in

Italian blabla

Anyone who lives in Italy or has a lot to do with Italians will not have missed it… The average Italian likes to talk. I sometimes get a headache from endlessly listening to things that I already know and that the other person knows I already know, but for the sake of clarity (or completeness) the whole thing is explained in detail.

Ci vuole pazienza, tanta pazienza (it takes patience, a lot of patience). It's not good in the written word either. Young people use all kinds of short words in WhatsApp and SMS that I personally find rather clumsy and also very ugly (and is ke for example). But most of the e-mails I receive from companies are also unreadable because they are packed with official blah blah that hardly adds anything to the core of the communication.

For example, I received the following e-mail from a small farm where I occasionally buy something:

Si comunica a tutti i nostri clienti che sono già disponibili le noci del nuovo raccolto Ottobre 2015, potete ordinarle sul nostro sito all'indirizzo web (website) o tramite e-mail all'indirizzo (indirizzo mail).

Sperando di averVi fatto cosa gradita e Ringraziandovi per la cortese attenzione sin qui riservataci, restiamo a completa disposizione per ogni ulteriore informazione e cogliamo l'occasione per porgerVi i nostri migliori saluti.

What is actually here?

We have new walnuts available from the October 2015 harvest that you can buy online or send us an email. Yours sincerely.

Especially the second part, the 'Kind regards', remains a total blabla of useless words, but no company seems to have the guts to cut through this nonsense and just cut it short.

What does it literally say?

Hoping to have pleased you and thanking you for the courteous attention you have shown us thus far, we are at your disposal for any further information you may require and take this opportunity to give you our best regards.

So Italian blah blah blah.

Written by Willemijn Lindeboom

Willemijn has lived in Italy since 2001. After her study Industrial Engineering and Management she left for Tanzania and Zambia and when she decided after five years that it was time to go back to the Netherlands she went on holiday to Umbria, thought it was wonderful and stayed. She already spoke Italian because she spent her entire life vacations in Italy and spent a year in Italy learning the language before her studies. In 2013, she said goodbye to her comfortable life in Umbria to move to Tuscany, this time for love. She now blogs occasionally on winitalie.com, enjoys teaching Italian - conversation lessons via Skype (www.willemijn.it), makes websites and helps some Dutch companies to sell their products in Italy or to solve small problems.

Comments

Give a reaction

The email address will not be published. Required fields are marked with *

Column: to Rome on foot – part 18

Starbucks negotiates the Italian market