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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
Becky: Hello and welcome to Culture Class: Italian Superstitions and Beliefs, Lesson 2 - Walking Under Ladders and the Horns Gesture. I'm Becky and I'm joined by Daniele.
Daniele: Ciao! Hi, I'm Daniele.
THE TWO SUPERSTITIONS
Becky: In this lesson, we’ll talk about two common superstitions in Italy. The first superstition is about bad luck. What’s the superstition called in Italian?
Daniele: passare sotto una scala
Becky: Which literally means "walking under a ladder." Daniele, can you repeat the Italian phrase again?
Daniele: [slow] passare sotto una scala [normal] passare sotto una scala
Becky: In Italy, it's believed that walking under a ladder will bring you misfortune.
Daniele: Yes, that’s something I always try to avoid.
Becky: It's probably because, when leaned against a wall, the ladder, the wall, and the ground form a triangle, which is the symbol of the Holy Trinity.
Daniele: Yes, so walking through the triangle is considered akin to blasphemy. It will bring bad luck.
Becky: In America we have a similar superstition, but I never knew that it had a religious meaning.
Daniele: The more you know!
Becky: The second superstition is about good luck. What’s the superstition called in Italian?
Daniele: fare le corna
Becky: Which literally means "making the horns gesture." Let’s hear it in Italian again.
Daniele: [slow] fare le corna [normal] fare le corna
Becky: In Italy, it's believed that making a sign of horns with your fingers pointing down can ward off bad luck.
Daniele: True. The horns prevent or counteract bad luck.
Becky: Something similar to the English “touching wood.”
Daniele: Right. But actually Italians have their own version of “touching wood”: toccare ferro
Becky: Which means "touching iron." It seems like Italians have a superstition for any circumstance.
Daniele: Well, better safe than sorry!

Outro

Becky: There you have it - two Italian superstitions! Are they similar to any of your country’s superstitions? Let us know in the comments!
Daniele: A presto!

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