Page 26 - Italian American Herald - August 2022

26 ITALIANAMERICANHERALD.COM | AUGUST2022 ITALIAN-AMERICANHERALD ITALIAN MADE FUN & SIMPLE
improvement of humankind. This becomes evident in the written language, which gives priority to content rather than to the elegance of form. Among articles, il always prevailed before z, but lo and gli dominated before s followed by a consonant. There was still a large amount of variants in verbs. The strong dominance of the French iluministic culture encouraged the entry in the vocabulary of much Gallicism.
The 19th century gave rise to a dispute between Classicists and Romantics. Classicists, opposed to the abuse of Gallicisms by the 18th century’s authors, preferred to go back to the elegance of the traditional language and the imitation of classical authors. Romantics, on the other hand, sought a modern and fresh language, adaptable to national reality,
to become a tool for the political unity of Italy that was on the horizon.
The growth of the middle bourgeoisie brought success to the romantic thesis, because teachers, doctors, notaries, technicians and militaries felt the need for an ordinary language that could substitute for dialect, in their profession as well as in simple conversation.
Whereas poetry was linked to tradition for a long time. The most authoritative testimony of this trend was represented by I Promessi Sposi by Alessandro Manzoni who, for the final edition of 1840, did not use the old traditional language, but the Florentine dialect spoken by the middle class of the Tuscan city.
The political union, that is, the Italian Kingdom, marked the beginning of a process of linguistic unification on the peninsula. In 1877, school became compulsory for two years. However, illiteracy was widespread: around the end of the 19th century particularly in the South where the great majority of the population was not yet able to read and/or write and spoke only dialect.
Considering il/lo and il/gli before s followed by a consonant and z, the articles could be alternated. As for pronouns, lui and lei prevailed as subjects instead of egli/ei and ella, also thanks to Manzoni’s choice in I Promessi Sposi.
In the 20th century, the Italian language began to prevail over dialects. In the first, half of the century illiteracy receded drastically due to secularization and the influence of radio and television. Poetic language too was freed from tradition. Journalists also contributed much to impact on the language. Then came a huge arrival of anglicisms, determined by
the great prestige obtained by the countries of the English language, especially overseas, in the scientific, technological and economical fields, such as baby sitter, bestseller, blue jeans, clacson, computer, guard rail, hostess, jeep, killer, pullover, quiz, rock, self-service, spray, stop, supermarket, week end.
However, make no mistake, today dialects persist and in some autonomous regions are even included in the curriculum. Very often, while out in public today’s younger generation will use standard Italian while at home still fall back on the local dialect.
Statue of Alessandro Manzoni
This is the last of the three-part summer break from the traditional type lessons that appear in this column. We hope our readers found informative this short history of the Italian language from the Roman Latin to present-day Italian.
During the 17th century, many linguistic innovations took place that encouraged writers to invent a great number of sometimes-arguable metaphors. New vocabulary was created. Sophisticated and other vocabulary from daily and practical life, dialectal and foreign terms were mixed with technical vocabulary.
However, in certain milieus, respect for tradition was still very deep. In 1612, the Accademia della Crusca, the official institution of Italian language until now, published the first edition of its Dictionary, based on the language used by the Florentine writers of the 14th century.
Many new words with prefixes and suffixes (-issimo, -one,) were introduced
into the vocabulary. Many scientific words were drawn from Latin (cellula, condensare, iniezione, iperbole, prisma, scheletro - cell, condense, injection, hyperbole, prism, skeleton) as well as legal words (aggressione, consulente, patrocinio - aggression, counselor, patronage).
In the18th century, illuminists intended to bring truth and the light of reason everywhere, to eliminate superstition
and prejudice for a spiritual and material
Before moving on to this issue’s Italian surnames feature, we will respond to a reader who asked for an answer to a question that perplexed him: Why do a lot of French people seem to have Spanish and especially Italian surnames?
Regarding the Italian surnames, there are two reasons: Part of them are “native” from Italian territories to which over the years
the French helped themselves, specifically Corsica, Nice, Côte d’Azur, etc. These regions or territories were part of Italy and inhabited by speakers of Italic languages and/ or dialects. Another part is the consequence of the significant Italian immigration to France, which started in the last part of the 19th century. Millions of French have some Italian origin in one way or another, and some of them have even had their surname “francizied.” Now on to this month’s surname derivations.
