ConseggioLigure/zenamt huggingface dataset:
Ligurian:
# Chi veu ben a-o Gioan veu ben a-o seu can.

Se ti veu ben à quarchedun ti veu ben à tutto de lê, compreiso o can, e a-i seu gusti e e preferense, fiña sensa ëse animalisti pe fòrsa.

English translation:
# Chi vuole bene a Giovanni vuole bene al suo cane.

Those who love someone love everything about him, including his dog, and his tastes and preferences, even without necessarily being animal lovers.
Ligurian:
# À San Bastian cresce o giorno un passo de can.

A-i vinti de zenâ a duâ do giorno a s’é za un pittin allonghia, confronto à un meise avanti.

English translation:
# A San Sebastiano cresce il giorno un passo di cane.

On the twentieth of January the length of the day has already grown a little, compared to a month earlier.
Ligurian:
# Pottiggio de zenâ, pua d’agosto

Donde gh’é da bratta à zenâ, d’agosto ghe saiâ nint’atro che pua: o mondo o cangia a-a lesta.

English translation:
# Fanghiglia di gennaio, polvere d’agosto

Where there’s mud in January, there will be dust in August: the world changes rapidly.
Ligurian:
# Chi veu ben a-o Segnô, veu ben a-i seu santi.

Beseugna ëse coerenti e piggiâ tutto o pacchetto; inta vitta de tutti i giorni: se ti veu ben à unna persoña ti te devi rescignâ, inte çerti limiti, a-i seu mendi.

English translation:
# Chi vuole bene al Signore, vuole bene ai suoi santi.

One must be consistent and take the whole package; in everyday life: if you love a person, you have to resign yourself, within certain limits, to their flaws.
Ligurian:
# Chi veu e fighe chiñe e ramme, chi veu e figge cæze e mamme.

Metodi de antighi cegoin un tanto a-o masso: stâ apreuvo a-a moæ con comprimenti e atro se se ti gh’æ scimpatia pe-a figgia. Da osservâ che «mamma» in zeneise veu dî ciuttòsto _«balia»_, ma chì a ghe sta pe-a rimma. _«Mamma»_ se ghe dixe «moæ», ò «mamà».

English translation:
# He who wants figs must lower the branches, he who wants the girls must caress the mommas.

Methods of old-fashioned wholesale seducers: court the mother with compliments and the like if you fancy the daughter. Note that _“mamma”_ in Genoese means rather “wet nurse,” but here it works for the rhyme. “Mother” is said _“moæ”_, or _“mamà”_.
Ligurian:
# Chi veu de l’ægua pua vagghe a-a vivagna.

Contra e _fake news_: se se veu avei de notiçie vee o l’à da anâ da chi l’é testemònio do fæto, apreuvo che i parli che gia en pe-o ciù di ciæti insciæ.

English translation:
# He who wants pure water must go to the source.

Against _fake news_: if you want true news you must go to the one who witnessed the fact, since the talk going around is mostly inflated chatter.
Ligurian:
# Chi veu piggiâ di fruti no scròlle l’erbo quand’o l’é in sciô.

Un proverbio contra e violense domesteghe contra i figgeu e contra i metodi dagæxi di meistri de unna vòtta: se ti veu che un figgeu o vëgne sciù ben, no ti l’æ da piccâ.

English translation:
# He who wants to gather fruit must not shake the tree while it is in bloom.

A proverb against domestic violence toward children and against the heavy-handed methods of teachers of times past: if you want a child to grow up well, you mustn’t beat him.
Ligurian:
# Chi veu sentî i lamenti vagghe à trovâ i manenti.

I manenti, a-o manco unna vòtta, ean avvoxæ pe-e seu lamente, che tiavan à mezo tanto da dâ meno palanche a-o patron.

English translation:
# Chi vuol sentire i lamenti vada a trovare i coloni.

Sharecroppers, at least once upon a time, were renowned for their complaints, which were aimed at handing over less money to the landowner.
Ligurian:
# Chi veu vive ben e san pisce spesso comme o can.

Nòrma igienica: fa ben a-a salute beive tanto e oinâ de spesso.

English translation:
# Chi vuole vivere bene e sano orini spesso come il cane.

A hygienic rule: it is good for one’s health to drink plenty and urinate often.
Ligurian:
# Chi veu vagghe, chi no veu mande.

I travaggi ciù importanti l’é megio fâseli da pe niatri.

English translation:
# Chi vuole vada, chi non vuole mandi.

The most important tasks are better handled in person.
Ligurian:
# O l’é comme quelli de Fumæri, che semeñan agogge pe accheugge päfæri.

Se træta de persoñe che çercan à ottegnî ciù che peuan, con fâ o minimo indispensabile. Fumæri, un pòsto de l’introtæra ligure, o ghe sta solo pe fâ rimma.

English translation:
# È come quelli di Fumeri, che seminano aghi per raccogliere pali di ferro.

These are people who try to get as much as possible while doing the bare minimum. Fumeri, a village in the Ligurian hinterland, is there only for the sake of the rhyme.
Ligurian:
# Chi veu vinçe unna lite bisà ch’o fruste i scæn de Paxo.

Pâ che i zeneixi no aggian mai fæto guæi conto in sciâ giustiçia: guägnâ unna lite vëgne à costâ dinæ e un muggio de tempo e giamin. Pe tanti anni l’antigo Paxo, vegia sede do Duxe do senato da Repubrica, o l’à ospitou o tribunâ.

English translation:
# Chi vuole vincere una lite bisogna che consumi i gradini di Palazzo Ducale.

It seems that Genoese have never put much faith in justice: winning a lawsuit costs money and a great deal of time and effort. For many years the ancient Palazzo Ducale, seat of the Doge and the senate of the Republic, also housed the court.
Ligurian:
# Chi veu vive san e ben pigge o mondo comme o ven.

Chi s’accontenta e o no se â piggia mai a-o cheu, o vive ciù ben. Beseugna «dâghe de l’äia».

English translation:
# Chi vuole vivere sano e bene, prenda il mondo come viene.

Those who are content and never take things to heart live better. You have to “let it slide.”
Ligurian:
# Chi veu vive san e netto, se desbarasse avanti d’anâ in letto.

