~"It's normal that there be fear, in every man, the important thing is that it be accompanied by courage"~
Paolo Borsellino was a Sicilian magistrate who was killed by the Mafia for his Antimafia work, including contributions to Palermo's Antimafia Pool: a group of investigative magistrates who were able to indict hundreds of Mafia members in what would be called "The Maxi Trial."
Fellow Antimafia Pool members Giovanni Falcone and Rocco Chinnici, Carabinieri captain Emanuele Basile and several other colleagues were murdered by the Mafia prior to Borsellino's assassination. He was no doubt aware of the great danger involved in his work, and yet he found the courage to continue.
Examples of such great courage make it seem as if Borsellino (and others like him) were "superhuman" or somehow impervious to fear.
Borsellino's words remind us that he experienced fear just like anybody would in that situation— fear is normal. The goal is not to eliminate fear, but to learn how to cultivate the courage to go along with it.
Today is Paolo Borsellino's birthday—he would have turned 74. Maybe as a birthday present to him (and ourselves!) we can learn to embody his idea in our own lives. We may not all be fighting the Mafia, but we all have "our work" to do. :)
As you can see, it can be used quite literally (#1) or more metaphorically to refer to a "things" or a "situation." (2 & 3)
It is also used in questions (#4). "Che cosa" literally means "what thing" but it is used when English would just say "what."
You can also just say "che" or just say "cosa" and they all mean the same thing:
Che cosa fai?
✓
Che fai? ✓
What are you doing?
Cosa fai? ✓
When "che cosa" or its shortened form "cosa" comes before the verb "è" (is), they get joined together by dropping the -a and adding an apostrophe:
Che cosa è? -> Che cos'è?✓ What is it?
Cosa è? -> Cos'è?✓ What is it?
Note: this only happens when 'cosa' is used as 'what'. In the other contexts, 'cosa' and 'è' remain separate:
La cosa è difficile spiegare.✓
The thing is difficult to explain.
As the most used noun, it isn't hard to find examples in books, film and music. Let's look at different song titles and decide whether it should be translated as: thing/things or what?: (Select the area after each line to reveal my answer) Then, listen to each song and see if you can pick out "cosa" in context… HINT: You might also hear qualcosa which means "something."
Cosa sarà (Lucio Dalla & Francesco De Gregori)
_________ must it be (What)
Non è la stessa cosa(Fabrizio Moro)
It isn't the same _________ (thing)
Che cosa c'è?(Gino Paoli)
_________ is there? (What)
Cosa vuoi che sia(Ligabue)
_________ do you want it to be (What)
La prima cosa bella(Nicola di Bari)
The first beautiful _________ (thing)
Più bella cosa(Eros Ramazzotti)
Most beautiful _________ (thing)
L'amore è un'altra cosa(Modà)
Love is another _________ (thing)
Cosa hai messo nel caffè(Malika Ayane)
_________ did you put in the coffee (What)
In its many contexts, did you notice that the "s" in "cosa" is often more like a "z" sound?
As you listen to Italian music and watch Italian shows, be on the look out for cosa once you do, you'll find it everywhere! Also, try writing your own sentence in the comments below!
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Me, Alex, as a Bitstrips cartoon. Try it if you haven't already — it's highly entertaining!
My name is Alex and I originally started this site under the name of Didattichiamo! as a way to share the materials and resources that I used (and continue to use) in the study of languages and culture, and Italian in particular.
My intention was to show the fun and engaging side of study as well as create a community of like-minded learners from around the world that could exchange ideas.
My intention hasn’t changed... but my site name and address have!
What's in a name? VIA means 'street or way' in Italian— I wanted to evoke the idea that this a place to gather, and also a way of thinking or doing. OPTIMAE comes from Latin and the AE is pronounced kind of like the ‘ay’ in “say.” It is part of the famous Latin phrase "HIC MANEBIMUS OPTIMAE" which can be translated as "Here we'll stay excellently." In Italian, the phrase is often translated as "Qui staremo benissimo" Here's hoping we all stay (and do) benissimo!
In addition to adding new content, I'm in the process of transferring content from the previous site, so be sure to check the archive -or- start here:
