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I  SALUTI (Greetings)

 



BUONGIORNO!

Loro bevono il caffe'

ARRIVEDERCI !

Lui saluta


 

           
Buongiorno
(Good day) 		 Buonasera
(Good evening) 		 Buonanotte
(Good night)		 Ciao
(Hi, bye)		 Salve
(Hello there) 		Arrivederci
(See you later)		 Addio
(Farewell, goodbye)


 

Exercise: practice writing the following words (in Italian of course)
 
good day   good night 
goodbye  hi, bye  good evening  see you later

  

INTERACTIVE EXERCISE
  Ex 8
Click on the image
(Will open in a new window)

ACTIVITY

Look up WIKIPEDIA to learn about the origin of the word

CIAO


 
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  CULTURAL 
NOTE		 Cultural Note

When should I use 
"BUONGIORNO", "BUONASERA" etc..?
 

 
  Buongiorno Formal greetings used during day time when approaching.
 
  Buonasera Formal greeting used in the late afternoon and evening hours. Both when you approach someone and when you are leaving.
 
  Buonanotte Formal and informal, used when leaving only at the end of the evening.
 
  Ciao Informal, used at all times among relatives and friends or with children, both when meeting and leaving.
 
  Arrivederci Formal and informal, used upon leaving.
 
  Addio Formal and informal. Melodramatic, used upon leaving, both .

 
    The SPECIFIC EXPRESSIONS used to greet also people reflect the social hierarchy.
   
A child will use "buongiorno-buonasera" with an adult, while the adult will say "ciao" with the children.
     

Two adults, unless in friendly terms, will use formal address at all times.

     

A high school student will use the formal address with the teacher, while the teacher is allowed to use the informal address.



 

FORMAL AND INFORMAL ADDRESS  
Formal and Informal address are also expressed directly with the form/person of the verb. If you are familiar with other languages (Spanish, French, German, Russian, Chinese, etc.) you already know that English is the exception with the use of "YOU" in both situations.

The INFORMAL mode requires the use of "TU" ("YOU" singular in English) with the corresponding form of the verb (ex. "essere" = "sei").

The FORMAL mode requires the third person singular with the feminine pronoun "LEI" (literally "SHE" in English) with the corresponding form of the
verb (ex. "essere" = "e' ").
  INFORMAL FORMAL
To a man: "Tu sei italiano?" "Lei e' italiano?"
   
     
To a woman: "Tu sei italiana?" "Lei e' italiana?"
   
 
Why would you have to use "LEI," a feminine pronoun, to address a male?

HERE IS HOW IT CAME TO BE

Even in English the highest form of formality is the third person. Think of a question posed to, say, Queen Elizabeth. It would sound like:


"IS Your Majesty Italian?".
 

In Italian the vestiges of that construction are still present: the underlying reference of the formal address is "SUA ECCELLENZA" (Your Excellency) as in the example: "SUA ECCELLENZA E' ITALIANO?" ("Is Your Excellency Italian?")

Since ECCELLENZA is a feminine noun, the corresponding personal pronoun is LEI. Thus the outcome:


"LEI E' ITALIANO?"


Of course Italians no longer imply "SUA ECCELLENZA" when they use Lei. They simply use the form that they were taught is POLITE and RESPECTFUL.

 

 

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