Italian Translation Practice #23: Cacciatore di Mafiosi

Hi everyone! I always read Italian book reviews whenever one happens to cross my path since I’m always on the look-out for interesting contemporary Italian writers. Today’s translation exercise is an extract from a review of the book ‘Cacciatore di Mafiosi’ by Alfonso Sabella, which has just been published by Mondadori (and can be purchased from IBS and other online booksellers). The review is the work of Antonio Pagliaro, and was posted in his blog Xantology, where you can find the full review if your appetite has been whetted by this short extract!

As usual, I encourage you to attempt a translation and post your work as a comment on the blog. I'll post my own translation attempt in a couple of days.

OK, onward with the extract:

Cacciatore di Mafiosi

Recensione fulmine per chi va di fretta: questo è il più bel libro di mafia che io abbia letto negli ultimi anni. Segue recensione non fulmine.

Pietro Romeo, soldato di Leoluca Bagarella, non intende “farsi l’incastru pi ’sti quattru cornuti”. E’ in stato di fermo davanti al procuratore Sabella. Pietro Romeo è un gigante, pesa più di cento chili. Si capisce subito che può uccidere a mani nude. Questo, infatti, era il suo compito: strangolare.

Adesso è di fronte alla scelta: ergastolo o collaborazione. E decide di collaborare.

Romeo è un uomo forte che racconta di aver avuto paura una sola volta. Prima di affiliarsi a Cosa nostra era un ladro. A Bagheria ruba un camioncino di sigarette e, nella fuga, dimentica il cassone semiaperto. Quando incrocia un corteo funebre, accelera per evitarlo. Non ci riesce: la maniglia dello sportello spalancato aggancia una corona di fiori - “Per il mio amato cognato” - e la trascina con sé. I parenti del morto iniziano un folle inseguimento. “Ammazzatilu ’stu crastu”.

Romeo è terrorizzato, abbandona il camion e riesce a dileguarsi. Convinto di avere attratto su di sé una grande sfortuna, sull’episodio non dormirà a lungo. Poi entra in Cosa nostra e inizia la carriera di omicida senza armi, fino alla cattura e al pentimento. Romeo collabora e fa prendere tre latitanti la stessa notte del suo arresto. A Roma, fa recuperare un quintale di esplosivo. T4 e semtex destinati, nell’ambito della “trattativa” del 1993, alla Torre di Pisa. “Se un giorno Pisa si trovasse senza la Torre” si raccontavano i capimafia.

Romeo è un pentito importante e porta gli inquirenti anche nel suo “ufficio” in via Messina Montagne. Dentro un grande capannone, in una nicchia gli attrezzi: manette, corde, lacci, fil di ferro, guanti. Alle pareti le immagini sacre: santa Rosalia, santa Rita, la Madonna. Qui Romeo strangolava. Qui, fra i tanti, è morto Gaetano Buscemi, l’uomo d’onore che, interrogato otto ore, sa di non poterne uscire vivo e si dice disponibile a raccontare quel poco che sa a patto di avere una tomba su cui la moglie possa piangere. Richiesta accolta: niente acido per lui, il cadavere viene ritrovato in una via di Villabate…

Italian Translation Practice #22: Pronominal Verbs

Hi everyone

I’ve constructed today’s translation practice around the use of Italian pronominal verbs, which are verbs that are conjugated with two different pronoun particles.

In their infinitive form, many of these verbs end in ‘SENE’ as in the verbs andarsene (to go away), approfittarsene (to take advantage of somebody or something) and curarsene (to be cured of something).

However, they can also end in other pronoun combinations, such as ‘SELA’, for example in the verbs cavarsela (to get out of a difficulty) and dormirsela (to sleep soundly), ‘CELA’, as in the verb mettercela tutta (to do one’s best) or farcela (to manage something), or ‘CISI’, as in the verbs trovarcisi (to find oneself) and vedercisi (to see oneself doing something).

In the imperative and gerund verb form both pronouns are appended as a suffix to the conjugated verb (e.g. Andatevene! Vattene! Andiamocene!), while in other tenses both pronouns precede the verb and are separate from it (e.g. me ne vado; ce ne freghiamo). As you can see from these examples, the particles also change their phonetic construction from mi, ti, si, ci and vi to me, te, se, ce, and ve.

