arancione

Stefania Zampiga

arancione: nelle lingue europee il nome del colore 
appare solo dal Medioevo; prima si usava ‘rosso’,
da cui ‘capelli rossi’, ‘pesce rosso’, ‘pettirosso’ (‘Erithacus rubecula’).

no no me no nel nome manca 
lo spettro non monocromatico
del pigmento fotosintetico
con le sue lunghezze d’onda 
fra sangue e sole 

linee di solfuro sodio
calcio, ph poco acido
codici per medie 
di valori fra terne
di tonalità,
saturazioni.

Il nome porta in giro 
un primo racconto. corto. 
tic-ic-cip cip-it-tic
per l’aria

orange

Translation by Stefania Heim

In European languages the color name ‘orange’ only
appears beginning in the Middle Ages; before that, ‘red’
was used, from which ‘red hair’, ‘red fox’, ‘robin
redbreast’ (‘Erithacus rubecula’).

no na me no in the name missing
the spectrum of the photosynthetic 
pigment non monochromatic 
with its wave lengths
from blood to sun

lines of sodium sulfide
calcium, barely acidic pH
codes for average
values by threes
of tinge,
saturation.

the name carries around
a first story. short. 
tic-ic-chip chip-it-tic
through the air.

The Science

Orange is the colour between yellow and red in the spectrum of visible light. In painting and traditional colour theory, it is called a secondary or a tertiary colour, as it is formed by the mixture of yellow (in its turn a mixture of blue and green) and red. It is named after the fruit of the same name. In fruit or vegetables, the colour especially comes from a group of molecules called carotenoids. Carotenoids are pigments, and can vary in colour from white, to yellow, to yes, orange. Presumably, ‘orange’ was not used as a colour word until the Middle Ages in European languages and, in English until the 1510s, a reddish-yellow colour like that of a ripe orange. Before the late 15th century, orange things were sometimes described as yellow-red or red, which then had a broader range of nuances. Several words are used in this way from the past – red deer, red hair, the Red Planet and the orange-breasted robin redbreast, which keeps ‘red’ in its ordinary and scientific name, Erithacus rubecula.

Through the poem I’ve intended to reflect on the evolution of language, which is not as systematic and precise as we may expect, given that not all the time does it modify all its related parts according to what in the meantime has been discovered or specified, but instead preserves older terms despite their inaccuracy now. The evolution of language, with the approximation and incompleteness distinguishing it, seems to be affecting other language areas both in everyday life (we still say ‘the sun rises and goes down’ even if we know it is not true) and scientific language as well.

The Poet

Stefania Zampiga lives in Tuscany, Italy. After a career in teaching, she now devotes herself to writing and translating contemporary verse, published in Italian. Her field of interest is the range of behaviours, postures and definitions of non-human animals, which may indirectly be significant as well for the multifarious nuances the ‘body’ of writing has. Therefore, her studies include biology, zoology and ethology. Her works have so far been published in magazines, anthologies and blogs, but upcoming books are expected from spring 2024. In 2023, she was awarded the Arcipelagoitaca prize for best short collection.

Next poem: Au by Michael J. Leach