I’ve written about this before. Every language probably borrows words from other languages. In America, our kids take karate, we go out for cappuccino, we RSVP for parties. Everywhere in the world, you can order pizza or lasagna and you always get the same thing (more or less). The more I think about it, though, I think these are usually words that don’t already exist in the local language and so rather than invent a new word for raw fish wrapped in seaweed and rice, for example, we just say sushi. Okay. That’s why I understand why Italians say things like “un cocktail,” which doesn’t really have an equivalent in Italian, but understand less when they say “un drink,” which does. (For the record I have always found equally eyeroll-worthy the names for the various-sized cups at Starbucks, for the same reason.)
I’ve been hearing Italians say “shopping” and “happy hour” for the last 15 years I’ve been coming here, but it seems to me to be getting out of control! Italians, on average, simply don’t speak English as well as the citizens of other European countries. How are they supposed to understand, without walking in, a store whose sign reads “Kitchen Design” (like the one near my house) or a poster for a “rooftop party”?
It’s marketing of course, and apparently someone decided it was cooler or attractive to write “Kitchen Design” rather than “Arredamento Cucina” or something similar. As for “Rooftop Party,” an Italian friend with perfect English, who organizes events around Rome, explains that often you want to weed out non-English speaking riff-raff. Ok, then.
Strategic marketing or advertising aside, check out these examples below. They were all in one magazine, provided in the seat back in front of me on a train yesterday. Every single person on the train around me was Italian, and there were very few articles translated into English in the magazine. The target audience here is certainly Italian-speak Italians. And yet…
And then there was this…
CAR SHARING? Seriously. Why is the rest of it in Italian? Just write the whole thing in Italian!
And this, yesterday, on my walk home…
Ok, now I KNOW there is a way to say “Christmas Collection” in Italian. Someone, you know, made the strategic choice to write this in English in the middle of Rome. If they want to appeal to the foreigners here, ok, but maybe write it in both languages? This is just a mystery to me. Note the sign in the bottom right is in Italian…presumably written so passersby can READ IT.
Look, I know there are more important things to worry about in the world, but I just don’t get it. If it’s done for marketing purposes, like my friend who advertises events in English “to weed out the less sophisticated,” I think it’s scandalous! When in Rome…speak Italian! But in the meantime, I see this stuff and have a good laugh. So that’s the upside!
e come lo scrivi, car sharing? condivisione veicolare non si puo’ sentire..
Ciao Weirdo, perche’, “car sharing” si puo’ sentire IN ITALIANO??? “Car sharing” non e’ altro che autonoleggio all’ora o per brevi tempi. Quindi penso che se uno vorrebbe che il lettore italiano capisse, potrebbe scrivere “noleggio giornaliero/all’ora” per esempio. Tu parli l’inglese meglio della regina ma sai benissimo che il 99% della gente qui non capirà “car sharing” scusa! Sai benissimo che qualcuno ha pensato fosse “cool” dirlo così! E gli americani sono uguali con i loro “panini” invece di “sandwiches” in America 🙂 Ora: vieni a casa mia per un po’ di cocacolasharing!
I love this. It actually drives me up the wall. It sounds so stupid to write so many english words around town when the owners of the stores probably don’t know what it means either. I guess Italians must be so used to it… I mean they eat uova alla coque and say treadmill in French, odd.
HAHA – Yes it’s ludicrous! But for the record (I think I wrote this), I think the way the sizes are expressed at Starbucks are stupid, too. And my friend in NY said that there’s this whole group of women there who answer the phone like “Pronto?” Equally silly!
Hilarious! I love these types of examples. But there is actually a historical reason (sort of) for this. During the fascist period, it was forbidden to use foreign words in Italy…everything had to be translated. It was an effort to bolster a sense of nationalism, which has always been lacking in Italy. So (in my opinion) the widespread use of foreign words today is partially a backlash against the “linguistic oppression” of the past. But also in certain environments, like technology, it’s just easier. Can you imagine saying “il dispositivo di puntamento della macchina informatica” instead of mouse? Or maybe it’s as your friend suggested: it’s just “cooler” to speak English in Italy. Ciao!
Yes, totally, for things that were invented in other countries (like mouse, although they could say “topo”!) I absolutely agree it’s easier. Just like we say “cappuccino” in the states, fine. But “PET FOOD” and “NERD” and “CHRISTMAS”?!?!?! Whatever the reason is, I agree it’s hilarious! I already have more I want to share… Thanks for commenting, Rick!