Nòrma igienica: sens’atro se dòrme ciù ben se s’é anæto de còrpo.

English translation:
# Chi vuole vivere sano e netto, si liberi prima di andare a letto.

A rule of hygiene: one certainly sleeps better after having moved one’s bowels.
Ligurian:
# Chi vive de reddito vive de misëia.

Perché palanche no ghe ne intra e o deve dâ mente a-o citto.

English translation:
# Chi vive di reddito vive di miseria.

Because no money comes in and he has to watch every penny.
Ligurian:
# Chi zazzuña e atro ben no fa à cà do diao drito o ghe va.

I zeneixi an un conçetto da religion attivo, ciù che contemplativo.

English translation:
# Chi digiuna e altro bene non va dritto a casa del diavolo.

Genoese people have an active conception of religion, rather than a contemplative one.
Ligurian:
# Chi zeuga pe-o beseugno, perde pe-a neçescitæ.

Mettise à zugâ d’azzardo a no l’é de seguo unna mainea de sciortî da-o beseugno.

English translation:
# Chi gioca per bisogno perde per necessità.

Taking up gambling is certainly not a way to escape from need.
Ligurian:
# À San Lucco a semensa dapertutto.

A-i dixeutto d’ottobre o gran o vëgne semenou da tutte e bande se pòsse semenâ, a-o manco inte l’ambiente paisan da vallâ de l’Arreuscia, donde s’é piggiou o proverbio.

English translation:
# A San Luca la semenza dappertutto.

On the eighteenth of October, wheat is sown wherever possible, at least in the rural environment of the Arroscia valley, where the proverb was collected.
Ligurian:
# Ottobre cantinê, o mua l’uga in vin.

Do meise d’ottobre, o mosto o comensa à cangiâse da maniman in vin.

English translation:
# October the cellarman turns grapes into wine.

In the month of October, the must begins little by little to turn into wine.
Ligurian:
# À San Brunon combi in proçescion.

D’in gio a-a festa de San Brun gh’é a migraçion di combi.

English translation:
# A San Brunone colombi in processione.

Around the feast of San Bruno the migration of doves takes place.
Ligurian:
# Fiña a Madònna a l’é chinâ d’in sce l’ase pe cheugge unna fregoggia de pan.

Se træta do tempo da fuga da Sacra Famiggia inte l’Egitto e ô se dixe pe fâ accapî à quarchidun, mascime à un figgeu, che no beseugna asgreiâ ninte, ma tegnî da conto de tutto, perché no se sa mai.

English translation:
# Even the Madonna got down from the donkey to pick up a crumb of bread.

This refers to the time of the Holy Family’s flight into Egypt and is said to make someone understand, especially a child, that nothing should be wasted, but everything should be kept carefully, because you never know.
Ligurian:
# Sempre ben no se peu stâ.

Unna veitæ evidente, ma che s’ascordemmo delongo.

English translation:
# Sempre bene non si può stare.

An obvious truth, but one we always forget.
Ligurian:
# De za che ti gh’æ a bocca averta, ciamma un pö mæ moæ.

Esprescion proverbiale pe sottoliniâ a pôtronaia de quarchidun, ch’o pâ ch’o çerche à mette à fruto tutte e occaxoin, basta no fâ ninte; fiña che quarchidun o l’agge de za a bocca averta pe ciammâ sue moæ, comme s’o foïse chi sa che travaggio fadigoso.

English translation:
# Già che hai la bocca aperta, chiama un po’ mia mamma.

A proverbial expression used to underline someone’s slothfulness, as they seem to seize upon every opportunity just to avoid doing anything themselves; even the fact that someone happens to already have their mouth open is reason enough to ask them to call their mother, as though it were some terribly burdensome task.
Ligurian:
# O pê de l’ortoan o no guasta l’òrto.

Chi l’é do mestê o no roviña o seu travaggio, perché o sa cös’o se fa e no beseugna mostrâghelo.

English translation:
# The gardener’s foot does not ruin the garden.

Those who are in the trade do not ruin their own work, because they know what they are doing, and one should not presume to teach them.
Ligurian:
# Quande o çê o l’é fæto à pan, se no ceuve ancheu ceuve doman.

Un atro proverbio in sciô tempo, che no se sa quante seggian attendibili.

English translation:
# Quando il cielo è fatto a pani, se non piove oggi piove domani.

Another proverb about the weather, whose reliability is anyone’s guess.
Ligurian:
# Portofin scuo, ceuve seguo.

Quande e nuvie s’ammuggian derê a-e montagne, l’é de bon antevedde che ceuve.

English translation:
# Portofino buio, piove di sicuro.

When clouds gather behind the mountains, it’s easy to predict that it will rain.
Ligurian:
# Se no ceuve de marso, no gh’é ni fen nì atro.

Perché se no ceuve l’erba a stenta a cresce.

English translation:
# Se non piove di marzo, non c’à né fieno né altro.

Because if it doesn’t rain, the grass struggles to grow.
Ligurian:
# Rave pe pisciâ faxeu pe scorrezzâ

Conseggi dietetichi.

English translation:
# Turnips for pissing, beans for farting

Dietary advice.
Ligurian:
# Quande o lô o l’à famme, o s’attacca fiña a-e poasse.

Atro proverbio ch’o parla de bestie pe alludde a-i òmmi: quande s’é into beseugno vëgne tutto à taggio e perdemmo a moscitæ.

English translation:
# When the wolf is hungry, it even gnaws at the vine shoots.

Another proverb that speaks of animals to allude to human beings: when one is in need, anything can be useful.
Ligurian:
# Neive settembriña, neuve vòtte giassiña.

A neive de settembre a peu avei o mæximo effetto in sciô seu de tanto fuggiamme.

English translation:
# Neve settembrina, nove volte pacciame.

Snow in September can have the same effect on the soil as plenty of mulch.
Ligurian:
# O merlo o dixe a-o cröo: comme t’ê neigro!

Se dixe quande quarchedun o caccia in euggio à un atro i mæximi mendi ch’o l’à za lê. Comme «o poieu o dixe moro tento a-a cæña».

English translation:
# The blackbird says to the crow: how black you are!

