Che Bella Figura!: The Power of Performance in an Italian Ladies' Club in ChicagoLiterally translated, fare bella figura means "to make a beautiful figure," and figuratively it refers to the act of putting on a good show, performance, or display. The author uncovers the "real rules" of an Italian "ladies'" club by analyzing their language and behavior. In so doing, she gives examples of the historical and linguistic importance of this concept, as well as its potential for cross-cultural misunderstanding. |
Contents
A Definition of Bella Figura | 5 |
The Conceptual Framework of this Study and Related Literature on Womens Language | 35 |
A History of the Collandia Club | 55 |
Bella Figura at the Collandia Club | 77 |
The Transcript A Linguistic Event Transformed by Bella Figura | 105 |
Conclusion | 127 |
Appendix A | 133 |
Endnotes | 143 |
| 149 | |
| 159 | |
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Common terms and phrases
American-born audience banquet Bauman behavior bilingual bills birthday bocce bought the stamps brutta figura bylaws calls cenettas Central Italy Chicago Christmas party Ciro code-switching Collandia Club Collandia Ladies Colleverde committee comuni conversational courtier create cultural code despite discourse discourse analysis display enculturated English entitlement ethnic ethnography example fact fare bella figura fashion show female feminist gender gifts Goffman going Harwell honor and shame immigration important indirection issue Italian American Italian-born women Jeanne Joseph's Day la bella figura linguistic linked Lucca male mance means meeting membership Men's Club president metaphor notion overlapping participants peasant performance of bella piú play powerless present province of Lucca province of Perugia Rina Rina's role says sense Sofia sometimes speak specific speech community sprezzatura strategies studies style Tannen thing tion Toni tradition transcript understanding verbal art woman Women's Language words Year's Eve