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Q: Idiomatic Sicilian phrase translation ( No Answer,   5 Comments )
Question  
Subject: Idiomatic Sicilian phrase translation
Category: Relationships and Society > Cultures
Asked by: tembrel-ga
List Price: $10.00
Posted: 28 Aug 2002 07:16 PDT
Expires: 27 Sep 2002 07:16 PDT
Question ID: 59422
What is the meaning of the Sicilian phrase, "Nella cappola del padre
eterna che su feligne", and what is the correct spelling?
Answer  
There is no answer at this time.

Comments  
Subject: Re: Idiomatic Sicilian phrase translation
From: morningstar2000-ga on 28 Aug 2002 13:31 PDT
 
Hi trembrel - 
   I have looked for the literal translation for you but have not been
able to make out the last word in your phrase.   feligne.   what I
have is a literal translation.   Cappola.. is actuallly cappella just
fur future reference.

Nella cappola del padre 
eterna che su feligne
Italian to English translation:
In the hat of the father  ( priest ) 
eternal that on feligne

In the hat of the eternal father that on ...

I will continue to look for the exact proverb.. Until then if you find
out let me know I am curious now.

Search strategy:
Italian To English translation
Sicilian to english translation

Thanks
Morningstar
Subject: Re: Idiomatic Sicilian phrase translation
From: tembrel-ga on 28 Aug 2002 15:03 PDT
 
The literal translation I was given was something like, "In the _head_
of the eternal father there are many threads," where threads could be
something like cobwebs. So "cappella" may not be right. I'm looking
for the actual meaning, more than the literal one. "padre eterna" is
pronounced something like "pagiterna" in Sicilian, according to my
second hand source. I'd be interested in getting the full
pronunciation of this proverb, too.
Subject: Re: Idiomatic Sicilian phrase translation
From: leli-ga on 29 Aug 2002 04:55 PDT
 
Can't help much, I'm afraid, but thought I'd just say that 'capelli'
is the Italian for 'hair' and 'filini', like 'fili' and 'filetti', is
a threads/strands word - as you can see in this ad for pasta!

http://www.barilla.com/ricette_firmate/db_prodotti/semola/formato.asp?f=30

As for the overall intention of the phrase, I have no idea, but it
does remind me of "In my Father's house are many mansions."
Subject: Re: Idiomatic Sicilian phrase translation
From: takemototim-ga on 02 Sep 2002 23:26 PDT
 
"There are many threads in the heavenly father's hat" is the literal
translation as pointed out but what this means....

My *guess* is that it means something like 

"The Lord Works in Mysterious ways (His wonders to perform)" 

where the threads in the hat of the Lord refer to ideas or perhaps
originally, the threads woven by the Fates. I doubt if it is as pious
in Italian as "The Lord Works in Mysterious Ways," since Sicily is one
of the most devout Catholic countries where many of the swear words
mention the holy virgin. Hence if this is the general meaning of the
saying (that the fate that the cosmos has in store for us is so
complex as to be beyond our ken) then perhaps

"Ours not to reason why (Ours but to do and die)" (Alfred Lord
Tennyson)
From The Charge of the Light Brigade.

But perhaps at the end of an email it might mean simply 

"Who knows...(What will happen)(When we will meet again)"

As I say this is only a guess based on the literal translation and a
knowledge of Greek mythology, in particular about the Fates. Please
see
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Delphi/4003/fates.html
Subject: Re: Idiomatic Sicilian phrase translation
From: sicilyguy-ga on 28 Feb 2005 04:51 PST
 
Translated approximately: 'In the coppola (hat) of one's father one
will always be happy.' This phrase does not refer to the 'Eternal
Father' as in a religious sense, and padre here does not refer to a
priest (which in Sicilian is 'parrino' or 'parrinu'), while the word
coppola (NOT cappola) is not the Italian for 'chapel' but rather
Sicilian for a certain kind of hat, described in detail on the website
 http://www.bestofsicily.info

In Sicilian, the phrase 'che su' may have been chistu or chiddu. Many
of these proverbs were compiled by the Sicilian scholar Giuseppe
Pitre' about a century ago. He was an expert in Sicilian linguistics
and folk traditions. In fact, Sicilian has no standard orthography
(spelling), so a very precise translation of this phrase is not
possible unless a literary source is cited.

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