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Locali, Locale, Locals

A note about Adriano and his Dublin videos. You may notice that in a recent installment, he uses the noun locali to mean “the locals.” It’s incorrect.

 

Questa scuola di cucina serve appunto per far conoscere a locali [sic: persone del posto] e a stranieri

This school serves, in fact, to acquaint locals and foreigners with

le tecniche, i segreti della cucina italiana.

the techniques, the secrets of Italian cooking.

Captions 22-23, Adriano - Pizzeria Pinocchio

 Play Caption

 

BANNER PLACEHOLDER

In Italian, un locale is a place. Adriano is using a “false friend” that made its way into his brain without his even realizing it, perhaps. This can happen very easily when we spend time in a foreign country. We make a huge effort to learn the language of the place, we even start thinking in that language, and then all of a sudden we have to speak our native language there in the foreign country. It’s easy to get a little mixed up sometimes. Living in a foreign country encourages us to become somewhat multilingual, using the word that seems the most appropriate at the moment, in whichever language. Since there is no good, single Italian word for “the locals,” Adriano just grabbed the first word that sounded right, treating it as an Italian word, making the plural with an i. If you speak English, you understand it. Just remember: it’s not correct Italian. 

BANNER PLACEHOLDER

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