Are you ACTUALLY Italian?
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- Опубліковано 20 чер 2024
- Hello beautiful people!
In this video we unpack a delicate topic... I'm curious to hear your thoughts in the comments!
Please remember to be respectful and kind.
Reel from @growingupitalian 💚
Italian Americans ended up in America because their ancestors were driven out by poverty. Let me start this by saying that I refer to myself as "Italian American", not "Italian". I don't think anyone should be telling someone else who is and who isn't Italian though for a few reasons. I grew up in an Italian enclave in the US. My grandparents and great grandparents lived in tenements. I feel that people should try to understand each other more. I call myself Italian American, but I find the gatekeeping of who gets to call themselves Italian really distasteful honestly if you want to know an Italian American standpoint on it. The same way that I find it very distasteful when people insist that someone is less Italian because of how they look. Within the US, people of various cultures often leave out the American part no matter where we're from because we know we're living in the US, that's a baseline understanding. It isn't uncommon to be asked "Where are you from?" in the US. When you answer "the US" and the person says "No, I mean what ARE you, where is your family from?" and then you answer with your ethnicity. Add to that that the only people native to the US are Native Americans. It's most accurate to say Italian American, if that's what you are, but in the US, sometimes still, people view Italian Americans as a stereotype, so this kind of thinking means in the US, according to some people, you're not to be taken seriously and are different from mainstream Americans and in Italy, you're considered an outsider too. People just want to feel they belong and this is also one of the reasons I feel some Italian Americans just call themselves "Italian". It's weird to go to Italy and tell Italians that you are Italian when your nationality is American, but I can understand how it happens and it isn't from a malicious place. It's complex really.
Thanks for the insightful comment!
As I said in the video, I or anyone else don't get to define who's Italian and who's not. All I'm doing here is sharing a cultural perspective. So I don't see the gatekeeping part... If you see it like that, I could then argue that saying that chicken Alfredo is Italian is cultural appropriation and gaslighting??
Additionally, you can come here and find out how excited and willing we are to share everything Italian with who's willing to learn! So really no gatekeeping here.
I think you're right when you say we need to be more understanding on this topic and I'm always happy to learn more about the Italo-American reality.
For example, here it would be considered absolutely rude and racist to ask someone "What are you?" after they already told me they're Italian just because they don't look like your typical Italian. If you really wanna know their ethnicity you can ask where are their parents from but even then, if they already said they're Italian it's not a question to ask.
The important thing is heritage and when you have relatives living in Italy, not what people think or consider.
I have family in Italy and that is what is important to me, not what people consider or think. My dad is from Italy, and I am born in Denmark and have an Italian name.
I will share it with my friend , has been a struggle for me to explain him whybwe are so attached! Thank uuuu Elisa!
terrific video and agree..! thank you for all your vids
From many years of watching American television, the one thing I know for sure is that a true Italian always orders the gabagool.
Italian's r very nice human,My son is studying in Cassino university, according to him Italian's r very nice and kind hearted people ❤️❤️❤️
Very enjoyable. Thank you!
I'm glad you enjoyed it! :)
I really like the way you identify being Italian (or perhaps any nationality) with a shared Italian culture and language. It has nothing to do with the color of your skin, where your parents came from, or even if you were born in Italy. I'm "American" - technically U.S. American - but our country is so big and so diverse, my definition of what an "American" is has to include people who live here but don't necessarily speak my language, or share my culture which is regional. Perhaps that's why Americans maintain a special connection to their ancestral roots and say things like "I'm Italian" or Korean, or Mexican, etc. Great topic!
Nice to know that Italians in Italy appreciate those reconnecting with their history.
It's the same here in Australia (as in the US/ Canada).....it's kind of a time capsule, with Italians coming after the war, but are now into the 2nd, 3rd, 4th generation...they mostly DON'T speak Italian (maybe some dialect) but just kind of 'act' the part.....As with any topic, there are subtleties and nuances :) I my case, for example, I'm technically half Italian (father), mother was Australian, BUT I was born in Italy and speak the language fluently...does that make me Italian? If I go to Italy I have the passport, speak the language and have an Italian name...no one says I'm not Italian :) but you could split hairs if you really want to...
