StCirq

I'm editing a book that was translated from Italian, and it refers more than once to people called the "gine." I can gather from the context that this is a reference to a group of women, possibly nuns, who are kind of what we might refer to as "goofballs," women who are kind of "spaced out" or "out of it." I'm trying to find an appropriate English equivalent to use. Are there any native Italian speakers here who could explain the "gine" to me in greater detail? Thanks in advance.

DeirdreStraughan

Hmm. When I worked in an office of mostly women and all (except me) Italian, we called each other le gine as a joke. I thought it originated with us, but will ask one of the old gang. It might possibly have something to do with "gineceo," on the assumption that any gathering exclusively of women is bound to get silly (and we did).


best regards,
Deirdré Straughan

straughan.com

DeirdreStraughan

Reply from one of my ex-gine:

"Gina" per me significa :
donna un po' imbranata, nel senso che fa cose normali e corrette ma eccedendo in zelo,
per es: mi presentano una persona e io stringo la mano dicendo "piacere di conoscerla" quando basterebbe un "ciao" perche' siamo tra amici,
oppure
compilo tutto un form riempiendo anche i campi non obbligatori e spendendoci delle ore quando basterebbero 5 minuti compilando solo i campi forndamentali.

"Gina" e' un po' l'opposto di "cool" , e' una persona che si gestisce bene ma non e' furba abbastanza

E' un termine che ho sentito usare molto poco ma anche al di fuori del nostro gruppetto."

Translated:

"Gina" to me means a woman who's a bit clumsy, in the sense that she does things that are correct and normal but a bit overzealous. For example, I'm introduced to someone, and I shake their hand and say "Pleased to meet you" when "Ciao" would do, because we're among friends. Or else I fill out a form completely, filling in even the optional fields, spending hours on it when I could have spent 5 minutes just doing the essential fields.

"Gina" is a bit the opposite of "cool," she's a person who manages herself well but isn't clever enough. [furba is another Italian word that's hard to translate...]

It's a term I've heard used very little, but also outside our little group."

Me again: So maybe you could find a term implying a female geek/nerd? Good luck with it!

Spygirl

Interesting. My book of Italian slang contains the term "gino" for a boy, as someone who tries too hard to be cool, who wants to be part of the "in crowd" or "paninaro" but isn't up to the task; a nerd or geek, as it were.

vedette

Well then I suppose "gina" would refer to a girl, and "gine" is the plural for both. Since many Italians are actually named Gino or Gina, it seems hard to believe that it is a pejorative. Maybe it is more like the way Australians refer to "Sheilas."

cmt

Not a native, obviously, and don't know, but check your e-mail and a link to an IL thread where you might possibly get further responses if the thread stays active and if you indicate the regional/local setting.

StCirq

Thanks, all.

cmt: The author of the book is Roman.

vedette: Can you explain what Aussies mean when they talk about Sheilas?

sheila

Excuse me???!

vedette

I may be wrong, but I think "Sheila" is just slang for any youngish woman, but I don't think it is pejorative. As in, "let's go to the beach and check out the Sheilas." I don't think this implies anything about the intelligence or moral qualities of the females. Maybe an actual Aussie can elaborate for us.

VickiH

i'm not australian, but i've always understood 'sheila' to just be slang for 'woman'...

bobthenavigator

StCirq, Perhaps you could just subsitute the word " blond". It seems to fit.

cmt

Here's another comment about the slang use of "Gina": http://forums.about.com/ab-italian/messages?msg=4785.4

Spygirl

I guess that's supposed to be astoundingly clever and amusing, Bob. Ha. ha.

rex

Perhaps the suggestion to use the word "Barbies" would have offended a somewhat smaller segment of the population.

But I give in... and offer a blonde joke...

Did you hear about the blonde who got a scarf for a gift, and wanted to return it to the store?

She said it was too tight.



Best wishes,

Rex

LoveItaly

OK Rex, LOL.

Did you hear about the blonde who opened up the refrigerator and stood there staying inside it for fifteen minutes. Her husband finally asked her why. She said "well the orange juice container says concentrate".

tedgale

From the explanation given by Deirdre and her friend, I would say nerd -- or the interesting coinage nerdette -- would be close.

Eloise

I don't think "gine" are the female equivalent of geeks or nerds, but rather women with certain "female" characteristics, as defined by many/most males.

According to them, [many/most] women are "ditsy." So what about the word that is a back-formation from ditsy, i.e. "ditz"?

StCirq

Thanks, all, for the suggestions, but this is a serious book by an Italian journalist whose book has received tremendous accolades in Italy, and I hope will reach a wide readership here in the USA, and I have to find an acceptable explanation for this term. Using "nerd" or "blond" just won't do. I have to actually add a footnote to the text to explain what the author means - and she can't explain it to me well enough in English, or Italian for that matter, for me to grasp the full meaning.

I think DeirdreStraughan's explanation comes closest to what I was looking for, and I thank you, Deirdre.

I do appreciate the Fodorite humor, though

StCirq

Eloise - I LIKE that! Ditsy may be just the term I'm looking for. I still have to figure out what the connection with nuns is, though. The implication in the text is that most "gine" are nuns.

This is a bit craze-making, but thank you all for your help.

Eloise

St-Cirq, I'm glad you like the idea, but I see your problem.

If most "gine" ("gine" seen as a particular segment of the population) are or become nuns, I don't think ditsy or any derivation from it is the right word.

If it's simply a reference to a group of nuns (in what I assume to be a satiric or ironic vein), then the connection is a pretty basic one: nuns are, by definition, female.