# Say the phrase Ciao Luigi out loud **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 12, 2011, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-the-phrase-ciao-luigi-out-loud/567358 "2011-01-12T17:15:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2011, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-the-phrase-ciao-luigi-out-loud/567358/1 "2011-01-12T17:15:34Z")
Say the phrase “ **Ciao Luigi** ” out loud. Now say it a second time out loud. Did you say the phrase with the stereotypical Italian accent the first time? How about the second time? ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2011, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-the-phrase-ciao-luigi-out-loud/567358/2 "2011-01-12T17:17:13Z")
No. And no. ---
**Author:** ![cuauhtemoc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecb155/32.png) [@cuauhtemoc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cuauhtemoc)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2011, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-the-phrase-ciao-luigi-out-loud/567358/3 "2011-01-12T17:18:35Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > No. And no. Good. Now hop on one foot and bark like a dog. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2011, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-the-phrase-ciao-luigi-out-loud/567358/4 "2011-01-12T17:20:52Z")
No, and yes. (What do you call an Italian with a rubber toe? Rolling your R, and with your best Italian accent, Roberto! ) Sorry, I couldn’t resist, forgive me! ---
**Author:** ![Monkey\_Chews](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/65b543/32.png) [@Monkey\_Chews](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monkey_Chews)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2011, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-the-phrase-ciao-luigi-out-loud/567358/5 "2011-01-13T02:42:59Z")
No, and no. But I love the rubber toe joke. That’s gonna get a workout. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2011, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-the-phrase-ciao-luigi-out-loud/567358/6 "2011-01-13T02:57:52Z")
Thanks **Monkey Chews** , I was very enamoured of it for a long time. One of those jokes I could hardly get out, because I was laughing so hard myself. Which only makes it all the more fun, for me and others, especially because it’s so short and silly. But then I love a silly, clean, joke you can tell anyone and their grandmother. ---
**Author:** ![PandaBear77](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@PandaBear77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PandaBear77)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2011, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-the-phrase-ciao-luigi-out-loud/567358/7 "2011-01-13T03:51:23Z")
No, and yes 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2011, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-the-phrase-ciao-luigi-out-loud/567358/8 "2011-01-13T16:18:13Z")
Yes and yes. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2011, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-the-phrase-ciao-luigi-out-loud/567358/9 "2011-01-13T16:28:23Z")
What do you mean “stereotypical Italian accent”? It’s an Italian word and an Italian name. I know enough Italian to pronounce it correctly. No idea what the hell you’re driving at. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2011, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-the-phrase-ciao-luigi-out-loud/567358/10 "2011-01-13T16:45:27Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > What do you mean “stereotypical Italian accent”? It’s an Italian word and an Italian name. I know enough Italian to pronounce it correctly. No idea what the hell you’re driving at. :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes: Ok, sorry for the excessive snark. I generally try to refrain but jeez, provided you’re not kidding. . . are you kidding with this? ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2011, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-the-phrase-ciao-luigi-out-loud/567358/11 "2011-01-13T16:55:29Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes: Ok, sorry for the excessive snark. I generally try to refrain but jeez, provided you’re not kidding. . . are you kidding with this? No. Is it supposed to sound like something? I don’t get it. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2011, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-the-phrase-ciao-luigi-out-loud/567358/12 "2011-01-13T17:18:44Z")
Are you saying you don’t know the meaning of the word “stereotypical”? or that you’re not aware of what the stereotypical Italian accent is wildly held to be? Honest to goodness, I can’t tell if your being willfully obtuse or trying to make a point about stereotypes or what, but I’ll bite . . . When I read the phrase the firt time, I heard it in my head ( I’m at work so I couldn’t actually verbalize it) with “the stereotypical Eye-talian accent” which sounded something like “chowa Loo-_weege_”. The second time, I sounded it out with an American accent which was akin to “chow loo-_wee_gie”. I assumed there was going to be some joke along the lines of \*\*elbows’s \*\*little funny (good one, **elbows**!) It seems like everyone else who responed got what the OP meant so I’m not sure what’s so mysterious about it. Again, not trying to pick a fight with you; just not getting what you’re not getting 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2011, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-the-phrase-ciao-luigi-out-loud/567358/13 "2011-01-13T17:27:36Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > Are you saying you don’t know the meaning of the word “stereotypical”? or that you’re not aware of what the stereotypical Italian accent is wildly held to be? > Honest to goodness, I can’t tell if your being willfully obtuse or trying to make a point about stereotypes or what, but I’ll bite . . . > > When I read the phrase the firt time, I heard it in my head ( I’m at work so I couldn’t actually verbalize it) with “the stereotypical Eye-talian accent” which sounded something like “chowa Loo-_weege_”. The second time, I sounded it out with an American accent which was akin to “chow loo-_wee_gie”. I assumed there was going to be some joke along the lines of \*\*elbows’s \*\*little funny (good one, **elbows**!) It seems like everyone else who responed got what the OP meant so I’m not sure what’s so mysterious about it. Again, not trying to pick a fight with you; just not getting what you’re not getting 🙂 So there’s no joke then… yeah, it just doesn’t make sense if you actually speak Italian. It sounds how it sounds. