Archive for September, 2015
Italian Quiz – September 2015 – Gli Animali Posted by Geoff on Sep 16, 2015
Dear Readers, we’ve been making a few changes to the e-mails that you receive from us in order to make it easier for you to comment on the articles. These changes were implemented on Monday at around the time that this quiz was originally published, and it’s possible that some of you may have missed…
Perdindirindina … What The ….? Posted by Serena on Sep 10, 2015
In our recent blog You’re Learning Italian … Really?! we looked at the expression addirittura, which is a polite way of expressing surprise or disbelief. We also have at our disposal a veritable arsenal of less polite ways of expressing those sentiments. Let’s look at the really ‘naughty’ ones first shall we? (readers: “yes please…
Italians Abroad – Part 2 Posted by Geoff on Sep 9, 2015
The Italians are world champions at self criticism, and are able to describe all their collective faults to a T. According to this article they are also world champions at being annoying and ungracious visitors to foreign shores. Here’s part 2 of Italians Abroad: L’Inguaribile Sbruffone All’italiano medio piace mettersi in mostra, e questo lo…
Italians Abroad Posted by Geoff on Sep 7, 2015
Dear Readers, we love your passion for the Italian language and way of life, we applaud your efforts to come to grips with it all, we admire the amount of time, money and effort that you put into organising your holiday trips to our strange and beautiful land. But please know that we are sooooo relieved…
Sicilian Flowers Posted by Serena on Sep 4, 2015
The other day as I walked into my parents’ apartment, I heard their carer, Luisa, talking on her cell phone in a ‘foreign’ language. My first thought was: “Oh, Luisa is speaking Romanian!” I was probably influenced by the fact that here in Pontremoli the vast majority of badanti (carers) are in fact Romanian. However…
Now How Do You Say That In Italian? Posted by Geoff on Sep 2, 2015
Following Serena’s recent article Anyone Want A Kitten, a reader asked us why we hadn’t had Amber sterilised. I thought that my reply might be a good opportunity to do something that we haven’t done in a while: an English to Italian translation. So, here is my explanation of the Amber situation, with Serena’s eloquent…