Bellisima, They’re Not: Italians Rank Ugliest English Words

You won’t hear any talk of “lo stress” or “le leadership” on the streets of Italy, if the Dante Alighieri Society has its way. The proclaimed protectors of Italian culture have asked the public to vote on the most offensive English word to be adopted into the Italian language. And the winner? “Il weekend.”

The society made its stand against the word clear; the Telegraph reports it declared on its official website, “Italians unite against il weekend ... it is clear that Italians are calling for more respect and more protection for correct language.”

It’s certainly true that the Italian phrase for weekend, fine settimana, is much lovelier to say, and if my native language were filled with lovely words that rolled off the tongue, like “andiamo” and “arrabiata,” I, too, might have a hard time embracing the relatively cacophanous “il email” or “il fitness.”

But seriously, weekend? It’s so innocuous. Surely, “webmaster” or “il full immersion training” is worse.

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