Culaccino: A Wet Glass's Watermark on a Table in Italian
Cultural footprints in languages, creativity in childhood games, and stories
Language reveals a lot more about cultures than we realize. Italian and Japanese cultures, in my opinion, are excellent examples. Because it hasn't even been a year since I began writing here, I haven't been able to write about hundreds or thousands of words in this newsletter yet—hopefully in the coming years—but some nuances in language choices already provide hints about them.
Italians, for example, are known as a culture that enjoys eating and socializing. I can attest to this as someone who began learning Italian, traveled there, and adores Italy. Beyond that, the fact that it has special words for food hints at this. For example, they have a special word for scraping the remaining sauce from the bottom of a plate of food: scarpetta. With a lovely analogy, this word, which means small shoes, is also used for bread that takes the remaining sauce from the plate. Isn't it adorable?
Similarly, the Japanese place a high value on nature, as evidenced by the abundance of special words. Among them are hatsuyuki, hanakotoba, ikebana, and komorebi.
I'm sure many different patterns will emerge as I work on more words.
Culaccino is a word that Italians use specifically for food culture. The puddle that forms around the base of a cold glass after it has been placed on a table or other surface is referred to as a culaccino.
I'm sure this has happened to everyone at some point, even those living at the poles. I suppose poeple in Antarctica don't need cold drinks very often; after all, it is a place known for being cold, but I've never been there and don't know much, so I’d better not make guesses.
Culaccino was one of my favorite things as a tool of game as a kid. After drinking my water of lemonade in the cold glass with pleasure, I would lift it up and make shapes with the puddle with my fingers, and I would make up dreams about these shapes. It would take a long time until after a while my mom wiped the table or I switched to something else interesting and forgot my culaccino picture.
Culaccino has become a dirt for me now as an adult and I've taken over the role of my mother, which I need to wipe away quickly so that it doesn't leave a stain on the table. I’d forgotten about those childhood games while researching for the word of this week until I came across this interesting and cute Italian word.
This is most likely one of the most significant differences between adulthood and childhood. For children, everything is a game or a story tool. Adults, on the other hand, are so focused on the "work and tasks" that must be completed in order to maintain order that "games and stories" that pierce the magic of the world into our souls can occupy only a small space in our lives.
The magician of our soul, on the other hand, requires games and stories. Even if the game is only played once in a while to keep the kids entertained, it would be a good idea to leave room for stories, including fairy tales. That’s why I save my time for reading children’s books and love them. I also strongly advise you to do so.
Thanks for reading!
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