Archive for June, 2009
Parliamo L’Italiese Posted by Serena on Jun 9, 2009
Whether we like it or not, la bella lingua has absorbed a fairly substantial vocabulary from the English language. The language of sport and entertainment in Italy, for example, has long been influenced by English: ‘Il Jazz’ for example, was already in use back in the 1920s. During the fascist years under Mussolini there was…
Bisogno or Bisogna? Posted by Serena on Jun 6, 2009
Here is another example of a verb that does not translate very well from English into Italian: “to need”. In Italian the verb bisognare (to need) has become redundant except in its third person form, but we use two different constructions to express the concept of ‘need’ that should not be confused with each other…
If I could have … Posted by Serena on Jun 3, 2009
There is an old popular Italian song from 1939 called ‘Mille Lire al Mese’, which somehow seems very appropriate given the present economic climate. The first verse goes: Che disperazione, che delusione dover campar, sempre in disdetta, sempre in bolletta! Ma se un posticino domani cara io trovero’, di gemme d’oro ti copriro’! Se potessi…