Aho! Daje! Ammazza! What?

When you split your life between different cultures and seven(!) languages it is quite easy to get confused from time to time...trust me! Still, I love learning new languages. After a few years here in Rome I have discovered some fascinating things about the local slang.

There is actually a fine line that connects my Gothenburg routes to Rome, and belive it or not, it's the dialect! I lived in Gothenburg for nearly 15 years and learned the very distinct & charming slang called 'Göteborgska'. The Gothenburg people "sing" their sentences and there is a certain roll in their words. On top of that they are considered to be laid back, friendly and funny.

Now, you may wonder what all this has to do with Romans? Well, according to my opinion the Romans are no exception. I find them friendly & relaxed and the dialect is very colorful and charming. Romanaccio or Romanesco can be heard in everyday life on the streets and is used by Romans of all ages.

The list of wonderful Roman expressions is long and unfortunately I don't have the space to include them all but these are my all-time favourites. Just remember that, like in every language in the world, there are no Italian words or phrases that translate perfectly so in the end, it's all about the habits you get while living in the country!

- 'Daje' - dai as pronunced with the Roman dialect - is kind of an all around word and simply means 'Come on, hurry up, get a move on'. I think it's a pretty handy expression and I use it everyday among friends, kids, at work, on the phone...For example -'Cosa aspetti? Daje!' (What are you waiting for? Hurry up!) or 'Ci vediamo stasera? Daje' (Are we seeing each other tonight?' OK!). Or even 'daje un bacio' (give a kiss). If you want to sound very local use the prolonged pronunciation 'eeddaaajjeee'.

- 'Ammazza' basically means 'wow, great' and is a frequently used word by all Romans. You can use this very tipical expression when referring to practically anything. For example; 'Ammazza che caldo!’ (Wow! It's hot!) or 'Ammazza, quanto sei bella!’ (Oh my goodness, you're so beautiful!).

- 'Che pizza!' translated as 'How boring!' My kids love the sound of this expression and they use it a bit too often, if you ask me!!!

- 'Da Paura!' When you want to describe something that is just so 'scary good' and so awesome use the expression 'da paura'. Literally da paura means 'from fear'but is translated as 'awesome,cool'. For example you go for a dinner to your friends house 'Le sue cene sono sempre da paura! (Her dinners are always terrific!) or if you would spot a good looking person on the street 'Che figo/a da paura' (What a good looking guy/cute girl)

- 'Bella!' literally means beautiful but is used by Romans to greet each other, actually as an alternative to ciao or buongiorno. Sometimes you hear people saying also 'Ah, Bella!' meaning 'Hey guys! What's up?' My friends usually greet me likes this when we meet each other on the street!

- 'Bono/a' has a few different meanings. It refers to 'good' if talking about food, but if talking about people it also means 'beautiful/handsome'. So if a Roman passes you by and says to you 'A’ bono/a!' it is actually a compliment.

- Last but not least...'Aho'. This is the cornerstone of all the Roman words and their way of saying 'Hey!' It has no actual meaning but it can be used - depending of the tone of your voice - to mean various things. It can be used as a protest 'Aho', movete!' (Get off my way!). So, you’ll here it when people are saying hi to each other, when they’re yelling at other drivers, when they’re surprised…everywhere anytime!

PS. Now that you have done a crash course with me we need to add the body language to it. To get everything right the Italian way remember to add a few hand signs and dangle your hands wildly in the air...now you're definetly fluent in Romanesco!

AHO!

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