{"id":4676,"date":"2018-02-12T09:11:14","date_gmt":"2018-02-12T09:11:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/?p=4676"},"modified":"2018-02-12T09:18:37","modified_gmt":"2018-02-12T09:18:37","slug":"cultural-commentary-calcio-and-the-language-of-italian-football","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.listenandlearn.org\/blog\/cultural-commentary-calcio-and-the-language-of-italian-football\/","title":{"rendered":"Cultural Commentary: ‘Calcio’ and the Language of Italian Football"},"content":{"rendered":"

For those of us who love football, there is no irony in the phrase the beautiful game<\/i>. It is an art form, a grass-pitched battle. For those who possibly love it a little too<\/i> much, it is a flawless, romantic dance. The rest of us will look on such descriptions with anything from disdain to bewilderment, but then, these are the people that have likely never watched a game of Serie A<\/i> football: the football premiership league of Italy, where it is a game like no other.<\/p>\n

Why is it so unique? Well, the language<\/i> of course. More specifically, it is the Italian commentary. For what other than the language of love<\/i>, could make a sport such as football be perceived as beautiful<\/i>? Learn about how Italian not only lights fire in your heart and ears but how its passion so intimately intertwines with the football experience.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Photo via Giphy<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

Where to begin?<\/b><\/p>\n

To understand why Italian football is like no other, you have to realise that commentary is everything. The English Premier League commentary is brash, passionate, evocative, yet there's no way to escape the fact that you're in a pub with a pint in hand surrounded by, if you're lucky, supporters of the same team, and you're all shouting at the screen at once. But Italian football commentary isn't about a game of football at all; it's about a performance<\/i>.<\/p>\n

Putting on a show<\/b><\/p>\n

When Rome lost to Napoli in a match last year, their coach Eusebio Di Francesco described the performance of the Napoli team as a sinfonia<\/i> \u2014 a symphony \u2014 that they hoped to play on par with themselves. Di Francesco wasn't even being an exceptionally gracious loser; commentators often refer to a well-played matches as a spettacolo<\/i>, which means both a spectacle and a play.<\/p>\n

A game of football is not simply a match. It is a performance, with players playing their roles\u2014their ruolo<\/i>\u2014rather than a position, leaving managers to discuss how they have interpreted their role when talking afterwards instead of discussing how they played. A playmaker is a regista<\/i>, or a director, and players who exchange passes during the game aren't merely passing<\/i>, they're said to dialogare<\/i> \u2014 to dialogue.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Photo via Wikimedia<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

All the world's a <\/b>stage<\/b> football pitch<\/b><\/p>\n

Those above aren't the only niceties used in the language of Italian football. Goals aren't scored but are authored<\/i> \u2014 a goal scorer is therefore l\u2019autore del gol<\/i>. Potential man-of-the-match contenders are the game's protagonist \u2014 protagonista<\/i>, who often receiving praise for their fantasy \u2014 fantasia<\/i>. Roberto Baggio, for example, who played professional football for thirty years as a forward attacking midfielder or second striker, was often referred to as a maestro<\/i>.<\/p>\n

Keeping with the dramatics that Italian football is often associated with, balls aren't won but conquered \u2014 conquistato<\/i>, and instead of becoming trapped<\/i> are domesticated \u2014 addomesticato<\/i>. An opposing play isn't a challenge but a conflict \u2014 contrasto<\/i>, and a penalty kick a rigour \u2014 rigore<\/i>. Passing or possessing is phrasing \u2014 fraseggio<\/i>, and a lapse in a player's judgement a pastiche \u2014 pasticcio<\/i>. Shots on goals are conclusioni<\/i>, and if those are missed they are considered failed \u2014 fallita \u2014 <\/i>the same word in Italian for bankruptcy!<\/p>\n

Learning a new language? Check out our <\/b>free placement test<\/b><\/a> to see how your level measures up!<\/b><\/p>\n

And all of this beautiful performance is done for the audience, the public \u2014 <\/i>pubblico. Their cheers \u2014 choruses \u2014 cori<\/i> \u2014 are just as much a part of the performance as the football itself; which in Italy, isn't even called<\/i> football, it's calcio<\/i>, which means the same thing, but sounds so much more beautiful<\/i>, don't you think?<\/p>\n

Posizione<\/b><\/p>\n

Even the positions played in Italian football sound more dramatic:<\/p>\n

portiere<\/i> \u2014 goalkeeper
\ndifensore<\/i> \u00a0\u2014 defender
\ncentrocampista<\/i> \u2014 midfielder
\nattaccante<\/i> \u2014 forward
\nsostituto<\/i> \u2014 substitute
\ncapitano<\/i> \u2014 captain
\nallenatore<\/i> \u2014 coach
\narbitro<\/i> \u2014 referee<\/p>\n

And it's not only the players that have more beautiful-sounding roles. Fans are i tifosi,<\/i> brandishing la sciarpa <\/i>\u2014 scarves, or la bandiera <\/i>\u2014 flags. They might sit in la curva<\/i> \u2014 the seats behind the goals, or la tribuna <\/i>\u2014 seats along the touchline, where they can shout at the arbitro<\/i> over corners \u2014 \u00a0l'angolo<\/i> or a cartellino giallo\/rosso <\/i>\u2014 yellow\/red card awarded, argue in favour of a punizione<\/i> \u2014 free-kick, or demand for a video replay when a player is fuori gioco<\/i> \u2014 offside.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Photo via Giphy<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

You can learn a lot about a language when it is spoken at its most passionate, and you can't get much more passionate than the commentary box at a Serie A<\/i> match. So if you're looking to brush up on your Italian, or just to work out what all the fuss is about, then perhaps on your next trip to Italy, you can incorporate a visit to one of Italy's most loved stadiums like Juventus, San Siro, or Stadio San Paolo, to see and hear it for yourself!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For those of us who love football, there is no irony in the phrase the beautiful game. It is an art form, a grass-pitched battle. For those who possibly love it a little too much, it is a flawless, romantic dance. The rest of us will look on such descriptions with anything from disdain to(\u2026)<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t \t\t\t\tCONTINUE READING »<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":37,"featured_media":4677,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,1],"tags":[797,42,331,38,796,66,798,30,478,330,799,800],"class_list":["post-4676","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-everyday-language","category-uncategorized","tag-calcio","tag-culture","tag-football","tag-italian","tag-italian-football","tag-language","tag-language-and-culture","tag-language-learning-2","tag-learn-italian","tag-soccer","tag-sports","tag-sports-language"],"yoast_head":"\nCultural Commentary: 'Calcio' and the Language of Italian Football<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn about how Italian not only lights fire in your heart and ears but how its passion so intimately intertwines with the football experience.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" 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