It is said when someone reproaches another for the very same faults he himself has. Like _“o poieu o dixe moro tento a-a cæña”_.
Ligurian:
# O poieu o dixe moro tento a-a cæña.

Se dixe quande quarchedun o caccia in euggio à un atro i mæximi mendi ch’o l’à za lê. Comme _«o merlo o dixe a-o cröo: comme t’ê neigro!»_.

English translation:
# The cauldron tells the chain it has a dirty face.

It is said when someone reproaches another for the very faults he himself has. Like _“o merlo o dixe a-o cröo: comme t’ê neigro!”_.
Ligurian:
# Sensa vin se navega, sensa mogogni no.

I zeneixi tëgnan pe importante comme tutto a libertæ de poula, de lamentâse, de dî a sò opinion.

English translation:
# Senza vino si naviga, senza mugugni no.

The Genoese consider freedom of speech, of complaining, of having one’s say, to be of the utmost importance.
Ligurian:
# Chi à cointa ch’o vagghe à pê.

Tante vòtte se fa ciù fito à fâ da niatri che à çercâ de l’aggiutto.

English translation:
# Chi ha fretta vada a piedi.

Many times it’s quicker to do things on your own than to seek help.
Ligurian:
# À chi se ïsa de bon mattin no ghe manca ni pan ni vin.

Comme o proverbio italian ch’o dixe che o mattin o gh’à l’öo in bocca.

English translation:
# A chi si alza di buon mattino non manca né pane né vino.

Like the Italian proverb that says the morning has gold in its mouth.
Ligurian:
# O fruto proibio o l’é o ciù savoio.

Proverbio ch’o no l’à de beseugno de spiegaçioin, de unna psicologia elementare.

English translation:
# Il frutto proibito è il più saporito.

A proverb that needs no explanation, of elementary psychology.
Ligurian:
# Se ceuve a-a Rammoia, a brigna a vëgne caniggia.

Segondo sto proverbio meteorològico, se ceuve a domenega di Parmê, i brignoin se guastan e vëgnan secchi.

English translation:
# If it rains on Palm Sunday, the plum turns into a bozzacchione.

According to this weather proverb, if it rains on the Sunday before Easter, the plums spoil and shrivel up.
Ligurian:
# Doî capitanni, barco inti scheuggi.

Proverbio de scignificato analogo à quello italian ch’o sostëgne che _“troppi cuochi guastano la cucina”_.

English translation:
# Two captains, ship onto the rocks.

A proverb similar in meaning to the Italian one which holds that “too many cooks spoil the broth.”
Ligurian:
# A raxon a se dà a-i nesci.

Proverbio de scignificato analogo à quello italian ch’o sostëgne che _“ai pazzi si dà sempre ragione”_: de vòtte, pe gödî a paxe, conven accontentâ i atri.

English translation:
# La ragione si dà agli sciocchi.

A proverb similar in meaning to the Italian one that holds that “ai pazzi si dà sempre ragione”: sometimes, for the sake of a quiet life, it is best to humor others.
Ligurian:
# Zenâ i fratti, frevâ i gatti, marso i chen, pe tutto o resto i crestien.

Proverbio ch’o l’indica i periodi che e bestie comensan a seu saxon amosa; o l’attribuisce, de mainea burlesca e irriverente, zenâ a-i fratti.

English translation:
# In January the friars, in February the cats, in March the dogs, for all the rest the Christians.

A proverb indicating the periods when different animals would begin their mating season, jokingly and irreverently assigning January to the friars.
Ligurian:
# Emmo pagou trei citti pe mogognâ.

O se repòrta a-a lezzendia segondo a quæ i mainæ zeneixi açettavan unna mermansa de paga, basta poeise lamentâ à bòrdo.

English translation:
# We paid three cents to grumble.

This refers to the legend according to which Genoese sailors accepted a pay cut in order to be allowed to complain on board.
Ligurian:
# L’amô do mainâ o dua unn’oa, perché inte tutti i pòrti ch’o va o s’innamoa.

A l’ea conosciua a libertæ sessuale di mainæ quand’ean lontan da cà.

English translation:
# L’amore del marinaio dura un’ora, perché in tutti i porti dove va si innamora.

The sexual freedom of sailors far from home was well known.
Ligurian:
# Passou o monte de Portofin, te saluo moggê che son fantin.

Pâ che unna vòtta lontan da Zena o mainâ o se tegnisse pe libeo da ògni ligammo d’amô.

English translation:
# Passato il monte di Portofino, ti saluto moglie che sono celibe.

It seems that once far from Genoa, the sailor considered himself free from any romantic bond.
Ligurian:
# Maio, malanni e guai, no mancan mai.

O se ghe diva pe consolâ a figgia ch’a no trovava de maio.

English translation:
# Marito, malanni e guai, non mancano mai.

It was said to console the girl who couldn’t find a husband.
Ligurian:
# À Pasqueta o giorno o cresce unn’oeta.

In zeneise l’Epifania se ghe dixe Pasqueta, saieiva à dî «a festa picciña» in rappòrto a-o Dënâ, stante che «Pasqua», in italian ascì, o l’é un termine antigo pe dî «festa» (cfr. o mòddo de dî italian _«contento come una Pasqua»_).

English translation:
# On Epiphany the day grows by an hour.

In Genoese, Epiphany is called _“Pasqueta”_, meaning “little feast” in relation to Christmas, since “Pasqua,” in Italian as well, is an old term for “feast” (cf. the Italian expression “contento come una Pasqua”).
Ligurian:
# E s’a cianze a l’à raxon, perché a l’é vegia e a no l’à ciù bon.

Ghe ô cantettavan à unna figgia ch’a rangognava perché o galante o l’aiva mollâ, e a l’ea unna mainea un pittin sgreuzza pe tentâ à consolâla. Comme dî: ti ne troviæ di atri pe coscì, no t’ê miga vegia.

English translation:
# E se piange ha ragione, perché è vecchia e non può più godere.

It was sung to a girl who was whimpering because her boyfriend had left her, and it was a somewhat rough way of trying to console her. As if to tell her: you’ll find as many others as you like, you’re not old at all.
Ligurian:
# Acciammo poæ chi me dà do travaggio.