Try to translate the following exercise, using pronominal verb constructions where it’s appropriate to do so. You should be able to find all the constructions that you need on the following list:

Accorgersene: to become aware of something, to notice something, to realise something
Andarsene: to go away
Approfittarsene: to take advantage of something or somebody
Aspettarsela : to expect something
Avercela (con qualcuno): to be angry with someone
Battersela: to beat it
Cavarsela: to get out of a difficulty, to manage, to get by, to cope
Chiederselo : to ask oneself
Curarsene (or prendersene cura): to be cured of something
Darsela a gambe: to run away
Darsele: to come to blow, to fight
Dirsene di tutti i colori: to call one another names
Disinteressarsene: to take no interest in something
Dormirsela: to sleep soundly
Farcela: to manage
Filarsela: to beat it
Fregarsene: not to care (colloquial; to be avoided in formal situations)
Godersela: to have a good time
Guardarsene: to beware, to avoid
Infischiarsene: not to care (colloquial; to be avoided in formal situations)
Intendersela: to have an affair
Intendersene: to be an expert
Lavarsene (le mani): to wash one's hands of something
Mettercela tutta: do one's best
Occuparsene: to take care of something
Pentirsene: to regret something
Prendersela (comoda): to take one's time
Prendersela: to take offence
Sbattersene: not to care (colloquial; to be avoided in formal situations)
Squagliarsela: to sneak away
Svignarsela: to sneak away
Tornarsene: emphatic for tornare
Trovarcisi: to find oneself
Vedercisi: to see oneself doing something
Vedersela brutta: to fear the worst
Vergognarsene: to be ashamed of something

As usual, the dialogue features our mismatched couple David and Laura, whose relationship appears to be deteriorating rapidly!

Laura: David, don’t sneak away, I need to talk to you about something.

David: About what?

Laura: About what’s happening between us. Lately it seems that you’re hardly ever home, and we never spend any quality time together. I’m really unhappy, and you don’t give a damn about it. Do you even notice?

David: Don’t get mad at me! I’m doing my best, but you know I have a demanding job...

Laura: You always use your job as an excuse for everything. Tell me honestly, are you having an affair?

David: An affair? Are you crazy? When would I find time to have an affair?

Laura: I don’t know! I find myself wondering all the time where you are – whether you’re out somewhere having a good time when you say you’re working. Just tell me the truth! I can cope with that, and it’s got to be better than fearing the worst all the time.

David: OK, I’m having an affair! Or rather, I had an affair, but it’s over now. There! I said it! Are you happy now?

Laura: Get out! Go on, leave!

David: Look, can’t we talk about this like civilised adults? I regret it, and I’m ashamed of it, but it’s not all my fault! Ask yourself why I did it! You’re always moody, you take offence at the slightest thing, and you take no interest in me at all! Sometimes I ask myself if you even love me…

Laura: So I’m partially responsible for this am I? You have an affair, and I’m to blame? You’re unbelievable! That’s it! It’s over between us!

David: Can’t we work this out?

Laura: Leave! Go on, pack your bags and leave! I wash my hands of you! Go home to your mother!

David: But I love you…how will I cope without you?

Laura: I don’t care…I’m sure you’ll manage it somehow…

Italian Translation Practice #21: Professione Reporter

One of my very favourite Italian bloggers is a journalist called Pino Scaccia. He has around half a dozen blogs, of which my favourites are Professione Reporter, La Torre di Babele and Diario da Kabul, all of which are crammed with high quality entries.

Pino has given me his permission to use articles from his blogs as the basis of translation pieces, so I’ve taken this week’s exercise from Professione Reporter, where this entry was posted on 25th October. As always, feel free to post your translation attempt onto the blog as a comment.

I definitely won’t be posting my own translation this week because I’m heading for Rome for a couple of weeks, but I aim to post more of my own translation attempts onto the blog when I’m back from Italy. In the meantime, have fun with the article and I'll see you soon!

