La Voce

Posted by Serena 2 Comments
Jan 11 2012

Let’s take a look at some of the vocabulary which describes ways in which we use la nostra voce (our voice):

sussurrare / bisbigliare (to whisper): Laura ha sussurrato qualcosa alla sua compagna di classe (Laura whispered something to her classmate), or non capisco quello che stai bisbigliando (I don’t understand what you’re whispering)

mormorare / farfugliare (to mutter, or murmur): l’anziano signore mormorava delle parole indistinte (the old man murmured some indistinct words), or smettila di farfugliare parole incompresibili! (stop muttering incomprehensible words!)

mugugnare (to grumble): lui è il tipo che mugugna sempre (he’s the sort of person who’s always grumbling)

borbottare (to mumble): è difficile capire quando borbotti così (it’s difficult to understand when you mumble like that)

balbettare (to stammer, or stutter): quando Pietro era nervoso aveva l’abitudine di balbettare (Pietro had the habit of stuttering when he was nervous)

parlare (to speak): Gianni parla correntemente cinque lingue (Gianni speaks five languages fluently)

parlare sottovoce (to speak in a low voice): parla sottovoce che svegli il bambino (speak quietly or you’ll wake the child)

parlare piano (to speak slowly): puoi parlare più piano, per favore? (can you speak more slowly please?)

parlare ad alta voce / forte (to speak loudly): devi parlare ad alta voce / forte perché mio nonno è sordo (you need to speak loudly because my grandfather is deaf)

urlare / gridare (to shout, cry out, yell, etc.): i tifosi urlavano insulti all’arbitro (the fans yelled insults at the referee), or non gridare, c’ho il mal di testa! (don’t shout, I’ve got a headache!)

strillare (to scream, screech, shriek, etc.): quando ha visto il topo Cecilia ha cominciato a strillare (when she saw the mouse Cecilia began screaming)

frignare (to whine): non cominciare a frignare! (don’t start whining!)

cantare (to sing): mi piace cantare (I like singing)

canticchiare / canterellare (to hum): Annalisa canticchia sempre mentre stira i panni (Annalisa always hums when she does the ironing)

And to finish with, what do we say when we want someone to stop using their voice?

Sta’ zitta! (be silent!), chiudi la bocca (shut up, or shut your mouth), chiudi il becco! (shut your beak!), piantala! (stop it!), or if we want to be polite we say: silenzio, per favore (silence, please).

Quanto bene conosci l’Italia?

Posted by Serena 14 Comments
Jan 9 2012

How well do you know Italy? Here’s a quiz which will put your knowledge to the test. Leave your answers in the comments section.

1. Roughly how many inhabitants does Italy have: a. 40million, b. 50million, c. 60million, or d. 70million?

2. Which city is famous for its romantic songs?

3. On which Italian island was Napoleon exiled?

4. Which cities or regions are associated with: a. la Camorra, b. la ‘ndrangheta, and c. Cosa Nostra?

5. What are the main ingredients of la cecina, also known as farinata?

6. Who wrote La Divina Commedia?

7. What is the real name of the singer Jovanotti?

8. Which four countries share their borders with Italy?

9. Which composers of opera music wrote the following: a. Madama Butterfly, b. Rigoletto, and c. Il Barbiere di Siviglia?

10. What is the name of the Presidente della Repubblica?

11. Who built the first astronomic telescope in 1609?

12. In which city was the first Italian football club founded?

13. In many Italian towns there are roads called Via XX Settembre, what does this name commemorate?

14. What does the acronym FIAT, used by Italy’s most famous car manufacturer, stand for?

15. What is the name of the Venetian traveller who went to China in the 13th century, remaining there for 13 years in the service of the great Khan?

16. What do Giorgio Armani, Miuccia Prada, and Laura Biagiotti all have in common?

17. Which regions produce the following wines: a. Soave, b. Chianti, and c. Marsala?

18. What was the name of the population that inhabited the area of Toscana and Lazio before the Romans?

19. Which directors made the following films: a. L’Ultimo Tango a Parigi, b. Per un Pugno di Dollari, c. La Dolce Vita?

20. The following Italian bridges can be found in Roma, Firenze, Venezia, Verona, and Bassano del Grappa. What are their names?

a. 1 b. 6

c. 5 d. 2

e. 3

La Lingua in Italia

Posted by Serena 1 Comment
Jan 6 2012

One of the main aims of my blogs is to help you to understand the Italian language. It’s important to remember, however, that due to the complex social and historical reasons Italian isn’t necessarily the first language of all Italians. There are, for example, linguistic minorities in Italy whose first language is German (in Trentino Alto Adige), French (in Val d’Aosta), Sardinian (in Sardegna), Albanian (mostly in small pockets of Calabria, Sicilia and Molise), and Ladino (the unique language of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, which I’ll cover in another blog).

