It’s always hard to translate dialect or, rather, slang. Slang can be so diverse. Trilussa enjoys writing in Romanesco, the dialect of Rome. I did my best, and maybe I failed, but the meaning here goes far beyond the words: live your life to the fullest; ride your scooter until you’re almost 97 years old; eat, bicker, hoard, complain, and move heavy pots around until you breathe your last breath.
| La tartaruga Trilussa Mentre una notte se n’annava a spasso, la vecchia tartaruga fece er passo più lungo de la gamba e cascò giù cò la casa vortata sottoinsù. Un rospo je strillò: “Scema che sei! Queste sò scappatelle che costeno la pelle… ―lo sò rispose lei―ma prima de morì, vedo le stelle. | The tortoise Trilussa While wanderin’ round one night, the old tortoise goes an’ oversteps hisself and he tumbles to the ground with his house lookin’ upside down. A toad yells loud: “What a dumbass! Them’s slipups that’ll cost you your life…” ―I know, says the tortoise―but before I die, I see stars. Translation ©Matilda Colarossi 2022 |
For my father.
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parallel texts: words reflected 
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