Just Say No

Today's blog revolves around one word: No. It is a word recognized in almost every country. It has only two letters, but its meaning is powerful. No represents the absence of something, the opposite of yes, and in many cases - talks about the negative.

Italians seem to be in love with the word No. I am NOT saying that Italians are negative people. I think that they love to communicate in any way they possibly can. so if one does not know the language, local Italians resort to No to convey their meaning.

Examples:

1. In Linguaglossa (a small Sicilian town), I go into a restaurant and ask for a glass of wine. His reply: "No vino! Restorante!" He did not think he was being negative. However, he wanted to make sure I got the message.

2. In the Linguaglossa cemetary, as written about here , the groundskeeper kept shouting a given year followed by the word - "No". He did this for each year in which he could not find the name in question. Again, the keeper is not a bad person, he simply needs to get his point across.

3. When I drive on a freeway, I am a person who always questions if they are going in the right direction. In Italy, they have solved this problem, by posting the name of a city with a big red dot going through it. See the example below:














If you ask an Italian, this road sign means "Florence, No!". The highway workers are no mad at you. They just want to remind you that you may be going the wrong way.

So, if you are in a situation where you just cannot get your point across, just yell "No!" followed by your favorite adjective. Italians everywhere will be utterly thankful.