Not long ago, the Confartigianato (association of artisans) posted a too-brief series of advertisements for itself that bounced off Venetian sayings — written in Venetian, no less. That was a clever and charming acknowledgment of the reality of actual Venetians artisans struggling to stay afloat (by which I mean that it wasn’t written in Italian, or even in English, as so many things increasingly are around here). The refrain in the text reminds the reader that the Confartigianato “speaks the same language” as you, the artisan. By this they mean not only Venetian, but artisan-speak.
I wish they’d done more of them.
“Anyway, it’s Pantalon who pays.” For the linguistically curious, “tanto” here doesn’t mean “much,” as it does in Italian — in Venetian it’s short for “intanto” (meanwhile or anyway).The helpful explanation in red (translated by me): “Ancient saying that goes back to the comedy of masks (“Commedia dell’Arte”) in which Pantalone was the exemplar of the rich merchant who at the end always has to pay to put right the damage or the debts of others.” The sign goes on to say: “For us that isn’t valid! With us the management of personnel is never a trick or snare. Choose competence, turn to our experience.” They then add: “Speaking your language, we give concrete answers and support the needs of every small business.”This is Pantalon in his classic costume, from goatee to slippers. He’s always in red, with a black mantle, and often carries a sword or dagger. Sometimes he’s allowed a potbelly, but it’s compensated for by a grotesquely long and skinny beard. The merchant is always Venetian, and is always irascible, stingy, avaricious, and old; at the beginning of the comedy he prides himself on being sharper than everybody else, but is phenomenally easy to trick and to manipulate. Therefore when all the convolutions of the comedy are finished, he’s always left holding the bag. I’ve heard people use this expression in a way that implies that whatever they might normally have had to do/pay/account for doesn’t matter anymore because somehow it has been cleverly fobbed off onto some naive, unsuspecting somebody else.This says “To not go in circles.” A “torchio” is a screw of the heavy sort that’s used in pressing grapes or olives, as shown below. If somebody is walking (or rowing) in a zigzag or random way that might recall going in circles, that would be going “a torzio.” Lino quickly pointed out a grammatical error: In Venetian you say “no,” not “non.” They corrected this (not due to his remark) in other versions.Here is a torchio that produces pasta.A torchio in the Genoese style, used for pressing olive oil. (By Giovanni Stradano, 16th century, Museo Galileo). Just to reinforce the concept of the going-in-circles nature of the screw. If somebody says you’re going “a torzio,” it’s time to stop and review the situation. If somebody has been put “al torchio,” it means they’ve been stretched on the rack and tortured. Or called into the CEO’s office when that huge gap in the accounts is discovered and they want to ask you some questions.“For the blind it’s never day.” (Meaning “daylight.”) This saying shouldn’t need any exegesis, but file it next to “There’s nobody so blind (deaf) as one who doesn’t want to see (hear).” The subhead here says “Tax and accounting consultation, specific competency and years of experience. The guarantee for those who have eyes to see.” I appreciate the irony of the photo being out of focus. Obviously my own eyes weren’t at their seeing best that day, though I did notice another linguistic lapse — “giorno” is Italian, it should have been “zorno.” Oh well. Call it what you will, you can’t see if you’re not paying attention.This is a new one to me: “Here we don’t embark cuchi” (pronounced KOO-kee).The helpful explanation (translated by me): The word “cuchi” stands for “cuculi,” birds which deposit their eggs in the nests of other birds, monopolizing them. For this the Cuculo (Cuculus canorus, or common cuckoo) is defined as the usurper par excellence. The subtle message is ‘Here we don’t cheat or mislead anybody,’ referring in a figurative sense to the act of not embarking usurpers on your boat.”
Another magistral posting! I tried to fathom them out, indeed, wish they’d done more. I’m really annoyed that since the mayor arrived, the comune newsletter doesn’t have a whole section on dialect and local place names. What a loss! Not worth reading anymore….
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Thanks! Really interesting.
Another magistral posting! I tried to fathom them out, indeed, wish they’d done more. I’m really annoyed that since the mayor arrived, the comune newsletter doesn’t have a whole section on dialect and local place names. What a loss! Not worth reading anymore….
Glad you liked it (the campaign, and the post). As for the other flaws and dings in the world, better not to get started…