Later it became common elsewhere in Italy with the spelling ciao. The Venetian ciào was adopted by Northern Italian people during the late 19th and early 20th century. A Milanese tongue-twister says Se gh'hinn gh'hinn se gh'hinn nò, s'ciào ("If there is, there is if there isn't, farewell! "). In modern Italian language, the word is used (in addition to the meaning of salutation) as an exclamation of resignation (also in a positive sense), as in Oh, va be', ciao! ("Oh, well, never mind!"). This greeting was eventually shortened to ciào, lost all its servile connotations and came to be used as an informal salutation by speakers of all classes. The Venetian word for "slave", s-ciào or s-ciàvo, derives from Medieval Latin sclavus, a loanword from Medieval Greek Σκλάβος, related to the ethnic "Slavic", since most of the slaves came from the Balkans. This greeting is analogous to the medieval Latin servus which is still used colloquially in parts of Central/ Eastern Europe or the antiquated English valediction "Your Obedient Servant." The expression was not a literal statement of fact, but rather a perfunctory promise of good will among friends (along the lines of "at your service" in English). The word derives from the Venetian phrase s-ciào vostro or s-ciào su literally meaning "(I am) your slave".
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |