All Blog Posts Tagged 'language' (8)

Addio, Signora Lalli...

A few weeks ago, the Italian American community of New York City lost one of its most inspiring members. Signora Franca Lalli founded the Italian language school, "Parliamo Italiano" on East 65th Street, more than 25 years ago. Over time, its student body grew from a few dozen to 700 members, devoted to the study of this wonderful language of ours. Signora Lalli promoted the exploration of Italian literature and culture with her warmth, enthusiasm and a native Italian teaching staff. Under her g… Continue

Added by Lucienne Despota on May 21, 2009 at 4:13am — 1 Comment

un nuovo indirizzo

I am now posting my blog on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at www.becomingitalianwordbyword.typepad.com Please come visit! Dianne Hales Author LA BELLA LINGUA: My Love Affair with Italian, the World’s Most Enchanting Language dianne@diannehales.com www.labellalingua.org www.becomingitalian.com Blog: www.becomingitalianwordbyword.typepad.com Continue

Added by Dianne Hales on May 2, 2009 at 5:57pm — No Comments

innamorato

innamorato enamoured As I’ve studied Italian over the last quarter-century, I’ve come to think of the language as a briccone—a lovable rascal, a clever, twinkle-eyed scamp that you can’t resist even when it plays you for the fool. Croce e delizia,… Continue

Added by Dianne Hales on April 24, 2009 at 9:03pm — No Comments

la lingua italiana

la lingua italiana the Italian language As a country Italy makes no sense. Think of it: a spiny peninsula stretching from snowcapped Alps to sun baked islands, spattered with stone villages bound by ancient allegiances, a mosaic of dialects, cuisines, and c… Continue

Added by Dianne Hales on April 22, 2009 at 4:22pm — 2 Comments

domani mattina

domani mattina tomorrow morning When I arrived in Italy for the first time in 1983 I knew only one Italian sentence: “Mi dispiace, ma non parlo italiano” (“I’m sorry, but I don’t speak Italian”). In my first minutes in the country, I repeated it half a dozen… Continue

Added by Dianne Hales on April 21, 2009 at 7:37am — 2 Comments

piacere

>piacere noun: pleasure, favor verb: to please, to be pleasing “Piacere,” Italians say when introduced, and the very sound evokes a tantalizing sense of delights to come. As he pronounces each syllable, an Italian man may clasp a woman’s fingers and pull them c… Continue

Added by Dianne Hales on February 26, 2009 at 7:00am — No Comments

ciao (hello, goodbye)

The cheery Italian ciao, which does double duty as “hi” and “bye,” dates back to the glittering heyday of the Venetian Republic. I learned its history on my first visit to La Serenissima (Italians’ nickname for the watery city) from a waiter at the café where I would sip espresso… Continue

Added by Dianne Hales on February 20, 2009 at 7:48am — 1 Comment

Becoming Italian Word by Word

Some people are born Italian. Others become Italian through a passion for Italy's food, music, art, history or way of living. Unlike these Italianophiles, I chose to inhabit the language, as bawdy as it is beautiful, as intriguing and elusive as Mona Lisa's smile… Continue

Added by Dianne Hales on February 20, 2009 at 7:28am — 8 Comments