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Archivesuncertainty about a name pronuciation-see below
I am composing a story about my grandmother's younger brother who, with the sacrifice of the family-owners of a "green grocer" where all the children had to work hard to enable him to study and, eventually become a MD. This was at the outset of the depression and he was the youngest child. He was tragically murdered the second day after opening his practice and it was a family tragedy with long term impact.
MY QUESTION: In English he would have been called by the name Benjamin. As a boy my mother would refer to him by-and I can only attempt it phonetically: BE-AGE or BE-ADGE, or a similar pronunciation. Much to my regret my Italian is limited to slang that would likely be unrecognizable in Italy. In high school, we were taught be mostly Irish and a few German priest. For some unknown reason this continues to incite my remorse and cause aggravation and anger. The "smart" students were made to learn German and Latin (the former I had no interest in learning, had poor teachers and the sound is, to my ear, unpleasant to be polite about; latin was and continues to be an interest that continues now that I am 61.) Next "intelligent" were given French, then Spanish. The Dumbest group (These words were actually used) were made to take Italian. It was not possible to get this class even if grades were at the highest level....)
Sorry for the rant, but the story is important as well as Benjamin, and using the actual first name is important to me as the author. Any assistance would be most appreciated.
My memory is intact and I can explicitly recall the name and that it was Italian for Benjamin. Help, anyone?
MY QUESTION: In English he would have been called by the name Benjamin. As a boy my mother would refer to him by-and I can only attempt it phonetically: BE-AGE or BE-ADGE, or a similar pronunciation. Much to my regret my Italian is limited to slang that would likely be unrecognizable in Italy. In high school, we were taught be mostly Irish and a few German priest. For some unknown reason this continues to incite my remorse and cause aggravation and anger. The "smart" students were made to learn German and Latin (the former I had no interest in learning, had poor teachers and the sound is, to my ear, unpleasant to be polite about; latin was and continues to be an interest that continues now that I am 61.) Next "intelligent" were given French, then Spanish. The Dumbest group (These words were actually used) were made to take Italian. It was not possible to get this class even if grades were at the highest level....)
Sorry for the rant, but the story is important as well as Benjamin, and using the actual first name is important to me as the author. Any assistance would be most appreciated.
My memory is intact and I can explicitly recall the name and that it was Italian for Benjamin. Help, anyone?
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Replies
The closest Italian name I can find is Biagio [byah-djo] (Blaise in English). The Italian form of Benjamin is Beniamino, although I'm not sure that such a name is commonly used in Italy — Old Testament names are rarely used in Catholic countries.
Perhaps he was called Biagio in Italian but had Benjamin as his English name? It isn't uncommon for immigrants to adopt an English name that is unrelated to their original name (or being called a totally unrelated non-English name by their non-English speaking family), especially if the direct translation doesn't exist or is too unusual in English. A Biagio going by Benjamin (a classic English name with the same initial) or vice-versa doesn't seem farfetched to me.
The only way to be sure is to try to trace your uncle's documents — finding his birth certificate and / or immigration register shouldn't be too difficult.
Perhaps he was called Biagio in Italian but had Benjamin as his English name? It isn't uncommon for immigrants to adopt an English name that is unrelated to their original name (or being called a totally unrelated non-English name by their non-English speaking family), especially if the direct translation doesn't exist or is too unusual in English. A Biagio going by Benjamin (a classic English name with the same initial) or vice-versa doesn't seem farfetched to me.
The only way to be sure is to try to trace your uncle's documents — finding his birth certificate and / or immigration register shouldn't be too difficult.
This message was edited 6/21/2015, 6:13 PM
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