Ligurian:
# Elsa Pastorin Alloisio (1918–2016)

Nasciua à Sestri Ponente, dond’a l’à sempre visciuo, a Elsa Pastorin a l’ea intrâ da figgetta comme operäia inta «Ceramica Ligure Vaccari» de Bòrzoi e dapeu, dòppo o maiezzo, a s’é missa à travaggiâ in casa comme recammadoa de traverse a-a zeneise. A l’à visciuo de persoña i anni dramatichi da segonda guæra mondiale, a l’ea antifascista e dònna impegnâ politicamente à Senestra. A l’à comensou a seu attivitæ de poetessa e promotoa da lengua ligure za in etæ avansâ e, con tutto ch’a no l’aiva avuo a poscibilitæ de studiâ, a l’ea tegnua pe dònna de grande coltua. A l’à parteçipou attivamente a-a realizzaçion do volumme Ragazze di fabbrica à cua de Biblioteche Guerrazzi e Bruschi Sartori, con unna seu intervista video stæta transcrita ascì in zeneise. A l’à regallou tutte e còpie di seu volummi a-e Biblioteche Guerrazzi de Corniggen e Bruschi Sartori de Sestri Ponente, e in ciù atri volummi de atri autoî, in sce varri argomenti e smerse, ch’a l’aiva accattou con attençion inta çernia. E seu föe e poexie ancon oua vëgnan deuviæ pe-e attivitæ scolastiche primmäie e segondäie in sciâ lengua ligure.

Ciù che e poexie da Elsa Pastorin, de unna sempliçitæ naif, son interessanti i seu racconti, donde a rievoca ambienti e scituaçioin de unn’epoca e de unna mentalitæ ciuffito lontañe da quelle da giornâ d’ancheu, e son no de ræo condii da unna protesta soçiale manco guæi vellâ.

Unna boña partia de l’attivitæ da Elsa Pastorino a l’é stæta dedicâ a-a cheuggeita de föe tradiçionale, che sensa ëse specificatamente zeneixi in origine, tutti i mòddi son vegnue à ësile e son fiña intræ, sotta forma de diti proverbiali e mainee de dî, into parlâ de tutti i giorni. Sta chì, da vorpe e do lô, a ne ven da Esòpo e, con modifiche e interpolaçioin tramite a-a tradiçion franseise do Roman de Renard, a l’é arrivâ fin à niatri inte de verscioin anche despæge ben fra de lô. I diti «Ran, ran, che o maròtto o pòrta o san» e «Lappo, lappo – E pe-a coa te ghe lascio» ean frequenti into zeneise fin à no l’é guæi e lascian stravedde l’originäia redaçion in versci.

English translation:
# Elsa Pastorino Alloisio (1918–2016)

Elsa Pastorino was born in Sestri Ponente, where she has always lived. As a young girl she started working for “Ceramica Ligure Vaccari” in Borzoli and then, after her marriage, went to work at home as an embroiderer of Genoese-style linens. She directly experienced the dramatic years of World War II, was an anti-fascist and a politically committed woman on the left. She began her work as a poet and promoter of the Ligurian language late in life and, despite not having had the opportunity to study, was considered a woman of great culture. She actively participated in the production of the volume Ragazze di fabbrica edited by the Guerrazzi and Bruschi Sartori Libraries, with a video interview of her also transcribed in Genoese. She donated copies of all her volumes to the Guerrazzi Library in Cornigliano and Bruschi Sartori Library in Sestri Ponente and bestowed significant gifts of volumes by other authors, on various subjects and genres, which she carefully selected and purchased. Even today, her fairy tales and poems are still used for primary and secondary school activities on the Ligurian language.

More interesting than Elsa Pastorino’s poems, of naïve simplicity, are her short stories, where she evokes environments and situations of an era and mentality rather far removed from those of today, and they are not infrequently seasoned with a not-so-subtle social protest.

A good part of Elsa Pastorino’s activity was devoted to collecting traditional fairy tales, which, although not specifically Genoese in origin, had nevertheless become so, until they entered, in the form of proverbial sayings and idioms, into everyday speech. The seguent, of the fox and the wolf, comes to us from Aesop and, with modifications and interpolations through the French tradition of the Roman de Renard, has come down to us in versions that are also very different from each other. The sayings “Ran, ran, the sick carry the healthy” and “Lappo, lappo – And by the tail I’ll leave you there” were very frequent in the Genoese until not so long ago and hint at the original verse writing.