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• Vaccaj and Metastasio
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• Background information

• Italian alphabet and pronunciation
• Origins of the poems
• Instructions for teachers

• Lyrics

• Exercise 1a
• Exercise 1b
• Exercise 2a
• Exercise 2b
• Exercise 3
• Exercise 4a
• Exercise 4b
• Exercise 5
• Exercise 6
• Exercise 7
• Exercise 8a
• Exercise 8b
• Exercise 9a
• Exercise 9b
• Exercise 10a
• Exercise 10b
• Exercise 11
• Exercise 12
• Exercise 13a
• Exercise 13b
• Exercise 14
• Exercise 15

Exercise 14

[il retʃita'tivo]
Il recitativo
The recitative

[la 'patrja ɛ un 'tutto]
La patria è un tutto
Fatherland is an entity

[di 'kui sjam 'parti]
di cui siam parti
of which we are part.

[al tʃitta'dino ɛ 'fallo]
al cittadino è fallo
For a citizen it is a mistake

[konside'rar se 'stesso]
considerar sè stesso
to consider himself

[sepa'rato da 'lɛi]
separato da lei.
separate from it.

[l 'utile o il 'danno]
L´utile, o il danno,
A benefit or a loss,

[k 'ei ko'noʃʃer dee 'solo]
ch'ei conoscer dee solo
the only one he knows

[ɛ tʃɔ ke 'dʒova]
è ciò che giova (ciò = tutto quello, che)
is the one that helps (= ciò = all that)

[o 'nwɔtʃe 'alla 'sua 'patria]
o nuoce alla sua patria,
or harms his fatherland,

[a 'kui di 'tutto ɛ debi'tor]
a cui di tutto è debitor.
to which he owns everything.

['kwando i su'dori]
Quando i sudori,
When sweat

[e il 'sangue 'spardʒe per 'lɛi]
e il sangue sparge per lei,
and blood he sheds for it,

['nulla del 'proprjo 'ei 'dona]
nulla del proprio ei dona:
nothing of his own he donates,

['rɛnde sol tʃo ke n'ɛbbe]
rende sol ciò che n'ebbe.
he just gives back what he received.

['essa il pro'dusse]
Essa il produsse,
It has produced him,

[l edu'kɔ lo nu'dri]
l'educò, lo nudrì.
educated him, nourished him.

[kon le 'sue 'leddʒi]
Con le sue leggi
With its laws

['daʎʎ in'sulti do'mestitʃi il di'fɛnde]
dagl'insulti domestici il difende,
from domestic insults it defends him,

['daʎʎi es'tɛrni kon l 'armi]
dagli esterni con l'armi.
from foreign with armies.

['ella ʎi 'presta 'nome]
Ella gli presta nome,
It lends him a name,,

['grado ed o'nor]
grado, ed onor;
rank and honour,

[ne 'premja il 'mɛrto]
ne premia il merto; (merto = merito)
awards him for merits;

[ne 'vendika le of'feze]
ne vendica le offese,
avenges him,

[e 'madre a'mante]
e madre amante
and (like) a loving mother

[a fabbri'kar s af'fanna]
a fabbricar s'affanna
toils for

[la 'sua felitʃi'ta]
la sua felicità,
his happiness,

[per 'kwanto 'litʃe]
per quanto lice
as much as it is possible

[al des'tin de mor'tali]
al destin de' mortali
for mortals

['ɛsser fe'litʃe]
esser felice.
to be happy.

Fatherland is an entity,
which we are part of.
It is mistake for a citizen
to see himself as separate from it.
He must not know
other benefit or loss
than all
that helps or harms
his fatherland,
to which he owns everything.
When he sweats or sheds blood for it,
he is not giving away anything of his own;
he just returns what he received.
Fatherland produced him,
educated him, nourished him.
It defends him from domestic insults with laws
and from foreign insults with armies.
It lends him a name,
a rank and honour, awards him for merits
, avenges him, and like a loving mother toils
for his happiness
inasmuch as
happiness is the fate of mortals.