2024-11-16 10:24:00
The Accademia della Crusca proposes for Mondadori «Sbagliando s’impari», a 344-page manual with spelling, syntactic, lexical clarifications, quizzes and answers
That genius Dino Buzzati, many years ago, solved a problem that seemed insoluble with a comma. He was working at the Interior at the «Corriere» at the time and was struggling with a, let’s say, rough headline on a single line of 27 letters: how to explain in 27 typographical letters that the sacred Rota had annulled a marriage because he was impotentin the bigoted Italy of the time where people avoided writing “specific” by starting with the last two syllables (specific) so as not to cause confusion? It was there that enlightenment came to his aid: “It didn’t conjugate the imperfect.”
How many Italians are able to understand that delicious nuance today? Not many, he sighs Paolo D’Achille, president of the Accademia della Crusca in a bitter outburst in the «Corriere Fiorentino»: «Commas are often placed randomly: we are conditioned by the fact of writing on the PC, which leads us not to reread and sometimes to take breaks without having finished a sentence or a concept. The semicolon is almost out of use.”
AND who knows, on the poets’ cloud, how much Gianni Rodari will sighauthor of a famous nursery rhyme for schoolchildren: «Once upon a time there was a period/ and there was also a comma:/ they were good friends,/ they got married and were happy.// By night and day / they went around/ always arm in arm:/ “What a model couple”/ people said/ “what a real wonder / the Semicolon family…”.
The trouble is that it is not a futurist provocation like Tommaso Marinetti who in 1913 theorized to «brutally destroy the syntax» so that «the impetuosity of steam-emotion will blow up the pipe of the period, the valves of punctuation and the regular bolts of adjectivation”. No, here it is approximation, sloppiness, indifference to the rules. And this is why Crusca, after the success of Right, wrong, it dependsah decided with Mondadori to return to bookshops with
You learn by making mistakes. Exercises to test your Italian. A title that retouches as an exhortation the ancient adage “by making mistakes you learn” (already revised by Leo Longanesi’s brilliant joke about the Duce: “By making mistakes you conquer”) and is proposed as a kind of “user manual” edited by Paolo D’Achille, Marco Biffi, Rita Librandi, Valeria Saura and Gianluca Barone with a reckless ambition: to entice readers with 344 pages not only of spelling, syntactic and lexical clarifications but of many “delicacies” that can intrigue even those who are convinced that they already know “more or less everything”…
And maybe they will discoverthat the “ozone hole” identified by British Antarctic Survey in 1985 it was preceded by a parallel “hole” in 1923, i.e. 101 years ago, when the new editions of the very famous Vocabulary of the Academicians of the Crusca published for the first time in 1612, they were interrupted precisely «in the eleventh volume at the word ozone». Or will they be surprised at the clarification that it is not called “diatrìba” but “diatribe”not «colossal» but «colossal», not «Scandinavian» but «Scandinavian» and so on… Or they will smile at new entry in the temple of the Italian language of words like «maranza» that is «young people who display a brazen, “street” attitude and are united by musical tastes and the way they dress (for example designer clothes, mostly counterfeit)» in essence « exponents of a new type of youth subculture, evolution of a certain taste that in other eras or latitudes we would have called “tamarro, compulsive”». Or will they feel dizzy when faced with riddles like this: what is the difference between the àrista and the arìsta? «If Thomas More invented Utopia, how was it born and what is dystopia?». Or again: what is an “epicene”? Are there “milks”, that is, the plural of milk?
Let’s be clear, these are not pitfalls like those of the irresistible Paolo Villaggio in his How to build a monstrous culture (Bompiani, 1972) where he asked what ”Proust” was, prompting four sensational answers: «A) Curious interjection used by the peasants of the Vendée during meals before emptying a good glass of wine or when one of the guests sneezes repeatedly… “Proust!”. B) Name of the thoroughbred Prince of Wales winner of the Arc de Triomphe Grand Prix in 1933, ’34, ’35. C) American term used in economic language to indicate business coalition. The “proust” of steel is very well known. D) Famous French writer suffering from asthma.” The objective of the exercises, however, is on the big target: capture the attention of readers, especially young people, in the most inspiring way possible. But hinged on real culture.
Example: «Among the many legacies that Dante left us, and of which we are not always aware, there are the expressions and verses which, repeated for centuries by speakers, have almost become ways of speaking. (…) Look at some examples taken from Comedy and used today in newspapers, on television or in our daily speech, albeit with some linguistic variations. Identify the meaning with which they are used by Dante, then explaining the current one». And here then: «She makes my veins and wrists tremble», «Abandon all hope, you who enter», «Let us not discuss them, but look and pass», «The book was a prisoner and he who wrote it» …
And the solutions to these and other quizzes? Are they upside down on the last page like in some puzzle magazines? It is not a game but a study method: You learn by making mistakes answers point by point. As a point by point, Crusca has been answering readers’ questions for years (also online): «Do you say “dot the i’s and dot the i’s”?». «Himself or himself?». «To me mi: is this a correct form?».
The crux is that Crusca already responded last year to a specific question from the Equal Opportunities Committee of the Board of Directors of the Court of Cassation on gender equality in the writing of judicial documents. Explaining «after in-depth discussion within the board of directors», that words such as president, judge, public prosecutor, police commissioner, magistrate can be used “without hesitation”. But not “the use of graphic signs that have no correspondence in speech”.
Because that’s the point: a living language evolves in the people who speak it. And how do you pronounce the word «tutt*»?
As part of BookCity, on Monday 17 November at 2 pm the volume will be presented in the laboratory of the Arnoldo and Alberto Mondadori Foundation (via Marco Formentini 10 in Milan) with Marco Biffi, Paolo D’Achille, Rita Librandi, Giuseppe Sergio and Gian Antonio Stella.
What are some common mistakes learners make when studying the Italian language?
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to stimulate curiosity and deepen the understanding of the Italian language. The goal is to engage readers in a fun yet enlightening manner, encouraging them to explore the nuances of language and its expressions. Through this interactive approach, readers will not only enhance their linguistic skills but also appreciate the rich heritage of Italian literature and how it shapes contemporary communication.
the book aims to revive the joy of learning and to emphasize the importance of precision in language use. Amidst the challenges of modern communication, such as casual writing habits and the decline of proper punctuation, initiatives like this serve as vital tools for anyone looking to better their grasp of Italian. The blend of quizzes, clarifications, and cultural references will undoubtedly attract a diverse readership, making the study of language a shared journey rather than a solitary task.
Example Quizzes and Answers:
- Quiz: What punctuation mark is often underused but essential for complex sentences?
- Answer: Semicolon
- Quiz: What is the correct spelling: “diatrìba” or “diatribe”?
– Answer: “Diatribe”
- Quiz: What does “maranza” refer to in contemporary Italian culture?
– Answer: Young people who display a brazen, “street” attitude often characterized by specific fashion choices.
- Quiz: What is the meaning of “epicene” in grammar?
– Answer: A word that is gender-neutral or refers to both males and females.
- Quiz: Identify the meanings of these expressions from Dante’s Divine Comedy:
– “Abandon all hope, you who enter.”
– Current Usage: A warning to those about to face something daunting.
– “The book was a prisoner and he who wrote it.”
– Current Usage: Reflects the idea that the author’s intention can be constrained by their work’s interpretation.
These quizzes are designed not just to test knowledge but to foster a deeper appreciation for linguistic subtleties and literary history.