(scene is at 1:24 if the timecode in the link doesn’t work)
Phil says “My family took shit from the ******* the minute we got off the boat.”
what is the word I’m missing? it sounds like “midigons” but I’m pretty sure that isn’t it.
That’s it. It means Americans
done in one, thanks.
though now that I google the term, there’s only a couple of Urban dictionary definitions at the top, and this thread is like the third or fourth search result 
American > 'Merican — and Italian-Americans can’t flap or roll the R properly, or pronounce the unaspirated K sound so it comes out kind of like “Muddigaan”
on the show they speak just like real NY/NJ Italians. I know because I grew up there and half my family is Italian.
Not can’t, won’t.
I think it’s important to distinguish between “Italian” and “Italian-American” when it comes to the speech we see on the Sopranos. Because there are a few Italian characters and they don’t talk like that.
I’ve talked to a few Italian-Americans from the New York region and they seem to have the idea that they’re using “real Italian” pronunciations, and to me it doesn’t seem like “real Italian” but rather characteristic of the Italian-American community in that area.
That’s why I say “can’t” rather than “won’t.” It’s not that they’re refusing to use Italy-Italian pronunciations; it’s that they think they already are doing that. It’s like Guy Fieri. He says he pronounces his name “Fee-Eddy” because that’s how he thinks it’s pronounced in Italy.
Me too. The funniest scene in the series to me is when they go over to Sicily, and Paulie says something about the “gravy” and the real Italians have no idea that he means “sauce”. I had no idea why they had no idea, because growing up a NY Italian meant that I had my pasta with “gravy”. I had a Eureka moment.
I recall that. Paulie says he wants “macaroni and gravy,” and they look at him like he’s crazy because there’s a fantastic meal spread out in front of him. Someone has to explain to the waiter that he wants spaghetti with marinara sauce.
I wouldn’t expect an Italian waiter to understand that usage of “gravy.”
Heck, I remember that being the scene where, after years of watching the show, I suddenly realized that “gravy” meant “tomato sauce.” All that time, I had thought they meant the type of gravy you put on biscuits, which seemed really strange.
Another strange thing to me is pronouncing capicolla as “gabagool”. Irrespective of whether or not that’s genuine Italian, how on earth do you get those sounds from those letters?
It’s the kind of language change that happens very commonly. Unaspirated [p] and [k] sound like ** and [g] to Americans. (That accounts for “Beijing” instead of “Peiching.”) So that explains most of it. The rest is just easy vowel shifts.
It’s Neapolitan dialect, which is the same as that used in my old Bronx neighborhood. When they went to the deli, even the Irish and the Germans would ask for mootzarell’, regott’, and bruzhoot’.
How capicola became gabbagool.
As the article explains, some of the features include:
-Dropping the final vowel
-Changing unvoiced consonants to their voiced versions, so “k” (c) becomes “g,” and “p” becomes “b.”
-“O” sounds are lengthened to become “oo”
Capicola = gabbagool
Tony and crew went to the Naples area , that’s where his family was from. And on the trip there was a rare case where Tony declined a chance to bang a woman other than his wife.
I think Paulie was served pasta with squid in its own sauce (ink), which would gross out a lot of Americans.
I’ve had it, and I like it a lot. It tastes fishy, that’s all.
Ralphie was the one who showed how to make spaghetti with “gravy.” I was surprised when he dropped a big gob of butter into the pot first. I never knew this was a thing.
It was because she was his equal, not some chick he could just shag and forget, and he wanted to do business with her.
I was surprised at the way he rebuffed the little stripper Ralphie beat to death. Considering how he banged Svetlana and the born-again Christian at the waste management office, I’d’ve thought there was no woman he wouldn’t shtupp, given half a chance.
Tony also turned down Julianna Skiff who was the real estate agent he made a deal with. She turned him down at first since she was engaged but then he turned her down.
Christopher later banged Julianna after they met at some AA type meeting. He did not want Tony to know he was with her so he lied and said he would not bring her around since she was black.
The only reason he did was that Carmella had helped him button his shirt that evening.