# matter-of-fact tone



## oakleaf

He said it in a matter-of-fact tone.  

How would you say that in Italian?


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## johngiovanni

An English word that comes to mind is "perfunctory". Perhaps if you look at that word in the dictionary, you will find an appropriate translation. (I do not understand all the nuances).  Something done without much feeling or care - casual.


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## Einstein

Perfunctory? Maybe.
For the Italians: it decribes a flat, very normal tone where you would expect more emotion:
"She's dead
"You're fired
"we've won the match
         ... he said in a matter-of-fact tone".


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## Blackman

_Indifferente?_
_Distaccato?_
_*Impassibile?*_
_Imperturbabile?_


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## johngiovanni

"Una voce piatta" exists, I think. (inespressiva)


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## infinite sadness

Mi sembra che sia "in tono sbrigativo".


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## Paulfromitaly

Why not realistic/realistico or cynic/cinico?


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## oakleaf

Actually, what i;m looking for is more like what Einstein is saying.  Perfunctory gives the feeling of not caring.  Like going through the motions.  In this case, instead, the person has just told me something that he feels is shocking, and i don;t want him to feel I'm shocked - which i'm not - or to make him think he;s crazy - which he isn't -  so i answer him in a matter-of-fact tone like it was something I've heard a million times before.  
thanks, by the way, for your speedy replies!


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## uiuisa

Io di solito lo traduco con "disse in tono pragmatico". Poi dipende dal contesto...


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## oakleaf

Speedy indeed - i got four more while i was answering the first two!
imperturbato might be closest


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## johngiovanni

"Matter-of-fact" does not in itself have a negative meaning.  It is more a "neutral" tone, no indication of positive or negative emotions.


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## Einstein

Probably Blackman's _Impassibile _and_ Imperturbabile_ are the best.

To clarify a bit more: _a matter of fact tone_ è il tono che si userebbe per riferire un banale dato di fatto.
_Cinico_ potrebbe funzionare in certi casi.


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## Paulfromitaly

Prosaico might work too, but only in some contexts.


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## johngiovanni

Einstein said:


> Probably Blackman's _Impassibile _and_ Imperturbabile_ are the best.
> 
> To clarify a bit more: _a matter of fact tone_ è il tono che si userebbe per riferire un banale dato di fatto.
> _Cinico_ potrebbe funzionare in certi casi.


I agree, but people will sometimes choose to use this tone very deliberately, to avoid conveying the emotion that the listener would like to hear.  I agree - "clinical" serves well in certain contexts in English.


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## infinite sadness

In tono asettico?


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## johngiovanni

Blackman's suggestions I like very much (Distaccato? Impassibile?) Would also "voce spassionata" work here?  (tono spassionato)


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## Blackman

Non vanno bene neppure i miei suggerimenti. Forse non è un caso che in inglese non si usi una parola sola per descrivere questo tono, ma una frase. Dovremmo farlo anche in italiano.

_Disse con un tono da "stai parlando con me/dici a me?"_


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## oakleaf

maybe you gave me an idea, Blackman:

"Ho parlato come se niente fosse" ... could this make sense in italian?  it can be very colloquial in the paper i'm writing.


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## Blackman

Potrebbe, ma ci vuole una frase un po' più lunga. The colloquial tone might help you a lot.


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## johngiovanni

Blackman said:


> Non vanno bene neppure i miei suggerimenti. Forse non è un caso che in inglese non si usi una parola sola per descrivere questo tono, ma una frase. Dovremmo farlo anche in italiano.
> 
> _Disse con un tono da "stai parlando con me/dici a me?"_


I am not sure whether I understood this, but do I read into it a touch of indignation?  If so, I don't think we can imply that.  "Matter-of-fact tone" means "not conveying any particular emotion" - devoid of emotion / feeling.  It is neutral, perhaps deliberately so, and even if the listener would prefer the speaker not to be neutral and would like some sympathy.


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## oakleaf

in the context I am using it, the idea is that i want to diminish the other person's fear and to treat somthing he finds terrifying as normal and natural.  Come se niente fosse is what i meant.  
No doubt the phrase can be used in all kinds of ways, but this is how i used it.  It is intended to reassure.


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## infinite sadness

Allora in un tono pacato.


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## SighingatSilvio

I must admit when first reading this I thought there might be a difficulty finding an appropriate word as some may consider Italians to be a tad...'emotional', let's say (and no offence intended - passion is admirable), such that a matter-of-fact tone might be a foreign concept.

Then I thought of Giulio Andreotti.  No question he's familiar with it.

Blackman's 'impassibile' is pretty good, 'imperturbabile' not so much.

Given Oakleaf's stated objective however, I have to concur with Infinite's suggestion here.


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## Pierluigi

I would say: distaccato, or impassibile. Asciutto if you stress a rather negative nuance.


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## johngiovanni

From searches on the internet, it would seem that "tono distaccato" is used in a neutral way and is not necessarily negative, so at the moment I would go for that. "Tono neutrale" might be another possibility, though it may be that would point more to the content of the utterance than to the manner of the delivery.


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## Pierluigi

Yes, John-Giovanni, perfect. You have perfectly understood the difference: neutrale concerns the content of the speech, distaccato the attitude of the speaking person. Greetings from Trieste (do you know?).


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## johngiovanni

Thanks, Pierluigi!  Greetings from an overcast Lancashire.  Sadly, no, I don't know Trieste at all...one day, perhaps!


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## raffavita

Senza tanti giri di parole?


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## King Crimson

È una di quelle espressioni che può avere diverse traduzioni a seconda del contesto e infatti ne sono state offerte diverse in questa discussione. "Senza tanti giri di parole" potrebbe funzionare in alcuni contesti, ma bisognerebbe avere una frase d'esempio.


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## Tellure

E invece, restando ancora sul teorico... 

*matter-of-fact*

a (= _down-to-earth_; ≠ _emotional_) realistico, con i piedi a terra, pratico, concreto, prosaico
◊ he announced his departure in a very matter-of-fact way annunciò la sua partenza in modo molto pratico
matter-of-fact: traduzione in italiano - Dizionari - La Repubblica


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## Blackman

Dopo 6 anni mi sento di migliorarlo in _asettico._


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## Lorena1970

Blackman said:


> Dopo 6 anni mi sento di migliorarlo in _asettico._



Concordo, benché anche la tua proposta di *imperturbabile* mi piaccia.


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## Pietruzzo

oakleaf said:


> in the context I am using it, the idea is that i want to diminish the other person's fear and to treat somthing he finds terrifying as normal and natural.


 Il contesto descritto dall'OP non è di distacco o infifferenza. Direi piuttosto "Lo disse con un tono rassicurante". Ovviamente in altri casi sarebbero adatte tutte le altre traduzioni proposte e forse anche altre.


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