Dito de tempi che o scindicato o no gh’ea ò o no contava ninte. Oua o no conta ciù ninte o mæximo, ma poæ o patron no ô ciamma ciù nisciun. Donca anemmo à rioso.

English translation:
# I call father whoever gives me work.

Said of times when the union didn’t exist or counted for nothing. Now it counts for nothing all the same, but no one calls the boss father anymore. So we’re going backwards.
Ligurian:
# L’òmmo e l’öxello o l’é sempre bello.

Dito ch’o pâ un pittin maiçioso, ma ch’o l’é solo animalista.

English translation:
# L’uomo e l’uccello è sempre bello.

A saying that may seem a bit mischievous, but it’s simply animal-loving.
Ligurian:
# L’é vegio chi meue alò.

Un ch’o meue de çinquant’anni o l’é sens’atro ciù vegio de un de novanta ch’o l’é ancon vivo.

English translation:
# È vecchio chi muore prima.

Someone who dies at fifty is certainly older than someone of ninety who is still alive.
Ligurian:
# I tempi che se ligava i chen co-e säçisse.

I tempi de föe, l’etæ de l’öo; ma o ô se dixe pe piggiâ un pö in gio quelli che rincianze delongo o passou, i _laudatores temporis acti_.

English translation:
# The times when dogs were tied up with sausages.

Fabled times, the golden age; but it is said to poke a bit of fun at those who always long for the past, the _laudatores temporis acti_.
Ligurian:
# Vesti un çeppo: o pâ un vesco.

O vestî o fa o fratte, pâ ch’o ne digghe o proverbio, a-a reversa de quello che se pensa pe commun.

English translation:
# Vesti un tronco d’albero: sembrerà un vescovo.

Clothes make the man, the proverb seems to tell us, contrary to what is usually thought.
Ligurian:
# Dæ da beive a-o præve che o cego o l’à sæ.

Si dice quando un de commando o reçeive lözi ò dinæ ò regalli pe fâ un travaggio che tocca fâ à un seu dependente ò sottopòsto.

English translation:
# Date da bere al prete che il chierico ha sete.

Said when someone in charge receives praise, money, or gifts for a job that will actually be carried out by one of his employees or subordinates.
Ligurian:
# Dagghe de l’äia e no te cruçiâ, chi se â piggia cada vege òsse o no peu fâ.

Convio à no stâsela mai à piggiâ a-o cheu, se se veu vive ben.

English translation:
# Dagli dell’aria e non ti crucciare, chi se la prende calda non può fare ossa vecchie.

An invitation not to take things too much to heart, if one wishes to live well.
Ligurian:
# Mette l’ase à cavallo.

Comme dî: fâ fâ bella figua à chi no se l’à guägno, ò o no se ô meita.

English translation:
# Mettere l’asino a cavallo.

That is: to make a good impression for someone who hasn’t earned it, or doesn’t deserve it.
Ligurian:
# Dâ i fenoggetti à l’ase.

O mæximo che dâ e perle a-i pòrchi.

English translation:
# Dare i finocchietti all’asino.

Same as casting pearls before swine.
Ligurian:
# Tutti san leze into sò messâ.

Ognidun se capisce da pe lê, perché o sa i seu problemi, ma o no peu speâ che tutti i atri o ô capiscian.

English translation:
# Everyone knows how to read in their own missal.

Each person knows their own problems, and knows what they are talking about, but cannot expect everyone else to understand.
Ligurian:
# Röba accattâ de venardì a no dua trei dì.

Fòscia perché de venardì i buttegæ çercavan à levâse de de lì à bon patto a röba ch’a se poeiva guastâ da lì à lunesdì, perché gh’ea a festa da mezo.

English translation:
# Goods bought on Friday don’t last three days.

Perhaps because on Fridays shopkeepers tried to get rid of foodstuffs cheaply that might spoil between then and Monday, with the holiday in between.
Ligurian:
# Da largo partio avvardime Dio.

Apreuvo che de soventi ascondan quarche gazibba.

English translation:
# Da ottime occasioni mi guardi Iddio.

Because they often hide deceptions.
Ligurian:
# O lô o cianze a pegoa e pöi o se â mangia.

Lagrime de coccodrillo preventive.

English translation:
# The wolf weeps for the sheep and then eats it.

Preemptive crocodile tears.
Ligurian:
# No se særa mai unna pòrta che no s’arve unna pòrta e un barcon.

Convio à speâ, perché à tutti i problemi se peu attrovâ recatto.

English translation:
# A door never closes without a door and a window opening.

An invitation to hope, since a solution can be found to every problem.
Ligurian:
# A-o primmo d’arvî tutti i scemmi se fan corrî.

Se reciamma chì l’usansa do «pescio d’arvî».

English translation:
# On the first of April all the fools are made to run around.

This refers to the custom of the “April fool.”
Ligurian:
# Se ti veu un bello aggiâ, metti l’aggio de frevâ; ma o villan, ch’o se n’intende, o ô mette de settembre.

Proverbio do mondo de l’agricoltua in sciô momento bon pe semenâ l’aggio. Gh’é de quelli che dixan che quande ô se semeña d’inverno, e teste vëgnan ciù gròsse. Unna variante de sto proverbio a parla de zenâ incangio de frevâ.

English translation:
# If you want a fine garlic field, sow the garlic in February; but the farmer, who knows his trade, sows it in September.

A proverb from the world of agriculture about the right time for sowing garlic. Some people maintain that when it is sown in winter, the heads grow larger. A variant of this proverb mentions January instead of February.
Ligurian:
# Marso sciuto e arvî bagnou, beato o villan chi à semenou.

Proverbio meteorològico, segondo o quæ de marso saieiva megio che no ciuvesse, tanto che d’arvî dovieiva ceuve.

English translation:
# Marzo asciutto e aprile bagnato, beato il contadino che ha seminato.

A weather proverb, according to which it would be better if it did not rain in March, while in April it should rain.
Ligurian:
# Arvî, fa bon dormî.

Quande l’äia a ven ciù tëia, se dòrme ciù voentea.

English translation:
# April, one sleeps easily.

When the air grows milder, one sleeps more willingly.
Ligurian:
# Arvî, ògni gossa un barî.

