A question from a student got us thinking about words we use for starting things in Italian. So we begin the lesson discussing the specific question about the difference between cominciare and incominciare. But then we go on to explore other words having to do with starting. 

Student question: What's the difference between cominciare and incominciare? If we talk about meaning, both mean the same thing: to begin, to start. But then why have both? 

One reason is simply regional, meaning someone grows up using one more than the other. And this is true with a lot of words. It seems that incominciare is used more in the south of Italy, while cominciare is more of a northern Italian usage. 

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Marika is from the south of Italy, and she uses incominciare in this example. 

Ci aiuteremo con... ci aiuteremo con un mestolo per incominciare a mischiare.

We'll have the help of a wooden spoon to start mixing.

Caption 22, Marika spiega L'insalata di pasta - Part 2

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But here, in the same kind of context, she uses cominciare:

Cominciamo. In un recipiente di vetro possiamo cominciare a preparare l'impasto versando la farina,

Let's get started. In a glass container, we can start preparing the dough, by pouring the flour

Captions 46-47, L'Italia a tavola Panzerotti Pugliesi - Part 1

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Federico Fellini was born in Rimini, but moved to Rome in 1938. In this clip from an interview, he uses both.  

Doveva cominciare così il suo viaggio, con un atterraggio di fortuna in una piazza di una città sconosciuta. Ma il viaggio finì subito come vedete, per la verità non incominciò mai.

That's how his journey was supposed to begin, with an emergency landing in the square of an unknown city. But his trip ended abruptly as you see, and in truth it never began.

Captions 34-37, Fellini Racconta Un Autoritratto Ritrovato - Part 15

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And in fact, the other reason someone might use incominciare is that it might be more forceful and expressive in a given situation or context. So it becomes a stylistic choice. 

We might also note that doveva ends in a, so it sounded better to have the next word begin with a consonant: cominciare. But after non, it sounds good to use a word beginning with a vowel: incominciare. If we look at Marika's examples, the same thing is true. She probably didn't make a conscious choice — it just sounded right. 

In Yabla videos, by doing a search, we can see that cominciare is used more often than incominciare. Both verbs can be used with or without a direct object (transitive or intransitive). This tendency is reminiscent of the prepositions tra and fra which mean the same thing (between). But one is chosen over the other for how it sounds with the other words around it. 

And what other words can we use to talk about starting?

Iniziare is one of the most common ways to begin.

S', sta per iniziare, sta per iniziare. -Ah, ecco. Inizia. -Iniziamo. -Posticino.

It's, it's about to begin, it's about to begin. -Ah there. It's starting. -Let's begin. -A little spot.

Captions 63-65, Non è mai troppo tardi EP 2 - Part 17

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Coupled with this, we have avere inizio (to have a beginning, to begin). Because l'inizio is "the beginning."

[Il restauro vero e proprio ha avuto inizio nel gennaio duemilaquindici e si è concluso ad aprile del duemiladiciotto.]

[The actual conservation began in January two thousand and fifteen and ended in April two thousand and eighteen.]

Caption 65, La pittura più bella del mondo La Resurrezione di Piero della Francesca - Part 15

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We can also say dare inizio (literally, "to give the beginning").

E diamo inizio a questa travolgente serata ranocchiesca.

And let's get started with this rip-roaring froggy evening.

Caption 64, Un medico in famiglia Stagione 3 S3EP4 Lo stagno del ranocchio - Part 14

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The most common verbs are iniziare and cominciare, but there are others. These other verbs have multiple meanings. Partire means "to leave," as in "to depart," but it also means "to start" or "to get going." 

Facciamo partire il nostro mixer a massima velocità.

Let's start our mixer at maximum speed.

Caption 12, Italia Squisita Colomba - Part 3

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Partiamo con gli assaggi dei vostri arancini.

We'll begin with tasting your rice balls.

Caption 2, JAMS S1 EP 4 - Part 3

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Another slightly less common verb about starting is avviare.  It is often equivalent to "launching," "starting a motor," or "powering up."

Senta, Tataranni, io tengo alla giustizia quanto Lei e più di avviare un'inchiesta, che cosa avrei dovuto fare?

Listen Tataranni, I care about justice as much as you do, and other than starting the investigation, what should I have done?

Captions 47-48, Imma Tataranni Sostituto procuratore S1 EP 4 Maltempo - Part 7

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When avviare is used as a reflexive verb (avviarsi), it means "to leave," "to get going," usually implying that there is a destination. If I want to get a head start, I might say, mi avvio (I'll get going," or  "I'll start out."

Cioni, avviati con questa roba a Cascina, poi ritorni e carichiamo tutto il resto.

Cioni, get going with this stuff to Cascina, then come back and we'll load all the rest.

Captions 21-22, Fino a qui tutto bene Film - Part 17

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One last way to get things started is dare il via.

Perché gli spettatori possano vedere le macchine e l'ora. -Ventiduesima Mille Miglia dalle cilindrate minime, dai motori Diesel si arriverà in dieci ore e mezzo a dare il via a più di cinquecentotrenta macchine per la furibonda cavalcata di oltre millecinquecento chilometri... -Duemila,

So that the spectators can see the cars and the time. -Twenty-second "Mille Miglia" from low cylinder engines to diesel motors, they will, in ten and a half hours, give the start to more than five hundred and thirty cars for the fierce ride of over fifteen hundred kilometers... -Two thousand,

Captions 49-53, La Mille Miglia del passato per vivere quella di oggi - Part 1

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