English words in Triest

[Ron]

Larry

It looks as though you've got a bit of catching up to do mate

Might I suggest you have a look at "A British soldier remembers Trieste in 1946 and this will save me having to re-write all those boring bits !
https://www.atrieste.eu/Forum3/viewtopic.php?t=1254

I also attach a few pics that I took when my wife & I paid a flying 3 day visit to Trieste in 2007. Sod's law required the tram to Opicina being out of order but I still went there by bus.

Regards

Ron

[PeterG]

If Peter G reads this and if he was also a part of Betfor he too could join us in keeping the flame alight and the Alabarda pointing to the stars.
Cheers, Larry

Larry
I'm only a young sprog and didn't join the army until 1948, long after you old sweats had been demobbed.

Nice to see you back, you had become a rare voice, but as Juvenal says:

Voluptates commendat rarior usus

Peter

[Larry]

Ron, nice photos. I remember Goldoni when it was a TRAM stop. But do you know what goldoni means in Triestine? Why the beard? Thinking of changing your religion?
Peter, I was posted back to Trieste in 1948 and stayed there till 1953. Didn't get demobbed until 1968. I would love to meet a "Voluptual Commander but that would be rarer than meeting a bear!! I know, I know, that's a veeeeerrryy poor translation from the Latin. Anyway, I'm back and when I can manage it will drop onto this page.
I'll click on the link another night Ron. I, too, spent a week in Trieste in 2007 with my son, looking up all the in-laws. Will go back in June this year. And some 20 odd members of the Association will be there as well. We were there last year but this year we are forming a link-up with an association of ex-Jugolav partisans - our ex-opponents in 45/53. What goes around comes around, n'est-pas?
Now it's time for beddybyes. Night night, Larry

[Ron]

Larry

I recently posted the item below onto a WW2 Forum that I suscribe to that was talking about the wonderful Willys Jeep.

When you mentioned your forthcoming meeting with some ex Jugoslav veterans I thought it might be worth repeating here.

I've written before about my brief love affair with the Willys Jeep but another strong memory comes to mind about the Jeep's value to various Armies, during and after WW2.

My last year overseas was spent at Opicina near Trieste and right on the Jugoslav border.

In the evenings, if we didn’t want to go into Trieste itself ,we would use one of the local bars which had a mixed clientele of civilians and British servicemen.

One night I was in the bar with a few friends and got drawn into a conversation between them and two civilians who were sharing our table, during which it became fairly obvious we were being propositioned as to our willingness to sell any Army goods.

To my annoyance, someone revealed to the civvies that I was a Tech Corporal of a Tank Squadron and, as such, was involved in the control of vehicles and spares.

The attention of the civvies immediately switched to me and I was bluntly asked if I could supply any vehicle parts and particularly Jeep parts.

I was happy to point out that I was a devout coward who valued my Army position far too much to be involved in any such shenanigans and, even more importantly for me, was just about to go home after nearly four years overseas service.

I was, however, sufficiently intrigued to want to know who these gentlemen were and in minutes they openly admitted that they were with the Jugoslav Forces and were desperately looking for Jeep parts, as the British had stopped supplying them.

When one of them said they were in the market for an actual working Jeep I openly laughed and said "Even if someone was prepared to sell you a Jeep you would never be able to get it over the border because of all the road blocks"

He laughed back at me and said " The Jeep would be driven just round the corner, stripped down to its smallest parts and literally carried over the hill to the other side where it would be re-assembled and driven away!"

I believed him then and I believe him now and this was confirmed to me a few years back, when on TV I saw something to do with a military tattoo during which competing teams raced to break down Jeeps in record times.

Did anyone else see this video ?

