- FEBRUARY 2018 -
Dialect Proverbs
Wives and oxen…
by Alberto Sobrero Chi ce nzore nte la stréde véve a buqquire Chi ce nzore fore stréde véve allu vuquele, Chi ce nzore fore paése véve a ffiasche Those who marry within the neighborhood drink wine from a glass [which is transparent] Those who marry someone from another district drink from a tankard [which is almost completely closed, so very little can be seen; one marries in obscurity] Those who marry out of town drink from the flask [which is completely closed, nothing can be seen, one marries in the dark] (Gargano) November 2017
That bad reputation priests have…
by Alberto Sobrero Prèiti e ffrati Mai bbinchiati[Priests and friars
Can never get enough]
(Salento) June 2017
Goat Woman From the Middle Ages to Sgarbi
by Alberto Sobrero Fémmene e ccrépeTènene una chépe
[Women and goats
Have the same head]
(Bari) May 2017
“After Christmas the cold sets in” The meteorological proverbs that have deeper roots than religious ones
by Alberto Sobrero De Natale a nnantitremanu l’enfanti
Te Natale a mpoi
tremanu le corne de li oi
[Before Christmas the kids shiver
After Christmas the oxen’s horns shake]
(Salento) January 2017
A fantastic state-of-the-art teaching tool: the nursery-rhyme
by Alberto Sobrero I capelli d’oroLa fronte medica
Le due candele
Lu ruccu ruccu
Lu mangiatuttu
Lu centrune
Lu capasune
[Hair of gold
Medical brow
Two candles
Pigeon
Snow pea
Shaft
Full goatskin]
(Salento) November 2016
When parody flouts the sacred
by Alberto Sobrero Patre, chjacuneciggere fritte
e maccarune
[Father, dried figs,
fried chick peas and macaroni]
(Bari) September 2016
Happiness depends on how we manage our time
by Alberto Sobrero Quiddu ca t’à mangiare osce, màngiatelu craiquiddu c’à fare crai, fallu osce
[What you have to eat today, eat it tomorrow;
what you have to do tomorrow, do it today]
(Salento) July 2016
If the branch indicates quality…
by Alberto Sobrero U mmìire bbuène non ave abbeseggne de frasche[Good wine needs no branches]
(Bari) May 2016
Women, what deceivers!
by Alberto Sobrero Tre ccose còstene chère:carezze de chene, amore de femmene, nvite d’oste.
Megghie fè se ne nt’accoste
[Three things cost you dear:
the patting of a dog, the love of a woman, the invitation of an innkeeper.
You’re better off steering clear]
(Gargano) April 2016
Back when the proverb was dictated by the calendar...
by Alberto Sobrero Te Santu FrangiscuLa sita allu canistru
[On St Frances
Pomegranate in the basket]
(Salento) February 2016
Be prepared for disappointment!
by Alberto Sobrero Quannu te cridi ca ài mangiare sagneTroi foja de cicore catalogne
[When you think you’ll be eating lasagna,
in the plate you find chicory leaves]
(Salento) October 2015
Hands off the female sex!