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2011, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-the-phrase-ciao-luigi-out-loud/567358/14 "2011-01-13T17:31:36Z")
HahahHAA! But why were you so revved up, Rig? You were all, “WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DRIVIN’ AT, PAL?!” ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2011, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-the-phrase-ciao-luigi-out-loud/567358/15 "2011-01-13T17:32:31Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > So there’s no joke then… yeah, it just doesn’t make sense if you actually speak Italian. It sounds how it sounds. If I may ask, is English or Italian your first language? Could you tell us how the phrase is supposed to be said? ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2011, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-the-phrase-ciao-luigi-out-loud/567358/16 "2011-01-13T17:48:52Z")
I was at a natural history museum once where a docent/guide talking to a bunch of people (not including me) was talking about the “disappearance of Ice Age megafauna in North America around 10,000 years ago” (mammoths, saber-tooth cats, dire wolves, giant sloths, etc.). I couldn’t resist commenting (to my own group of friends - I didn’t insert myself into his discussion) that on the contrary, they hadn’t disappeared until at best very recently, as a teacher’s aide at my elementary school used to have one. “What?” “Sorry, I just remembered she was Italian - from the old country - and she only used it to speak at outdoor assemblies.” _wwhhhoooosh_ Nobody got it and I didn’t feel like explaining it. But now at last, it can be told (again). ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2011, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-the-phrase-ciao-luigi-out-loud/567358/17 "2011-01-13T18:35:35Z")
> [@robardin](#): > > I was at a natural history museum once where a docent/guide talking to a bunch of people (not including me) was talking about the “disappearance of Ice Age megafauna in North America around 10,000 years ago” (mammoths, saber-tooth cats, dire wolves, giant sloths, etc.). > > I couldn’t resist commenting (to my own group of friends - I didn’t insert myself into his discussion) that on the contrary, they hadn’t disappeared until at best very recently, as a teacher’s aide at my elementary school used to have one. > > “What?” > “Sorry, I just remembered she was Italian - from the old country - and she only used it to speak at outdoor assemblies.” > > _wwhhhoooosh_ Nobody got it and I didn’t feel like explaining it. But now at last, it can be told (again). :p:p I had to read this about five times and was going to ask you to 'splain when, on the final, try I used a stereoptypical Italian accent and was rewarded with a giggle. ---
**Author:** ![Mops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mops/32/16494_2.png) [@Mops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mops)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2011, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-the-phrase-ciao-luigi-out-loud/567358/18 "2011-01-13T18:39:16Z")
I for one don’t get the OP’s question either. How do you pronounce an Italian phrase with an Italian accent, stereotypical or otherwise? ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2011, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-the-phrase-ciao-luigi-out-loud/567358/19 "2011-01-13T19:01:09Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > HahahHAA! But why were you so revved up, Rig? You were all, “WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DRIVIN’ AT, PAL?!” > [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > If I may ask, is English or Italian your first language? Could you tell us how the phrase is supposed to be said? English is my native language - I just have a thing for getting pronunciations right when I learn other languages. If you pronounce it right (which in this case would sound like “Chow Loo-ee-jee”; every syllable is pronounced) there’s only one way to pronounce it\*. Americans tend to be really lazy about pronunciation when learning other languages - it’s not that they’re not capable of pronouncing it correctly, they just don’t want to, or perhaps aren’t comfortable saying it right. Kind of a pet peeve of mine. \*ETA: of course, there’s always regional dialects. But I don’t think the OP was trying to call attention to such nuances. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2011, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-the-phrase-ciao-luigi-out-loud/567358/20 "2011-01-13T20:09:57Z")
To answer the OP’s question, I did not use a stereotypical Italian accent either the first or the second time I said the phrase. Because I speak some Italian, I used a standard Italian accent. There are a few phrases that might cause me to think of the stereotypical accent: “Mamma mia,” “Pizza pie,” etc. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/say-the-phrase-ciao-luigi-out-loud/567358.md?page=2)