Category: language

La Festa del Papà

Chi lavora con le sue mani è un lavoratore.
Chi lavora con le sue mani e la sua testa è un artigiano.
Chi lavora con le sue mani e la sua testa ed il suo cuore è un artista.
~ San Francesco D’Assisi

He who works with his hands is a laborer.
He who works with his hands and his head is a craftsman.
He who works with his hands and his head and his heart is an artist.
~ St. Francis of Assisi

Buona festa del Papà to my father, a hard worker, a craftsman and an artist.

March 19 is St. Joseph (San Giuseppe) in Italy where it is celebrated as Father’s Day because San Giuseppe was un uomo e padre fantastico! A man that talked little and worked a lot, respected women, escaped oppression, followed his dreams, and provided for his childrens’ future.

In the painting Felice Giani humanizes the religious theme of the Holy Family where St. Joseph in his carpenting shop lovingly fills a jug of wine from a large barrel. In the background you can see his work table on which lay his working tools.

San Giuseppe is a role model. A man who interprets the messages of his dreams and puts them into action. He first marries his girlfriend who is pregnant of a child that is not his own, sheltering them from contempt and a merciless punishment. He then carries out his second dream. He emigrates to a foreign land to escape the rule of a tyrant, and thus saves the future of his child. At last, after having rasied and taught his son a job, he realizes that at twelve years of age he is capable of dealing with the alleged wise men of the country. At this point his tasks are complete and he retires to the sidelines without honors or rewards. With a father like that no wonder (non cè da meravigliarsi) Gesus became a hero!

It may also be that San Giuseppe taught him the importance of languages and communication which I’m sure came in very handy as the saviour (il salvatore).

When my father emigrated to Canada he actually learned how to speak English fairly well compared to his brothers, setting an example for his children about the importance of learning and improving.

And talking about hard work…I know that when it comes to languages lots of work is required including tongue-twisters (scioglilingua), a useful tool to improve pronunciation and fluency. So here’s a popular Italian tongue-twister…at two different speeds.

How fast can you say it without stumbling?

Sopra la panca la capra campa,
sotto la panca la capra crepa.

Speed 1

Speed 2

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How to use the verbs piacere and mancare in Italian

Come si usano i verbi piacere e mancare?


English follows

Allora, come si usa il verbo piacere? E’ una domanda che ricevo spesso. Credo che sia una buona idea rivedere come usare il verbo “piacere”, e verbi simili come “mancare” “servire”, “interessare”, ecc.

Per esempio, in italiano “mancare” può essere usato in diversi modi con vari significati. Vedremo il caso in cui significa “desiderare” indicando impazienza per qualcosa.

In questo caso segue una costruzione particolare che è comune anche ad altri verbi come “piacere” (vedi l’elenco sotto): ciò che ci piace è il soggetto mentre la persona che esprime apprezzamento diventa un pronome indiretto.

Mi (pronome indiretto) manca (verbo) l’Italia (soggetto).
Mi manca l’Italia.

È importante prendersi un momento per ripassare i pronomi  indiretti e ricordare dove sono inseriti in una frase. Vedi la scheda in basso. Esistono 2 forme di pronomi indiretti: forma atona e forma tonica. La forma tonica è solitamente usata per enfatizzare.

So, how is the verb “piacere” used? It’s a question I get often. I  think it’s a good idea to review how to use the verb “piacere”, and similar verbs like “mancare”, “servire”, “interessare”, etc.

In Italian “mancare” can be used in several ways with various meanings. We’ll learn how to use it when it means “to miss/to long for”, indicating impatience for something.

In this case it follows a particular construction that is also common to other verbs such as “piacere” (see list below): what we like  is the subject while the person who expresses appreciation is expressed with an indirect object pronoun.

Mi (indirect object pronoun) manca (verb) l’Italia (subject).
I miss Italy.

It’s important to take a moment to review the indirect object pronouns and to remember where they are placed in a sentence. See the chart below. There are 2 forms of indirect object pronouns: forma atona and forma tonica. The forma tonica is usually used for emphasis.

