Making up Italian?

Madison · Jul 6, 2008

I need an Italian town in my novel. It's in the north of Italy on Lake Garda, and needs to be fake for a number of purposes. Should I take another town name from a town somewhere else in Italy? Or make up my own town? I was thinking of combining a few existing town names...

Brenzolino?
Bardozone?
(or something along those lines)

Or is that just weird?

thanks

Claudia Gray · Jul 6, 2008

I wouldn't use a real town name. You could combine, or find a word in Italian you might be able to repurpose as a town name.

Alon · Jul 6, 2008

You could use a ubiquitous name, like Santa Maria. There are dozens of towns with that name all over Italy, much like with Springfield in the US.

CACTUSWENDY · Jul 6, 2008

Call it Pizza?

:roll:

Mumut · Jul 6, 2008

ClaudiaGray said:
I wouldn't use a real town name. You could combine, or find a word in Italian you might be able to repurpose as a town name.

You could use an Italian word that compliments your story. Like Dickens conjured up the name Bleak House.

Inky · Jul 6, 2008

I would find out how to say 'small town' in Italian, just as an example of what you could do.

In Germany, Haupstrasse means Main Street. I'm telling you this because perhaps 'small town' in Italy will have a quaint sound to it, and be perfect for what you're looking for.

Since you mentioned it's on a lake, you could possible make it (again, in Italian) Lake Village, Small Lake Village, Green Lake Village...

Most villages in Italy are very green and lush, so I looked up Green Village. In Italian, it has a nice ring to it: Villagio Verde (village green, Italian, Spanish and French place their adjective after)

Hope this helps

blacbird · Jul 6, 2008

Get thee to a good atlas which has detail of Italy on it, find some town and village names, select a likely-sounding one, and tweak a couple of vowels. And then don't worry about it no more.

caw

Alon · Jul 6, 2008

I'd be suspicious of using a name translated from English. Different languages have different naming conventions. I once saw a map of the Stockholm subway with all the station names translated into English, and it was full of hilarious names, such as Big Bog, Rock Star, Awful Village Hospital, Mountain Hammer, Telephone Square, and Parch Ant.

I think the safest choice is to look at a map of Italy and glean some common town names.

Inky · Jul 6, 2008

...and then, if anything's written that can be perceived as negative, dear author stands up to a potential lawsuit.

Even Koontz makes up a town name. It's just not worth the nightmare. Double check your translations so you know it's really Italian...tweaking a few vowels could have you calling your town something foul and you wouldn't know--maybe the editor would catch it...maybe not.

Madison · Jul 6, 2008

henceforth the town is dubbed pizza

okay I'll work with these ideas and make sure the town doesn't translate to anything awful. thanks!

and the Hamlet reference made me laugh, blacbird! (even if it was unintentional)

Alon · Jul 6, 2008

Inky said:
...and then, if anything's written that can be perceived as negative, dear author stands up to a potential lawsuit.

Has any of the Springfields in the US sued Matt Groening?

(I'm asking honestly... I don't know)

L.C. Blackwell · Jul 6, 2008

Um, Inky, so how many people have written to tell you that they've trashed their monitors while smacking the bug on the screen? I came that close.... :Wha:

TPCSWR · Jul 6, 2008

L.C. Blackwell said:
Um, Inky, so how many people have written to tell you that they've trashed their monitors while smacking the bug on the screen? I came that close....

Same here, I was about to squish it.

Inky · Jul 7, 2008

Alon said:
Has any of the Springfields in the US sued Matt Groening?

(I'm asking honestly... I don't know)

Sounds like what you're really asking for is an excuse to argue. I'm sorry, but you'll have to stir trouble elsewhere to get someone to punch you in the face. I'm not interested in petty squabbles.

Inky · Jul 7, 2008

L.C. Blackwell said:
Um, Inky, so how many people have written to tell you that they've trashed their monitors while smacking the bug on the screen? I came that close....

*laughing*
Blame Jo!
He has one in his sig line. Too many times I kept staring at the bloody monitor, trying to flick away the little devil...grrrr....Jo got me every time. I decided to reciprocate.
Now, several of us have added it to our sig line...AW is becoming infested with Aussie crickets, mate!

Willowmound · Jul 7, 2008

Alon said:
I'd be suspicious of using a name translated from English. Different languages have different naming conventions. I once saw a map of the Stockholm subway with all the station names translated into English, and it was full of hilarious names, such as Big Bog, Rock Star, Awful Village Hospital, Mountain Hammer, Telephone Square, and Parch Ant.

I think the safest choice is to look at a map of Italy and glean some common town names.

You mean this one? That one's a joke. Or a poor translation job. But your point is a good one. Naming conventions vary. Also, European place names usually have a lot of history behind them. So a name that works in one part of a country could be completely out of place in a different part.

RJK · Jul 7, 2008

How about posto immaginario or any other name that you could imagine. I used babelfish to translate.

JoNightshade · Jul 7, 2008

I'd take an existing town that was close to what you want and just change one letter, as others have suggested. People who know Garda will get the reference but understand your town is fictional, while people who don't know Garda won't care.

IceCreamEmpress · Jul 7, 2008

Call it Monteriano, after the fictional Italian city in E. M. Forster's novel Where Angels Fear to Tread.

Willowmound · Jul 7, 2008

JoNightshade said:
I'd take an existing town that was close to what you want and just change one letter, as others have suggested.

You're suggesting just changing a random letter?

So, I wanna make a fictional town in America, I should call it Sprangfield? Or Moston? New Dork?

Don't know if this is the best advice I've ever heard, to be honest... ;>

blacbird · Jul 7, 2008

L.C. Blackwell said:
Um, Inky, so how many people have written to tell you that they've trashed their monitors while smacking the bug on the screen? I came that close....

Oh, but how it doth entertain the cats.

caw

Inky · Jul 7, 2008

Yes, I've had to make sure to close the laptop before walking away, or Mad Max attempts to make a nose dive. And kitteh won't be very lolcat, should he disfigure mi' monitor...more like kitteh slippahs....

Seif · Jul 7, 2008

Ciabbatta

Mr. Fix · Jul 7, 2008

Can I get this order to go?

CACTUSWENDY said:
Call it Pizza?

I like Canolia!
:ROFL:

(or is that a real town?) :Shrug:

Making up Italian?

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