Lesson Transcript

Alisha: Welcome to Fun and Easy Italian by ItalianPod101.com!
Alisha: If you receive a text message from your Italian friend that only says tvb, would you know what that means?
Felice: Ciao a tutti, sono Felice.
Hi everyone! I’m Felice.
Alisha:
And I’m Alisha.
In this lesson, you’ll learn all about Italian internet slang.
Felice: In Italy, many people use slang when they text. It’s almost like an entirely different language in itself!
Alisha: Being able to understand and use it correctly will help you make Italian friends and keep in contact with them.
Felice: In this video you'll learn some interesting data about the internet in Italy as well as a complete Italian internet slang dictionary.
Felice: We promise you, at the end of this lesson, chatting and texting with your Italian friends will be even more fun and easier!
Felice: Let’s start with some data about the internet in Italy.
Alisha: Italians love innovations and technology, however, their average age is quite high. They are therefore less inclined to adapt to new means of communication compared to other countries.
According to the data released by the World Bank, only 61% of Italians used the internet back in 2016. This percentage is lower than internet users from other countries such as the Americans with 76%, the Japanese with 93%, and the British with 95%.
Alisha: Nevertheless, the internet still plays an important role in the lives of young Italians when keeping up with their friends in social media.
If you have Italian friends, they will more likely ask for your Facebook or email address to keep in touch with you.
Felice: You have to make sure you’re familiar with Italian internet slang so you can easily reply to their messages and emails.
We’ll give you a complete dictionary of Italian text abbreviations and slang that you can use whenever and wherever you need!
Felice: Let’s get into more details with the Italian internet slang dictionary.
Alisha: Like anywhere else in the world, the internet slang in Italy involves abbreviations and new words. But some Italians dislike the use of slang. They believe that slang can lead to a poorer and less complex use of the Italian language.
Alisha: This may also affect their way of dealing with the real world. Some, however, believe every language is a "work in progress".
Felice: As for the Italian language learners like you, the use of Italian internet slang offers three great benefits.
Alisha: First, it’s less formal and less meticulous over grammar and orthography compared to the traditional written language.
Alisha: Second, the sentences are usually shorter, and third, complex verbs such as subjunctives or the super hard passato remoto can be easily avoided.
Alisha: You may still need to watch out for some of its disadvantages though because some abbreviations can be pretty obscure and confusing.
Felice: But don’t worry, our dictionary is here to help you with them.
Felice: First let’s see what all those Xs and Ks are about.
Alisha: You have probably seen the letters "X" and "K" on the Italian internet all the time. Italian may not be a language that uses these two letters very much but they’re mostly used in Italian text messages to shorten a huge variety of words.
Felice: The X replaces the syllable per both when it’s a preposition and when it’s a part of a word.
When it’s a preposition, per means "to, for, in order to, because of, through, or toward."
Alisha: The letter K on the other hand replaces the letters "ch," that is indeed pronounced "K."
There are also times that "X" and "K" abbreviations are being used both at the same time.
Felice: Here are some examples when using the abbreviation "X":
Felice:Sono tornata a casa x studiare actually means Sono tornata a casa per studiare.
In English, it means "I went back home to study."
Passo x il centro means Passo per il centro.
Which means "I’m passing through the city center." in English.
Felice: Vengo al cinema, xò più tardi means Vengo al cinema, però più tardi. Meaning "I’m coming to the cinema, but later."
Sei davvero una xsona interessante means Sei davvero una persona interessante. This means "You really are an interesting person." in English.
Felice: Now, here are the examples when using the abbreviation "K":
Felice: Ke noia questo film! This actually means, Che noia questo film! In English it means, "This film is so boring!"
Non capisco ke vuoi dire is Non capisco che vuoi dire.
Which means "I don’t understand what you want to say."
Felice: Sto studiando kimica means Sto studiando chimica.
Meaning, "I’m studying chemistry."
When using both "X" and "K", check out these following examples:
Xké Luca e Marta si sono lasciati? In other words, Perché Luca e Marta si sono lasciati?
Meaning, "Why did Luca and Marta break up?"
Felice: Sono arrivata tardi xké mi sono addormentata, means, Sono arrivata tardi perché mi sono addormentata.
In English it’s, "I was late because I fell asleep."
Felice: Next, we are going to learn about Italian text slang abbreviations.
Felice: If you already came across the abbreviations frs or tvb in a text message but didn’t really know what they meant, then this section is for you.
Felice: Together with those we’ve already talked to you about, the most-used abbreviations in Italian text messages are:
Felice: Nn for Non which means "not".
Sn for Sono which means "I am" or "they are".
C, T, and V for Ci, Ti, and Vi, meaning the personal pronouns "us" and "you" in singular and plural form.
