Talking of languages, power and cultural variations... The journalist 's comment is rather funny to Italians, since he ignored that "Signor Marconi" in Italian is the exact equivalent of "Mr. Marconi" ! ciao, Monica ----- Original Message ----- From: "Nancy Baym" <nbaym@ku.edu> To: <air-l@listserv.aoir.org> Sent: Thursday, March 23, 2006 6:04 PM Subject: Re: [Air-l] Languages on the Internet - air-l Digest, Vol 20, Issue 28
Monica, the Italian who has lived in Ireland, writes:
funny... Someone should tell Carolyn Marvin that actually Guglielmo Marconi's mom was Irish, not British - I am sure Irish appreciate the difference. Annie Jameson ...the daughter of the founder of the Whiskey Jameson: perhaps that helped too !
In her defense, Marvin is quoting from publications of the time. She has a quote from a 1897 British journal saying he should be addressed as "Signor Marconi" because "he has hardly been in this country long enough to entitle him to be referred to as 'Mr. Marconi.'"
Then she has a quote from 1899 in the Western Electrician which Marvin describes as an effort "to efface the damaging accusation of outsider":
"Although Italian on his father's side and by birth, Marconi's mother was an Englishwoman, and in general appearance, complexion and manner the inventor is seemingly a young and clear complexioned Englishman, Signor Marconi is a man of medium height and slender, with blue eyes and clean-shaven face, except for a slight mustache. He is of a retiring disposition. As might be expected, he speaks English like a native..."
All this is on page 46 of her book, for quotophiles.
Nancy _______________________________________________ The air-l@listserv.aoir.org mailing list is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org
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