Ron

[Gianni Bowman]

Good Mornig to all-John Bowman(Gianni to the wife of 60 Yrs)-I was stationed i n Piccolo Banne in opicina from May 47 to June 52 with the Engrs-We arrived in trieste as C Co 313th Engrs-Were later Named The 14th-60th-7107th and lat 517th i belive-.
I met and married the love of my life Yolanda DeDominicis in 1949-in her home parish in opicina-Her sister and sister in law with familys still live in Trieste and opicina,she also has a sister in Milan-up untill 06 we were returning every couple of yrs for visits-to her family and just to travel around italy-have allways loved the place and italians.
The best times of my life were the time i spent in trieste,I arrived in italy a 17 year old kid-and left with a family and memories for a life time.I have only fond memories from my time there.as i am sure all of you do-Because Yolanda could noot speak english i very quickley learned to speak Triestine-still do but never learned to write,or read very well-When we visited yolanda used to get a kick out of me talking to people all over italy in triestine-But they all seemed to undetstand,and never failed to ask me if i was born in trieste before going to the states.
Take care all we seem to share great times no matter what army we served in-it was a time i can never forget. Ciao John Bowman ciaogianni[at]comcast.net

[AdlerTS]

Dear Gianni, you are welcome.
Please note I've changed your @ with "at" to prevent you from spamming.

[Ron]

Hi John !

What about a couple of pics so that we can see who you are ?

Perhaps one in uniform and one with she who must be obeyed ?

Regards

Ron

[serlilian]

Hi John and welcome!

[Larry]

Jon, your tale about the jeep. Takes me back a few years to the end 45,early 46, when my unit got transferred from Germany to Italy and Genova in particular. We were demobbing the South Africans and New Zealanders and sending them home and also acting as Garrison Police. A few of the lads worked out how to make a quick buck. Two of them would take a Dodge truck and drive down into town and into the back streets of Genova and flog the truck to a garage. They would then go back to barracks and tell two other mates wherethe garage was. These two woud then get into a jeep and with their blue caps on (Garrison Police caps) rush down to the garage and tell the garage people they were looking for two deserters who had stolen a Dodge truck and they had follwed them to this garage. Truck found, they also got a bribe from the garage owners not to arrest them and went back to barracks to share the ill-gotten games. Talkabout out Mafiaing the Mafia!!. No sir,,not guilty on that count. But on the diesel for the cookhouse, I could say I knew a lot about it. We used to have to go the the supply depot manned by the Canadians in Genova to get those 40 gallon drums of diesel for the cookhouse. A few bucks to the suppliers got us a spare drum which the local Italians welcomed with open arms and open wallets! Ah me, happy days.
Larry

[Larry]

Just a little footnote to what Gianni posted about he and Yolanda. 25 March will soon be upon me and on 25 March 1951 I married a beautiful girl from San Sabba in the little church in Servola. Sadly to say she is no longer with us, but the memory lingers on. We almost made it to 50 years - just one month and a few days short.
Larry

[Harry]

My father used the word "bìsniss", probably coming from "business", but not meaning "commercio". I'm not sure what he meant, perhaps some people that chatted and argued.

Xe nato bisniss = they quarreled

In the fifties the word "bisnessmen" was widely used. They were people of interest to the VGPF and Guardia di Finanza because the word signified those whose business was shady. There were great shortages, particularly of luxury items and inessentials and there were those who exploited that.
The greatest scarcities were in Jugoslavia and smuggling was very lucrative. There were many people in the DP (Displaced Persons) Camps who were desperate enough to carry contraband over the frontier and who were supplied with small arms and transport by the "bisnessmen" of the city.
In Britain, Italian words connected with food and, especially coffee, have become common. They are not always used correctly; we see "Paninis" on menus and we hear people asking for an "expresso". But, at least, we do get good coffee now.

[sono piccolo ma crescero]

In Britain, Italian words connected with food and, especially coffee, have become common. They are not always used correctly; we see "Paninis" on menus and we hear people asking for an "expresso". But, at least, we do get good coffee now.

In a canadian comic stripe I read the word "latte" for a sort of milk based drink I presume.