L’ægua ch’a ven d’arvî a fa bon pe-a vigna.

English translation:
# Aprile, ogni goccia un barile.

April rain is beneficial for the vineyard.
Ligurian:
# Mâ no fâ, poia no avei.

Convio a-a serenitæ, quande un o l’é in boña fede.

English translation:
# Male non fare, paura non avere.

An invitation to serenity, when one is acting in good faith.
Ligurian:
Cavalli a-a seia

Sovia a larga cianua verde-bruña, o sô o chinava da maniman verso a linia do tramonto, donde fie de arboe se deslenguavan inta negia çeneeña; e i cavalli corrivan, ma no se mesciavan de un passo, con tutto che i cavaggëi î spronavan à ciù no dî. E i cavalli à son de corrî aveivan o scciummasso a-a bocca, ma ean delongo in sciâ mæxima, e a çittæ lontaña in cangio d’avvexinâse paiva ch’a s’arrösesse ancon de ciù.

“Dond’anæ, dond’anæ?” ghe domandavan doî paisen a-i cavaggëi; “Verso a çittæ; ma no arrivemmo mai, no se porrià mai ciù arrivâ.”

– “E aloa fermæve” – ghe diva i paisen.

“A saià ancon tanto lonxi, a çittæ?” a l’ea a sola reprica.

E i paisen anavan, co-i pê inta bratta, e scrollavan a testa sensa giâse, verso a linia do sô a-o tramonto.

English translation:
Horses in the Evening

Above the great green-brown plain, the sun was slowly descending toward the line of the setting sun, where rows of poplars dissolved into the ashen mist; and the horses ran, but they did not move a single step, though the riders spurred them on with all their might. And the horses, from so much running, had foam at their mouths, yet they were always in the same place, and the distant city, instead of drawing nearer, seemed to recede even farther.

“Where are you going, where are you going?” two peasants asked the riders; “Toward the city, but we never arrive, we shall never be able to arrive.”

– “Then stop” – said the peasants.

“Is the city still very far?” was the only reply.

And the peasants went on, their feet in the mud, and shook their heads without turning around, toward the line of the setting sun.
Ligurian:
A spantaxima

No se peu ascordâ i vegi amixi, maniman pöi dixan che semmo desconoscenti; ò unna vegia spantaxima feua mòdda appeisa inte l’armäio, quarche vòtta â tio à mezo, ghe fasso piggiâ de l’äia, me â pòrto apreuvo inti mæ gii pe-a çittæ, tanto ch’a no fasse de camoe. No se sa guæi ben de chi a segge a spantaxima; fòscia a l’é pròpio a mæ; l’é vea che ancon no son mòrto, ma  d’atra parte no son mai pròpio visciuo davei, e donca a l’é a spantaxima de quello che no son mai stæto. Semmo tutti che o tempo ancon da vegnî o l’é za passou da tanto, e che quello za passou o l’à ancon da vegnî, e l’é pe quello che no gh’é de beseugno d’ëse mòrti pe ëse de spantaxime; lê a sa tutto quello che m’é accapitou e quello che m’accapitià, ma a no me ô dixe. Quande moiò, saiò lê pe-o tempo eterno, saiò a-o çentro de unna sfera donde ognidun de niatri o l’é tutti i atri, donde ògni ponto o l’é o çentro de tutta a sfera.

English translation:
The Ghost

One mustn’t forget old friends, otherwise they end up calling us ungrateful; I have an old, out-of-fashion ghost hanging in the wardrobe, every now and then I take him out, give him a bit of air, carry him with me on my walks through the city, so the moths won’t get him. It’s not quite clear whose ghost he is; perhaps he’s my own; true, I’m not dead yet, but on the other hand I have never really lived, and so he is the ghost of what I have never been. We all know that the time to come has long since passed, and that the time already gone has still to arrive, and that is why one needn’t be dead to be a ghost; he knows everything that has happened to me and everything that will happen, but he doesn’t tell me. When I die, I shall be him for all eternity, I shall be at the centre of a sphere where each of us is all the others, where every point is at the centre of the whole sphere.
Ligurian:
Unn’opinion beseugna aveighela

O personaggio assettou into bar, con l’impermeabile scuo, o l’ea in veña de confescioin, de descorrî, dimmoghe ascì de giappâ; e seu raxoin anavan e vegnivan comme i bacaletti a-a mæña e se sconfondeivan uña con l’atra. O giudicava e personalitæ da televixon, do cine, da politica e de l’attualitæ, o l’assolveiva e o condannava; de vòtte i seu parli ean säi e pin de sæximo, de vòtte redicoli e veui, e mi, tanto che ô stava à sentî, beveiva vin gianco e giasciugava di pistacci, ma no l’aiva ancon visto into moro. Un bello momento, o m’à piccou in sce unna spalla e o m’à dito: “E diggo à voî, no sei che quello che intravëgne into mondo o ne tocca tutti da-a vexin? Unn’opinion beseugna aveighea, maniman semmo sensa consciensa.” Me son virou à ammiâlo e m’ò attrovou poia; de testa o no n’aiva, a-o seu pòsto o gh’aiva unna bòccia rionda e liscia, sens’euggi ni naso e ni bocca, e in cangio de brasse gh’ea di bacchi lisci o mæximo, che finivan inte atre doe de bòcce. A-a cheita, me son arretiou e, in desdaxo, gh’ò dæto un sponcion; lê o s’é arrubattou pe-a tæra con un ramadan de l’açidente e o l’é anæto inte tanti tòcchi; clave, peixi e manisse da palestra, scròssoe e ommetti da appende i vestî ean spantegæ in sce l’astrego da tutte e bande.

