Learn some Italian slang expressions
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Intro |
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| Michael: What is Italian slang like? |
| Ofelia: And is it commonly used? |
| Michael: At ItalianPod101.com, we hear these questions often. Imagine the following situation: Federica Fontana and Ben Lee are friends and they are talking, at a certain point Federica uses an unusual phrase, which literally means: |
| "Who does!" |
| Federica Fontana: Chissene! |
| Dialogue |
| Federica Fontana: Chissene! |
| Ben Lee: Cosa significa? |
| Federica Fontana: Significa "chi se ne frega." |
| Michael: Once more with the English translation. |
| Federica Fontana: Chissene! |
| Michael: "Who does!" |
| Ben Lee: Cosa significa? |
| Michael: "What does that mean?" |
| Federica Fontana: Significa "chi se ne frega." |
| Michael: "It means, ‘who cares.'" |
Lesson focus |
| Michael: Slang is an aspect of language that isn't usually taught in the classroom, but it can be important for becoming proficient. Slang indicates a set of words and expressions, used by a group of people to better convey feelings and implied concepts. Slang is usually an aspect of the colloquial language, and, for this reason, it changes really quickly or differs from one group to the other. In Italian, "slang" is |
| Ofelia: slang |
| Michael: or |
| Ofelia: gergo. |
| Michael: This second term refers more to a set of words and expressions that a group uses to communicate especially about their work, and is usually incomprehensible to other speakers. In this lesson, we'll focus more on common slang, especially words and phrases used by young people. |
| [Recall 1] |
| Michael: Let's start with the slang word in the conversation. |
| Do you remember how Federica says "Who does!" |
| (pause 4 seconds) |
| Ofelia as Federica Fontana: Chissene! |
| Michael: This word is an abbreviation commonly used by young people, in place of the complete sentence |
| Ofelia: Chi se ne frega! |
| Michael: which means "Who cares!" This is also colloquial, but you can still find it in the Italian dictionary, under the verb |
| Ofelia: fregarsene |
| Michael: which means "not care a hoot." |
| [Summary] |
| Michael: So far, you've learned that slang is an important aspect of colloquial language. It is often limited to small groups and it can change quickly or become obsolete. |
| Now, let's look at some more examples of young people slang. First is |
| Ofelia: scialla [SLOW] scialla. |
| Michael: This expression indicates the attitude of being easy-going about something that happened. For example, if your friend apologizes for something that you don't really care for, you can say |
| Ofelia: Scialla! Non c'è problema! |
| Michael: meaning "Nevermind! It's nothing!" The next slang word is |
| Ofelia: apericena [SLOW] apericena, |
| Michael: which means "pre-dinner aperitif." This is a contraction of two words |
| Ofelia: aperitivo, |
| Michael: meaning "aperitif," and |
| Ofelia: cena, |
| Michael: meaning "dinner." It refers to the habit of drinking and eating something in the early evening, before dinner time. It's not a complete meal, but you'll eat enough to be able to skip dinner. For example, a colleague could invite you by saying |
| Ofelia: Facciamo l'apericena? |
| Michael: meaning "Shall we have a pre-dinner aperitif?" This word is so commonly used that, in recent years, some dictionaries listed it among neologisms. The next slang word is |
| Ofelia: spiaggiarsi [SLOW] spiaggiarsi |
| Michael: According to any standard Italian dictionary, it means "to run ashore" or "to beach" as in "the whale beached on the coastline"; however, as a slang word, it means "to chill." For example, a friend could invite you to spend some chilling time at the park by saying |
| Ofelia: Andiamo a spiaggiarci al parco. |
| Michael: meaning "Let's go chilling at the park." |
| Expansion |
| Michael: As you might know if you have Italian friends, when it comes to colloquial expressions, Italian can be a very colorful language. The only downside is that many slang words, if used in the wrong context, sound offensive. For example, many slang words are used to describe people's negative habits or attitudes; for example, let's consider the word |
| Ofelia: T-Rex |
| Michael: In standard Italian, it means "T-Rex," but, when used as a slang word, it indicates someone who is "stingy." You could call a friend of yours this while joking, but you can't do the same with someone you don't know well. |
| Cultural Insight |
| Michael: Since 2001, most important Italian magazines have started collecting slang words used by young people on an open database, called |
| Ofelia: Slangopedia. |
| Michael: Anyone can suggest new entries, so the database is constantly growing. If you're interested, please make sure to check it out. And, for a complete guide with English explanation, don't forget the Must-Know Italian Slang Words &Phrases series available at ItalianPod101.com. |
Outro |
| Michael: Do you have any more questions? We're here to answer them! |
| Ofelia: A presto! |
| Michael: See you soon! |
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