Words, words, words!

On Saturday I went off to Macclesfield on the train in the rain. I was going to an Italian film study session, organised from time to time by our excellent Italian teacher. This time it was a film called “Benvenuti al Sud”, a comedy based on stereotypes and the misunderstandings that arise as a result when a dyed-in-the-wool Northerner (North-Italian, that is) is transferred down south. Great fun! And there was food and wine provided as well!

Part of the comedy came out of the fact that the chap from the north didn’t understand the local dialect of the small village near Naples. It rather reminded me of my first year teaching in Oldham (too long ago to think about really!) when my pupils would say completely incomprehensible things to me. Of course, this still goes on today. Just the other day at the bus stop I overheard this dialogue between two perfectly normal looking young women who clearly speak a different kind of English to the one I use:

a) Zis aaz?
b) Naah!

Now, context helps and the clue is that they were standing at the bus stop, one of those where about a zillion different buses stop.

Translation:

a) Is this ours?
b) No!

Easy when you know how, but I do still overhear conversations I really cannot make head or tail of.

This is a completely different thing from the fun of idiomatic expressions. Our wonderful Adalgisa had one of those moments teachers usually dread: she didn’t have the answer to a question she had set us. We had been asked to name regions of Italy and them the inhabitants of those regions. We got to Basilicata and then Adalgisa had to confess she simply did not know what the people of that area were called; she just couldn’t remember having met anyone from there. So she said to us, “Adesso ne ho un chiodo fisso” – “Now I’ve got a bee in my bonnet about it”. Literally, though, it means “I’ve got a fixed nail about that”. Both expressions, English and Italian are quite delightful so I went and looked it up in French and Spanish. French is a little boring: “avoir une idée en tête” – to have an idea in your head. Spanish, however, gets a little more colourful: “tener algo metido entre ceja y ceja” – to have something stuck between one eyebrow and the other.

The last expression Adalgisa had me thinking about was one that came up when she suggested we needed an OFGOV, a kind of equivalent of education’s OFSTED but to check up on governments not schools. On that occasion she told us she could think of a number of politicians she would like to give a good slap to. The Italian expression was “dare quattro schiaffi” – to give four slaps. The Italians, you see, get carried away and have to give more slaps, although ours is usually a good one. Spanish and French, as far as I know are far less interesting.

On the subject of politicians (and education for that matter), I noticed yesterday that our Mr Gove has been opening his mouth and putting his foot in it again (now, how do you say that in French/Spanish/Italian?). Apparently he’s let the wrong people - i.e. the media - know that some government advisor or other has been recommending that members of the government, if they need to travel, should fly Virgin rather than BA. This is because BA are the “fat cats” while Virgin is an “upstart” and the conservatives are on the side of the upstart. Really??? I thought they also liked looking after the fat cats and helping them stay fat!!! So it goes!

Getting back to the rain, the radio has just told me that many parts of the UK are on the verge of suffering from drought and are considering introducing a hosepipe ban. I was about to explode until I head one of the speakers say that this applies unless you live in Scotland or the North West of England. Well, there you go. The Thames valley may have had considerably less rain than usual for the last 18 months bit here we have had plenty. As far as I am concerned, they are welcome to some of ours, especially as I have just noticed that it is starting to drizzle nicely outside my window. It’s a good job I’ve already been out for a run today before this started.

This weather phenomenon is another aspect, of course, of that North-South divide thing that Benvenuti al Sud was all about.