Now in its 22nd edition, the inauguration of the Settimana della Lingua Italiana nel Mondo. The Week celebrates the Italian language around the world every year. Founded in 2001 in collaboration with the Accademia della Crusca, it is organised by the Diplomatic-Consular Network and the Italian Cultural Institutes, with the support of the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of University and Research, and the main partners for language promotion.
A language is constantly changing and renovating, and it does so especially thanks to neologisms. Young people and teenagers are the first and most important carriers of these linguistic changes, but they are also helped by the Internet.
In the framework of the European Year of Young People, the 22nd edition, scheduled from 17 to 23 October, will have as its theme ‘Italian and Young People. Excuse me? Non ti followo’, with the aim of exploring the ways in which languages and communication tools are evolving through the generations of digital natives, with a view to transmitting, in Italy and abroad, the image of a language and, with it, of a country strong in its past, but at the same time alive and creative in the present.
So, how are all these expressions spreading? Generally speaking, a new word starts circulating if it’s useful, if people like it or if it’s used by someone we admire. Certainly, new words can be vehiculated by a movie, a book, a social network, but people are the ones who “count more” in this process.
FROM PEOPLE TO WEB
We can’t deny that the Internet has its share in changing the way of communicating, not only in the means of communication (like apps, chat, social networks), but also regarding the expression we take from the online world.
In Italian, in fact, in recent years the vocabulary derived from the “Information and Communication Technology” expanded greatly. That’s why you can now find and use, especially if you’re a teenager, words like: bannare (to block, to exclude, derived from “ban”), loggarsi (to access, from “log in”), cliccare (word derived from the sound you make when you “click” on your mouse), crackare / craccare (to avoid the protections of a program or a page, from “to crack”), scrollare (derived from “scroll”, when you scroll down an internet page),or zippare (from the zip format you can use to compress a file).
SOME ITALIAN SLANG
So, what do Italians use as “slang”? Here are some common expression you can use to pass as a native Italian:
Ci fai o ci sei?
This expression derives from roman dialect, and is commonly used when a person you know starts to behave weirdly or does something you think as “stupid”. So very surprised you will probably ask them “Ci fai o ci sei?” We can translate it as “Are you crazy?” “Are you in your right mind?”
Non t’allargare
It is a figurative way to say someone is exaggerating but they don’t realize it, and they can stop doing so.
How do we use it then? For example, you congratulate a colleague for a job well done and he starts to tell all around the office he’s gonna have a promotion!
In this case, you can tell them “Non t’allargare!”
Chissenefrega (chi se ne frega)
This is probably the most commonly used slang expression in Italian. It basically means “I don’t care”. Sometimes you can shorten it as “chissene”. Be careful though not to use it wrongly: you have to say it only when someone really bothers you!
Non esiste!
We use this expression if someone asks something from you that’s impossible or totally unacceptable, and you really can’t do it. So, don’t bother thinking about it..that request is part of FantasyLand, basically..it doesn’t exist!
N.B. In English we can translate it as “not a chance!”
TEENAGER SLANG
Teenagers nowadays use a very different language than average adult people, so even the expression you just saw can be viewed as old by Italian teens.
Here are some words and expressions you can hear if you pass by an Italian teenager. Be careful though, these neologisms could be already old by the time we post this!
- Sciallo/a: it means “chill”. You can use it to invite someone to chill and not stress over things.
- Limonare: literally to “French kiss”.
- Tirare pacco / paccare: when you are supposed to meet with someone, but then you decide at the last minute not to go.
- Mai ‘na gioia: expression that we can jokingly translate as “never a joy”. It is used in situations when you already had a bad day and something tragic (or that you consider to be tragic) happens on top of it!
Obviously slang and youngsters’ language is constantly evolving, and what seemed normal to us 15 or 5 years ago now will be considered as outdated by a modern teenager. So, don’t be surprised if someone calls you a “boomer”!
