Archive for the year 2009
Word Lists – 1. La Cucina Posted by Serena on Nov 18, 2009
When you’re trying to learn a foreign language, there are all sorts of little strategies that can help you memorize those sometimes elusive words. Learning from a book, or in a class isn’t really the best way of developing your vocabulary for the simple reason that it is too abstract, i.e. too unconnected with the…
Lucca Comics 2009 Posted by Serena on Nov 15, 2009
It’s not everyday that you can stroll along the historic walls of Lucca and encounter Spiderman! But if you happened to be there over the weekend of 29th of October to the 1st of November you would have seen not only Spiderman but just about every other hero or villain portrayed in all the most popular fumetti…
Facciamo San Martino Posted by Serena on Nov 12, 2009
Wednesday 11th of November was la festa di San Martino, a date which has particular significance for the contadini (farm labourers, or peasants) as it brings to a close the agricultural year. ‘Fare S.Martino’ (literally: to do S.Martino), is an expression used in the vast agricultural plains of the Pianura Padana, which means both to…
Colloquial Italian – 2. Allora and Dunque Posted by Serena on Nov 9, 2009
In part two of my Colloquial Italian series I’m going to continue exploring those little everyday words that we Italians use all the time, but which are often overlooked in classes and text books. Learning how and where to use them will help to make your spoken Italian sound much more natural. The two words…
Omaggio ad Alda Merini, poetessa Posted by Serena on Nov 6, 2009
On Saturday 31st October I heard the sad news that la poetessa (the female poet) Alda Merini had died from cancer, aged 78. I only discovered her poems a couple of years ago, and I was immediately taken by their delicate sensitivity. Through her poetry, Merini describes her inner torment, longing for love, and mysticism. Alda Merini was born…
Le Noci Posted by Serena on Nov 3, 2009
This year has been great year for le noci (walnuts), and every day I go out to pick up manciate (handfuls) of them that have fallen from un noce (a walnut tree) in front of our house. I share this tree with a couple of scoiattoli (squirrels), which keep themselves busy all day long running up the noce, collecting…
Tavolo or Tavola? Posted by Serena on Oct 31, 2009
Following my article about new trends in Italian kitchens, a reader asked me whether the words tavolo (table) and tavola (table) are interchangeable, and if there is any difference between the two. Well, I’m afraid that this is yet another idiosyncratic use of the Italian language, so let’s see if I can clarify it for you…