guappo di Cartone is a very big offense in Naples. When someone tells you that you are like that, he is saying that you are a really useless person for yourself and for all others.

You are a Cardboard Guappo because your figure is insignificant, similar to that of a cardboard template.

Categorie
Senza categoria

Nacchennella from French ‘N’a qu’un oeil

Sometimes words replace images, becoming the phonetic representation of a symbol.

There are many words of the Neapolitan dialect that are expressed in a symbolic way. Words that you can see as you hear them, that evoke imaginative figures.

The onomatopoeia of these words is so representative that it stimulates the attention of the listeners.

One of these symbolic words is Nacchennella. The origin of the etymology of nacchennella is found both in a French phrase and in a Neapolitan expression.

It is therefore a sort of fusion of the two ways of saying that has made the meaning of this word stronger.

In French the ‘N’a qu’un oeil it is that person who belongs to high society, a nobleman we could say, who used the monocle, that is the single-lens glasses. The use of this type of glasses is related to a lifestyle, a real fashion. It was in fact a type of glasses not necessary for the eyes, but only suitable on certain occasions. In short, they were an accessory, an object that completed the snobbish gestures of some members of society. Obviously, single-lens glasses were not only used in France, they were also fashionable in other European salons and also appeared on the streets of Naples.

Nacchennella it also comes from a Neapolitan word. The buttocks, in Neapolitan language, are called nacche. A word that is above all an image. With the nacche, in fact, it is possible to paddle, walking with a waving gait that, in excessive cases, could become the object of derision. The Nacchennela, therefore, in Naples is not only a character of high society but is also the one who acts as if he belonged to high society.

Pretending to be a snob, in fact, can lead to derision. In this case, the irony of the Neapolitan language affects those people, above all men who behave as if they were socially superior to others, acting as snobs. The nacchennella by origin are people of high society, but the nacchennella by emulation are comparable to strange people, whose gestures become funny.

A male nacchennella, in fact, is made fun of just for how he dresses, for how he walks and talks, for how he sways with his hips. And this becomes a funny thing in Naples. One should not think, however, that this can be a topic of homophobia, on the contrary, it is a Neapolitan expression that goes precisely against homophobia.

Here we can understand how, in his irony, the Neapolitan language is also very sarcastic, punitive and cutting.

In a scene from the second season of the tv series L’Amica Geniale (My Brilliant Friend) the protagonist Lila, a girl who belongs to the poor and peripheral neighborhoods of Naples, is invited at a house party of people who live in a high-class neighborhood of the city. Lila feels isolated all the night and the anger grows in her for having been almost ignored by those people. During the party the girl suffers from this condition, realizing that due to some social elements that she misses, she risks being excluded from the most cultured environments of the city of Naples. Full of anger and contempt, she returns home and during the car trip she vents with her husband. Lila, in fact, says: “I have never been bored so much since I was born. It was better if we went to the cinema tonight. It was also better to watch television than to be with those nacchennella (In English it is translated with snobs) “. The verbal power of the word nacchennella, full of indignation and anger towards those people, is associated with the facial expression of the actress who shows excessive annoyance and contempt for the way those people have treated her.

A scene from My Brilliant Friend that express one of the meaning for the word nacchennella.

There are words of the Neapolitan language that should never be translated. Sometimes it seems necessary to learn Neapolitan in order to better understand the meaning of things.

It is really reductive to lose the chance to understand the expressive power of some words of the Neapolitan. They can become sometimes an investigative, judgmental and demonizing linguistic form.

A Court that first condemns, then acquits and finally derides you.

Categorie
Ancient English Familiarity French History Intimacy Italian Language Latin managing Napoletano Napoli Neapolitan Neighbourhood Past Senza categoria Teacher Translation

Arrangiammoce from French Arranger

How many times French kings have commanded in Naples?

Many and their presence in the Neapolitan city has not only brought politics, monuments and dominant influences. It has above all enriched the Neapolitan dialect with new words. The words that made up the Neapolitan language, as we have already said, are almost all from other languages. One of these passing languages is French. It has left many memories in our dialect. Among these we find the verb Arranger which in Neapolitan becomes Arrangiare (or Arrangiammoce) which means: to manage a difficult situation.

What meaning does this verb take in the Neapolitan? Arrangiammoce it is above all a way of life, a lifestyle that every Neapolitan citizen got from birth. If you have nothing to live with, you need to get by, if you are faced with a difficulty, everyone must be able to get by, if the fate becomes mocking, we must not break down but get by or learn to manage as best we can.

Have you invited many friends to dinner but don’t have enough food to feed them? Here it is enough that a single member of your group utters the word “arrangiammoce” so as to exhort all his friends not to regret the eventuality but to take the moment with the right spirit, so as to make the evening succeed, better than as it should have been in the initial idea. The Neapolitans, in fact, have more fun when they manage than when they organize everything perfectly. Indeed, in reality, the established organization bores the Neapolitan who loves to surprise and surprise.

This way of doing can also fight poverty and even the sense of desolation that surrounds you when you think you don’t have enough resources to be able to continue living. The meaning of this philosophy of life is perfectly explained in the lyrics of the song Arrangiàmmoce from the soundtrack of the Neapolitan theater show C’era Una volta Scugnizzi:

Arrangiàmmoce…

E si ‘a musica è bbòna And if the Music is goo

Ce facìmmo purtà We will be brought

Ce astrignìmmo ‘o cazóne we tighten our trousers

E tirammo a campà and we keep going

E cammina cammina and walk on, walk on

Pecché ‘a rròbba ce sta because the stuff is there

E sta pure vicino and it’s also close to you

E se trova si ‘a saje truvà And you will find it only if you can