L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, 2021 www.italoamericano.org 22 L'Italo-Americano Y o u ' r e i n I t a l y . You've just fini- s h e d t o e a t a n incredible meal with a bunch of friends and it's time to pay t h e b i l l . N e e d l e s s t o s a y , someone will say the magic w o r d s : f a c c i a m o a l l a Romana? I'm sure you've heard the expression, or its sister pagare alla Roma- na: both of them mean to split the bill equally among all diners. Simple meaning, but the point is: why the expression, why alla Romana, if the habit i s c o m m o n a c r o s s t h e country and, in fact, across t h e w o r l d , w h e r e s i m i l a r locutions based on nationa- lity are also popular (more about it later)? A bit of research brings three options to the fore. The first states that, in older days, Roman innkeepers would charge large groups of pil- grims by diving the due total among all of them, to simplify the process and avoid confu- sion. Another associates it to the famous picnics (those gite fuori porta still so popu- lar today) in the countryside just outside the capital, com- mon already in the past cen- turies, where people would b r i n g f o o d t o s h a r e w i t h o t h e r s . I n f a c t , t h i s i d e a seems legit, as there was a term in Italian, romanata, that indicated exactly this type of trips. In the 19th cen- tury, some dictionaries men- tioned romanata as a dinner where guests shared the bill equally. A n o t h e r , m u c h m o r e colorful, option wants the habit — and the phrase — to come from la sora Pina, o w n e r o f a n i n n i n Trastevere, who had the inte- resting custom to beat her patrons with a stick to get them to pay quicker their bill. To be fast and avoid the fiery lady's wrath, people got used t o s p l i t w h a t t h e y o w e d , h e n c e t h e p a g a r e a l l a Romana expression. A s m u c h a s w e l o v e t o think figures like la sora Pina existed — characters like her make up a great deal of that common imagery many of us have and love of the Roma popolare, that of Trastevere, colorful streets and fresh laundry hanging out of win- dows — there is no proof at all she in fact did. But it's a f u n n y a n d s o m e w h a t h e a r t w a r m i n g i m a g e a n d using it to explain the origin o f a f a m o u s e x p r e s s i o n doesn't hurt anyone, right? You all already understood t h a t p a g a r e o r f a r e a l l a Romana is the equivalent of the English going Dutch: a c c o r d i n g t o t h e O x f o r d English Dictionary, it was the Americans who used it first, starting in 1887 with Dutch treat and then intro- ducing, a couple of decades later in 1914, going Dutch. Similar expressions exists in other languages, too, all referring to a specific natio- nality: in Russia, Romania and Turkey they say going G e r m a n , p e r h a p s t a k i n g inspiration from the prover- bial Teutonic penchant to be p r e c i s e , w h i l e i n S o u t h America people say paying "the American way," because splitting a bill equally is con- sidered forward and modern, just like Americans in the eye of the more traditional socie- ties in the south of the conti- nent. Funnily enough, thou- gh, Argentinians say pagar a la Romana, just like in Italy, probably because of the many Italians who migrated there in the early decades of the 20th century. It is interesting to note t h a t t h e l o c u t i o n a l l a R o m a n a , h a s b e e n l o n g employed in the Italian lan- guage with very specific yet often different meanings, as t h e A c c a d e m i a d e l l a Crusca states. In the 18th and 19th century, it meant to leave without saying goodbye, but it was also used in a culi- nary context, to indicate a d i s h s h a r e d a m o n g m a n y g u e s t s ( u n p i a t t o a l l a Romana). However, while these instances are attested in literature, with examples f o u n d i n N i e v o , G o l d o n i , Gozzi and Gasparo, the much more popular pagare alla Romana isn't, which means it was likely only used in the spoken language. T o d a y , p a g a r e a l l a Romana is the most common way to pay in Italy, especially w i t h a m o n g t h e y o u n g e r generations, but you'll find t h e h a b i t i s w i d e s p r e a d a m o n g o l d e r p e o p l e , t o o , especially in pizzerias, where it's unlikely the bills for each p e r s o n d i f f e r f r o m o n e another much. I ntanto (een-tahn- toh), il nuovo anno è incominciato. This little sentence is per- fect to explain how our word of the day works. Let's see why. You can translate the sen- tence above in two different ways, based on the meaning you decide to give to intanto: "meanwhile, the new year began," or "in spite of it all, the new year began." How different they are! In the first case, intanto has a temporal value, it just tells us that the new year started while other things were happening; in the second case, on the other hand, it tells us how the new year arrived, in spite of what was taking place around. There are other examples to show intanto's variations of meaning: think of when y o u w e r e a k i d , a n d y o u would ask for, let's say, a slice of chocolate cake while y o u w e r e e a t i n g s u p p e r . W h a t w o u l d y o u r m o t h e r say? Intanto finisci la cena, poi vediamo, "Meanwhile, finish your dinner, then we'll see"— needless to say, you'd more often than not get the cake, right? And what about the most popular of all new year's resolutions, going on a diet: what do we say after a couple of weeks of healthy eating and zero weight loss? E ' i n u t i l e s t a r e a d i e t a , intanto il peso non lo perdo, "dieting is useless: I'm not any losing weight, in spite of it." W e h a v e n ' t f o r g o t t e n about our bit about the ety- mology of the word: intanto is the compound of the pre- position in and the adverb tanto, and was introduced in our language sometimes in the 13th century, just in time for people like Dante and Petrarca to use it. — N o n p i a n g e r e c o s ì , intanto non serve. — Don't cry like this. It's useless, in spite of it all. — Passa l'aspirapolvere, per favore. Intanto io pre- paro il pranzo. — Hoover, please. In the meanwhile, I'll make lunch. — Ho studiato tantissimo per quell'esame, ma intanto non l'ho passato. — I studied so much for t h a t e x a m , b u t I f a i l e d regardless. LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE Word of the Day: Intanto…the New Year began Italian curiosities: why do we say fare alla Romana? A street in Rome. Do you know why Italians say "fare alla Romana" when they pay a bill? (Photo: Yorgy67/Dreamstime) © Thirawatana Phaisalratana | Dreamstime.com

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