"No Italian Spoken for the Duration of
the War": Language, Italian-American
Identity, and Cultural Pluralism in the
World War II Years
NANCY C. CARNEVALE
IN 1940, AS AMERICANS PREPARED for war, an Italian-American trumpeter
from New Orleans was creating a sensation over the airwaves. Along with
the big band sounds of Glen Miller and Benny Goodman's swing, Americans
listened to Louis Prima sing the praises of "Angelina, the waitress at
the local pizzeria." "Angelina" sold millions of copies and with it, Prima
formally began his career as a performer of lighthearted depictions of
Italian-American life. This song, like many of Prima's so-called novelty
hits, was distinguished by its use of Italian, dialect words, and his
characterization of Italian-American speaking styles. Some of his songs
even incorporated a kind of Italian-American scat. Prima strung together
Italian-sounding nonsense words with familiar Italian words, using food
names like "zucchini" and "macaroni" along with less familiar Italian
words without forming any clear meaning. Song titles such as "Bacia Galupe
Made Love on the Stoop," "Josephine, Please No Lean on the Bell," and
"Please No Squeeza da Banana" made playful references to Italian-American
speech and stereotypes. The refrain of the song "For Mari-Yootch"–an anglicized
spelling of the southern Italian diminutive for Maria–exemplifies his
use of language:
For ten long years I'm married to Mari-Yootch
For Mari-Yootch I walka da pooch
For ten long years I luv'a my Mari-Yootch
But Mari-Yootch she luv'a da pooch
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