Archive for 'Culture'
This is the Beautiful Eye … Posted by Serena on Aug 13, 2014
Il post di ieri mi ha fatto ritornare in mente una canzoncina per bambini che mi piaceva molto quando ero piccola: “Questo è l’occhio bello”. L’aspetto più eccitante della canzoncina è che bisogna usare le manine per indicare le varie parti del viso, ed io presa dall’entusiasmo finivo sempre con l’infilarmi un ditino in un…
Shelley In Italy Posted by Serena on Jul 28, 2014
Written by Serena with translation by Geoff La settimana scorsa sono andata al mare a San Terenzo con mia cognata e mia nipote che erano in vacanza dall’Inghilterra. San Terenzo è un piccolo paese molto carino della costa ligure, fra La Spezia e Lerici. Mia cognata Caroline era già stata a San Terenzo un paio…
A Devil of a Blog! Posted by Geoff on Jul 17, 2014
I love discovering interesting expressions. Every language is full of them, and Italian is no exception. Some of these expressions have obvious meanings, some are similar in both Italian and English, and others are just downright obscure. What the Devil can that mean? I ask myself in English, or Che Diavolo vuol dire? in Italian…
Giorgio Armani and Cinema Posted by Serena on Jul 15, 2014
Last Friday, the 11th of July, was the 80th birthday of renowned Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani. Although Armani known throughout the world for his clean tailored menswear, especially his trademark jacket ‘la giacca destrutturata’, what particularly interests me is the work he has done for cinema. Above left: Armani’s trademark jacket La Giacca Destrutturata…
Boh! Posted by Serena on Jun 28, 2014
A couple of days ago a reader asked me: is "Boh" the Italian equivalent of "Doh!"? Well, according to the Vocabolario della Lingua Italiana Treccani, the exclamation ‘boh!’ expresses: uncertainty, e.g. ‘boh! non lo so proprio’ (… I don’t really know); incredulity, e.g. ‘boh! se lo dice lui, sarà vero’ (… if he says so…
The Changing Face of Cheating Posted by Serena on Jun 19, 2014
Cheating isn’t what it used to be! When I was at school we used the good old fashioned methods handed down from generation to generation. But kids these days are spoilt by modern technology. In short, they’re cheating at cheating! Why this sudden nostalgia for good old fashioned cheating? Well, right now, all over Italy…
Italian Fruit and Vegetable Proverbs and Sayings Posted by Serena on Jun 12, 2014
They say that an apple a day keeps the doctor away. Well, true or not we have exactly the same expression in Italian: una mela al giorno leva il medico di torno. However, perhaps because of our national passion for food, we have many more proverbs and idiomatic expressions involving fruit and vegetables. Let’s have…