English translation:
One Must Have an Opinion

The fellow sitting at the bar, in his dark raincoat, was in a confiding mood, eager to talk, indeed to prattle; his words came and went like waves on a beach, blurring into one another. He passed judgement on personalities from television, cinema, politics and current affairs, absolving and condemning; at times his remarks were wise and sensible, at times ridiculous and hollow, and I, as I listened, sipped white wine and chewed peanuts, though I still hadn’t seen his face. At a certain point, he tapped me on the shoulder and said: “I’m talking to you – don’t you know that what happens in the world concerns us all closely? One must have an opinion, otherwise we have no conscience.” I turned to look at him and was terrified; he had no head, in its place was a smooth round ball, with no eyes, no nose, no mouth, and instead of arms he had equally smooth sticks, ending in two more balls. I suddenly drew back and, without meaning to, gave him a shove; he rolled to the floor with an infernal clatter and broke into countless pieces; clubs, gym weights and dumbbells, crutches and coat hangers lay scattered all over the floor.
Ligurian:
A proçescion

Stamattin me son addesciou che i ratti m’aivan mangiou e gambe fin a-o zenoggio; “Ma peu ëse? – ò dito – che sti brutti ratti fan de sti schersci e â passan liscia?” M’ò ligou doî bacchi de spassoia a-e gambe pe poei camminâ e me son rebellou fin da-a taña, donde gh’an e seu cæ, e seu gexe, i seu offiçi, tutti ascoxi drento da miagia. “Vegnî feua, mori de zobbo – gh’ò braggiou – che no gh’ei cheu de affrontâ e conseguense de vòstre açioin”. L’é sciortio feua doî ratti e me fan: “Inlustriscimo scignoro, no ve poei allamentâ, v’emmo dæto a poscibilitæ de dâ da mangiâ a-a nòbile ligneua di ratti, a vòstra dediçion a saià compensâ inte sto mondo e inte quell’atro.” Into dî de coscì, son anæti torna drento e mi me son accoegou lì davanti. Dòppo un pittin, unna longa proçescion de ratti a l’é sciortia d’inta taña e into mezo da proçescion gh’ea unna buscioa con drento o Re di ratti, ch’o s’é fermou un momento de fronte à mi, o m’à saluou comme s’o me benedisse e dapeu o l’à tiou drito. Pròpio pe mi o s’ea fermou.

English translation:
The procession

This morning I woke up to find that the rats had eaten my legs all the way up to the knee; “How can this be? – I said – that these wretched rats play such tricks and get away with it?” I tied two broomsticks to my legs so I could walk and I dragged myself to the burrow, where they have their houses, their churches, their offices, all hidden inside the wall. “Come out, you shameless creatures – I shouted at them – you who haven’t the courage to face the consequences of your actions.” Two rats come out and say to me: “Most illustrious sir, you cannot complain, we have given you the chance to nourish the noble lineage of the rats, your devotion shall be rewarded in this world and the next.” So saying, they went back inside and I lay down there in front. After a while, a long procession of rats came out of the burrow and in the middle of the procession was a litter with the King of the rats inside, who paused for a moment before me, greeted me as though bestowing a blessing, and then went straight on. He had stopped just for me.
Ligurian:
Prinçipio d’ötunno

Inte unna seia da fin da stæ, ò prinçipio d’ötunno, ti monti de pe unna stradda deserta chi s’arrampiña tra de case erte, donde a luxe a meue into scilençio e tutto o l’é fermo areo; e feugge di platen no se mescian, e ombre cianzan e lagrime da neutte, e pâ fiña che pe quella stradda lì no segge mai passou nisciun. I pòrteghi spanzan a seu luxe, comme cappellette de unna gexa, inte oe d’atteisa de quarchidun che fòscia o no vegnià mai e tutte e cöse ch’en za accapitæ an ancon da accapitâ e tutte quelle ch’à da intravegnî en de za intravegnue, a-o lumme de quella luña ascosa tra i erboi. À unn’ertixe ch’a no se peu mesuâ, da un barcon a sagoma contraluxe de unna persoña, no sò se òmmo ò dònna; a staià ch’a m’ammia, ò a l’ammià da unn’atra parte, chi sa donde? Fòscia i seu euggi me fissan, fòscia fissan quarcösa, che mi no pòsso vedde, a-o de là de case. I delitti do mondo son za stæti compii, l’amô o l’é stæto rivelou, e lagrime son stæte cianzue. A-a cheita, un crio de dònna ertiscimo, da un de quelli palaçi, o rompe o scilençio e dapeu o s’attaxe. A sagoma de quella persoña contraluxe a no s’é mesciâ.

English translation:
Beginning of Autumn

On an evening of late summer, or early autumn, you climb a deserted street that winds up between tall houses, where the light dies in the silence and everything is perfectly still; the leaves of the plane trees do not stir, the shadows weep the tears of night, and it almost seems that no one has ever passed along that street. The doorways pour out their light, like the chapels of a church, in the hours of waiting for someone who perhaps will never come, and everything that has already happened has yet to happen, and all that is to happen has already occurred, beneath the gleam of that moon hidden among the trees. At an immeasurable height, from a window, the silhouette of a person against the light, I cannot tell if man or woman; he must be watching me, or perhaps looking elsewhere, who knows where? Perhaps his eyes are fixed on me, perhaps on something I cannot see, beyond the houses. The crimes of the world have already been committed, love has revealed itself, the tears have already been wept. Suddenly, a woman’s scream, very high, from one of those buildings, breaks the silence and then falls still. The silhouette of that person against the light has not moved.
Ligurian:
L’arte do compoxitô

L’arte do veo, do grande compoxitô a sciòrte feua into momento ch’a taxe, apreuvo che tutto o dô, o patimento, tutta l’erlia pe-a grammixe de sto mondo, ma ascì a feliçitæ, a giromia, a bonombra ch’a ne dà a vitta no se peuan esprimme con nisciun son, à nisciuña mainea, feua che co-o scilençio, chi contëgne tutti i soin e tutti i sentimenti  poscibili. Donca, i sëi cantanti de l’òpera sensa titolo, in cartellon a-o Metropolitan Opera House, sotta a direçion do grande Straniowsky, son stæti sitti pe tutte e træ oe da representaçion; reddeni e dui, o sopran, o tenô e o contræto, co-o cheu piccin comme unna nisseua, no s’ammiavan manco into moro; o mezosopran a paiva un muggetto de zimme asmòrte pe-a melanconia, stæto ammaloccou e cacciou inte un canto; i doî basci paivan fiña ciù erti; o meistro o l’ea pacciacomòvio co-e brasse incroxæ, ma se veddeiva che de drento o l’ea un vorcan de lava a-o boggio. I orchestrali da prestigiosa instituçion son stæti fermi liatri ascì, ognidun a-o seu pòsto, sciben che ghe straluxiva da-a caa boffua tutta a coæ de grattâ, pestâ e sciusciâ i seu strumenti. Stæto finio o spettacolo, o compoxitô o l’à diciarou ch’o no scrivià mai ciù unn’euvia pægia, perché a ghe costa tròppo giamin mentale. O pubrico, comme l’é giusto, o no l’a manco cioccou de moen; tutti son stæti sciù e se n’en anæti in scilençio.

