Sunday, January 24, 2010

Learn Italian in Song: Una Su Un Milione

January 24, 2010

by Alex Britti Una Su Un Milione One in a Million Accettami così Accept me just like this ti prego non guardare I beg you not to look nella mia testa inside my head c’è un mondo da ignorare there’s a world to ignore Voglio che tu sia I want you to be mia complice [...]

Read the full article →

Learn Italian in Song: Il Ragazzo della via Gluck

January 24, 2010

The Boy from Gluck Street A supposedly autobiographical song by Adriano Celentano which may have been Italy’s first environmental protest song, presented at the San Remo music festival in 1966. Note: Via Gluck in Milan, like many Italian streets, is named for someone famous, in this case composer Christoph Gluck. The further you go from [...]

Read the full article →

Thinking Badly of Others in Italy

January 24, 2010

A very indicative Italian saying: A pensare male si fa peccato, ma si indovina [quasi] sempre. This translates roughly as: “To think badly [of others] is a sin – but you’re nearly always right.”

Read the full article →

Italian for English Speakers – in 1611

January 24, 2010

A fascinating old dictionary.

Read the full article →

Itlish: English Words in “Common” Use in Italian

January 24, 2010

Italian, like English and many others, accretes words from other languages. Often these are modern terms which have no easy equivalent in antique Latin or Greek roots. For example: Ten years ago, Italians didn’t know how to refer to the process of scanning (a page, a photograph) using a scanner. The correct word – digitalizzare [...]

Read the full article →

Italian Satirical Poetry

January 24, 2010

Monument to the poet Trilusso, in Roman dialect. Piazza Trilusso, Rome For some fun political puns, look here In the Shade While I read my usual paper, Sprawled in the shade of a [tree] I see a pig and I say to him: “Goodbye, swine!” I see a donkey and I say to him: “Goodbye, [...]

Read the full article →

Learn Italian in Song: Donne

January 24, 2010

Recorded by Neri per Caso. Donne Women Donne in cerca di guai Women in search of trouble(s) Donne a un telefono che non suona mai Women at a telephone that never rings Donne in mezzo a una via Women in the middle of a street Donne allo sbando senza compagnia Women out of control without [...]

Read the full article →