Comments on: Learning Italian: Three Italian Phrases that Don’t Translate Well into English

By: nck

nck — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 21:03:17 +0000

I know this post is old, but I HAD to respond!

I’ve been saying “close the this” and “close the that” all my life…..I thought I was the only one! “Come on , close the TV!” still cracks my wife up!!!!

Ha! That’s funny. My friend’s little boy (Irish) asked his mom to “conserve” something for him the other day instead of “putting it up.” Too cute.

By: Italian Pronunciation Using Fast Learn Audio

Italian Pronunciation Using Fast Learn Audio — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 02:34:24 +0000

[...] Guide to Italian Phrases [...]

By: Lauren

Lauren — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 06:20:14 +0000

My grandmother says “Close the light!” she’s not even the one from Italy, her parents were!

my sister and I have been making fun of her for years for saying it, now I know its just an Italian thing.

she once said “You just wanna stay your face open” when she meant “You just want to stay awake” too. is that just a blunder on her part or could that have some base in Italian too?

Ha. I’ve never heard you just wanna stay your face open, but it sounds like something that could be translated directly. That is fun. Thanks for sharing!

By: Janet

Janet — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 18:02:44 +0000

Thanks, that really put a smile on my face

Prego!

By: Nadine

Nadine — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 02:28:40 +0000

I butcher French. I used to speak it better as a kid, but lost much going to school. I've butchered the English also. I always mix my metaphors/ Good new is that I amuse those around when I speak either French or English. Keeping it interesting, at least, Nadine!! Nadine’s last blog post..Virtual Personal Assistant

By: jenn

jenn — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 17:14:40 +0000

I always heard "close the lights" or "pass the vacuum" growing up from my stepdad who was raised by Italian immigrant parents. My maternal grandad - English but raised in SE Pennsylvania, had equally unique idioms which I always took for granted. Like "pass the vaccum" over the floor?? I could *so* see my husband saying that. These bilingual idioms are charming, aren't they? jenn’s last blog post..bad bad kittehs

By: Carla

Carla — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 15:31:19 +0000

So funny! It happened and still happens to me and my family/relatives here talk like this (translating literally)…Also like Leanne said, throwing in a random Italian word (in an English conversation) every now and then…You don’t even know all the laughs we get listening my aunts talk! I agree with Pat, could be an Italian-American thing…or perhaps just being in Italy far too long, but I definitely think it shows your hard work of learning Italian is paying off by making these blunders…

Thanks, Carla! Imagine how strange it is for people without a history of Italian language … they seriously think I’m losing my mind!!

By: Anne

Anne — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 15:02:35 +0000

Hi Cherrye...I am in Italy now, for the next 10 days...Liguria...I speak such little Italian, but getting by..but forget verbs etc..just try and ask for something..I normally end up talking with my hands..:-) Welcome to Italy, Anne! Using the hands worked for me for years!! Still does when I am listening in dialect! :0 Anne’s last blog post..Taking a break.......

By: Leanne in Italy

Leanne in Italy — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 14:06:25 +0000

When I am speaking English I throw random Italian words into my conversation without realising. Normally it's just 'aspetta' or 'cosa' but still I didn't mean to say them in Italian... Sometimes when I am not thinking and I am speaking English I say 'Shall we take a coffee?' Because in Italian I often say 'prendiamo' This really sounds odd. That is cute, Leanne. Aspetta is a HUGE one I tell my family all of the time in the states. LOL. Maybe they can learn Italian, too, eh?? Leanne in Italy’s last blog post..Cinema review; Vicky Cristina Barcelona

By: carol

carol — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 13:34:15 +0000

I too grew up hearing (and using) *close the lights* and *open the TV* from my immigrant grandparents.I always thought it was just that my grandparents were a little odd. Now I know.

He he… seems your grandparents were perfectly normal Calabrians!

By: My Mélange

My Mélange — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 13:07:11 +0000

Always such a treat learning another language. Though not Italian, one of the funniest things I ever witnessed was in French class in High School. Obviosuly the word *moi*, meaning me, is a fairly easy word, learned on like what the 2nd or 3rd day?? Well, in second year French, we were reading from the textbook and one of my not so astute classmates came to the word *moi* (which is pronouned like *mwah*) and said *moy*. Yeah, *MOY*???!!!! We all fell off our chairs laughing. Teacher got soooo mad at him, she kicked him out of class for the rest of the day. True Story. Wow. I wonder how he'd say "oui?" My Mélange’s last blog post..Travel Photo Friday : Greece is the Word

By: joanne at frutto della passione

joanne at frutto della passione — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 12:36:12 +0000

I deliberately use *I know my chickens* (from the Italian *conosco i miei polli*) because it makes me laugh and I have older relatives back in Canada that say things like *guarda bene* (for the English *it looks good*) So it really happens both ways. That is funny. I know it works both ways - I hear P slip up all of the time! And I like knowing my chickens, too... joanne at frutto della passione’s last blog post..Eurochocolate revisited

By: Judith in Umbria

Judith in Umbria — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 10:26:59 +0000

It happens all the time. Not only that, but I can hear my friends are also rearranging the verbs, adjectives and nouns in English to fit Italian grammar. I catch myself doing it, too. When writing you can catch it in editing, but in speech, well, the bird small quickly flew above there... I know. It so funny how our minds somehow confuse one language's grammar with another language's vocab. It is fun when you around people who "get that it is funny." Judith in Umbria’s last blog post..Giusy Ferrero: hot and new

By: maryann

maryann — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 09:58:29 +0000

These kind of things are fun and helpful

Thanks, Maryann. Glad you enjoy them.

maryann’s last blog post..Dining With Johnny Depp

By: michelle of bleeding espresso

michelle of bleeding espresso — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 08:59:16 +0000

I think I finally figured out what I *maybe* used to say instead of "for me it's the same." Ready? Same difference. Another weird saying to be sure, but I'm pretty sure that's what I used to say. P doesn't say "chiudere" the TV, so we're cool there. Of course I've also heard Americans say "close the lights" (although not where I'm from) so maybe it's not that far off for certain areas of America either. I do a lot of literal translations to myself (you know I don't actually speak English all that much anymore!) like "It rains on the wet" just because I find them funny, but nothing else is coming to mind right now.... I am pretty sure I get the "chiudere" from my FIL! He is wearing off on me. he he. I said something really odd to my sister on the phone last night, too. I called her and there was static on the line and I said, "It's not working, the phone." Instead of "the phone's not working." Gah! michelle of bleeding espresso’s last blog post..love thursday: bringing home the bacon

By: Pat

Pat — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 06:13:49 +0000

“For me it’s the same!” Italian Americans over the last century and a half in the U.S. had the tendency to translate certain Italian expressions literally into English, the other first generation speakers knowing what the intended meaning was. Hence in Italo American communities, depending on region, etc. many of these direct translations have assimilated into common spoken English. You could say “For me it’s the same” where I live and everyone would not only know what you said but not realize that it was not proper English. I myself didn’t realize it until I read this blog entry. Here a common expression would be “For me it’s the same no matter what we do” translating, “I don’t care what we do.”

That is so interesting. I love to get your IA perspective on things like this. I am *so* American, you know!