English translation:
The Composer’s Art

The art of the truly great composer is revealed in the moment when he falls silent, for all the sorrow, the suffering, all the anguish over the wickedness of this world, but also the happiness, the joy, the good cheer that life gives us cannot be expressed by any sound, in any way, except through silence, which contains all sounds and all possible feelings. Therefore, the six singers of the untitled opera, on the bill at the Metropolitan Opera House, under the direction of the great Straniowsky, remained silent for all three hours of the performance; stiff and rigid, the soprano, the tenor and the contralto, with hearts as small as hazelnuts, did not even look at one another; the mezzo-soprano seemed a little heap of sparks extinguished by melancholy, balled up and tossed into a corner; the two basses appeared almost taller; the maestro was impassive with his arms folded, but one could see that inside he was a volcano of boiling lava. The orchestra members of the prestigious institution likewise remained motionless, each in his place, though their apoplectic faces betrayed all their longing to scrape, pound and blow upon their instruments. Once the performance was over, the composer declared that he would never again write such an opera, because it cost him too much mental effort. The audience, as is only right, did not even applaud; everyone rose and left in silence.
Ligurian:
L’astrego da cantiña

Unna sfera de cô rosso a se mescia cian cianin verso unn’atra sfera giänente con di imbatti gianchi. Ah, gianca giana piccaggia da stradda sotta o sô do poidisnâ de scarma; unna seçia chi annonçia a mòrte a me deslengua i pê tanto che vaggo e coscì lascio in tæra unna striscia comme a lumassa. Sto sô, ch’o no â finisce de piccâ in sciâ testa a-i meschinetti, e mosche  che gian d’in gio a-o bollacco da rumenta e un trapeçio equilatero, che into mæximo tempo o l’é un triangolo scalen, o s’é fermou sotta o vòrto de un pòrtego a-o scuo, o l’ammia passâ e gente e intanto o dà da mangiâ a-i combi; in sciô canto, unna scatoa de coccodrilli imbriæghi che cantan vege cansoin d’amô. Piggio a scâ chi chiña in cantiña e e lagrime de mæ poæ stissan de tra e sganzie de bottigge; che peccou no avei bevuo à basta. Bocche de dònna fan giâ a lengua e pâ che promettan di pareixi de carne à chi ghe bastià o cheu de avvexinâle. L’astrego da cantiña o l’é formou da-i marmai de tombe stæte ascordæ, che no se leze manco ciù cöse gh’é  scrito in çimma. Ghe saià scrito che a nòstra vitta a l’é tutta un testo à fronte? Da unna parte o spuo, o sangue, e lagrime, a bratta, a gnisca, che coran de sà e de là; da l’atra l’interpretaçion che ne demmo, o çercâ à accapîghe quarcösa, à mette insemme un descorso sensou; o testo à fronte, ch’o ne scappa delongo e o no stà guæi insemme, o cangia à segonda di traduttoî e de chi leze, o creua de chì e de lì, o fa danno da tutte e bande.

English translation:
The cellar floor

A red sphere moves slowly toward another sphere with white reflections. Ah, white yellow ribbon of road beneath the thirsty afternoon sun; a drought that heralds death melts my feet as I walk and so I leave a streak on the ground like a snail. This sun, which won’t stop beating down on the heads of the poor wretches, the flies circling the rubbish bin and an equilateral trapezium, which is at the same time a scalene triangle, has stopped beneath the vault of a darkened doorway, watches the people pass and meanwhile feeds the pigeons; on the corner, a box of drunken crocodiles singing old love songs. I take the stairs down to the cellar and my father’s tears drip between the shelves of bottles; a pity not to have drunk enough. Women’s mouths roll their tongues and seem to promise paradises of flesh to whoever has the courage to draw near. The cellar floor is made from the marble of forgotten tombs, whose inscriptions can no longer even be read. Will it say there that our life is all a parallel text? On one side the saliva, the blood, the tears, the mud, the dung, running here and there; on the other the interpretation we give of it, trying to make some sense of it, to put together a coherent discourse; the parallel text, which always slips away from us and does not hold together at all, changes according to the translators and to whoever reads it, falls apart here and there, leaks from every side.
Ligurian:
I angei

I pòrteghi de case moderne, de tra e grende stradde larghe de neuve çittæ, son ciæi, spaçioxi, ma se ti î ammii da-a vexin, ti veddi che o sô o se gh’appösa stracco e angosciou, che i tappeti en pin de pua, quelli päçenie en carreghi de cicche asmòrte e nisciun no î veua mai, i spegi son brutti de diæ. A luxe do poidisnâ ascidiou a zinzaña in scî veddri e te ven coæ de domandâte: ma chi passa mai de de chì? Ghe n’é de quelli che ghe l’à co-o Segnô, apreuvo ch’o consente o dô e i patimenti do mondo, e pestegadde, e guære e a famme, ma no san che inta seu onnipotensa, inta seu miseicòrdia o Segnô o no consente che o Segnô o l’existe; tròppo còmmodo accaxonâlo lê pe quello che femmo niatri. O Segnô, ch’o peu tutto, o s’avvarda ben da l’existe; coscì, comme no gh’é nisciun Dê da pregâ, e gexe son veue, e cappellette a-i recanti de stradde no gh’an de luxe de drento. Niatri ammiemmo in erto e lasciù, da-e grende veddræ de case moderne, che gh’an l’imbatto do sô a-o tramonto, de belle vòtte poemmo vedde di angei che van e vëgnan co-a borsa de pelle sotta o brasso; preuvo à fâghe di segni, ma lô no me veddan, no ammian zu in basso. Vëgne a neutte, i angei no se veddan ciù; restemmo chì, à aspëtâ che vëgne doman mattin.

