Adriana recounts her childhood and her relationship with her aunt and her loving but often absent mother in the Tabarchino language. Unlike her, Adriana stopped working early, preferring to devote her whole life to her family and children.

Vuoi ascoltare e leggere altre testimonianze? Sostieni l’archivio vivo di Lunàdigas!

Ecco la trascrizione completa del video:

ADRIANA: «My name is Adriana and on March 21st, if the Lord permits, I will turn 96.
I got married very young, my desire was to start a family because my mother was a woman, one of the first women, who worked outside the home: she worked at the Tobacco Factory, and she raised the family while she worked outside. I never liked this thing because I had the desire to have my mother at home… Instead, my mother entrusted me to one of her sisters who loved me very much, because she had no children and I was the first granddaughter. I always said that I had two mothers and not even one, because I was a very shy child. If I was at home with my mother, I was like, “Can I have some water?” and if I was at my aunt’s place I would do the same thing: “Can I have some water?” I always asked for permission because I was always afraid. And so I grew up shy but then I learned…
I got married very young, I was twenty, I met my husband when I was 17 years old and I was still in school. I had to graduate as a teacher because my mother had that desire, she wanted her daughter to be a schoolteacher but I didn’t, also because… in my house we spoke in Sardinian and I was not able to speak in Italian, so I was very very shy. I didn’t talk. My parents, when we went out to see some family… they used to tell me: “Don’t talk, shut up!” and so I’ve always been shy.
I met my husband when I was 17, at 20 we got married and after a year… we got married on July 8th and the first daughter was born the year after 1950, because I got married in 1950, in ’51 in June the first daughter was born and I dedicated myself to the family.
Initially, I did some substitute teaching in schools and so on… but then I stopped because my passion was that to raise the kids and stay at home, so as not to be like my mother who went out every morning to go to work and worked like crazy for a lifetime, she had 10 children… But we children did not lack neither affection nor attention, she was a special mom.
What else can I say? I’ve dedicated my whole life to family. I couldn’t do anything: I learned to be a housewife, to be a cook, to be a seamstress, to be a knitter. I dedicated myself, all the time the Lord has given me, to work at home for the children and maybe I made a lot of mistakes too…»

Italiano tabarchino:

ADRIANA: «Me ciàmmu Adriana e u 21 de morsu, fâiò, se u Segnun u permétte, nuvantase’ anni.
Me sun mâiò inmüggiu zóna, u mé dexidéu u l’éa quéllu de furmò ‘na famiggia perché mé mamma a l’éa ‘na dónna, de primme dónne che travagiòvan föa de cà –a travagiòva â ManifatüaTabacchi- e a l’ha alevàu a famiggia intantu ch’a travagiòva föa. A mi sta cósa a nu m’è mòi piâxüa perché àiva u dexidéu d’avài mé mamma in cà…Invécce mé mamma a m’ha afiò à ‘na só sö ch’ a m’uàiva inmüggiu ben, perché a nu l’àiva de figiö e mi éa a primma néssa e mi ho delungu ditu che àiva due mamme e mancu üña. Éa ‘na figétta inmüggiu tìmida e, se éa in cà cun mé mamma, diva: “Póssu bàive in po’ d’ègua?” e se éa in cà de mé lalla fova a stéssa cósa: “Póssu bàive in po’ d’ègua?” e cuscì sun cresciüa timidona, ma dapö ho imparàu…
Me sun mâiò zóna –àiva vint’anni- Ho cunusciüu mé màiu che àiva dîsett’anni e éa ancun â scöa. M’àiva da diplumò da màistra perché mé mamma a l’àiva quéllu dexidéu: a l’uàiva ina figgia màistra de scöa, ma mi nu n’àiva nisciüña îdéa, anche perchè gh’éa a facenda che in cà mé se parlova in sordu e mi nu éa capose de parlò in italian, quindi éa inmüggiu tìmida. Nu parlova. I mé, quande se sciurtiva e s’anova da quarche famiggia…me dìvan: “Nu sta à parlò, sta sitta!” e quindi mi sun delungu steta ‘na timidona.
Quindi ho cunusciüu mé màiu che àiva dîsett’anni, à vinti se sémmu mâiè. Dóppu ‘n annu…se, sémmu mâiè: au öttu de lüggiu e a primma figgia a l’è nasciüa dóppu u sinquanta –perché me sun mâiò intu sinquanta- e intu sinquantün de zügnu l’è nasciüa a mé primma figgia e mi me sun dedicò â famiggia.
Inisialmente ho fetu quàrche suplensa inte scöe eccettera…ma pói me sun retiò perché a mé pasciun a l’éa quélla d’alevò i figiö e stòmene in cà pe nu fò cumme mé mamma ch’a sciurtiva tütte e matin pe anò à travagò e a l’ha travagiàu cumme ‘na matta pe tütta a vitta e a l’ha avüu déxe figiö…Però à niotri figiö nu l’è mòi amancàu né l’afettu, né l’atensiun, a l’éa ‘na mamma speciòle.
Cusse póssu dì? Me sun dedicò tütta a vitta â famiggia. Nu éa capose de fò ninte. Ho imparàu à fò a cazalinga, a fò a cuoca, à fò a sarta, à fò a magliaia. Me sun dedicò, tüttu u tempu che u Segnun u m’ha detu, à travagiò in cà pai figiö e magari ho fetu anche tanti sbagli…»

Vuoi ascoltare e leggere altre testimonianze? Sostieni l’archivio vivo di Lunàdigas!