Dense, but regular
Technical texts such as a package leaflet (foglietto illustrativo, colloquially bugiardino), a user manual or a quarterly report look impenetrable at first. Yet they follow a handful of fixed patterns. The aim of this lesson is understanding: you recognise the patterns and turn them into plain language in your head.
Four patterns
- 1
Noun chains with di, a and per
- 2
Noun + noun without a preposition
- 3
Relational adjectives instead of nouns
- 4
The infinitive as an instruction
Noun chains: left to right
Italian names the head first and attaches each further detail with a preposition. English does the reverse: it stacks the modifiers in front, and the head comes last. So read an Italian chain from left to right and build the English phrase from the back.
A chain taken apart
What the preposition tells you
| Preposition | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| di | relation, object, belonging | tasso di disoccupazione (unemployment rate) |
| a | mode of operation, power source | caldaia a condensazione (condensing boiler), riscaldamento a pavimento (underfloor heating) |
| per | purpose, target group | farmaco per l'ipertensione (blood pressure medication) |
Chains from technical texts
L'impianto di trattamento delle acque reflue sarà ampliato.
The wastewater treatment plant will be expanded.
Il piano punta alla riduzione dei costi di produzione.
The plan aims to cut production costs.
Il tasso di disoccupazione giovanile è sceso al venti per cento.
The youth unemployment rate has fallen to twenty per cent.
Noun + noun
Sometimes the preposition drops out and two nouns stand side by side. The head still comes first: effetto serra is an effect, not a greenhouse. In the plural usually only the first noun changes: le parole chiave, i decreti legge.
Head first
Il metano contribuisce all'effetto serra.
Methane contributes to the greenhouse effect.
Inserite tre parole chiave per articolo.
Enter three keywords per article.
L'importo compare nella busta paga di marzo.
The amount appears on the March payslip.
Relational adjectives
Technical texts like to replace a di phrase with a relational adjective: la pressione delle arterie becomes la pressione arteriosa. These adjectives follow the noun and cannot be graded. Many come from Latin or Greek and look nothing like the everyday word: epatico belongs to fegato (liver), renale to rene (kidney). Medical English uses the same roots (hepatic, renal), so recognising them is often easier for you than for an Italian layperson.
Adjective, everyday word, English
| Technical | Related to | English |
|---|---|---|
| pressione arteriosa | arteria | blood pressure |
| danno epatico | fegato | liver damage |
| funzione renale | rene | kidney function |
| rischio sismico | terremoto | earthquake risk |
| consumo energetico | energia | energy consumption |
| settore alberghiero | albergo | hotel industry |
From leaflets and reports
Nei pazienti con insufficienza renale la dose va ridotta.
In patients with kidney failure the dose should be reduced.
La zona è classificata ad alto rischio sismico.
The area is classified as high earthquake risk.
The infinitive as an instruction
Manuals, labels and package leaflets usually avoid addressing the reader. Instead of an imperative they use the infinitive, negated with non in front. English labels use the bare imperative here ("Shake before use"), so the Italian form looks more impersonal than it feels.
On packs and labels
Agitare prima dell'uso.
Shake before use.
Conservare a temperatura inferiore a 25 °C.
Store below 25 °C.
Non superare la dose consigliata.
Do not exceed the recommended dose.
Tenere questo medicinale fuori dalla vista e dalla portata dei bambini.
Keep this medicine out of the sight and reach of children.
The sections of a package leaflet carry fixed headings: posologia (dosage), controindicazioni (contraindications), avvertenze (warnings), effetti indesiderati (side effects).
