Archive for 'Italian Language'
Aspettando il Natale Posted by Serena on Dec 7, 2011
“Ancora una volta il Natale si avvicina fra luci, suoni, colori e tanta speranza che le cose possano andare meglio”. (“Once again Christmas is getting close with its lights, sounds, colours and a lot of hope that things may get better”.) This is the opening phrase in the booklet that I picked up yesterday in…
Che Casino! Posted by Serena on Dec 5, 2011
1. casino (con l’accento sulla ‘o’), luogo dove si gioca d’azzardo. 1. casino (with the accent on the ‘o’), a place where one gambles. 2. casino (con l’accento sulla ‘i’), bordello. 2. casino (with the accent on the ‘i’ ), brothel 3. casino (con l’accento sulla ‘i’), confusione, chiasso, caos, molto 3. casino (with the…
Compriamo una Casa Posted by Serena on Nov 27, 2011
In my last blog we looked at the language we use when describing our homes. Today we’ll look at the jargon that you have to face if you want to buy a house here in Italy. Here are a few examples taken from un’agenzia immobiliare (an estate agency) in my local town, Pontremoli. 1. Un…
Descriviamo la Nostra Casa Posted by Serena on Nov 25, 2011
The most common form of housing in modern Italy is un appartamento in un palazzo (an apartment in a a condominium or block of flats). I miei genitori, per esempio, abitano in un appartamento al quarto piano di un condominio (My parents, for example, live in an apartment on the fourth floor of a condominium…
Pronto Soccorso Posted by Serena on Nov 21, 2011
Venerdì sera, verso le sette, è suonato il telefono. Era la vicina di casa dei miei: “Tua mamma è caduta e si è rotta la gamba… L’ambulanza è già venuta e l’ha portata all’ospedale” mi ha detto. On Friday evening at about seven o’clock the phone rang. It was my parents’ neighbour: “Your mother has…
How to say ‘I love you’ in Italian Posted by Serena on Oct 24, 2011
Apparently one of the most frequently asked questions on internet search engines is ‘how do you say “I love you” in Italian… or Spanish, or German, or Greek, etc. etc. Well, this must be good news for international relations, and it’s certainly a lovely antidote to all the scaremongering perpetrated by politicians and the media…
Una Visita dal Dentista Posted by Serena on Oct 14, 2011
O.K. I know you all like to read my blogs about our wonderful landscapes, delicious food, and deeply rooted traditions, but sometimes we have to deal with some of the less pleasant realities of life. What happens, for example, if you’re on holiday in Italy and you have mal di denti? = tooth ache? Don’t…