PROIETTI – This surname derives from the Latin adjective “proiectus,” meaning abandoned. It was given to the children
of unknown parents. It is a very popular surname. It is registered in the Bureaus of Vital Statistics in all 20 regions. It is most prevalent in Lazio and least registered in the regions of Valle d’Aosta and Basilicata.
PROPERSI – The surname Propersi has a small group in Zogno, Bergamo and Milan, Lombardy, and one in Rome and Capena; Properzi is more common, typical of central
Italy, the Ascoli Piceno and Perugia area
and the province of Aquila. In Italian White Pages: The surname Properzi appears in Italy with over 480 listings; Propersi has about 60.
PROSPERI – This surname derives from the first name Prospero. It is registered in
the Bureaus of Vital Statistics 16 regions. It is most prevalent in Toscana and least registered in the region of Sicilia. Variations: Prospero, Prosperini.
PUGLIESE – This surname derives
from the name of the Puglia Region, thus indicating someone coming from this locality. It is registered in the Bureaus of Vital Statistics in all 20 regions. Go figure though that this surname is most prevalent in Calabria, then Puglia. La Valle d’Aosta is where it is least present. Variations: Puglisi, Pugliano, Puglianello, Pugliarello, Pugliatti.
PULCINI – This surname derives from the Latin adjective “pullicenus,” derived from “pullus,” meaning small, little, young. It is registered in the Bureaus of Vital Statistics
16 regions. It is most prevalent in Lazio and least registered in the regions of Trentino-Alto Adige and Puglia. Variations: Pulcino.
PULSONI – This surname derives from the medieval Latin “pulsone,” meaning big blow. It is registered in only nine regional Bureaus of Vital Statistics. Abruzzo has the largest number of families with this surname.
In the next issue, we move on to Italian surnames that start with the letter Q.
You can research your surname on these two websites:
• surnames.behindthename.com/names/usage/italian/ • cognomix.it/mappe-dei-cognomi-italiani.
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Belcastro in Calabria, close to the Ionian Sea and the mountains of the Little Sila, is one of many ancient towns offering homes for 1 euro.
By Jeanne Outlaw-Cannavo
to become homeowners in various locations across the country. The trend began in 2008 as an initiative by the government, mostly in rural towns and villages, to give new life to areas, which were experiencing sharp declines in population.
have lost so much of their population that they offered homes for free and even financial incentives for people to move there.
you will need the permit. Finally, you will need to open an account in an Italian bank. Well, this almost sounds too good to
be true and in a way it is. The payment of 1 euro is a good faith offer but the caveat
The sale of thousands of Italian homes
for the paltry sum of just 1 euro has sparked international interest in recent years. Italy has long been a top tourist destination, ranking in the top five visited countries worldwide and in the top three for those who live in Europe. Each year millions travel to Italy to experience its fascinating culture, its beautiful landscapes and artistic sites and delectable cuisine. Some visitors return numerous times because of their heritage and familial ties
and other because they fall in love with the country and its lifestyle.
Now Italy is giving many of these tourists an opportunity to become an integral part
of the country’s charm with the opportunity
The aging population and the large exodus of younger inhabitants in search of better jobs in larger cities or in other parts
of Europe, led to thousands of uninhabited houses which began to fall into ruin. The mayor of Salemi, a small town in Sicily, was the first to propose the initiative when he introduced the idea of selling homes that
had lain in ruin since a 1968 earthquake to anyone who would agree to renovate them for just 1 euro. Since then, hundreds of towns have set up these initiatives. Some towns
Of course, there are some regulations you must meet to purchase property. First you will need a passport just to look at properties and you will need to establish residency if you do not have Italian citizenship and plan to spend more than 183 days a year in your home. You also need to apply for a Codice Fiscal, which is comparable to a national insurance number and required to make any transactions and pay taxes. If you are buying a permanent residence, you do not have to worry about applying for a Codice Fiscale because the estate agent will get you one that does not also need a residency permit. However, if you are buying a holiday home
is that whoever purchases one of these houses must submit plans for renovation
to the town council and complete the work within a specific period. Some towns, such as Sambuca in Sicily, specify a minimum
of 15,000 euros for renovations and others may require insurance deposits of up to 5,000 euros. Each municipality has different requirements so that could make a difference in where a buyer might purchase a house. The cost will also depend on the size of the
How to buy an Italian home for 1 euro
Trend to revitalize rural sites presents unique opportunity
@ItalianAmericanHerald @HeraldItalian
JANUARY 2022
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