Italian words that the whole world envies us. Italian is the language of beauty, cuisine, music and fashion. While many Italians – especially those who do not know English – stuff their own talk of Anglo-Saxon words, the whole world uses Italian words. There are many of them and it has been around for ages.
In the second half of the 16th century in England it was said “Italianated English, embodied devil!” To criticize the many who peppered the speeches of Italian words. But even today the language of the Belpaese has a special place in foreign vocabularies, especially Anglo-Saxons. Let’s see some of these words.
List of 10 Italian words that the whole world envies us
- Bella – Beautiful. Italy is the undisputed home of Beauty. For this reason the adjective “beautiful” (better if declined in the feminine) is universally known to describe a person of pleasing appearance.
- Bravo! – Great, good! At the end of a concert if the performance has been appreciated, the whole audience, whatever language it is, will applaud saying great. And if we remain in the musical sphere Italian terms are more than the English ones: tempo, brio, opera, a cappella, adagio, forte, intermezzo, largo, maestro, piano, soprano, cello …
- Spaghetti. If we enter the world of food Italy has imposed its own cuisine also on a linguistic level. A lot of terms have thus become universal: al dente, antipasto, Bologna (yes, ‘la grassa’ is synonymous with mortadella), bruschetta, cannelloni, cappuccino, espresso, fusilli, gnocchi, gorgonzola, granita, lasagne, macchiato, mascarpone, minestrone, mozzarella, parmigiana, panini, pizza, ravioli, risotto, salumi, tagliatelle, spaghetti, tortellini…
- Casanova. An Italian’s proper name has turned into a universal word that describes what in Italian we call ‘Latin lover’ …
- Inferno – Hell. Dante was so good at describing the torments of the damned that this word has been trapped in the use of many peoples.
- Paparazzi. La Dolce Vita (another expression that Chinese people also understand) has sown the figure of celebrity photographer in the collective unconscious. And the use of the Italian word has remained.
- Riviera. The Ligurian coast impressed so much in the 17thcentury that collected the word “riviera” the Anglo-Saxons have made it synonymous with any sea area where there is a good tourism.
- Cupola. In the field of architecture, Italians have been so far above all others that many terms to describe parts of an architectural product have remained Italian. In addition to the dome, cupola, to remember someone, square, piazza, porch, portico, veranda, villa, cathedral, duomo.
- Graffiti. If Italians were the best in architecture, what about the rest of visual art? Chiaroscuro replica, terracotta, busto, studio are just some of the Italian terms used by foreigners.
- Radio. Last but certainly not for dignity the word radio, the one we hear every morning in the car. The radio that was invented by an Italian, Guglielmo Marconi.
One could go on for a long time. Besides, we sometimes forget that the greatest expression of the power of the world that speaks English is in America. Named after Amerigo Vespucci. Which was Italian.
