English speakers follow a straight line; Italians talk in circles. If you engage in intercultural communication on a daily basis, this is something you probably already know, but possibly have never thought about. So let’s think about it now, shall we?
I’ll start by saying that Italians are generally recognized as entertaining speakers. Their enthusiasm is contagious, and their conviction is constant. And yet, as my friend Phyllis says, “Sometimes you can listen to an Italian involved in dynamic discourse and find yourself wondering just where they are going with it. ‘Arriviamo al punto,’ you want to say in your diplomatic English-speaking way, ‘let’s just get to the point!’”
Hah! Easier said than done, my friend, easier said than done. Try to make an Italian obediently arrivare al punto and you will come to the same conclusion I’ve reached after years of struggle. You’ll discover that there are two types of speakers in the world: linear speakers and circular speakers. Linear speakers look for the shortest distance from point A to point B. What do I want to express and what is the shortest way to get there? Clarity. Precision. Well-clipped elegance. That’s what the Linears want in a language. And English lends itself to this expectation quite nicely. In English, every sentence comes out the same way, as in subject first, then verb, and finally object. Speaking English is like linking wooden blocks that always have to be laid out in the same order.
Italians, on the other hand, can leave off the subject or choose to start from either side of the sentence. Affirmations become questions just by the lilt of the voice. In Italian, there are at least four ways to say something, just by modifying word order. In short, Italian easily lends itself to circular thought.
If you don’t believe me, think about how English speakers tend to organize their thoughts. Have you ever met an English speaker who could not produce an outline on demand? It’s all about A, B, C, and 1,2,3. A topic sentence and three main ideas. No delicious digression, no tempting tangents. None of the redundancy and freedom abundant in the Latin languages.
Italians have many talents, but most cannot produce an outline when asked. In Italy, knowledge is a wheel, a series of spokes radiating from a central nucleus. You start from the main point and take one of a thousand radii. Therefore, in Italian, digressions are not true digressions, and tangents are considered an integral part of what English speakers would call “the point.”
So next time you are caught in a whirlwind of Italian verbosity and find yourself hoping in vain that your amico will arrivare al punto, there’s something you need to remember: Italians have been educated in a school system that favors interdisciplinary thought. It’s a philosophy born of the Renaissance, during which the goal of education was to cultivate genius. Leonardo was an artist, scientist, and engineer. Michelangelo was a sculptor, painter, and architect. Lorenzo dei Medici was a politician, patron, and poet. To an Italian that still means something.
The circular model of knowledge still profoundly influences Italian education today. At the end of each term, teachers get together in a meeting called gli scrutini which comes from the root word “scrutinize.” Giving grades is a negotiation process that looks a bit like bartering. The math teacher has a say over the English grade. The science professor has to approve the score awarded in art history. To the linear-minded, it may seem unfair, but according to the Italian perspective, it is completely logical. After all, can art be divorced from science? To succeed in grammar, you need to have a basis in mathematical principles. To excel in the figurative arts, a knowledge of anatomy is essential. This means that the grading process translates into, “If you lower the math grade, I’ll raise the student’s grade in history.” The goal is to arrive at a well-rounded score that allows the student to achieve a passing mark in every subject.
So, when your favorite Italian speaker has lost you entirely and has gone off on something you perceive as completely unrelated to her original punto, remember that in Italy, seemingly unrelated topics are very relevant to each other. So, just relax and let them lead you through the labyrinth. You’re better off not resisting it. And although it’s true that the shortest way from A to B is a straight line, while living in Italy never underestimate the power of the circle.