In this series I’ll feature photos of places and items which are intrinsically Italian, and I’m going to start with a lovely photo of of an enchanting corner of northern Italian coastal city Genoa, or Genova, as I prefer to call it. I never have understood why this Italian city was translated into English, the Italian name is not exactly difficult to pronounce ‘Jen-Oh-va’. Easy.
To the photo.
Boccadasse, Genoa, Italy 2008
Photograph kindly provided by Wandering Woman, which she really is, and professional photographer and Blog from Italy Contributor: Di Mackey.
Boccadasse, Genoa, Italy - Di Mackey
This is where Boccadasse is courtesy of Google maps: Boccadasse, Genoa
Di Mackey – Photographer, Wanderer and Blogger
Belgium based New Zealander Di runs her own fast expanding photography business, and when she’s not dining with ex-New Zealand prime ministers and the like, or capturing images in Cairo or Barcelona, she’s working on her Wandering Woman blog, and another soon to be launched web site.
As can been seen from the photo above, Di does come to Italy, and the last time she was here, she did a series of family portrait sessions for some Italian clients. When not working, she was wandering around Genova with her camera.
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Thanks for reading – Alex Roe.
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I never have understood why this Italian city was translated into English, the Italian name is not exactly difficult to pronounce ‘Jen-Oh-va’. Easy.
In the local dialect it’s Zenoa, I believe, so the English is actual closer to the indigenous name of the city. Don’t forget that Italian has been a national language for so very little, and Genoa used to be a maritime power long before that.
By the same token Milan in Milanese is Milan, not Milano (and a masculine word, to add to the oddity).
Glad you found Di – I also came across her work through her beautiful images of Genoa – and glad that through her I found this blog.
It does, but what, no mention of footing (= jogging)? That has to be my favourite Italglish word. My partner used to teach English in Milan and it’s fair to say she knows where you’re coming from.
For a defence of English spelling I’d refer you to Pinker’s excellent’s The Language Instinct, which is a cracking read regardless.
(Oh, and “goomah” comes from comare and means mistress, if Chris V. is still lurking.)
Since we’re trading blog posts, here’s one on panettone
http://bat-bean-beam.blogspot.com/2008/12/recipes-3-panettone.html
And one on ‘our’ fair city
http://bat-bean-beam.blogspot.com/2008/10/objects-to-remember-with.html
Hi, Giovanni,
Glad you found my blog through Di! And thanks for the information as to why Genova is Genoa in English. I should have thought of the Zanese dialect connection. It makes perfect sense too.
And I did not know that the same was applicable to Milan, senza ‘o’! Very interesting. Thanks, once more.
Kind regards,
Alex
So long as we’re on a roll… both football teams, Genoa and Milan, are of course so named because they were founded by English expats (and Genoa was also a cricket club), but curiously Milan the team is pronounced with the emphasis on the i, unlike both the English and the Milanese names for the city, where the emphasis is on the a (the Wikipedia page for AC Milan is dead wrong on this point). I could never work that one out.
Roll away! I did know about the Genoa and Milan football teams being founded by my fathers, so to speak. And the pronunciation of Milan as ‘Meelan’ has always seemed odd to me as well, especially seeing as ‘minuto’ is pronounced, correctly, using the ‘i’ as in ‘mid’.
You might find this old post of mine interesting:
http://italychronicles.com/italglish-or-italglese-or-engliano-or-ingliano/
All the best,
Alex