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ITALIAN WORD OF THE DAY

Italian word of the day: ‘Scialla’

No stress: this word is easier than it looks.

Italian word of the day: 'Scialla'
Photo: Annie Spratt/Unsplash

Hearing this word – pronounced “shal-la” – you’d be forgiven for wondering if the Italians around you were speaking their own language.

It sounds distinctly like the Arabic expressions “inshallah” (‘God willing’) and “mashallah” (‘God willed it’) – and indeed, that’s probably at least one of the influences that has contributed to scialla becoming popular slang in recent years, especially among young Italians.

As the ragazzi say, it means ‘relax’, ‘calm down’ or ‘chill out’ – usually as an instruction to someone else. 

Scialla, il prof ha detto che va bene.
Relax, the teacher said it was ok.

But you can also use it as an adjective to describe a person or situation as ‘relaxed’, ‘easygoing’ or ‘chill’. (Remember you’ll need to change the final vowel depending on whether you’re referring to a feminine or masculine subject.)

Stare sciallo, fratello.
Be chill, man.

Se non fosse abbastanza chiaro, non sono scialla.
If it wasn’t clear already, I am not chill.

Scialla has been around for several years, but it truly penetrated the mainstream Italian consciousness – at least the part of it that’s over 40 – when it was the title of a successful comedy film in 2011 (released in English as ‘Easy’).

Although, in a sign of how relatively new the word still was, the movie bore the subtitle “Stai sereno” (‘Don’t worry’) in case the meaning passed older Italians by.

Indeed the word stands for the generation gap between the young protagonist and his estranged father, not only in their vocabulary but their whole attitude to life: the father uptight, his son happy-go-lucky.

The film’s director, Francesco Bruni, said he chose the title after hearing his teenage children use the word constantly. “It’s a concise expression that fits in easily,” he told one interviewer. “For those who understand it, it feels like a password, and those who don’t are intrigued by it.”

Like with all slang words, the origins of scialla are hard to pin down. But they may be closer to home than it sounds: according to the Accademia della Crusca, the official guardians of the Italian language, it might come from the central-southern Italian verb scialare (‘to have fun’ or ‘live it up’), which has been in use since at least the 19th century and in turn probably derives from the Latin verb exhalare, ‘to breathe out’ or ‘let go’.

Alternatively, it could be Tuscan for ‘pant’ or ‘wheeze’ – the idea being that telling someone to ‘breath heavily’ (or deeply) is code for saying they need to calm down. 

Yet another explanation says that scialla was the phrase shouted by Ligurian sailors upon their safe return from sea: the equivalent of ‘hooray’ and a celebration of life, as precarious as it is. Apparently some mothers even whispered it to their children as a charm to reassure them that their father would be back.

Did those sailors pick up scialla from across the Mediterranean? Quite possibly. Whatever its roots, the mix all adds to the word’s appeal today. Don’t take it from from me: even the word nerds at the Crusca call scialla “one of the most loveable” linguistic trends

“It’s clear, slips easily into speech, has a flavour of dialect (for many, the Roman dialect) and brings with it the calm of the Mediterranean, perhaps an air of Arabic,” the venerable academy declares – displaying an attitude to language evolution that is, quite frankly, scialla.

Do you have a favourite Italian word you’d like us to feature? If so, please email us with your suggestion.

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ITALIAN WORD OF THE DAY

Italian expression of the day: ‘Al volo’

We’re sure you’ll learn this Italian phrase in no time.

Italian expression of the day: ‘Al volo’

If you’ve ever found yourself at an Italian airport and looked up at the departure board, there’s a good chance you’re already familiar with the word volo, which is the Italian equivalent of ‘flight’ – but also the first person singular of the verb volare (to fly) in the present tense.

And if you’re a fan of classical music, you may of course have heard of Italy’s famous opera trio Il Volo (‘The Flight’).

But what do Italians mean when they say they’re going to do something al volo (hear it pronounced here)? 

Much like its closest English equivalent, ‘on the fly’, al volo has very little to do with aircraft or flying as it’s one of the most common Italian phrases to say that you’re doing something ‘quickly’ or ‘readily’, often without having prepared it or thought about it much beforehand.

Facciamoci una pasta al volo e poi usciamo.

Let’s cook some pasta on the fly and then get out.

Ho dovuto preparare la presentazione al volo perché non mi avevano avvisato della riunione.

I had to put the presentation together on the fly as I’d not been notified of the meeting. 

But usage of al volo is not limited to practical actions or tasks you may do quickly and without much thought. 

In fact, you can also pair it with the verb capire (understand), comprendere (comprehend) or imparare (learn) to say that you grasped something ‘immediately’ or ‘in no time’, meaning you won’t need any further explanation. 

Tuo figlio capisce tutto al volo. Ha un grande futuro davanti a lui, a mio parere.

Your son understands everything in no time. He’s got a great future ahead of him, in my opinion.

And if you haven’t fully understood or grasped something on your first try (which is painfully likely when dealing with Italy’s infamous red tape, even for locals), don’t worry: you’ll always have the option to ask a domanda al volo, or a ‘quick question’, to clear up your doubts. 

Another popular way to use the phrase is in relation to big opportunities, whether that be in life, in education or at work. So an opportunity that va presa al volo must be seized immediately as it’s too good to be missed. 

Finally, if you’re planning on watching Euro 2024 matches on Italian TV over the next month, you may hear football commentators use al volo multiple times while analysing a match as colpire la palla al volo means to strike it while it’s in the air, or ‘volley’ it.

Do you have a favourite Italian word you’d like us to feature? If so, please email us with your suggestion.

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