[Larry]

Sono Piccolo, la parola latte ooops sorry, the word latte used in England refers to a large glass of milk in which a very small amount of coffee is poured. Generally drunk by those people who (a) cannot stand the liquid called coffee in England or (b) the psuedo borghesi who think it's the "in" drink of the moment. I would take with a very large spoon of salt the comments by the other contributor above who says we now have good coffee in England. We have many large companies now in England who sell 'coffee' in bars. Costa, - oh I cant remember the names, but, of dearie me, the price of a cup is about the weekly wage of a labourer in Trieste. And the taste? Y U K!! You ask for an espresso and they give you a "scodella". But the taste? Worse than Nescafe instant! I only drink Lavazza, once a week on a Sunday after lunch with a glassof Averna. LAVAZZA made using a machine which makes an espresso to your own personal taste and I like mine strong with lots of sugar. I also go to Italian restuarants here and when I ask for a "doppio espresso" coffee I generally take one mouthful and then shudder at the taste. They, unfortunately, have to cater for the normal English taste-buds. So if you come to England, as the old saying goes - Abandon Hope all ye who enter herein.- Fortunately, I lived for a long time in Trieste and also spent 12 years touring around the whole of Italy so know what coffee should taste like and the best is always in Trieste. And it is not the one advertised by Pippo Baudi!!!
Larry

[Larry]

I make no apologies for what follows. It is from one of our foremost seats of learning -- Cambridge University. Keep on reading and writing English. Larry

ALZHEIMERS' EYE TEST

Count every " F" in the following text:

FINISHED FILES ARE THE RE
SULT OF YEARS OF SCIENTI
FIC STUDY COMBINED WITH
THE EXPERIENCE OF YEARS...

(SEE BELOW)

HOW MANY ?

WRONG, THERE ARE 6 -- no joke.
READ IT AGAIN !
Really, go Back and Try to find the 6 F's before you scroll down.


The reasoning behind is further down.

The brain cannot process "OF".

Incredible or what? Go back and look again!!

Anyone who counts all 6 "F's" on the first go is a genius.


Three is normal, four is quite rare.

Send this to your friends.
It will drive them crazy.!
And keep them occupied
For several minutes..!

More Brain Stuff . . . From Cambridge University.

O lny srmat poelpe can raed tihs.


cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The
phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy,

it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm.

Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt! if
you can raed tihs psas it on !!

Psas Ti ON !

Amen. Yarrl

[serlilian]

Incredible. I counted three times the F and I found 3 F: twice and 4 F: once.

Mixed letters: I already read similar sentences in Italian and I could understand everything, but I wasn't sure to be able to do the same in English.
I was!

Thanks Larry!

[AdlerTS]

4 F !

[sono piccolo ma crescero]

I counted 3F and my wife, who doesn't speak English, counted 4 F the first time and 5 the second.

Nice test

[babatriestina]

at first I said 6 F !! impossible!!!
if I'm not very alert, I see 4 of them

[Larry]

You probably wont believe this but the first time I saw that one of finding the 'Fs', I counted only four. I could not believe there were six. Took me three times to get it right. It really is amazing how the eye and the brain work - dare I say it - together?
Serlillian, if you have one of those mixed-up letters/words in Italian I would love to see it. The one in English I posted above, for me, was quite easy but I am English and used to being a translator!!. (It reminded me of some of the texts I received from professors from Manchester University to translate into Italian!).
Baba, there really are 6 x F in that puzzle. It is the word 'of' which to an English person does not register because we are so used to it appearing in sentences. There are another two words which we use which also do not really register when we read a sentence and they are : IF and AND.
There is a saying in English which goes like this:
"If ifs and and ands were tinkers hands there'd be no need for pots and pans!"...
About 20 or so years ago when I was doing a lot of interpreting, I learnt how to do simultaneous interpreting. I eventually found it quite easy because the spoken language is generally much different from the written language one finds in newspapers. There are certain words and phrases which you know are going to be used when a person is speaking, much the same as in your own language, - difficult to explain here - but if you think about it, you will realize and understand what I mean.
Enuff for tonite. Sogni d'oro, sweet dreams, Larry

[serlilian]

Hi, Larry. Be sure that, if I find a mixed-up letters/words in Italian, I'll send it to you.
Have a nice day.