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Glossary entry

Italian term or phrase:

borgata

English translation:

Roman "borgata"

Added to glossary by Giuseppe Bellone
Jan 20, 2010 08:21
14 yrs ago
2 viewers *
Italian term

borgata

Italian to English Art/Literary Cinema, Film, TV, Drama
"borgata di Roma"

The best term I've found is "working class suburb of Rome", but it sounds so lond with respect to the Italian. Does anyone have any other solutions?
Proposed translations (English)
3 +5 Roman "borgata"
4 rundown district
3 sink suburb
3 hamlet
Change log

Jan 21, 2010 21:33: Giuseppe Bellone Created KOG entry

Discussion

jane mg Jan 20, 2010:
for HS yes, notes are a bit of a problem :-) But the Roman borgate have such an incredible history which in turn is the basis of 20+ years of neorealist cinema. maybe your text actually does spell it out as it goes along?
Armilla (X) Jan 20, 2010:
I agree with MisterBeppe, this word usually refers to these specific poor areas. Moreover, it's also quite unusual to find it in non-Roman contexts.
Giuseppe Bellone Jan 20, 2010:
For Oliver Perhaps you 're right, but "almost always" in Italian we connect the word "borgataro" and "borgata" (in Rome, I mean) to run-down situations. In any case not to posh suburbia at all!
jane mg Jan 20, 2010:
Italo Insolera is the great historian of the Roman borgate. basically they were created as dumping grounds for the inhabitants of the neighbourhoods in the centre of Rome that were razed to the ground by Mussolini as part of his project of transforming the city into the new imperial capital. people were deported in fascist militia trucks to little clusters of gerrybuilt houses in the middle of nowhere, no services, no work, no connection to the centre. they were later joined by internal immigrans from the countryside and the south.
«Conseguenza della trasformazione monumentale dell'area dei fori e degli sventramenti di interi quartieri che hanno fatto spazio all'apertura di spazi concepiti per celebrare la maestosità del potere. Il risultato fu la distruzione di quartieri popolari storici e la conseguente nascita delle borgate periferiche, nuovi insediamenti urbanistici nati sotto l'impronta di una provvisorietà che ben presto divenne drammatica emarginazione (Italo Insolera, Le borgate di Roma)».
http://www.teatrobibliotecaquarticciolo.it/adon.pl?act=doc&d...
a search for 'Pasolini and the Roman borgate' will also turn up a lot of info.

Proposed translations

+5
5 mins
Selected

Roman "borgata"

I'd use this.

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Note added at 6 min (2010-01-20 08:27:51 GMT)
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Perhaps using the quotes.

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Note added at 7 min (2010-01-20 08:28:57 GMT)
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about news & events library archaeology humanities fine arts contemporary arts publications ... similar case in 1928, involving another group of teenagers from a Roman borgata. ...
bsr.ac.uk/BSR/sub_news/extra/BSR_News_lectures_2007June.htm - 63k - Cached

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Note added at 8 min (2010-01-20 08:29:26 GMT)
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And other occurrencies on the Net.

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Note added at 9 min (2010-01-20 08:30:25 GMT)
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A writer and critic based in Edinburgh, David Melville spent his youth watching ... glamorous French actors as impoverished denizens of the Roman borgata. ...
archive.sensesofcinema.com/contents/.../06/bolognini.html - 70k - Cached

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Note added at 10 min (2010-01-20 08:31:50 GMT)
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If you want it very short, I think this one is perfect.

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Note added at 1 giorno13 ore (2010-01-21 21:32:27 GMT) Post-grading
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Thanks. :)
Peer comment(s):
agree jane mg : but I think you definitely need a translator's note and definition. see my discussion entry.
58 mins
Thanks Jane, yes I think it's better. Although nobody would write a note for "the City" when referring to that part of London! :) But in this case , I do agree with you.
agree SYLVY75
1 hr
Grazie. :)
agree manducci : I agree with jane: best to add a note, preferably underlining the fact that these were the result of slum clearance rehousing programmes
2 hrs
Thanks. Yes, but also consider what Armilla says in "Discussion", I think she's right. :)
agree claudiocambon : Also with Jane. If "banlieue" has become standard parlance for describing an analogous urban and cultural phenomenon in France, then one should be able to use borgata
5 hrs
Thanks Claudio. Obviously these special words "borgata"and "borgataro" only apply to Rome, not to other towns in Italy
agree Shera Lyn Parpia
9 hrs
Thanks Shera. :)
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Since the entire piece is only pertinent to Rome, I do think this is the best choice. Thank you!"
20 mins

sink suburb

this has the virtues of being a good, concise, modern idiom, but the risk is that I'm not sure if ALL Roman "borgata" are run-down (Hoepli suggests they may be but is non-committal), perhaps others can enlighten

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Note added at 1 hr (2010-01-20 09:52:37 GMT)
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Jane's discussion entry increases my confidence in the suitability of this answer
Something went wrong...
1 hr

hamlet

I'm not sure at all, but I found these examples which translate the term with "hamlet"... Hope it will help!

http://it.thefreedictionary.com/borgata

http://www.woxikon.com/ita/borgata.php

http://www.wordreference.com/iten/borgata

For the Roman specific term the translation is often "working class suburb" also...

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Note added at 1 ora (2010-01-20 10:17:21 GMT)
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If this should not work, I'd agree with MisterBeppe and simply leave it in Italian, maybe with quotes. ;)
Peer comment(s):
neutral Oliver Lawrence : "hamlet" only applies to rural communities
20 mins
Something went wrong...
2 hrs

rundown district

Rundown district of Rome. I've met the problem before. Suburbs conjures up pictures of stockbrokers playing golf. I would translate with simply "district" or "rundown district" if you feel it is necessary.
Something went wrong...
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