8 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY OCTOBER 22-28, 2026 www.montereycountynow.com 831 The caffè Americano may have been technically born in Italy, but as the name suggests, it was made for Americans. The addition of hot water to strong espresso was a favorite among American GIs during World War II, simply because it made them feel like home while they were fighting Mussolini’s fascists abroad. Such is the subject of a language lesson taught by Marisa Elia on Saturday, Oct. 10, to a group of about a dozen students at Monterey Peninsula College. Specifically, she’s teaching them how to order an Americano— or anything else one might find at a “bar”—in Sicily. However, this is not an Italian language class; it’s Sicilian, and there are several differences, even within the triangular island off the toe of the boot. One student asks why such differences exist between saying the number five, which is “cinque” (pronounced chinke) in Italian but “cincu” in Sicilian. “Because it’s Italian,” Elia says, as light chuckles emerge from the rest of the class. One of Monterey’s sister cities is Isola delle Femmine in Sicily which, according to the City of Monterey’s website, is a relationship that highlights the cultural and historic ties between the two communities, particularly in regard to the many Monterey residents of Italian heritage. Sicilians specifically are a significant part of Monterey Bay’s fishing and canning history, which is celebrated annually during Festa Italia in Custom House Plaza. Just after that celebration, MPC began offering the Sicilian language class on Saturdays from Sept. 19 through Oct. 31. “It’s good for folks to participate in this,” says Monterey Mayor Tyller Williamson, who visited Isola delle Femmine in June 2025. “It’s so important not to lose that sense of culture.” Williamson’s mayoral challenger Vince Malfitano, often seen bearing a Sicilian flag pin on his lapel at public events, also visited Sicily last year, and participated in coordinating the creation of the class with Elia. The class begins this Saturday morning with students trickling into the lower-level classroom in the Humanities building by 10am. As they find their seats around the U-shaped table, Elia announces, “buongiorno” (Italian for “good morning”) as each comes in. Everyone responds in kind. While settling into their seats, a conversation about Sicilian and Italian idioms surfaces. Elia uses this as a teaching moment when the word “giufà” (with a soft “g”) is spotlighted. “We change the letters sometimes,” Elia explains. The pronunciation discussion evolves into a conversation about what the word can mean. Colloquially, it can refer to “the town idiot,” but also describes a fish that jumps out of the water onto a fishing boat—a stupid move. “Andiamo,” Elia says to bring the class back to attention. “Amunì o bar” reads at the top of the projector screen. To begin the lesson, Elia describes historical caffès in Sicily, often found in “u salottu di Palermu,” or in a square in Sicily’s largest city, Palermo. Sicilians often enjoy traditional breakfast in places such as these, with brioche bread and coffee drinks adorned with whipped cream. But first, Elia explains that to order in Sicilian, it’s important to learn numbers so the class can know how to pay for breakfast. The class repeats numbers in Sicilian after her, with several of the pronunciations ending in “-u.” After the counting exercise, Elia moves on to words for the several different coffee drinks that a customer might find in a Sicilian bar. “‘Bar’ is not an American bar,” Elia said. “It’s a foreign word.” She goes on to explain that “caffè” means “espresso” in Italian and a “bar” is the place to get it. Speaking with the raddoppiamento sintattico—the syntactic doubling in an Italian accent that “bridges” one word to another using a vowel (like “a”)—Elia explains: “It’s not because the concept is completely different. They open early in the morning and close in the evening.” Elia says several students in the class can speak Italian, while others have no experience at all. The throughline is the language’s history, which Elia uses the later part of the class to teach. As one student raises his hand for help, he involuntarily says, “Scusa.” Clearly, the language is setting in. Living Language Monterey Peninsula College offers a Sicilian language class to those interested in Monterey’s sister city. By Sloan Campi The word “giufà” can refer to “the town idiot.” TALES FROM THE AREA CODE DANIEL DREIFUSS Marisa Elia (left) speaks with students at Monterey Peninsula College during a weekly Sicilian language class. Elia incorporates Sicilian history as a way to teach the language. Advocate for Patients Clinical Quality Expert promoting best practices Assisted hospital to achieve CMS 5 Star rating in 2024, & current 4 Star Understands hospital operations & finances after 40 yrs experience Added a dashboard with safety and clinical metrics to monitor harm to patients Was on the CEO Search Committee for Dr. Radner Supported SVH becoming an Age-Friendly hospital Please Vote on or before NOVEMBER 3rd Re-Elect Catherine Carson, RN, BSN, MPA, CPHQ To Board of Directors, Salinas Valley Health Paid for by Catherine Carson, FPPC# 1451953
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