American stereotypes about Italians (Part 2)

Hello, welcome back to my blog. Some time ago I found a video on youtube that presented some questions Americans had for Italians.

Since they were based on many American stereotypes, I decided to answer these questions. You can find the answers to the first questions in this article: American stereotypes about Italians.

Today I’m going to answer all the other questions in the video.

You say prego for everything. What does prego mean?

Italians don’t say prego for everything. But it’s true that this words can have different meaning, and so it can be used in different situations.

Prego can mean:

1. You’re welcome

Example:
+ Mi passi il sale, per favore? (Could you pass me the salt, please?)
– Tieni (here it is)
+ Grazie (thank you)
– Prego (you’re welcome)

2. I pray or I beg

Examples:
a. Prego la Madonna tutti i giorni (I pray the Vergin Mary every day)
b. Ti prego, ascoltami, stai commettendo un errore! (I beg you, listen to me, you’re making a mistake!)

3. Please

Example:
Prego, si accomodi (Please, have a seat)

How come Mario Balotelli doesn’t have his own show?

I don’t know, maybe people just don’t want to see him?

If I ever go to Italy, will I actually see Super Mario characters walking around?

Among all the American stereotypes about Italians, the one about Super Mario is absolutely one of my favourites. But no, you won’t see any Super Mario character walking around the street, not even at Carnival.

Do you really hate Olive Garden or you just feel like you have to just because you’re Italian?

Sometimes American stereotypes about Italians are funny. Take this question, for example, the first thing I thought when I heard it was: Who the heck is Olive Garden? Then I googled it. For all the Italians reading this, Olive Garden seems to be an American restaurant chain specialized in Italian cuisine. The majority of Italians don’t even know who or what Olive Garden is!
However, I think that if the restaurant provides Italian food that actually doesn’t taste like Italian food at all or that’s not Italian food at all – fettuccine Alfredo an Italian classic? Really? – most likely Italians won’t like it.

What is up with your dinner structure? How can any human eat all that food?

There are many American stereotypes about Italians that are false. But the one about Italian meals is correct.

In fact, a typical Italian meal consists of a first course – soup, pasta or rice – a second course – meat, fish and vegetables – and fruit or dessert.

I’m Italian and I can only eat one course. However, my parents and many of my friends can really eat great quantities of food without batting an eyelid. So, I’m interested in the answer to this question too. If someone happens to discover it, please let me know.

Why do you like fish so much? Why just everybody in Italy loves fish?

Not everybody loves fish in Italy, as in any other country. However, it’s true we have many recipes to cook fish like Anguilla in umido, baccalà alla vicentina, branzino al forno, etc.

Can you guys teach me how to cook?

There are many resources you can use to learn how to cook Italian recipes. For example, you can find many video recipes on this website, or, if you prefer, you can also find some Italian recipes in my book Sos Italian cooking.

 

What do you think about these American stereotypes concerning Italians? Are they really so common in America?

If you want to read about some common stereotypes about Italians have a look at my article Eight common stereotypes about Italians.

---

Original image by weran