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Difference between revisions of "Raccomandazione (Italy)"
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In Italian, ''raccomandazione'' has a colloquial synonym, la ''spintarella'' (little push), other expressions associated with it include: ''ungere le ruole'' (to grease the wheels), ''il calcio nel sedere'' (a kick in the rear end [to propel someone forward]), and ''la chiave'' (a key [to open doors]). In spite of its common occurrence, a significant social stigma surrounds ''raccomandazione'', and it is therefore often referred to with the euphemism ''segnalazione'' (put a good word in for someone). In addition to its verb form, ''raccomandare'', the key nouns deriving from ''raccomandazione'' are ''raccomandato'' and ''raccomandante''. The ''raccomandato'' is a person who, bearing a ''raccomandazione'', makes use of it to achieve some end. The term is derogatory, usually used to describe someone who has unjustly received some benefit, implying that he lacks merit or has violated proper procedures in order to get ahead. The ''raccomandante'' is the person who, enjoying a position of power, prestige or influential relations, recommends the ''raccomandato''. A third term of more recent usage (especially in the press) but less widely adopted, is ''raccomandatario'', which denotes a person who is on the receiving end of a ''raccomandazione'' and who is presumably able to grant the request. | In Italian, ''raccomandazione'' has a colloquial synonym, la ''spintarella'' (little push), other expressions associated with it include: ''ungere le ruole'' (to grease the wheels), ''il calcio nel sedere'' (a kick in the rear end [to propel someone forward]), and ''la chiave'' (a key [to open doors]). In spite of its common occurrence, a significant social stigma surrounds ''raccomandazione'', and it is therefore often referred to with the euphemism ''segnalazione'' (put a good word in for someone). In addition to its verb form, ''raccomandare'', the key nouns deriving from ''raccomandazione'' are ''raccomandato'' and ''raccomandante''. The ''raccomandato'' is a person who, bearing a ''raccomandazione'', makes use of it to achieve some end. | ||
The term is derogatory, usually used to describe someone who has unjustly received some benefit, implying that he lacks merit or has violated proper procedures in order to get ahead. The ''raccomandante'' is the person who, enjoying a position of power, prestige or influential relations, recommends the ''raccomandato''. A third term of more recent usage (especially in the press) but less widely adopted, is ''raccomandatario'', which denotes a person who is on the receiving end of a ''raccomandazione'' and who is presumably able to grant the request. | |||
Among its wide-ranging implications, the term ''raccomandazione'' evokes principally the practice of using connections to find employment, especially in an attempt to secure a job in the public sector. This fact has led to the consolidation of an Italian cultural stereotype of the civil servant who, under-qualified and motivated primarily by the job security and benefits provided by public employment, has undeservingly managed to land such a job through his connections, and who performs his work in a lackadaisical manner. By association, ''raccomandazione'' is further linked to the overall perception of a bloated, Byzantine Italian bureaucracy. As a result, bureaucratic inefficiency itself begets the need for yet more ''raccomandazioni'' in order to speed things up or otherwise improve the delivery of services in the public sphere, including public hospitals. In the education sector, school and university students may become ''raccomandati'' in order to obtain better marks, often thanks to the initiative taken by their parents. More generally, ''raccomandazione'' can come into play in virtually every sphere of daily life: even in shopping or dining out, where a ''raccomandazione'' can be deployed to receive special attention (''un occhio di riguardo'') or a discount. | Among its wide-ranging implications, the term ''raccomandazione'' evokes principally the practice of using connections to find employment, especially in an attempt to secure a job in the public sector. This fact has led to the consolidation of an Italian cultural stereotype of the civil servant who, under-qualified and motivated primarily by the job security and benefits provided by public employment, has undeservingly managed to land such a job through his connections, and who performs his work in a lackadaisical manner. By association, ''raccomandazione'' is further linked to the overall perception of a bloated, Byzantine Italian bureaucracy. As a result, bureaucratic inefficiency itself begets the need for yet more ''raccomandazioni'' in order to speed things up or otherwise improve the delivery of services in the public sphere, including public hospitals. In the education sector, school and university students may become ''raccomandati'' in order to obtain better marks, often thanks to the initiative taken by their parents. More generally, ''raccomandazione'' can come into play in virtually every sphere of daily life: even in shopping or dining out, where a ''raccomandazione'' can be deployed to receive special attention (''un occhio di riguardo'') or a discount. | ||