by Alberto Sobrero Sciuquéme e ppazziémema la tabbacchére ne nla tuqquéme
[We play and joke
but the snuff-box we don’t touch]
(Northern Puglia) July 2015
That lack of faith in science…
by Alberto Sobrero Lu mideche studiee llu maléte more
[The doctor studies
and the patient dies]
(Gargano) May 2015
To get to heaven… you have to suffer
by Alberto Sobrero Ci cammina taue taueva alla casa tu tiaue
Ci cammina spine spine
va alla casa du Bommine
[He whose path is smooth smooth
gets to the home of the Devil
He whose path is thorny thorny
gets to the home of the Child]
(Salento) February 2015
From poetry to “prose” This is love
by Alberto Sobrero U primm’anne a ccore a ccoreU secunde a ccule a ccule
U terz’anne a ccalge n gule
[The first year heart to heart
The second ass to ass
The third year a kick in the ass]
(Bari area and northern Puglia) January 2015
…But Love is Hope
by Alberto Sobrero L’acqua vave a la pinnenzaL’amore, a lla speranza
[Water it flows down a slope
Love it chases after hope]
(Salento, but widespread in Southern Italy) December 2014
“Verba volant” What has changed between then and now
by Alberto Sobrero Parola ditten-gìile sta scritte
[The spoken word
is written in the sky]
(Bari area) July 2014
From the philosophy of Heraclitus to Vasco’s rock music “everything flows”
by Alberto Sobrero Tuttu vave, tuttu venegnenti se mmantene
[It all comes, it all goes
nothing keeps]
(Salento) June 2014
Beyond the garden there are “the others”. The hateful prejudice dies hard
by Alberto Sobrero Fije, mujeri e sciardiniGuàrdate de li vicini
[Daughters, wives and gardens
Beware of your neighbours]
(Salento) May 2014
Hypocrites? More dangerous than the kick of a mule
by Alberto Sobrero Tre cose t’ài guardareLu culu de li muli
Lu dente de li cani
E cci tene sempre rusariu a lli mani
[Three things you must be wary of
A mule’s rear
Dogs’ teeth
And people who keep handling their rosary ]
(Salento) April 2014
Nothing can beat wine-Christ’s blood. When folk wisdom is “differently sophisticated”
by Alberto Sobrero È u vére ca re carne de Criste so’ preziose frutteMa u sanghe de Criste è cchiù sàupe de tutte
[It’s true that the body of Christ is a precious fruit
but the blood of Christ is above all else]
(Ruvo di Puglia) March 2014
The revenge of cooking ‘poor man’s style’
by Alberto Sobrero Cuisse è u paste d-i poveridde:furmagge punde e rrafanidde
[This is the meal of the poor:
maggotty cheese and radishes]
(Cerignola) February 2014
Troubles? Let everyone take care of their own
by Alberto Sobrero Uè e delàureOgnedàune se chiènge le saue
[Troubles and sorrows
Everyone should weep over their own]
(Northern Puglia) January 2014
What “Eldorado”?!
by Alberto Sobrero Ce vole fateièAméreche è ddò e Améreche è ddè
[For anyone who wants to work /
America is here (in the homeland) and America is there]
(North Puglia) December 2013
Peasant wisdom The State should consider it too
by Alberto Sobrero Sparagna la farina,quannu la mattra è china,
ca quannu lu funnu pare
nu te serve lu sparagnare
[Save flour / when the chest is full / for when you see the bottom / saving is no good at all]
(Salento) November 2013
…And so the idler’s week goes by
by Alberto Sobrero Lunedì mblé mblémartedì pure acchessì
merculedì spaccaseméne
giuvedì se face la cucéine
venardì l’angunéie
sabbete la glorie
e ddumèneche u sgranatorie
[Monday slowly / Tuesday likewise / Wednesday breaks up the week / Thursday is cooking day / Friday is agony / Saturday glory / and on Sunday grub’s up]
(Cerignola) October 2013
Don’t fly into a rage if you want to keep healthy
by Alberto Sobrero Ci còllere te pigghjet’ammalazze e t’assuttigghje
[If you fly into a rage
you fall ill and grow thin]
(Taranto) September 2013
Rather an “old hand” than a “know-it-all”
by Alberto Sobrero Va’ a-u patute e nnone a-u sapute[Turn to someone who has been through it, and not to the know-it -alls]
(Bari) July 2013
If a “poor man” falls ill there’s no hope
by Alberto Sobrero La malattia de lu villanu dura vintiquattr’oreA lla sira lu dottore, a lla mane lu Signore
[The illness of a peasant lasts for twenty-four hours
In the evening the doctor, in the morning the Lord]
(Salento) June 2013
The harsh law of hunger
by Alberto Sobrero Ci me dae mmangiareChiamu tata
[The one who feeds me
I shall call him “Dad”]
(Salento) April 2013
Our first lesson in life? In a nursery rhyme
by Alberto Sobrero Lu piccineddu miu, quandu nascìuLu Papa a Roma la missa cantàu
Nu panarieddu de denaru nchìu
E allu piccinnu miu li lu donàu
[When my baby was born,
The Pope in Rome sang the Mass,
He filled a basket with money
And offered it to my child]
(Salento) March 2013
Man and woman: an old proverb – incredible! – is in favor of equality. As far as hitting each other is concerned…
by Alberto Sobrero Marìte me sinde, mugghière te songheMazzate me dà, mazzate te donghe
[You are my husband, I am your wife
Blows you give me, blows I give you]
(Northern Puglia) January 2013
Women? Witches who lead you to the gallows To be used for love and child-bearing
by Alberto Sobrero La fèmmene fasce la forche e u uòmmene se mbbènne[Women get the gallows ready and men get strung up]
(Northern Puglia) November 2012
Marriage: what a sentence for men!