English translation:
The Angels

The doorways of modern houses, along the wide new streets of new cities, are bright and spacious, but if you look at them up close, you see that the sun rests upon them weary and bored, that the carpets are full of dust, the ashtrays loaded with spent cigarette butts that no one ever empties, the mirrors smudged with fingerprints. The light of the bored afternoon lingers on the windowpanes and you feel like asking yourself: but who ever passes through here? There are some who are angry with the Lord, because He permits the world’s pain and suffering, the plagues, the wars, and the famine, but they do not know that in His omnipotence, in His mercy the Lord does not permit the Lord to exist; too convenient to accuse Him of what we ourselves do. The Lord, who can do all things, takes good care not to exist; thus, since there is no God to pray to, the churches are empty, the little wayside shrines at the street corners have no light within. We look upward and up there, through the great windows of the modern houses, which reflect the setting sun, many times we can see angels coming and going with leather briefcases under their arms; I try to wave to them, but they do not see me, they do not look down. Night falls, the angels are no longer visible; we remain here, waiting for tomorrow morning to come.
Ligurian:
Balloin aerostatichi

No ghe peu ëse accobbiamento, tra òmmo e dònna, se no gh’é de l’aggrescivitæ; o l’é un avanso di tempi lonten de l’anteistöia, che i mascci aivan da scombatte pe avei a fumella, apreuvo che lê no l’é miga dito che ghe foïse cao, de accobbiâse; ançi e ciù tante vòtte a no n’oeiva savei de sottostâ a-a penetraçion. De conseguensa, a violensa a ghe voeiva e ne gh’é arrestou into sangue l’instinto, ch’o ven feua fiña inti momenti ciù tenei, quande no se l’aspëtemmo. Oua, se e cöse van de coscì pe un atto mai tanto importante comme fâ l’amô, appensæve un pittin cöse dev’ëse quande femmo de atre cöse meno importante, che no ghe demmo manco a mente, da tanto che semmo piggiæ da un muggio de penscëi despægi. Tutte e nòstre açioin no son e nòstre, ma de quarchidun atro, ch’o l’à compie avanti de niatri, ò ch’o ê compià dapeu; apreuvo che e cöse ch’à da vegnî condiçioñan, sensa che s’accorzemmo, tutta a nòstra vitta de ancheu, pròpio comme i atti do passou ne cangian o nòstro ëse, giorno pe giorno. Comme di balloin aerostatichi, naveghemmo portæ da-o vento de sà e de là, co-a memöia de l’avvegnî ch’a ne se mesccia con quella de cöse l’é stæto: in erto no gh’ammiemmo mai, ò tòsto mai; solo che quarche vòtta, avanti o seunno da mattin, ch’o pòrta l’argento di seunni fäsci, mescciæ co-a veitæ, ne pâ de stravedde unna luxe, che fòscia o l’é o ciæo de stelle.

English translation:
Hot-Air Balloons

There can be no coupling between man and woman without some aggression; it is a residue from the distant times of prehistory, when males had to fight to win the female, since it is by no means certain that she enjoyed mating; on the contrary, more often than not she wanted nothing to do with submitting to penetration. Consequently, violence was necessary, and the instinct of it has remained in our blood, surfacing even in the tenderest moments, when we least expect it. Now, if things go this way for an action as important as making love, just think what it must be like when we do other, less important things, things we don’t even pay attention to, so taken are we by all manner of different thoughts. None of our actions are our own, but rather belong to someone else, who performs them before us, or who will perform them after; for the things to come condition, without our noticing, the whole of our present life, just as the deeds of the past alter our being, day by day. Like hot-air balloons, we sail along, carried by the wind hither and thither, with the memory of the future blending into that of what has been: upward we never look, or almost never; only at times, before the morning sleep, harbinger of the silver of false dreams mingled with truth, do we seem to glimpse a light, which is perhaps the glimmer of the stars.
Ligurian:
Inta fonda neutte

Inta fonda neutte o cheu o s’asconde de derê à de miage neigre, o monta verso de stelle neigre, che no gh’an ciù de memöia e ni de poula, o çervello asmòrto o navega con de ae scue de derê à de bandete scue. A-i pê de unna tore merlâ, neigra contra a luxe da luña, mi m’assetto e me recillo, vento de antighe istöie, che son tòsto scentæ d’inta mæ testa. O mondo o no l’à ciù nisciuña forma, à l’ombra da tore merlâ, e tutto o ben e o mâ se son ascoxi; quande me redesciò, torniò à ingheugge o fî da memöia, à destegâ penscëi. Ma pe oua ninte, solo che scuo e un öxelletto, ch’o bottezza e o pittetta inta giæa do riâ, ch’o strixella inte ceighe do veuo assoluo. Oua, da maniman m’accòrzo che l’öxelletto o schitta in sce l’oexin do velluo desccegou inte l’äia da neutte e l’ombra a no l’é ciù ombra, ma a l’é un resciöo de sô, ch’o s’arve da-o ninte, donde sciòrte un erboo, ch’o sponcia e seu ramme verso tutte e asmie comme lampi de ciæo e quande unna cà a-i pê de l’erboo a l’arve a seu pòrta, mi intro e m’assetto in pôtroña, inta salla piña de sô.

English translation:
In the deep night

In the deep night the heart hides behind black walls, climbs toward black stars that have no memory or word any longer, the extinguished brain sails with dark wings behind shadowy fans. At the foot of a battlemented tower, black against the moonlight, I sit and refresh myself, wind of ancient stories that have nearly fled from my head. The world no longer has any form, in the shadow of the battlemented tower, and all good and evil have hidden themselves; when I awaken, I shall once more wind the thread of memory, shell out thoughts. But for now nothing, only darkness and a little bird that hops and pecks in the gravel of the stream that flows in the folds of the absolute void. Now, little by little, I notice that the little bird is hopping on the edge of the velvet spread out in the night air and the shadow is no longer shadow, but is a chink of sunlight, opening out of nothing, from which a tree emerges, thrusting its branches in every direction like flashes of brightness, and when a house at the foot of the tree opens its door, I go in and sit down in an armchair, in the room full of sunlight.