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Monday, June 26, 2017

Itanglish : English has flooded Italian

Related image
From : http://www.bonvivre.ch/2016/06/criticart/basta-con-gli-inutili-termini-inglesi-aziendali-insorge-laccademia-della-crusca.html
Ciao di nuovo ! Last week, I wrote an entry on the influence of Italian upon English. This time, I'm writing one about the vast influence of English upon Italian. Want it or not, all the Italians know, at least, some English, given that their language is flooded with hundreds of English loanwords, which are sometimes far more popular than the Italian counterparts. English has taken over Italian to the extent that English borrowings are considered (even by the Italian) more common and more 'cool' than the original Italian expressions. It is practically impossible to keep a conversation in Italian without using some English words or expressions. Let's see some of the influence English has exerted over Italian.
Image result for parole inglese in italiano
From : http://www.corriere.it/cultura/14_agosto_10/inglesismi-lingua-quali-sono-parole-che-non-riuscite-tollerare-01d10aee-20ba-11e4-b059-d16041d23e13.shtml
English phonetics has exerted a deep influence upon Italian :
- First of all, English phonetics has deeply influenced Italian. Thus, the sound [æ] is perceived  and pronounced as [e] in Italian. Zapping ['zeppɪɳ].
- However, English pronunciation is not sometimes taken into account when pronouncing Italian, for instance, the sound [h], which is a glottal sound in English, is not pronounced at all in Italian. For example, the expression happy hour is pronounced ['epi 'aʊər]. The 'h' is not pronounced to the extent that in Italian the expression takes the article l' (l'happy hour).
- Some English words are completely adapted into Italian, keeping their English pronunciation. My favourite one, without the shadow of a doubt, is detective [dɪ'tektɪv], which, believe it or not, is not pronounced similarly to Spanish.                                                                                                                                                                                                 
How English loanwords are morphologically adapted into Italian.
English loanwords are easily recognizable in Italian, not only because of their unique pronunciation, but also because of their morphological form. When  adapted to Italian, these English words need a gender. In English most words have no gender, but in Italian (like in Spanish) most of the words have a gender (be it masculine or feminine). English words into Italian concord in gender and number with others (determiners, adjectives...). In addition, most of them have the same form both for singular and for plural : il detective (singular); i detective (plural)
Il social network Twitter est divertente (singular). I social network sono divertenti (plural)
Some of them exceptionally admit pluralization with -s (i social networks).

Some common English borrowings in Italian
Surprising as it may seem, most English borrowings in Italian are far more common than their Italian counterparts. Here you have some examples. 


English borrowing or expression
Italian equivalence (normally less common)
social network (masculine)
rete sociale (feminine)
budget
preventivo /stanziamento
weekend
fine settimana
break  (masculine)
pausa (feminine)
detective
investigatore
clown
pagliaccio
stop
fermarsi
test
verifica
selfie
autoscatto
sponsor
finanziatore
low cost
economico / a basso prezzo
meeting
riunione
online
in linea
business
affare
barman
barista (this word also exists in English)
club
discoteca
boss
capo
bodyguard
scorta
flyer
depliant / volantino
fashion
moda
gossip
pettegolezzo
link
collegamento
live
dal vivo
mass media
mezzi
news
notizia
part-time
a tempo parziale
privacy
vita private / solitudine
teenager
adolescente
ticket
biglietto
T-shirt
maglietta

Some English words with no equivalent in Italian
The influence of English upon Italian is sometimes so vast that only the English word exists to denote a concept, for example, the words 'film', 'computer' / 'PC' or 'mouse' (the object related to the computer) are the same in English and in Italian. Amazing, isn't it ?

Well, what do you think ? Is English invading other languages ? Why do the Italian resort to so many English words or expressions? Please, post your comments with your opinions or contribute with other English borrowings in Italian. 

Saturday, June 17, 2017

Italian has also influenced English !

Resultado de imagen de Italian language
From : http://lelo.pk/classes/language-classes/learn-french-language-italian-language/lahore/-i41708
Ciao a tutti ! 
As you know from my post of the languages modelling English, English has received influences from a great deal of languages, including French, and Spanish.
Oggi vorrei fare un post sull'influenza dell'italiano sull'inglese !  He he. I happen to adore languages and one of my favourite languages (apart from English) is Italian. It is quite a beautiful interesting language that I have studied for so many years in the language school of Salamanca. This is why, to honour this wonderful language, I had quite a brilliant idea, namely, to write a post about how Italian has somehow entered the English language. 

Let's begin : 
a) Some Italian words have entered English in the same form, especially words related to food, for example, 'spaghetti', 'maccaroni', or 'zucchini'. However, these words which are plural in Italian are, surprisingly, singular in English. So, the sentence 'spaghetti is a delicious Italian dish' is correct in English. 'Pasta' is another word from Italian present in the English language. Here you have other examples :

Resultado de imagen de spaghettiResultado de imagen de maccaroni
              spaghetti                           macaroni
Resultado de imagen de zucchini 
           zucchini                       scampi (shrimps or prawns)
Resultado de imagen de broccoliResultado de imagen de cannelloni
        broccoli                                cannelloni


b) Plurals of Italian : Italian and Spanish or English are very dissimilar. For example, to make plurals in Italian, you don't have to add -s or -es, you just have to change the final vowel, normally -i for male nouns and -e for female nouns. In English, though, there are some traces of this Italian plural. 
The English have imported the word 'paparazzo' (a freelance photographer) and the plural is 'paparazzi'. This word, however, is a bit outdated in modern English. In the same way, the word 'tempo' (in music) has the correct plural form 'tempi' (although it also admits 'tempos.'

c) Other Italian borrowings in English. Italian words and English words can coexist :


ITALIAN BORROWING
ENGLISH WORD /
donna
lady
piazza
square
veranda
porch
duo
duet
stanza
verse
studio
study
patio
courtyard
barista
bartender (coffee shop)
trattoria
Italian restaurant
stiletto
high-heel shoe
marina
port
lasagna
lasagne
paparazzo
photographer

d) Italian borrowings with no equivalence in English


ITALIAN BORROWING
DEFINITION
piano
an instrument Schubert played.
villa
large property in the countryside
finale
the final chapter in a season of a TV series / the final part of a performance
opera
a performance involving singing and acting and the use of classical music
cappuccino
a white coffee with foam
latte
white coffee
espresso
black coffee
libretto (plural librettos or libretti)
the book of an opera
Tempo (plural : tempi or tempos)
the speed in music

e) Italian borrowings adapted into English
ITALIAN WORD OF ORIGIN
ENGLISH WORD
balcone
balcony
corridoio
corridor
ombrello
umbrella
ombrellone
beach umbrella
novella
novel
appartamento
apartment

Well, as you can see, Italian has found its way into English ! Che bello, ragazzi ! This week you have learnt the influence in Italian upon English.See you next week with the influence of English upon Italian