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Dante’s word of mouth By Dante Alighieri Society
W
elcome all from Dante Alighieri Society Hong Kong!
are immersed in the frozen Lake Cocytus with icy wind. The more their
On the occasion of the 700th Anniversary of the father
bodies are submerged in water, the more serious is the penalty they have
of the Italian language, Dante Alighieri, we want to
committed.
celebrate him by launching a string of famous Italian expressions that
Now, to better understand its current use, imagine that you leave your
come straight from “Dante’s mouth”. Indeed, this year we celebrate
favourite cake in the fridge, thinking that you will eat it when you get
his death, but we often don’t realize how present he still is in the way
back home, tired after a long working day. But you’re not living alone,
we talk.
and your roommate says: “if you think you’re going to find it when you get
So, join us in the discovery of the intriguing origin of Dante Alighieri’s
home, stay cool!”.
“immortal” expressions that we have inherited and that keep living in our everyday conversations! Have you ever wondered why do we use “this” or “that” specific word or expression? And why is it in that specific occasion? Proverbs, idioms, metaphors or simply words that sound so common to us are none other than the results of the ever-evolving language. The spoken language, in particular, adapts so fast to times that, most often, we barely know the fascinating origin of what we are saying. Indeed, in spite of the continuous transformation of the Italian language throughout the years and the emergence of neologisms, many words derive from ancient times and are now fully embedded in our everyday language and life. And just like many British poets, like Shakespeare, gifted and enriched the English language, so did Dante with his Divine Comedy by filling Italian with a variety of popular words and expressions. So, let’s start by rolling out the first series of Dante Alighieri’s word of mouth! We cannot but start with the expression used by Dante Alighieri to call our beloved home and that better enclose the beauty of Italy:
“Il bel Paese” literally meaning “The beautiful country”
A truly poetic expression that refers to the wonderful Italian weather, landscape, and artistic culture as it is in Dante’s Inferno, canto XXXIII,
“Cosa fatta capo ha”
verse 80: “del bel paese là dove il sì suona”. And you? Have you ever been to the Bel Paese?
from Inferno canto XXVIII. In English we say “what is done is done”.
“Stai fresco” literally “stay cool” or “you can go whistle for it”
Nowadays, it can be used when you hand over your school assignment but start complaining with you schoolmate about what could be changed It is used ironically to say that something will not go as expected. It is an
and he replies “What is done is done” or in current Italian “Quel che è fatto
expression from the canto XXII: “I peccatori stanno freschi”. The sinners
è fatto” and you can’t take it back or change it. 24