Ciao Elisa. Sono nato, cresciuto e vivo ancora in Venezuela. Mia madre è venezuelana e mio padre è figlio di lucani emigrati negli anni settanta. Nella mia famiglia l'unico di ascendenza mista sono io. Sfortunatamente la mia famiglia viene da un paesino dove l'italiano standard non era diffuso a quel tempo e solo alcuni di loro lo parlavano, il resto parlava dialetto. Io però ho imparato a parlare l'italiano da solo e cerco di parlarlo ogni volta che posso, ho fatto tutte le mie pratiche consolari da solo e anche se so che forse per la maggioranza in Italia non sono uguale a loro, la verità è che non me ne frega, oggi posso dire a bocca ben aperta che sono italiano. Ho fatto del mio meglio per aggiornare i miei riferimenti culturali e ogni giorno cerco di rimanere in contatto con l'Italia, piango ascoltando a l'inno di mameli e sogno di tornare nella terra dei miei antenati. Per tutto quanto sopra e molto di più per me sono italiano e mi rifiuto di non esserlo.
Gabriel, vieni qui di corsa! Parli meglio di tanti italiani che conosco, complimenti! È bellissimo che tu voglia tornare, ti auguro di poterlo fare presto :)
@@RomeInside Grazie, Elisa. Apprezzo tanto che tu mi dica quello
I was born in Citta’ Palermo ( La Vucciria ) and will be moving back there this fall. Both of my parents are Polermitano’s and I speak strictly Western Sicilian Dialect . When we came to Brooklyn NY ( Bensonhurst ) , I rarely heard English spoken, except in school and then all the priest and nuns were from Sicilia ! Today when you ask people / they offer their heritage they will say they are a Heinz 57 ! What gets me is when they wear the jewelry and eat spaghetti and go on and on about being so Italian, they haven’t got a clue . Then there are those who are realistic and accept the fact because of circumstances out of their control , that they don’t speak the language or know much about the culture . The latter is the more reasonable approach, in my opinion. I admire the Greeks because their church provides their children with classes that teach The Greek Language and culture to their young people and they even promote marriage among their young , unlike the universal church that we were raised in ! I enjoyed your video ! Keep up the good work !
As an American, it's easy to share my heritage as "Italian / Irish" with other Americans. When I went to Italy, the man at customs saw my passport & name and asked if I was Italian and I said no, but my family is. He seemed happy to hear it lol. I am excited to learn the language & reconnect with my heritage.... properly & humbly 💫
It's beautiful that you want to reconnect with it! 💙 It will make any Italian you meet very proud
Are you a Disney channel actress? 😍 I’m Italian too and I love you and your chanbel already so so much!!! Thanks for this video!!!!!!!!!
PS - Italian-Americans take their cultural refences off movies/ TV (eg. Sopranos, Godfather etc etc...)
As an American, Sitting in my cucina in Castellammare Del Golfo, Sicily, I understand that I am not Italian, even though I have Italian heritage. I have lived in Firenze before as well and speak a fair amount of Italian. I am proud of my Italian heritage. My last name, Freitag, means Friday in German. So I joke with my Italian friends that my Italian name is Paolo Venerdi! Hahaha Your video is spot on and there should not be any reason for anyone to honestly disagree with you! I enjoy your content very much. How was the rest of your trip to Puglia? Buona domenica, Paolo Venerdi 😉
Paolo Venerdì, I love that! 😂
I like these sit-down videos at least as much as the vlogs! With this one, I knew after reading the title that the answer is most definitely "no" 😂
I'm glad you like them! The title has to be more on the clickbait side, but please listen to the content. I will never claim to define who's Italian and who's not! I'm just sharing a cultural perspective here :)
Same issue here in Ireland. When you go to America or meet Americans here, they have to tell you they’re Irish
Around the world "Italian" is used as an ethnonym, to indicate people of Italian descend. Also in Italy it was used as an ethnonym for centuries until very recently. Now is culturally deprecated since it seems we prefer a more institutional definition of Italian, based on citizenship rather than ethnicity.
ouch!😬 My grandparents and parents are Italian, I consider myself Italian Australian. Yes I speak dialect but I'm still trying to learn Italian. My relatives in Italy still call me an Aussie!😁👋
What do you mean you speak dialect? What dialect?