SINGULAR forma atonaSINGULAR forma tonica
before the verbbefore/after the verb
mi (to/for) mea me (to/for) me
ti (to/for) youa te (to/for) you
gli (to/for) hima lui (to/for) him
Le/le (to/for) you (formal m. and f.)a Lei/a lei (to/for) you (formal m. and f.)
PLURAL forma atonaPLURAL forma tonica
before the verbbefore/after the verb
ci (to/for) usa noi (to/for) us
vi (to/for) youa voi (to/for) you
gli (to/for) thema loro (to/for) them

Ricorda:

– Il verbo essere è l’ausiliare al passato prossimo: “Mi sono mancati i miei amici”. oppure “I miei amici sono mancati a me”.
– Il verbo mancare è singolare se seguito da un infinito: “Mi manca mangiare gli spaghetti”.
– A seconda della forma di pronome indiretto che stai utilizzando, la posizione dell’oggetto e del soggetto può essere invertita: “Mi manca l’Italia” o “L’Italia manca a me”.

Remember:
– The verb essere is used as the auxiliary in the passato prossimo tense: “Mi sono mancati i miei amici.” or “I miei amici sono mancati a me”.
– The verb mancare is singular when followed by an infinitive: “Mi manca mangiare gli spaghetti”.
– Depending on which form of indirect pronoun you are using, the position of the object and the subject can be inverted: “Mi manca l’Italia” or “L’Italia manca a me.”

Un elenco di altri verbi che seguono la stessa regola:

A list of other verbs that follow the same rule:

piacere – to like, to be pleasing
bastare – to be sufficient
attrarre – to attract
occorrere – to need
succedere – to happen
restare – to remain
servire – to serve
interessare – to interest
disgustare – to disgust
parere – to appear
sembrare – to seem
volerci – to take

Ecco un esercizio per fare fare pratica e non diemnticare di scrivere delle frasi nei commenti!

Here’s an exercise to help you practice and don’t forget to write some sentences in the comments!

📝 ESERCIZIO: COME USARE MANCARE (clicca qui) 📝

10 Ways to Laugh in Italian

What do you do when everything is going wrong? (quando tutto va storto) In Italy we laugh to keep from crying! (ridiamo per non piangere) Armed with a sense of humour, everything is easier even after the heavy storms that flooded many Italian cities this past week, among which the capital (la capitale), whose manholes (tombini) haven’t been cleaned since the Roman Times! (dai tempi dei Romani).

But with Carnevale approaching we are reminded that in Italy comedy and drama go hand in hand. An example of this is La Commedia dell’Arte, a colorful theatrical art form which began in the 16th century. What made it so special was that there was no need for spoken language (la lingua parlata), therefore all social classes, regions, dialects came together and enjoyed the comic plots based on skillful mime, stereotyped stock characters, masks, physical gestures, improvised dialogues and clowning. Some of the characters that reigned La Commedia dell’Arte are: Arlecchino, Columbina, Pulcinella, il Dottore, il Capitano and Pantalone.

However, if you’re lucky to be in Italy in February/March, don’t miss (non ti perdere) some of the most famous carnivals which are held in Venice, Viareggio, Ivrea, Cento, Gabettola and Acireale.

And don’t forget to carry some Italian expressions of laughter with you!

What’s your favourite expression? Try making a sentence!

1) morire dal ridere – laugh to death

2) ridere a crepapelle – laugh out loud

3) sbellicarsi dal ridere – crack up laughing

4) ridere sotto i baffi – to snigger

5) schiantarsi dal ridere – to knock yourself out laughing

6) ridere di cuore – laugh wholeheartedly

7) ridere alle spalle – laugh at someone’s back

8) ridere con gusto – laugh with gusto

9) ridere da pazzi – laugh like crazy

10) ridere per non piangere – laugh to keep from crying

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Michelangelo’s Visual Grocery List

How to communicate if you don’t speak or read a language? Draw it! (disegnalo) Michelangelo, of course, knew that well. It was actually a common practice in the old days to hand-draw (disegnare a mano) items for the illiterate, such as Michelangelo’s servant in this case.

I was still living in Florence when I embarked in an adventure to retrace Michelangelo’s steps while I was reading “The Agony and the Ecstasy” by Irving Stone. I learned much about il Grande Genio; that he was a humble and poor man (un uomo umile e povero), who only obtained wealth in his later years and that paper was a necessity but also a luxury (una necessità ma anche un lusso) for him; therefore, it would never go wasted. He would save and recycle scraps of paper to draw and write on. He would also destroy his sketches (i suoi schizzi) as he only wanted his polished works to be seen. I don’t think he would be happy to know that his grocery list has now gone viral on the internet! He had un caratteraccio, a temper, that’s for sure! But that is what made him great.