The existence of linguistic minorities in Italy is recognised in our constitution, which stipulates in article 6: ‘La Repubblica tutela con apposite norme le minoranze liguistiche’ (The Republic protects linguistic minorities with appropriate laws). In reality though, not all of these minority languages receive the same protection. In Val d’Aosta and Trentino Alto Adige for example, the regional governmental statutes provide for bilingualism in administrative documents and education. But in other regions such as Calabria, where the Albanian speaking communities exist only in small isolated pockets, bilingualism doesn’t officially exist, with the result that in these communities the Albanian language and culture is gradually dying out.

Apart from the linguistic minorities mentioned above there are also millions of Italians who speak a huge variety of dialects. A survey carried out in the 1980’s showed that at that time 47% of Italians spoke dialect at home with their relatives, 24% spoke a mixture of dialect and Italian, and just 29% spoke Standard Italian. In our village, the old people habitually speak dialetto (dialect) amongst themselves. Most of them only learnt Italian at school as a second language, but as they usually left school when they were very young in order to help their families work the land their Italian has remained fairly basic. Standard Italian, in other words, is not a language that they feel at home with. Today’s younger generation, even though they may have grown up hearing their older relatives conversing in dialect, are far more likely to speak Standard Italian most, if not all of the time. This is due to a variety of socio-cultural factors such as better and more consistent education and the standardisation of the Italian language which has been brought about by the diffusion of television.

So, what do young people feel about dialetto these days? Well, to try and answer that question I did a bit of research on the internet. Here are some excerpts from a forum in which the original poster asks the question:

Sondaggio: voi parlate il vostro dialetto? (Survey: do you speak your dialect?)

Answers:

1. No, io lo parlo ma è quasi uguale all’italiano

2. Assolutamente sì, non sempre ma ogni tanto lo parlo, il mio dialetto essendo in provincia è un po’ più paesano rispetto a quello di città quindi con termini anche abbastanza difficili ed incomprensibili; ma sono fiero delle mie radici e della mia terra e quindi parlo il mio dialetto; che è a mio avviso una caratteristica della nostra nazione da salvaguardare, da Bolzano fino a Ragusa!!!!

3. Io vivo in Piemonte però mio padre è pugliese e mia madre è campana. Mia mamma conosce quasi tutti i dialetti e certe volte per scherzare parla piemontese ma a me non piace. Conosco il dialetto napoletano, so parlarlo ma non lo faccio, non è nella mia indole.

4. Qua quasi tutti gli adulti diciamo un po’ provincialotti lo parlano, ma anche io e i miei amici, mi sto riferendo al meraviglioso dialetto Siciliano *-*

5. Certo, ma il mio non è un dialetto, ma una lingua, il Napoletano!

6. Io da piccolo parlavo bene il dialetto lucano, poi mi sono trasferito con i miei in Abruzzo e ho dimenticato un sacco di pronunce.

7. Io dico pochissime parole…sono sarda, ma non capisco il sardo lol. Sinceramente non mi piace parlare il dialetto

8. Purtroppo no, quando ero piccolo non volevo parlarlo e adesso so che ho sbagliato, lo capisco solo

9. Io non so parlare nessun dialetto. Che depressione!

10. Certo, io parlo Siciliano anche se a casa mia :’D Perché a Scuola è proibito, mah! comunque io ADORO la mia regione, quindi la mia risposta è SI

11. Normalmente parlo quasi solo in italiano, però dipende anche dal contesto… il mio dialetto comunque lo so parlare..

12. Solo con i miei parenti, cioè in famiglia.. Lo trovo troppo grezzo

13. Sì ma solo qualche parola! Quelle che so! Non discorsi interi in dialetto.

14. Si, soprattutto in famiglia

15. Quasi mai…non mi piace molto parlarlo!

Parole e Accenti

Posted by Serena 4 Comments
Jan 4 2012

I recently wrote a blog about the accent in Italian  verbs explaining that there weren’t any fixed rules, and that they had to be learned by heart. In order to show how important it is to get the accent in the right place, let’s have a look at a few words that change their meaning  completely depending on where you put the accent. Accents in the examples given below are highlighted in red:

ancora = anchor (noun): la nave ha gettato l’ancora = the ship has dropped its anchor;

ancora = still/some more (adverb): la nave è ancora nel porto = the ship is still in the port.

-

pero = pear tree (noun): nel nostro frutteto c’è un bel pero grande = in our orchard there’s a nice big pear tree;

però = but, however (conjunction): le pere sono buone, però quest’anno ce ne sono state poche = the pears are good, but this year there weren’t very many.

-

leggere = to read (infinitive): mi piace leggere poesie = I like reading poems;

leggere = light, weightless (adjective feminine plural): queste scarpe sono molto comode, sono leggere come piume = these shoes are very comfortable, they are as light as feathers.

