Cappuccino Experience

Is English corrupting the Italian language?

Written by admin on 29 September, 2009 – 9:30 pm -

It’s time for another guest blog. Ainsley Okoro has written a very interesting and amusing article about how the Italian language is being corrupted through the overuse of English words. I thoroughly enjoyed it and trust you will too.

Brits don’t do foreign languages very well – which might explain why they spent centuries making sure everyone else learnt English.

So as a 40-something-year-old Brit, the four years I spent trying to master Italian were a struggle. Frankly, I half-wished that way-back-when we had made Il Bel Paese part of the British Empire as well.

Moments that still make me shudder? Asking a waitress in Tuscany what to do about la mancia (the tip)…only it came out as la minchia (a vulgar term for the male private parts). Even worse was my second meeting with my future mother-in-law, when I mixed up ho scoperto (“I discovered”) and ho scopato (“I f*****”). I meant the first, before you ask.

Now that I speak the world’s most romantic language with a bit more fluency, what do I find? Half of Italy instead speaking some awful mishmash of Italian and English, “Anglo-Italiano”.

Need somewhere to stay for that trip to Milan? If gli hotel are booked out, lo staff might recommend un bed and breakfast nearby that is one of i top in the city and equipped di ogni comfort. Here for a couple of weeks? Then consider renting un residence or un loft with un big open-space.

The press and TV are no better, with reports on Il Premier Silvio Berlusconi using il suo private jet to take i VIP and le showgirl to i party at his mansion. He also allegedly slept with una sexy escort. It’s not the first time he’s blundered with un gaffe and il feeling between il tycoon and voters is at an all-time low. Little wonder he’s complaining about lo stress and il suo privacy.

After il summit di G8 – attended by altri leader such as Barack Obama and le first ladies – Berlusconi summoned un meeting of his cabinet to discuss un budget. But a reporter has un scoop – during un briefing, Berlusconi let slip Il Ministro del Welfare was at fault for the deficit getting to un record.

Or how about the soccer in La Gazzetta dello Sport? There was ll derby at il weekend between i due club, AC Milan and Inter. Because il match era sold-out, i fans found it hard to buy i ticket. Milan’s No9 was il matchwinner with a goal from un corner. It led to scuffles among gli hooligan, which gli steward soon dealt with. Leonardo, il mister di Milan, was just happy to win.

The worst are the gossip magazines. Madonna non è piu single – la superstar has found un boyfriend and she and il suo partner have been seen in un resort. Or gawp at la snob Victoria Beckham eating un snack while il suo bodyguard has un sandwich.

A few pages on, una showgirl from un reality show is enjoying i cocktail in un bar. Then a spot of il clubbing before heading home with un rock star.

Surely enough is enough. Italian is a rich enough language with words of its own that do the job perfectly – un albergo, not hotel; impiegati rather than staff; spuntino instead of snack.

Last year the prestigious Dante Alighieri Society launched a campaign to curb the erosion of Italian by English words. Tough job – Anglo-Italiano is now il nuovo trend…


Ainsley Okoro works for the property for sale in Italy website Homes and Villas Abroad.com and specialises in Calabria property and Tuscany property

Thanks Ainsley. If anyone wants to add some English words that are being used with everyday Italian please leave them in the comments. Personally my favourite is una standing ovation!

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