QUAESTIO LINGUAE 1995: THE USE OF ENGLISH WORDS IN THE ITALIAN LANGUAGE

by

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Aaron Hess Sherinian, Department of Italian

Introduction

Scholars have labored for centuries to define the elements that constitute the Italian language. This debate, the “QUAESTIO LINGUAE” or “question of the language” as it is referred to, often takes into consideration the influence of foreign languages upon Italian (Petronio 1987).

There are several factors which have rendered the Italian language particularly open to foreign languages. Italy’s position in the Mediterranean Sea, the frequent presence of foreign conquerors, and a steady relationship of trade between Italy and other nations have all aided in introducing words and terminologies into both spoken and written Italian that may not have otherwise appeared (Zolli 1989). Throughout Italy’s history an exchange of words between countries such as Spain and France and the Italian peninsula has been constant and frequent.

This same exhange continues today. A visitor to Italy in 1995 can immediately identify words such as sport, ticket, babysitter and bar. These words are inserted naturally into otherwise ordinary Italian phrases.

This phenomenon is termed by Paolo Zolli, author of Le parole straniere as il prestito linguistics, the linguistic loan. The question of the language in 1995 seeks to define the degree of influence that the linguistic loan carries in today’s Italian.

In addition to Italy’s already cosmopolitan society, advances in mass media, telecommunication and computer technology offer Italians a greater font of words from which to choose. According to Zolli these imported English words, or anglicismi as they are referred to in Italian, appear for two reasons. The first reason is that of necessity. Specialized fields with heavy activity in English speaking countries such as the computer industry, business marketing, and medicine have introduced many new ideas and concepts in the years following World War II. Rather than translate each of these concepts into a new Italian vocabulary, the original English word is retained and “adopted” into Italian. The second reason is termed by Zolli as one of lusso or luxury. This means that an Italian chooses to employ an English word rather than an Italian one for the elegance or sense of chic that it adds to one’s rhetoric (Zolli 1995).

Description of Project

In an effort to contribute to the QUAESTIO LINGUAE in 1995, I conducted a survey which seeks to better define the diffusion of English words in Italy today. The survey involved over 600 Italians residing in the northern, central and southern regions of Italy, including Sicily. The survey consisted of two types of questions. The first presented respondents with a list of seven definitions which, according to Gian Carlo Oil’s Parole degli anni novanta are concepts which Italians prefer to using an English word. Respondents were instructed to define concepts according to the word which they felt was most appropriate. Measures were taken to free the study from bias during this first section. Any connection to America or anglophile culture was eliminated both from those presenting the survey as well as from the instructions found on the survey itself. The second type of question asked respondents to list the English words which they felt they used most commonly. This question allowed me to catalog English words according to how frequently they appeared in the results.

In addition to the written surveys, I also collected over one hour of video footage which documents the responses of 100 people chosen randomly in Italy’s industrial capital of Milan.

Conclusion

More than 7 5 percent of the surveys demonstrate a tendency on the part of Italians to use at least one word of English origin when presented with the definitions from Oil’s study. This percentage is considerably higher among respondents younger than 35 years of age. These younger respondents also noted on their surveys a more vast knowledge of English than that of the older generations.

The tendency to use English words was notably higher in the northern regions of Italy than in the central and southern regions.

In post-survey discussion with some respondents I noticed that many English words take on a distinctly Italian flair when they appear in conversation. The English word “feeling” for example, which might be used in anglophile circles to describe a physical sensation or awareness is used to denote a special connection between two people as it regards to intimacy and confidence in a friendship or other association. One can thus determine that Italy’s “importation” of Engslish terminologies is not a mere process of translating English words and their definitions into the modern Italian vocabulary. The process is much more complicated as it involves the fulfilling of Italian linguistic needs to bring about a richer level of communication.

Further information and detailed analysis of the study are available in a document to be submitted to the Honors Department Brigham Young University.

I can add a third element to Zolli’s theory regarding English words in the Italian language. Not only necessity and luxury but a distinctly Italian process of adding a new sfumature or subtle meanings to words renders the linguistic loan a valuable process. With an increased knowledge of English and a greater tendency by younger generations in Italy to use English words, this third element of the linguistic loan will also continue to expand. The end product is an Italian which is allowing itself to evolve and change according to the needs of a changing world.

References

  • Banfi, E., and A. A. Sbrero. 1992 II llnguaggio glovanlle degli ann! novanta. Bari: Giuseppe Laterza e flgll.
  • Lotti, Gianfranco. 1991. Perche si dice cos!. Milano: Rizzoli Editore.
  • Oli, Gian Carlo. 1992. Parole degll anni novanta. Firenze: Le Monnier.
  • Petronio, Giuseppe. 1987. L’attivita letteraria in Italla. Fireze: Palumbo.
  • Pierotti, G.L. 1964. L’italiano corretto/L’Itallano efflcace. Milano: De Vecchi Editore.
  • Ward, William. 1990. Getting it right in Italy. London: Bloomsbury.
  • Zolli, Paolo. 1989. Come nascono le parole italiane. Milano: Rizzoli Editore.
  • Zolli, Paolo. 1995. Le Parole Straniere. Bologna: Zanichelll Editore.