L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 21 2023 www.italoamericano.org 24 L'Italo-Americano T o d a y ' s w o r d , n e m m e n o ( n e hm-mai-noh), is a v e r s a t i l e l i t t l e word. This adverb and conjunction is employed in various contexts and it can have a variety of meanings, depending on the context. Tracing the origins of nem- meno we find that it is a uni- verbation of "né + meno" and i t c o m e s f r o m t h e L a t i n phrase nē minimum (qui- dem), which translates to "not even a little". Others believe the word actually comes from t h e L a t i n r o o t n e c m i n u s , which means "nor any less, and just as much." Its rich history provides insight into its multifaceted usage in mod- ern Italian. W h e n u s e d a s a n adverb, nemmeno can take on t h e m e a n i n g s o f " e v e n " , "either", or "neither". A prime example of this is the sen- tence: Nemmeno io sopporto q u e l p r o g r a m m a , n o n l o guardo mai in TV. In English, this translates to "Even I can't stand that program, I never watch it on TV." This usage not only emphasizes agree- ment or shared sentiment but can also be employed to high- 1 (you/tu) lie 5 (plural of) to the, at the 6 kidneys 7 (she, he) lives (resides) 13 true, factual 14 dinners 17 museum 20 (feminine of) pure 21 king 22 island Using the provided meanings as clues, search for the appropriate Italian word in the grid 1 (feminine of) my, belonging to me 2 (plural of) in the; moles 3 anger 4 (feminine of) a, an 8 to drink 9 tea 10 grapes 11 (he) fears 12 in the 15 you 16 (he) can 17 never 18 (I) stay 19 hour; now light something unexpected in a statement, as it Nemmeno tu ci sei riuscito! ("Not even you managed to do it!"). Nemmeno can also be used as a conjunction. An illustra- tive example of this is: Non lo f a c c i o n e m m e n o s e m e l o chiedi in ginocchio, which means, "I won't do it, not even if you ask me on your knees." Here, "nemmeno" is used to reinforce a strong refusal or determination, emphasizing the extent to which one is u n w i l l i n g t o c h a n g e t h e i r stance. Nemmeno is a common lit- t l e w o r d , w h o s e a r r a y o f meanings comes directly from its rich etymological roots. W h e t h e r w e u s e i t a s a n adverb or a conjunction, it is used in all registers and con- texts. Keep "nemmeno" in your linguistic pocket, because it comes in handy very often! L'esame era difficile. Non ho nemmeno provato a finir- lo! The test was very hard. I didn't even tried to finish it! N o n m i è p i a c i u t o q u e l film. Nemmeno io ho capito il finale I didn't like that movie. I didn't get the ending, either. LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE Nemmeno, a word not even you knew! Photo 95425315 © Serhii Bobyk | Dreamstime.com 1 car 2 head 3 friend 4 light 5 bird 6 river 7 girl 8 to drink 9 to hold 10 book 11 school 12 father 13 boy A C R O S S D O W N ITALIAN WORD SEARCH The solution to these word games will be available on the next edition. Games courtesy of Lexis Rex

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