The Significance of Nicknames in Italian-American Culture and the Novel Christ In Concrete :: Essays Papers

The Significance of Nicknames in Italian-American Culture and the Novel Christ In Concrete Nicknames. They are something that everyone is familiar with in one way or another. However, most people have little, if any, personal experience with nicknames. In Italian-American culture, nicknames play a major role in everyday life. Nicknames are formed with a certain unspoken format, and they have a particular importance. In Italian-American culture nicknames, even though to others they may seem harsh and cruel, are terms of endearment and give a sense of belonging. â€Å"Soprannomi† in Italian means â€Å"above the name† (Mazzoni) and refers to dialect nicknames (Addario and Rulli). To the â€Å"outside world† Italian-American’s use of nicknames may bring to mind organized crime, due to negative media portrayal, with such names as Al â€Å"Scarface† Capone and Tony â€Å"The Big Tuna† Accardo (Arduini). From my personal experience, I can say that within the Italian-American culture nicknames have a much sweeter significance. Since very large, extended Italian families all were apt to dwell in close proximity to one another, nicknames were traditionally used to distinguish one branch of a family from another, and/or one individual from another (Addario and Rulli). Another very good reason for the use of nicknames comes from the â€Å"rigor of most Italian naming traditions† (Arduini). The first-born son is to be named after his paternal grandfather, and the second-born son is to be named after his maternal grandfather. Likewise, the first-born daughter is to be named after her paternal grandmother, and the second-born daughter is to be named after her maternal grandmother. The children that follow, â€Å"Lord willing†, are to be named after their godparents, not to mention the naming of children after patron saints. It goes without saying that many family members, and community members, end up with the same names. Obviously this leads to tremendous confusion when families and communiti es are gathered and talking to and about one another, which occurs frequently. Therefore there is actually a desperate need for nicknames. The most basic form of nickname assignment is the tag of â€Å"Big† and â€Å"Little† added to the oldest and youngest carriers of a name (Arduini). Although, since most Italian families are so large, this isn’t always sufficient, so nicknames have to rely on other characteristics. A very convincing example of the role that nicknames play in Italian-American life is portrayed in Pietro di Donato’s novel Christ In