Hearty Welcomes & Salutations! Originally an action-packed travel blog from a globe-trotting Scotsman, An Ache for the Distance has, over the years, slowed down (I post less often), mellowed out (domestic life has found it's way way on here) and become more of an expat/photo blog. Take a look around, leave a comment and share the love if you like something.
Stuart Mathieson, Lübeck, Germany

Sunday 6 March 2011

Italian from a Scottish perspective - Fango

One priceless aspect of learning another language is discovering that another culture takes a silly word seriously. Take the Italian word "Fango" for example. Transport this vocabulary to a Glasgow bar and it would likely take on colourful twists, such as,

"Ye stupid f*ckin' fango, ye..."
"you know, when you've been fango'd!"
"Last night, I was well fango'd..."
"D'ya fancy coming to mine for a wee fango???"

Alas, the Italians miss these opportunities to enrich their language and instead use the word simply to mean "mud." However, not the sort of people to let you down, except in military alliances, Italian google makes up for this linguistic limitation by focusing almost entirely on semi-naked people having a mud bath when searching for fango images.

So, next time you find yourself in an Italian restaurant, test the waiter and ask him what the fango is like...

Italian - English
fango {m} - mud {noun}

2 comments:

gone to the beach said...

Hello Stuart!!!This is my THIRD time Iam writing this comment!!!These net connections!!!!But I am patient, and I want this comment to shown!!I want and I will!! Your post remind me about one happy story. I am a blog owner (interior decorating blog, welcome!!:)). On that spesific day I translate english language to finnish language. Then automatic translator show me it's finnish version. One word was uncorrectly turn wrong finnish -word to this particular situation. Sentence: "furnish them with nautical and antique tables, chairs, chests, STOOLS, and other item".
Stool mean a footstool at this original article...not....
Bye, I am going to decorate by using.......Whitedeco..

Stuart Mathieson said...

Dangerous vocabulary :)