L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, APRIL 20, 2023 www.italoamericano.org 24 L'Italo-Americano W e all know i t : I t a l - i a n i s a language o f t e n associated with beauty, love, a n d p a s s i o n , t o t h e p o i n t many consider it "the lan- guage of love." And it's not just the Italians who believe it if we think that many decide to learn Italian because of its beauty, expressiveness, and emotional intensity. But what are the reasons behind our language's pecu- liar allure, and why does it continue to enchant people worldwide? According to a study pub- lished by Today Transla- tions, a London-based lan- g u a g e s e r v i c e s b u s i n e s s , Italian is the most roman- tic tongue in the world. The study, which polled over 320 linguists, found that Italian is considered elegant, charm- ing, and smooth, without ever becoming authoritarian: it always speaks to the heart! A c c o r d i n g t o s o m e , i t s cadence enchants and mes- merizes because it combines the passion of Spanish and the seduction of French, both of them often associated with love and the expression of feelings. Other studies found out that Italian is also consid- ered the "sexy" language par e x c e l l e n c e , t h e s e x i e s t i n Europe, in fact: so, it's not only useful when you want to tell someone you love them, but also when – ahem – you want to get down to business. Italian is the language of emotions, many think, of feel- i n g s a n d p o w e r f u l s e n t i - ments, and it can give happi- ness and pleasure to those who speak it and listen to it. But just like people who've just fallen in love, the world seems to be besotted by la bella lingua, to the point where its judgment is foggy. Let me explain: of course, Italian is captivating and makes us think of love sto- r i e s , r o m a n t i c c i t i e s l i k e Rome, Venice, and Florence, or enchanting landscapes in which we abandon ourselves to the sweet melancholy of love or the fiery desires of passion, but... have you ever heard an angry Italian speak? Have you ever been on the receiving end of a rage-filled tirade in Italian? Yes, exactly: this beautifully and perfectly musical idiom can also turn into a pretty terrifying instru- ment to instill fear in others. I mean, we all know the scari- est thing on Earth is an Ital- ian mom or grandma being upset. So what makes Italian so alluring? According to a BBC survey on Facebook, people l i k e t h e I t a l i a n a c c e n t b e c a u s e o f i t s u n f i l t e r e d s o u n d s a n d p h r a s e s , a n d because Italian words how melodic it is: indeed, the lan- guage benefits from a very high number of words that end in vowels, and few words with many consonants in a row, creating an open sound t h a t m a k e s i t p e r f e c t f o r singing. Some linguists have suggested that Italian and other romance languages, l i k e S p a n i s h a n d F r e n c h , appeal to English speakers because they recognize tones and sounds they're used to, which also makes sense from a cognitive point of view. But the point is: why did Italian become like that, and why did the language develop into such a melodious idiom? Well, some say it is because Italian, in many ways, is a language "invented" by poets and writers who knew how to make every sentence beauti- ful. Let me explain: as Italy developed for centuries as a non-unified country, where every duchy, principality, and kingdom commonly spoke dialects more than Italian, the language formed mostly as a literary instrument. This may explain why it is, still today, so melodic and poetic. A l l l a n g u a g e s , o f c o u r s e , develop that way, but per- h a p s I t a l i a n d i d s o f o r a longer time because of the peculiar political – and lin- g u i s t i c – s i t u a t i o n o f t h e country. So, is Italian the language of love? I think it all comes down to … personal taste, really: as a native Italian speaker who grew up learn- ing and speaking both French and English, I, for one, find the language of our cousins next door, the French, much sexier than my own. Howev- er, my Parisian mates think Italian is way more charming than French. English-speak- ing people, in general, do love Italian, but believe me when I say that Spanish comes very, very close in their prefer- e n c e s w h e n i t c o m e s t o c h o o s i n g t h e l a n g u a g e o f love. You know what? It may just be that it's not about the language, in the end: it's all about the person who speaks it! A ltrimenti (al- tree-mehn-tee) is a commonly used adverb in Italian, formed by combining the adjective altro, which means "other," with the suffix -mente, which i n I t a l i a n i s u s e d t o f o r m adverbs. The word altrimenti is typically translated into English as "or" or "other- wise," depending on the con- text in which it is used. Altrimenti has been used in Italian for centuries, at least since Dante wrote his Divine Comedy, as we find it occasionally there. One of the most common uses of altrimenti is to intro- duce a conditional clause where an alternative course of action is suggested. For e x a m p l e , d e v o a n d a r e a lavoro, altrimenti perderò il mio posto, which means "I have to go to work, otherwise I'll lose my job." In this case, altrimenti introduces the alternative — or consequence — if the speaker does not go to work. And how many times have y o u h e a r d a n I t a l i a n s a y something like: fai come ti ho detto altrimenti mi arrabbio sul serio, that is, "do how I sad, or I'll really get angry?" Yes: if you grew up with an Italian parent or grandpar- ent, you likely heard that a g o o d f e w t i m e s w h e n y o u were a kid! I t i s w o r t h n o t i n g t h a t altrimenti can also be used w i t h a s l i g h t l y d i f f e r e n t m e a n i n g , i n d i c a t i n g t h a t something is "also" true. For example, ho comprato quel libro, altrimenti conosciuto come il romanzo più noioso del mondo! or, "I bought that book, otherwise known as the most boring novel on Earth!" When used in this sense, it's usually with a tad of irony, at least when you speak! Devo fare in fretta, altri- menti perdo il treno! I have to hurry or I'll miss the train. Puoi accompagnarmi in macchina al supermercato, a l t r i m e n t i d e v o a n d a r e a piedi. Can you drive me to the supermarket, otherwise I'll have to walk. La Divina Commedia fu scritta da Dante, altrimenti conosciuto come il Sommo Poeta. The Divine Comedy was written by Dante, otherwise known as the Sommo Poeta . LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE Word of the day: altrimenti - because everything has a consequence! Why is Italian considered the language of love? B e i n g i n l o v e . . . w i t h I t a l i a n ! O u r l a n g u a g e i s c o n s i d e r e d b y m a n y t h e " l a n g u a g e o f l o v e " ( P h o t o : Martinmark/Dreamstime) (Photo: Starfotograf/Dreamstime)

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