by Alberto Sobrero U prim’anne ’nzerateO malate o ’ngarciarate
[In the first year of your marriage
You are either sick or locked up]
(Puglia settentrionale) October 2012
Women “diabolical carriers of perdition”
by Alberto Sobrero La fimmena tene quatte pannèrecarcere, malatì, forche e galère
[Women have four banners / jail, sickness, the gallows and prison]
(Known all over Puglia) July 2012
Women Closer to the devil than to holy water
by Alberto Sobrero La fimmana ricca è uziosaLa piccula è vizziosa
La bbedda è vvanitosa
La bbrutta è ffastiddiosa
[Rich women are lazy / Small women are vicious / Beautiful women vain / And ugly ones annoying]
(Salento) June 2012
The longstanding diffidence of the people towards “the caste”
by Alberto Sobrero L’abbucatu è ccomu lu préviti,ti tutti tiémpi, méti
[The lawyer is like the priest / in all seasons he reaps]
(Taranto) May 2012
A playful rhyme for the bitter fatalism of underlings
by Alberto Sobrero Lu patrunu de campagnacu arti e cu ngannu
campa mienzu annu
e cu ngannu e cu arti
campa l’atra parti
[The landowner/with art and deceit /gets by for half the year/ and with deceit and art/ gets by for the rest]
(Salento) April 2012
The over-privileged who wield the money: a never-ending story
by Alberto Sobrero Ci maneggia fisteggia[Life is a party for those who control the money]
(Salento) March 2012
That hateful prejudice towards anyone different
by Alberto Sobrero Ddiu li sègna, e tu javìtili![God marks them out, and you avoid them]
(Taranto area) February 2012
The power of the poor
by Alberto Sobrero Ttre su’ lli putentilu rre, lu papa, e cci nu ttene gnenti
[Three men are powerful / the king, the Pope, and the man who has nothing]
(Salento) January 2012
If “you add a place at the table”…
by Alberto Sobrero Ennusce che téicheca menge che méiche
[Bring something with you / and come eat with me]
(Bari area) December 2011
The unwritten laws of social injustice
by Alberto Sobrero A purtè respétte a-u chéne d-u patrune[The master’s dog must be shown respect]
(Bari area) September 2011
The arrogance of the flea-man
by Alberto Sobrero Quannu la pulice se vitte a la farinadisse ca era capu mulinaru
[When the flea found itself in the flour / it said it was the master miller]
(Salento proverb known all over Puglia in slightly differing versions) July 2011
Authority and subjects A relationship without hope
by Alberto Sobrero Patre e patrone / sampe lore hann’avè ragione[Father and master / they will always be right]
(Capitanata) June 2011
Fatalism of the weak
by Alberto Sobrero Sorte noscia! – tissi la cozza – Cinca passa ne scafazza[Oh woe is me! – said the snail – Everyone that passes by tramples me underfoot]
(Salento) May 2011
