Archive for the year 2009
Insetti! Posted by Serena on Jul 15, 2009
Fa caldo! it’s hot! and from dawn to dusk the air resounds with il frinire delle cicale (the characteristic sound produced by the cicadas). I love this sound, not because I find it musical but because for me it represents the ‘soundtrack’ of summer. Unfortunately my husband doesn’t share my passion for this particularly screechy…
Esprimiti! part 1. Posted by Serena on Jul 12, 2009
Learning another language always has its ups and downs, and it’s quite normal to pass through phases in which you feel that you’re making progress, followed by times where you feel that you’re not getting anywhere. This partly depends on the level of interaction that you have with native speakers of the language that you…
Traditional children’s games Posted by Serena on Jul 9, 2009
Here in Italy the schools are closed for the summer holidays, and children are at home playing. A few days ago I saw a small group of bambini (young children) aged around 2 to 8 playing an old traditional playground game: Il Girotondo (the equivalent of Ring-a-Ring-a-Roses). I felt a touch of nostalgia as many happy memories came…
Tiramisu’: a healthy version! Posted by Serena on Jul 6, 2009
It’s time for another recipe, and as we are in the middle of a sultry summer here in Italy, in the period known as il solleone (the lion sun), what’s better than a nice, cool, refreshing dessert? Tiramisu’ is probably the best known Italian pudding in the world, but perhaps not many people are aware of the…
Ogni Posted by Serena on Jul 3, 2009
Following an interesting discussion that arose from my article ‘Talking about the time’ I thought it would be useful to explore the use of ogni, a word which can occasionally cause some confusion. Ogni usually means ‘every’, ‘each’, or ‘all’ and is commonly heard in the following types of phrases: ogni mattina mi alzo alle sette (every morning I get…
Giorno or Giornata? Posted by Serena on Jun 30, 2009
A reader wrote to me asking: “Can you explain the difference between giorno and giornata (both meaning “day” in English) if there is one?” I thought that the answer to this was going to be short, and straightforward, but when I looked in my Italian dictionary, just to check that my comment would be correct…
All roads lead to Rome – part2 Posted by Serena on Jun 27, 2009
In part 1 of this blog I took a brief look at the origins of the expression ‘tutte le strade portano a Roma’ (‘all roads lead to Rome’), and at some of the famous Vie (roads, or literally ‘ways’) that were the backbone of the Roman empire. In this second part I’m going to leap…