-

capitano = they happen (third person plural present tense of the verb capitare = to happen): sono cose che capitano = these things happen;

capitano = captain (noun): il capitano della nave è sul ponte di comando = the ship’s captain is on the bridge.

-

principi = princes (noun, masculine plural of principe): i principi William e Harry sono inglesi = princes William and Harry are English;

principi = principles (noun, masculine plural of principio): è un uomo senza principi morali = he’s a man without any moral principles.

-

ambito = limits, scope (noun): questo lavoro non rientra nell’ambito delle mie responsabilità = this job doesn’t fall within the scope of my responsibilities;

ambito = sought-after, coveted (past participle of the verb ambire = to aspire to): questo è un lavoro molto ambito = this is a very sought-after job.

-

Papa = Pope (noun): il Papa ha celebrato la messa di Natale = the Pope celebrated Christmas mass;

papà = dad (noun): quello è il papà di Mario = that’s Mario’s dad.

-

pure = too, also (adverb): è venuto pure Giovanni = Giovanni came too;

purè = purée (noun): mi piace il purè di patate = I like mashed potatoes.

-

balia = wet-nurse (noun), nowadays used in a figurative way of speaking: sei un adulto, non hai più bisogno della balia = you are an adult, you don’t need a wet-nurse any more;

essere in balia of = to be at the mercy of (noun): durante l’alluvione eravamo in balia della natura = during the flood we were at the mercy of nature.

-

retina = retina (noun), ‘a light-sensitive tissue lining the inner surface of the eye’: Fernanda ha avuto il distaccamento della retina = Fernanda suffered from a detached retina;

retina = hairnet (noun): mia nonna si metteva sempre la retina quando andava a letto = my grandmother always wore her hairnet in bed.

-

subito = immediately, straight away (adverb): arrivo subito! = I’ll be there straight away!

subito = suffered (past participle of the verb subire = to suffer, to endure, to undergo): la macchina ha subito molto danno = the car suffered a lot of damage.

-

impari = unequal, uneven, one-sided (adjective): è stata una partita impari = it was an unequal match;

impari = you learn (second person singular present tense of the verb imparare = to learn): se impari a guidare sarai più indipendente = if you learn to drive you’ll be more independent.

Una Selezione di Blog del 2011

Posted by Serena 3 Comments
Jan 2 2012

Allora, here we are at the beginning of a new year. I thought it might be interesting to start this year with a mini review of my 2011 blogs. Let’s take a look back at some of the diverse topics that we covered last year. I’d be very interested to hear from you, our readers, about which type of blogs you find most useful or enjoyable. Any suggestions for future blogs are welcome, just leave a comment below.

Here are 12 of our favourite 2011 blogs month by month:

Gennaio: In January our cat Mimì wrote the third part of her autobiography (with a little help from Geoff). You’ll be glad to hear that Mimì is still alive and well, and has more or less adjusted to the three micini (kittens – not hers!) who adopted us this summer. Yes, our little house is getting a bit crowded! Here is part three of Mimì’s story: Mimì la Gatta 

Febbraio: In February I read an article about gli stambecchi (ibex) who, thanks to their amazing abilities, are able to scale the almost vertical walls of la diga del lago Cingino (the Cingino lake dam). A search on YouTube found a plethora of videos showing gli stambecchi in action. Read more here:  Lo stambecco che sale per il sale

Marzo: To celebrate the beginning of spring I wrote a blog about the poet Salvatore Quasimodo and shared with you his beautiful poem Specchio (Mirror), which I translated into English: Specchio di Primavera

Aprile: In April we had a look at the correct way to use the often confusing verb: Mancare

Maggio: Here’s a bit of classic Italian culture. What are i mammoni? This blog reveals all!: I Figli Mammoni

Giugno: Every culture has its popular myths which become so often repeated that are eventually accepted as facts. Here is a common Italian urban myth: Le Vipere che Arrivano dal Cielo

Luglio: In July I recounted an amusing little story from my childhood based on the bed time prayer dedicated to l’Angelo Custode (the Guardian Angel):  Angelino

Agosto: Real Italian cooking … it doesn’t get much more genuine than our neighbour Dina’s homemade tortelli. Here she is at work in her kitchen: I Tortelli di Dina

Settembre: The late summer is a great time for travelling around and visiting feste. We’d often heard about the festa at Ponticello not far from Pontremoli, and this year we actually managed to go there. In fact we liked it so much that we went twice!: I Mestieri nel Borgo

Ottobre: Feeling romantic? Well, here’s your chance to tell someone special that you love them … without embarrassing yourself. This blog will explain: How to say "I Love You"in Italian

Novembre: In November hundreds of thousands of Italians had a very special and long awaited reason to celebrate. They finally had the great pleasure of saying: Addio Silvio!

Dicembre: And to bring 2011 to a close we chose Italy’s most popular Christmas carol. Tu Scendi dalle Stelle

 

Tanti auguri per il nuovo anno  da Serena e Geoff

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