Archive for 'Italian Language'
I Mestieri nel Borgo – part 2 Posted by Serena on Sep 21, 2011
I Mestieri nel Borgo, rievocazione storica della vita quotidiana di una piccola comunità contadina della Lunigiana = Trades in the village, historic re-enactment of the daily life of a small peasant farmer community in Lunigiana. Let’s continue our photo documentary of this year’s festival in Ponticello, Lunigiana: 1. La Cottura nei Testi – 1 = …
I Mestieri nel Borgo – part 1 Posted by Serena on Sep 16, 2011
Every August in the little borgo of Ponticello in northern Tuscany, a fascinating and picturesque festival is held: I Mestieri nel Borgo, rievocazione storica della vita quotidiana di una piccola comunità contadina della Lunigiana = Trades in the village, historic re-enactment of the daily life of a small peasant farmer community in Lunigiana. This year…
Quanto Spesso? Posted by Serena on Sep 12, 2011
In my last blog Quanto Tempo I explained the use of two important expressions that we use when we talk about how long things take. Today, I’m going to continue with the ‘time’ theme by looking at possible replies to the question quanto spesso? – how often? spesso – often: vado spesso a Bergamo per lavoro…
La Famiglia–Part 2 Posted by Serena on Sep 5, 2011
Let’s continue with our discussion about how we name the members of our family. In part 1 we talked about the immediate family. This blog will widen out to include the extended family. mia nonna = my grandmother: la mamma di mio papà, cioè la mia nonna paterna, si chiamava Rosetta – my father’s mother…
La Famiglia – Part 1 Posted by Serena on Aug 31, 2011
La Famiglia è tutto – family is everything, as we say in Italy. Let’s have a look at how we name the immediate members of our family, beginning with our parents. Here we have a classic example of un falso amico – a false friend, i.e. a word that sounds the same in both Italian…
Quanti Colori! Posted by Serena on Aug 29, 2011
Bianco, rosso, blu, giallo, verde, arancio, marrone, rosa, nero … White, red, blue, yellow, green, orange, brown, pink, black … There are so many colours! However they never seem to describe the reality that is all around us. Artists use very specific names to describe the colours that they use, e.g. rosso carminio e rosso…
Beware of the ‘B’ Words – The Easy Version Posted by Serena on Aug 24, 2011
Firstly, well done Bill Rohwer, you win first prize: a beautiful three month old kitten. Let us know when you are ready to come and collect her. Now, here’s the ‘easy version of my ‘b’ word quiz: In Italian we have a confusing group of words beginning with ‘b’ and ending with groups of vowels. …