H.L. Mencken (1880–1956). The American Language. 1921.
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or marchetto (=market,) eats pinozze (=peanuts,) rides on the livetta (=elevated,) rushes a grollo (=growler) for near-beer, gets on good terms with the barritenne (=bartender,) and speaks of the auschieppe (=housekeeper) of his boarding-house, denounces idlers as loffari (=loafers,) joins a globbo (=club,) gets himself a ghella (=girl,) and is her falò (=fellow.) Some of the new words he acquires are extremely curious, e. g.,canabuldogga (=bulldog), pipe del gasso (=gas-pipe), coppetane (=’ncuop+town=uptown), fruttistenne (=fruit-stand), sanemagogna (=son-of-agun), mezzo-barrista (=half-time bartender.) Several quite new words, unknown to Americans, have been made of American materials and added to the vocabulary. An example is afforded by temeniollo, signifying a very large glass of beer. Dr. Livingston says that it comes from Tammany Hall! Another Italian-American invention is flabussce, used as an interjection to indicate the extreme of pessimism. It comes from Flatbush, where the principal Italian cemetery is situated.
The large emigration of Italians during the past half dozen years has transported a number of Americanisms to Italy. Bomma (=bum) is now a familiar word in Naples: a strange wandering, indeed, for the original bum was German. So is schidù (=skiddoo.) So is briccoliere (=bricklayer.)25
6. Dano-Norwegian
Here are some characteristic specimens of the Dano-Norwegian spoken by Norwegian settlers in Minnesota, as given by Dr. Nils Flaten, of Northfield, Minn.:26
Note 25. In addition to my indebtedness to Dr. Livingston, I owe thanks for assistance to Prof. A. Arbib Costa, of the College of the City of New York, and to Mr. Alfred Boni, editor of Il Progresso Italo-Americano. [back]
Note 26. Notes on American-Norwegian, with a Vocabulary, Dialect Notes, vol. ii, p. 115 ff. [back]
