L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JANUARY 11, 2024 www.italoamericano.org 22 L'Italo-Americano T h e w o r d qualunque (kwa- loon-kwai) has a rich and intriguing linguistic journey. I t c o m e s f r o m t h e Latin qualiscumque, a com- bination of qualis (meaning " w h a t k i n d o f " ) a n d cumque (meaning "whichever" o r " a n y " ) , w h i c h i s I t a l i a n gave qual(e) and the suffix - unque, a common method in o u r l a n g u a g e f o r c r e a t i n g words that express a sense of generality or indefiniteness. The word first appeared in the form of qualunqua during the second half of the 12th cen- tury, a significant period for the development of the Italian lan- guage. This era saw the vernac- ular languages gaining promi- nence over Latin, particularly in literary and everyday con- texts: over time, "qualunqua" b e c a m e t h e m o d e r n "qualunque." Qualunque serves both as an adjective and a pronoun. Generally, it conveys a sense o f " a n y , " " w h i c h e v e r , " o r "whatever," indicating indif- ference or a lack of restriction in choice. As an adjective, it qualifies a noun, suggesting "any" or |"every kind" of the n o u n i t a c c o m p a n i e s . F o r e x a m p l e , I n q u a l u n q u e momento translates to "At any m o m e n t , " a n d Q u a l u n q u e 1 tea 2 I 5 you 7 frog 8 oats 14 (they) listen 16 chair 19 to drink 20 the (feminine) 21 into, going inside 22 but, on the contrary Using the provided meanings as clues, search for the appropriate Italian word in the grid 1 (feminine of) your 3 hour; now 4 (feminine of) a, an 6 king 9 voices 10 (feminine plural of) in the 11 from the 12 (you/tu) wash 13 with the 15 of the; from the 16 six 17 from 18 wing decisione means "Any deci- sion." When used as a pro- noun, qualunque typically r e p l a c e s a n i n d e f i n i t e o r unspecified thing, as seen in sentences like Fai qualunque cosa tu voglia ("Do whatever you want") and Qualunque sia l a t u a s c e l t a , t i s o s t e r r ò ("Whatever your choice is, I will support you"). It is also used in sentences like È una persona qualunque or Una cosa qualunque when we want to say someone or something is simple and without pretens- es. In English, "qualunque" is translated based on its usage i n a s e n t e n c e , t y p i c a l l y a s "any," "whichever," or "what- ever." The translation can vary slightly depending on the sen- tence's context to convey the intended meaning accurately. Ho una fame tremenda, mangerei qualunque cosa I'm incredibly hungry, I'd eat anything Con te non si può parlare, qualunque cosa io dica, mi dai contro! S p e a k i n g w i t h y o u i s impossible, whatever I say, you attack me! Crede di essere importante, ma alla fine è una persona qualunque He believes to be impor- tant, but in the end, is just like anybody else LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE Qualunque, the word that... makes no difference Photo: © Volodymyr Tverdokhlib | Dreamstime.com 1 father 2 mother 3 home 4 man 5 bird 6 girl 7 to eat 8 Tuesday 9 to hold 10 one 11 face 12 hand 13 two 14 door 15 heart 16 head 17 to run 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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