Pronti o No
Salve ragazzi,
At my first lesson with my private tutor, the wonderful Signora Giudici, she told me that I needed to learn a very important word before we did anything else. It’s useful and can be extremely helpful if used and pronounced correctly, and you want to practice speaking Italian out in the world.
ECCO!
It roughly means “here it is,” but there are many subtly different situations to apply it.
You’re in a department store and looking for the shoe department.
Ah, Ecco! Here it is!
Where is Cheri? Dov’è Cheri? Eccomi! Here I am!
Do you understand? Hai capito? Ah…ecco! Now I get it!
Watch this video about ways to use Ecco, and listen carefully to the pronunciation.
Do you hear how she has elongated the double cc? This is hugely important when speaking Italian, and frankly, I don’t do a very good job a lot of the time. It’s not a matter of making a harder C sound but rather elongating the vowel before it.
When using “Ecco,” the speaker often starts the sentence or phrase with an “ah.” So it sounds like this:
“Ah, eeeecco.”
Double consonants are always like this in Italian. Words like “spaghetti” are pronounced “spagheeeetti” with the “E” elongated. I think of it like a roller coaster, with the vowel on the climb, the double consonants, and the rest of the word on the way down.
I know it might sound silly to an English speaker’s ears until you get used to it. At first, I worried that I sounded like an American making fun of Italians. But this is how they talk; if you want to sound more Italian, you should overcome your shyness and lean into the correct pronunciations.
And there’s an even better reason not to get lazy, like me. The difference between a word with a double consonant and one without can change the meaning drastically. Say “penne” (the pasta) without elongating the vowel, and you’ll end up talking about penises. (Been there). So, FYI.
It’s like they are messing with us or something. The word “nap” is “pisolino,” so MAKE SURE you pronounce that one right. Pisolino means “nap.” But for the love of God, pronounce this one exactly as written with that long “o” in the middle. If you aren’t careful, you’ll end up saying “pisellino,” which literally means “small pea” but is also slang for a tiny penis. The only good thing about making this mistake is that Italians seem to get a big kick out of it.
Ask me how I know. 🤨
Listen to the double consonant in a word like “spaghetti.”
Many Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok accounts are dedicated to helping with your Italian pronunciation and usage, but my favorite is Ilenia Vitolo. I have learned so much from her, like in the one below explaining how to use numbers conversationally.
You can find her on TikTok, Instagram, and she has a few things on YouTube.
So, I’m planning a Friendsgiving with my Italian friends and got out my favorite Italian cookbooks. I’ve already told you about Cucina Povera and The Complete Italian Vegetarian Cookbook, but there’s another that I bought recently that I am falling in love with, Gennaro Contaldo’s Verdure.
You’ve probably noticed that I don’t eat meat or fish, so none of my cookbooks are meat-heavy. That’s the obstacle I must overcome and why an Italian cookbook with nothing but vegetable recipes is extra special.
And you know, of course, that I am not Italian-American (another obstacle.) My people came from Ireland, Scotland, The Netherlands, and Germany. A LONG time ago. I could be in the Daughters of the American Revolution if I wanted to, as a legacy member.
Short story long, as much as I love pasta, I love potatoes too and hardly ever get to make them for my family. Because, duh. Why would you have anything other than pasta? 🤪 What, am I nuts?
Gennaro Contaldo has potato lovers covered with tasty ways to give them an Italian accent, like Patate Napoletane al Forno (a potato bake with tomatoes and capers) and Sformato di Fagiolini (a green bean bake with mashed potatoes and cheese). Everything I’ve tried so far is SERIOUSLY YUMMY.
Christmas is coming! Put it on your Christmas list!
Is it too early to be talking about Christmas? In December, we’ll talk Cinepanettone (Christmas movies that The New York Times called “gleefully vulgar” and usually star Christian De Sica). Still, I’m happy to report that I’ve found my favorite Italian Christmas movie free on YouTube, and as we know, YouTube giveth, and it taketh away, so catch it while it’s up.
La Banda Dei Babbi Natale (The Santa Claus Gang) stars our favorite comedy trio, Aldo, Giovanni, and Giacomo, as three guys who get mistaken for a gang of bandits on Christmas Eve. Also starring Angela Finocchiaro, it is very, very super cute and Christmasy—not gleefully vulgar at all.
There are subtitles, but not English ones, so if you are fluent in Italian or even just studying it, don’t miss this one!
Mina!
In 1978, Italy’s most celebrated and still best-selling singer, Mina, retired from public life for good and hasn’t been famously reclusive since then. But she still makes albums; at 84, she is releasing one on Friday.
‘Gassa d’Amante,’ named after an essential sailing knot, is about – what else? AMORE.
We all have a favorite Mina song, right? Here’s mine – Sing along!
Lo stupore della notte, Spalancata sul mar
Ci sorprese che eravamo, Sconosciuti, io e te
Poi, nel buio, le tue mani, D’improvviso, sulle mie
È cresciuto troppo in fretta, Questo nostro amor
Se telefonando, io, Potessi dirti addio
Ti chiamerei, Se io rivedendoti
Fossi certa che non soffri. Ti rivedrei
Se guardandoti negli occhi, Sapessi dirti “basta”
Ti guarderei, Ma non so spiegarti
Che il nostro amore appena nato, È già finito
With that, I bid you an arrivederci and alla prossima volta.
Un bacione 💋,
Cheri
America’s Favorite Italian Wannabe
I Love Italian Everything 