Casa Buonarroti in Florence, an important museum, often overlooked by tourists, is where this document is archived. It was my final emotional stop. It’s the house he built and died in after revolutionizing the world for 88 years!

Here are the 15 grocery items written in 16th century Florentine:pani dua (two loaves of bread)
un bochal di vino (a bottle of wine)
una aringa (a herring;a line like that over a letter or word stands in for an unwritten “n” or “m”)
tortegli (tortelli)

una salama (a salame)
quattro pani (four loaves of bread)
un bochal di tondo (a bottle of tondo, or full ‘rotund’ wine)
e un quartuccio di bruscho (a quarter of rough wine)
un piattello di spinaci (a plate of spinach)
quattro alice (four anchovies)
tortelli (tortelli)

sei pani (six loaves of bread)
due minestre di finocchio (two fennel soups)
una aringa (a herring)
un bochal di tondo (a bottle of tondo).

I find illustrations or drawing the vocabulary myself very useful to be able to memorize it better.

Are you a visual learner like me?

New Year’s Resolution: more Italian!

Do you want to learn or improve your Italian in the New Year? Certo! That’s a bellissimo New Year’s resolution!

Do you want to learn or improve your Italian in the New Year? Certo! That’s a bellissimo New Year’s resolution! (buon proposito per l’anno nuovo)… Include into your life more of everything in Italian: language, cinema, music, books, and food of course! Perhaps even a trip to Italy. I don’t think it could get any better!

The easiest way for me to stick to my goals (i miei obiettivi) is to keep them simple and fun. And this way, by the end of the year I sometimes exceed my initial expectations (supero le mie aspettative iniziali).

Here are some tips (alcuni consigli) to incorporate more Italian into your year:

1) Language – Every single day do some Italian. Learning a language requires daily practice. Only 15 minutes can make a big difference. But make sure you alternate different activities that you enjoy.

2) Music – I can’t live without music. It’s usually in the background (sullo sfondo) almost all day long. I find it the best way to learn a language. Language is music! Any music will do. Pump up the volume (alza il volume) and sing along!

3) Cinema – I love old Italian movies and I watch one almost every month. Italian movies allow you to immerse yourself in the Italian culture. If you’re a beginner, subtitles are fine, if you’re not, challenge yourself! Great Italian directors of the past are Visconti, Germi, Olmi, Fellini, Pasolini, and some recent ones are Golino, Moretti, Benigni, Comencini, Tornatore.

4) Books – Reading is very effective to increase your vocabulary and to practice the grammar with almost no sweat (senza sudore). If you don’t feel ready for a novel just yet, try reading a short story (un racconto) every month. The classics are usually not written in standardized modern Italian and they could be harder to understand. Some of my favourite modern authors are Elsa Morante, Italo Calvino, Alda Merini, Dacia Maraini.

5) Food – Every Sunday, (or even everyday!), why not prepare an Italian recipe in Italian? Or perhaps you can go out to an Italian restaurant. Practice reading the menu in Italian and speaking to the Italian waiter. If he doesn’t speak Italian, there might be some chatty Italians nearby!

Let’s combine duty and pleasure (uniamo l’utile al dilettevole)

What are your Italian resolutions for the New Year? Let me know in the comments!

Buon Anno!

Mirella

p.s. Animals are always very wise (molto saggi) not only when it comes to languages!

Top 10 Mistakes To Avoid When Learning Italian

I was inspired to write this handy little guide to help students improve the quality of their Italian learning practice. It is the fruit of my experience teaching Italian and English as a second language for over 10 years, and learning 4 languages during and after my bachelor’s degree in linguistics.

I’ve listed the 10 most common mistakes that I’ve noticed students make when they’re learning Italian. It might be the first time you’re exploring a second language, and you’re not sure what it entails, especially with a fascinating and complex language such as Italian. Perhaps you’ve been studying for a while and you feel that you are not advancing as much as you wish to. In this case, if any of the mistakes listed are true for you, then you’ll soon be back on track, as I’ve also added some tips to help you avoid or overcome il problema.

So whether you are starting from scratch or you need to refocus, I hope this guide encourages you to stay motivated and helps spark renewed passion in your viaggio della lingua italiana.

Non aspettare, don’t wait, subscribe to Una Parola Al Giorno newsletter by and you’ll receive the free e-book, “Top 10 Mistakes To Avoid When Learning Italian”.

Buono Studio!
Mirella