Page 18 - Italian American Herald - June 2022

18 ITALIANAMERICANHERALD.COM | JUNE2022 ITALIAN-AMERICANHERALD ITALIAN MADE FUN & SIMPLE
Learning a foreign language means exploring not only grammar, vocabulary, syntax, etc., but also the way it developed over the centuries.
Therefore, we thought that for the summer break rather than the traditional type of lesson that appears on this page, we would introduce our readers to a short history of the Italian language from the Roman Latin to today. To do justice to this topic while working with limited space, the topic will be spread over three issues.
The obvious place to start is with the Romans. Through the entire empire, Latin was the official language, but only for written documents, verdicts etc. The masses used their own mother tongue of origin and/or very often a kind of Latin much influenced by their mother tongue. As the Western Roman Empire began to decline in the third and
the fifth centuries B.C., the spoken language became more and more different from the official Latin. This was the origin of the Western European languages. Thus in Spain they began to speak Hispanic-Latin, in France Franco-Latin, in Great Britain Anglo-Latin, etc.
The fall of the Western Roman Empire
at the hands of the barbarians in 476 B.C. brought a final fragmentation of linguistic unity in Italy. Although the invaders had learned Latin, they spoke it their way and soon peculiarities of their languages cropped into the spoken languages in Italy. For example some words of the Langobards who reigned over Northern Italy for two centuries, from 568-774 B.C., are still part of present- day spoken Italian: ciuffo, graffiare, guancia, ricco, scherzare, schiena, zanna, meaning respectfully clump, scratch, cheek, rich, joke, back, fang.
Altissimu, onnipotente, bon Signore, tue so’ le laude, la gloria, e l’honore et onne benedictione.
Ad te solo, Altissimo, se konfano,
et nullu homo ène dignu te mentovare.
Laudato sie, mi’ Signore, cum tucte le tue creature, spetialmente messor lo frate sole,
lo qual’è iorno, et allumini noi per lui.
Et ellu è bellu e radiante cum grande splendore: de te, Altissimo, porta significatione.
Despite the fall of the Western Roman Empire, for many centuries, in Italy, Latin remained the only language used for written communication, for literature, documents and in the official sites. Latin was still spoken in 1600 in the universities in all of Europe.
The first documents written in Vulgar Latin, the language spoken by people of certain regions and what nowadays are call dialects, then known as “placiti,” appeared
in Cassino in the province Frosinone around 960 B.C. An example: “Sao ko kelle terre, per kelle fini que ki contene, trenta anni le possette parte Sancti Benedicti.” Present- day Italian: So che quelle terre, entro quei confini che qui si descrivono, le ha possedute per trent’anni l’abbazia di San Benedetto. It translates to English as, “I know that those lands, within the boundaries described here, have been owned by the abbey of St. Benedict for 30 years.”
Written Vulgar was also used in literary texts around 1200. The famous “Cantico delle creature” by St. Francis of Assisi was written in Umbrian Vulgar in 1224:
During this period of Vulgar Latin’s evolution, k was often an alternative to c, gn was written in different ways, for example bagno meaning bath, also appeared and was pronounced bango, bango, bannio, etc.. The conjunction et and Latin h were still used, homo, honore. Concerning articles, lo was prevalent lo quale, lo frate. Several Gallicisms appeared in the vocabulary: messere, cavaliere, scudiere, madama, ostaggio, mestiere, pensiero, coricare, meaning respectfully as messer, knight, squire, madame, hostage, craft, thought, lament.
Highest, almighty good Lord
Yours are the praises, the glory and the honor And all the blessing
To you, alone, Most High, do they belong.
No human lips are worthy
To pronounce Your name.
Praised be You, my Lord with all Your creatures Especially our brother, Master Sun
Who brings the day and the light
That warms us he that is beautiful and radiant In all his splendor!
He brings meaning of You, O Most High.
This month we continue with the letter P.
POLITI – This surname derives from
the Greek word "politis," meaning citizens. Also accredited to the name of the town of Polito in the province of Cosenza in Calabria. The surname is registered with the Bureaus of Vital Statistics in 19 of Italy’s 20 regions.
It is most prevalent in Lombardia. The one region where it has no presence is Basilicata. Variations: Politico, Politanò, Pulitano.
POMANTE – This surname derives from a nickname for families that owned many fruit trees. It’s a rather uncommon surname that
is present in only eight regions. It is mostly registered with vital statistics in Abruzzo and least in Liguria. Variations; Pomanti.
POMPEI – This surname derives from the Roman family name "Pompeius." It is present in significant numbers in all 20 regions. It
is mostly registered in Lazio and least in Trentino-Alto Adige. Variations: Pompeo, Pompea
POMPILIO – This surname derives from the Roman family name "Pompilius." It is present in 18 regions. It has its strongest presence in Puglia and the least in neighboring Basilicata. It is not present in Umbria or Val d’Aosta. Variations: Pompilii, Pompilia.
POMPONIO – This surname derives from the Roman family name "Pomponius". The surname is registered with the Bureaus of Vital Statistics in 16 of Italy’s 20 regions. It is mostly registered with vital statistics
in Abruzzo. It is not present in Sicilia, Umbria, Val d’Aosta or Trentino - Alto Adige Variations: Pomponia, Pomponii
PONTI – This surname derives from
the Italian word “ponte,” meaning bridge. Ancestors of these present-day Ponti families
probably worked on building bridges. It is present in 19 regions. It has its strongest presence in Lombardia and least in Basilicata. It is not present in Molise. Variations:
Ponte, Ponticelli, Pontillo, Pontini, Pontoni, Pontiroli, Pontalti.
PORCELLI – This surname derives
from the Italian word "porco," meaning pig, probably connected to a job as pig raiser. The surname is registered with the Bureaus of Vital Statistics in 19 of Italy’s 20 regions. It is most prevalent in Puglia and least in Umbria. The one region where it has no presence is Val d’Aosta. Variations: Porciello, Porcella, Porcellini, Porcelluzzi.
PORRECA – This surname derives probably from the Latin "porrectum," meaning plateau, extension, to indicate someone coming from this kind of place. It is not among the top list of Italian surnames. It is present in only 15 regions in insignificant numbers at that. However, it seems that a significant numbers of immigrants with that surname came to the Delaware Valley where today there are a number of families with the surname Porreca.
POTALIVO - This surname appears to be a combination of the Italian verb "potare," meaning to prune and the Italian noun "olivo," meaning olive tree. In all probability, it indicates a job working in olive farming and/or the production of olive oil. It would seem that Italy, known for its olive industry, that the surname would be in large numbers. However, it is found in only 8 regions and sparsely at that. Variations: Potalivi, Potamio, Potamione.
Next month we’ll look at more Italian surnames starting with the letter P.
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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