Frs for Forse meaning "maybe".
Felice: And, Tvb for Ti voglio bene which means "I love you," but it’s usually used for relatives and friends. Sometimes you can also find Tvtb for Ti voglio tanto bene which means "I love you very much", or Tvumdb for Ti voglio un mondo di bene which means, "I love you very very much".
Felice: Here are some examples:
Felice: First, the "Nn"
For example, Nn ho ancora fatto i compiti which means "I haven’t done my homework yet."
Second, the "Sn":
Here’s an example: I tuoi cugini sn tornati a casa?
This means, "Did your cousins come back home?"
Felice: Third, the abbreviations "C", "T", and "V" for Ci, Ti, and Vi:
For example, C vediamo stasera!
Meaning, "See you tonight!"
Another example, T voglio dire una cosa.
Which means "I want to tell you something."
And the last example, Penso che v raggiungerò dopo.
Meaning, "I think I’ll join you later."
Felice: Fourth, the abbreviation "Frs"
For example, Frs non riuscirò a venire alla partita domani.
In English, this means "Maybe I won’t be able to come to the game tomorrow."
Felice: And last but not the least, here is an example for the abbreviation: "Tvb"
For example, Tvb, lo sai?
He was actually saying, "I love you, you know?"
Felice: Next, let’s learn about Italian internet slang expressions. The most popular among them are:
Felice:Chissene which is an abbreviation for Chi se ne frega. It’s an expression that means "Who cares?" or "Whatever."
Felice: SVEGLIAAA! Which means "Wake up." It’s an expression commonly used to make fun of internet users that have poor culture and those who believe in the most absurd conspiracy theories. Pretty much just being sarcastic.
Felice: Pancina which means "little belly," typically referring to a pregnant woman who uses Facebook to discuss every detail of her pregnancy, asking stupid questions, and writing mushy comments.
And
Smanettone, "someone who’s good with computers".
Felice: Here is an example for the abbreviation Chissene:
For example, Paolo non mi ha richiamato, ma chissene.
Which means "Paolo didn’t call me back, but who cares?"
Felice: As for Svegliaaa, here’s how you use it:
Say, La terra è piatta! SVEGLIAAAAA!!!!
You’re actually saying, "The earth is flat! WAKE UP!"
Felice: When using the abbreviation Pancina, use it like this:
Da quando è incinta, Gianna è diventata una vera pancina.
This means, "Since she’s pregnant, Gianna has become a real pancina."
Felice: Now, let’s get to the slang expressions used both online and offline.
Felice: Here are some of the most commonly used slang expressions you can use either online or offline:
Felice: Dai! which means "Come on!" It’s used in a variety of contexts and can also express wonder or incredulity.
Meno male which is an expression for relief.
Grande! Which is used as an informal expression meaning "Great!" You can also use it when you admire or congratulate someone.
Felice: Here are some examples for:
Felice:
Dai!
You can say, Dai! Vieni con noi!
This means, "Come on! Come with us!"
Another example is, Maria e Antonio sono tornati insieme? Ma dai! Non ci credo!
Which means, "Marian and Antonio are back together? Come on! I don’t believe it!"
Felice: Meno male!
Try saying this example, Giuseppe ieri non stava bene, ma oggi è in forma. Meno male!
It means, "Giuseppe wasn’t feeling well yesterday, but today he’s all right. What a relief!"
Felice: Another example is, Meno male che mi hai aiutata, non ci sarei riuscita da sola.
Which means "Thank God you helped me, I couldn’t make it by myself."
Felice: Grande
You can say, Mi hanno detto che hai preso 30 all’esame. Grande!
Which means, "They told me that you got an A on the test. That’s great!"
Felice: Next, we’re going to explore the English internet slang that are also used by Italians.
Alisha: Some of them are:
LOL
FYI
Troll
Lurker
Link
Hacker
Felice: Now here are expressions that have originated new words and you will most likely encounter in the Italian internet slang:
Felice: Linkare meaning "to link"
Trollare which means "to troll"
Lollare meaning "to laugh out loud"
And
Hackerare meaning "to hack"
Felice: Here are some examples:
Linkare
You can say, Ricordati di linkare questo articolo.
Which means, "Remember to link this article."
Trollare
Try saying, In questo forum è vietato trollare.
It means, "In this forum trolling is forbidden."
Felice: Lollare
Here’s an example, Sto guardando un film comico e lollo.
TIt means "I’m watching a comedy and laughing out loud."
Felice: Hackerare
For example, Mi hanno hackerato il computer.
Which means "Someone has hacked my computer."
Alisha: In this lesson, you learned about the internet in Italy, some Italian internet slangs, and some appropriate way to use these words.
Felice: Alla prossima!
See you next time!

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