Your relatives probably think you're Italo-Australian but they focus on the Australian part 😂 Good luck with the Italian! Non è mai troppo tardi per imparare 🤗
I have no clue how to make coffee. Never drank it. I'm coming to Italy in October. I have never been there so I'm looking forward to it very much. Wish I was Italian 😄
Grande! Un saluto dal Brasile!
I'm currently American. I'm learning the Italian language and Italy is processing my Citizenship application. What I foresee as the most difficult part of *actually* becoming Italian, after I move to Italy in a few years, will be the ability to walk around paradise with amazing shit everywhere, eating amazing food all of the time, and pretend like it's no big deal. Real Italians have nailed this. I'm in awe that Real Italians can drink that wine, be immersed in that architecture, see all of that art and culture and NOT lose their shit!
Sono un italiano britannico, mia nonna mi ha praticamente allevato, quindi sono cresciuto con molte influenze della cultura italiana. Ricette tramandate da lei a mia mamma, che ho imparato. Abbiamo visitato l'Italia quasi ogni anno e siamo stati con la famiglia (quando viveva mia nonna) o li abbiamo visitati mentre eravamo in altri posti. Mia madre si è rifiutata di insegnarmi l'italiano perché dice che non conosceva il vero italiano (parla napoletano perché quella è la regione da cui proviene la nostra famiglia), quindi ho cercato di imparare da solo. Capisco ma non parlo. Attualmente sto pensando di provare a ottenere la cittadinanza, ma sarà difficile a causa delle vecchie leggi sulla nazionalità.
It's sad that your mom didn't wanna teach you (even though I understand her reasons)... You speak great Italian though so good job on learning the language on your own!!
I understand your point, but you are fundamentally misunderstanding what these Americans mean in the first place when they say "Yeah, I'm Italian" because you don't understand the American cultural context in which these things are happening. You can say Italian-Americans are not the same as citizens of the modern nation of Italy, and you'd be correct, but that isn't actually what these folks are saying. They interpret the question "are you Italian" as "are you Italian-American?". You have to understand this within the context of immigrant communities in the United States. There were different neighborhoods divided by ethnicity and national origin, and there are many "Little Italys" in cities all across the US. "Italian" Is a shared cultural identity for these people that persists today for historical reasons, and ironically you are being a bit ignorant of the American cultural context here, as are other Italians, because you just don't experience it in your every day lives. Its true that Italy has a long history, but you must remember that American history also plays a role in the lives of Americans and shapes their understanding of themselves and their place within the world and their country. I understand that to a foreigner such an Italian it is confusing, but please remember you are reacting from a completely different context and misunderstanding what people are saying.
Its also odd you claim italians dont care about blood when your citizenship is defined by Jus Sanguinis, literally by blood. Please do better research in your next video. I speak Italian. I'm 100% ethnically scottish, not Italian. Does that make me one step closer to being Italian than an Italian-American who is 100% Calabrian? Your argument is rather ridiculous...
Hi Moose! Exactly, "Italian" and "Italo-American" are two different things and if you watched the whole video instead of just the initial clip you'd know that's exactly what I talk about.
Also, I'm very aware of the *Ius Sanguinis*, don't worry, but it doesn't mean that law reflects the majority of people's opinions.
I'm sorry you find my "argument" ridiculous especially since I'm absolutely not trying to argue anything 😂
@@RomeInside I did watch the video in full, I didn't expect such a rude and unprofessional reply, but whatever. I didn't intend to offend you, I am simply pointing out that it is ironic that you are attempting to explain cultural context to Americans, while misunderstanding the cultural context of what you are reacting to. You and the other Italians who left incredulous comments simply misunderstand the conotation and full significance of asking an Italian-American the question "are you italian?". Its fine that you misunderstood, English is not your mother tongue, but nobody in that video was refering to nationality, they were talking about ethnicity/heritage. It doesn't matter what actual Italians think because you're digitally eavesdropping on another country and misinterpreting what people are saying. You are being obtuse and ignorant.