Il Giornalismo e l’etica

Nel maggio del 2008 sulla Repubblica è apparso questo titolo: «Catania, arrestati due rom: Hanno tentato di rapire mia figlia». Secondo l’articolo, tuttora disponibile sul sito del giornale, «una coppia di rom» era stata «arrestata dalla polizia per aver tentato di rapire una bambina di tre anni nel centro commerciale Auchan di San Giuseppe La Rena a Catania». L’articolo forniva una serie di particolari su quel “tentato rapimento”. Era una vicenda sconvolgente: cosa c’è di peggio di un sequestro di bambini in un luogo pubblico? Per qualsiasi genitore è il peggiore degli incubi. Dopo quegli arresti molti rom sono stati cacciati da Catania. Poco tempo prima, vicino a Napoli, alcune persone avevano dato fuoco a un campo rom dopo un fatto analogo. C’è solo un piccolo problema: la storia non era vera. I giovani “rom” (che tra l’altro avevano un nome e un cognome: Viorica Zavache e Sebastian Neculau) sono stati prosciolti dal tribunale in settembre, dopo aver passato quattro mesi in carcere senza aver commesso nessun crimine. (...) I giornalisti hanno il dovere morale e professionale di raccontare quello che succede nel mondo. Ma tutti sono innocenti finché la loro colpevolezza non è dimostrata da un tribunale. Salvo che in Italia. Ho sempre trovato incredibile il modo in cui tanti giornalisti italiani accusano di reati persone innocenti. In questo caso, per esempio, un giornalista di Repubblica ha preso una notizia dell’Ansa e l’ha riscritta (cosa che capita troppo spesso). Nel testo di partenza i “rom” erano “accusati” del reato. Per Repubblica l’avevano commesso. Accuse ipotetiche erano diventate fatti. È un giornalismo non solo pigro e cattivo, ma anche irresponsabile.

Italian Translation Practice #20: The Blasphemous Frog

Hi everyone

English newspapers don’t report a great deal of Italian news, but occasionally a story captures the imagination of English editors and is given widespread coverage in the English media. To illustrate this, today’s translation practice is taken from the online edition one of England’s quality broadsheets, The Daily Telegraph, and it concerns the sacking of a Museum Director over her refusal to remove from display Martin Kippenberger’s Zuerst die Füsse ("Feet First") – the sculpture which became well-known this summer in England as ‘the crucified frog’. You can read the entire article here.

Controversy has raged around the sculpture since it first went on display in May at the Museion, the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Bolzano, in the staunchly Catholic region of Alto Adige. Many commentators were offended by what they perceived as the blasphemous quality of the sculpture, and demanded its removal from the exhibition. Other commentators argued equally passionately in support of freedom of artistic expression, and maintained that the sculpture should be kept on display.

At the height of the controversy the museum decided, by majority vote, to keep the sculpture in the exhibition, but the piece was moved from the entrance hall and placed in a less prominent position until the exhibition closed on schedule at the end of September. The Telegraph article reports on the eventual fall-out of the affair, which allegedly resulted in this week’s dismissal of the Museum Director.

I hope you have fun translating the piece! I’ll try and post my own translation in a few days as a comment to the blog.

OK, onward with the article.

Head of Italian museum displaying 'blasphemous frog' sacked

The head of an Italian museum who offended the Pope by exhibiting a wooden sculpture of a crucified frog has been sacked amid a debate over artistic freedom.

Corinne Diserens, the Swiss director of the museum in Bolzano, in the mountainous north-east of Italy, was dismissed after months of controversy over the bright green, bug-eyed amphibian, which is nailed to a cross and holds a frothing mug of beer and an egg. She had refused to remove the work by the late German artist Martin Kippenberger despite protests from the Vatican that it was blasphemous.

She said the museum had a right to artistic freedom, and kept the frog on display as originally planned from May to September.

But a majority of the museum's board of directors disagreed and instead dismissed her this week.

The official reason given by the museum was that Ms Diserens had caused a "difficult financial situation" by overspending her budget, but supporters said she was being punished for the row over the frog.

Her sacking prompted a debate on contemporary art in the German-speaking region of Alto-Adige, where a far-right party with anti-immigration views tripled its support in local elections this week, becoming the province's second most powerful political force.

"The relationship between art and politics is never an easy one, but to be sacked because of one work of art is really incredible," said the head of a gallery in nearby Trento, Fabio Cavallucci.

Pope Benedict XVI condemned the four-foot-high frog, entitled Zuerst die Fuesse (Feet First), when he heard about it during his summer holiday in the nearby town of Bressanone.

He said it "injured the religious feeling of many people who see in the cross the symbol of the love of God and of our salvation which deserves recognition and religious devotion"....