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Marisa Parker
a book bubble about
Goodbye to Italia
Biographies & Memoirs
Author Insight
Words and the language of it
I’ve always loved how just one word can be so evocative: Each of the names of the four seasons said out loud bring pictures to my mind. Or what about food words preceded by a descriptor…fresh bread; mulled wine; cheesy pizza…yum! Whenever we talk or read—the use of specific words and how they are placed in a sentence—can reveal much of ourselves to others. I find true joy in listening to an articulate and knowledgeable (not arrogant) person and/or reading a well-written book. I can even forgive grammatical errors, if a story has been cleverly crafted, so that it pulls me in and along, as if I’m a part of that world, and not just as an observer. Different languages have different sounds. And, so it was, for my father and his Italian compatriots when they were in a South Africa POW camp in World War 2. Trust the Italians to find some amusement when discussing the Afrikaans language.
Book Excerpt
Goodbye to Italia
‘The South African soldiers are called Afrikaners and they are Dutch descendants. And they speak a language called Afrikaans.’ I explain that night when we are having dinner.
‘But someone called them another word beginning with B.’ There are a few raised eyebrows at that but we soon find out that the word is Boers— the Dutch word for farmers.
It would only be in 1967 that the Commandant of Zonderwater, Colonel Hendrik Fredrik Prinsloo, would be commended as a genius in his POW administration and for the coordination of the barracks that were eventually built.
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