"I didn't mean to offend you"
Yet you called me ignorant and said my argument is ridiculous.
"Rude and unprofessional answer"
Yet I'm not the one who called you obtuse and ignorant.
And just to be clear, I never said I agree with any of those comments... I'm sorry you didn't understand the point of the video. Anyway, I wish you a nice day.
@@RomeInside I did understand the point of the video, it was just an ignorant, innacurate, and patronizing video. I also didn't call you ignorant, I called your actions ignorant. At this point, however, I am ready to call ignorant in general. If you weren't so obtuse, you would know that the definition of ignorant means "lacking knowledge, information, or awareness about a particular thing" (In this context, Americna culture and the English language). Again, the root of this issue continues to be your misinterpretation of English due to lack of contextual understanding. Just as you mentioned Italian culture is very complex and layered, so are other cultures. Italians do not even realize when they are being patronizing. I'm sure you view this comment as an attack, but I'm pointing out that your video came across as incredibly ignorant because the entire premise is based on your misunderstanding of what was going on and then trying to explain to us ignorant americans about how wrong we are about what Italian means when you didn't even understand what it means in this context. Its just stupid and rude.'
Not to mention the thumbnail, telling people they aren't "true italians" is just annoying gatekeeping. Literally nobody claimed they were citizens of the nation of Italy. Italians are so proud its ridiculous.
I am Italian American. My DNA says I'm Italian. The Italian government says I'm Italian. Thankfully, I get to be both. I suppose if I have to choose, I'd choose American. Yes, because that's where I was born, raised, and live. Your definition is really lacking. But we still love you. Sounds like what you're saying is "People like me are Italian." I guess that means your grandma isn't Italian because her references and daily life are different from yours. Before Italy was a country, according to your definition, no one was Italian.
There are a few things to consider when determining if your Italian. Culture, Language, Ethnicity, Nationality. Do you do cultural things Italians do in Italy like religion, music, art, school, food, economics and politics, sports, customs and traditions. Do you speak Italian fluently as your first language. Are you ethnically Italian where your DNA shows you come from a region in Italy? Were you born in Italy and have Italian citizenship? If you say yes to all 4, then you are 100% Italian.
If Italians are so against us ( Im Italo-Brasiliano) why don’t you guys don’t change your citizenship laws ? Cuz the Italian government says I am Italian and legally (Im italian citizen) I am as much Italian as you are. But all the polls made in italy shows that Italians are very favorable of Ius Sanguines, you guys need to either accept us or reject us once for all and change the law.
I'm an american my DNA says i'm 100% italian. I cannot change that.....i'm still italian.
I also speak italian. But here is a big debate for everyone.
There is authentic italian food
And american italian food, there is a big difference. I have a lot of family in the Abruzzo region and the food in italy is very different.
Anyway there is a debate for you.
Food is a perfect example of this: there's Italian food and American Italian and both are absolutely fine! Just, if you tell an Italian that chicken Alfredo is an Italian dish they'll most likely tell you absolutely not; but if you say that's an Italo-American dish then everything makes sense 😂
There are two types of people: Italians and those who wish they were!😜🍕
Hahaha I'm sure many people are more than ok with not being identified with "Mamma mia" memes and pizza 😂
Well I guess my wife may not be "really italian" according to you people, but that didn't matter when she was growing up and all her neighbors were Italian and all the other kids would pick on the italians and call us garlic breath, but I guess that just ain't important
The bullying she experienced is awful and it's not justified in any case.
That's not the point of the video though... I'm simply sharing an insight as to who we call Italian here.
That being said, you and your wife are welcome anytime to come eat bruschette with lots of garlic here with us!
Say it louder for the people on the back!
Americans say they are "Irish" when their great great great grandfather once kissed a red headed woman. The same goes for "Italian Americans", they heard there was a movie called "The Godfather", didn't watch it themselves but someone they know saw the trailer, all of a sudden they are Sicilian and think io is pronounced e-o.