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Monday, June 26, 2017

Itanglish : English has flooded Italian

Related image
From : http://www.bonvivre.ch/2016/06/criticart/basta-con-gli-inutili-termini-inglesi-aziendali-insorge-laccademia-della-crusca.html
Ciao di nuovo ! Last week, I wrote an entry on the influence of Italian upon English. This time, I'm writing one about the vast influence of English upon Italian. Want it or not, all the Italians know, at least, some English, given that their language is flooded with hundreds of English loanwords, which are sometimes far more popular than the Italian counterparts. English has taken over Italian to the extent that English borrowings are considered (even by the Italian) more common and more 'cool' than the original Italian expressions. It is practically impossible to keep a conversation in Italian without using some English words or expressions. Let's see some of the influence English has exerted over Italian.
Image result for parole inglese in italiano
From : http://www.corriere.it/cultura/14_agosto_10/inglesismi-lingua-quali-sono-parole-che-non-riuscite-tollerare-01d10aee-20ba-11e4-b059-d16041d23e13.shtml
English phonetics has exerted a deep influence upon Italian :
- First of all, English phonetics has deeply influenced Italian. Thus, the sound [æ] is perceived  and pronounced as [e] in Italian. Zapping ['zeppɪɳ].
- However, English pronunciation is not sometimes taken into account when pronouncing Italian, for instance, the sound [h], which is a glottal sound in English, is not pronounced at all in Italian. For example, the expression happy hour is pronounced ['epi 'aʊər]. The 'h' is not pronounced to the extent that in Italian the expression takes the article l' (l'happy hour).
- Some English words are completely adapted into Italian, keeping their English pronunciation. My favourite one, without the shadow of a doubt, is detective [dɪ'tektɪv], which, believe it or not, is not pronounced similarly to Spanish.                                                                                                                                                                                                 
How English loanwords are morphologically adapted into Italian.
English loanwords are easily recognizable in Italian, not only because of their unique pronunciation, but also because of their morphological form. When  adapted to Italian, these English words need a gender. In English most words have no gender, but in Italian (like in Spanish) most of the words have a gender (be it masculine or feminine). English words into Italian concord in gender and number with others (determiners, adjectives...). In addition, most of them have the same form both for singular and for plural : il detective (singular); i detective (plural)
Il social network Twitter est divertente (singular). I social network sono divertenti (plural)
Some of them exceptionally admit pluralization with -s (i social networks).

Some common English borrowings in Italian
Surprising as it may seem, most English borrowings in Italian are far more common than their Italian counterparts. Here you have some examples. 


English borrowing or expression
Italian equivalence (normally less common)
social network (masculine)
rete sociale (feminine)
budget
preventivo /stanziamento
weekend
fine settimana
break  (masculine)
pausa (feminine)
detective
investigatore
clown
pagliaccio
stop
fermarsi
test
verifica
selfie
autoscatto
sponsor
finanziatore
low cost
economico / a basso prezzo
meeting
riunione
online
in linea
business
affare
barman
barista (this word also exists in English)
club
discoteca
boss
capo
bodyguard
scorta
flyer
depliant / volantino
fashion
moda
gossip
pettegolezzo
link
collegamento
live
dal vivo
mass media
mezzi
news
notizia
part-time
a tempo parziale
privacy
vita private / solitudine
teenager
adolescente
ticket
biglietto
T-shirt
maglietta

Some English words with no equivalent in Italian
The influence of English upon Italian is sometimes so vast that only the English word exists to denote a concept, for example, the words 'film', 'computer' / 'PC' or 'mouse' (the object related to the computer) are the same in English and in Italian. Amazing, isn't it ?

Well, what do you think ? Is English invading other languages ? Why do the Italian resort to so many English words or expressions? Please, post your comments with your opinions or contribute with other English borrowings in Italian. 

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