Category Archives: Language

“Italy in books” – reading challenge 2011

Posted on 15/12/2010 by

Italy for Beginners is pleased to receive news of the “Italy in Books” – reading challenge 2011, launched by Brighton Blogger in Book After Book. The aim of the challenge is to read at least 12 books that are set … Continue reading →

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Chiuso per ferie

Posted on 06/08/2010 by

Although in more recent years Italians have take their holiday breaks earlier in the summer (after all the school holidays last from mid June to mid September!) August is still the traditional holiday month in Italy, and the majority will … Continue reading →

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Mi scusi! : making your apologies

Posted on 15/12/2009 by

While I have always taught that in British English ‘excuse me‘ is used before disturbing a person and ‘sorry‘ after you have disturbed them, Italian “apologies” are a little more complex. Much will depend on the form of address, ie. … Continue reading →

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Italian swear words. a quick guide (contains strong language!)

Posted on 24/11/2009 by

Further to Gianfranco Fini’s recent outburst of ‘stronzo’ (see post below) it might be useful to give a quick guide to a few commonly used swear words in Italy. Like most other things they may vary from region to region, … Continue reading →

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How do I say ‘you’?

Posted on 22/10/2009 by

While English has long left it’s thee, thou and ye forms behind in Shakespeare and prayer books, in favour of a universal ‘you‘, Italian like many other European languages still retains an informal and formal, singular and plural code when … Continue reading →

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Berlusconi loses legal immunity

Posted on 08/10/2009 by

Another tough blow for Italian Prime Minister (Presidente del Consiglio) Silvio Berlusconi as the Constitutional Court (corte costituzionale) yesterday declared the Lodo Alfano law as being against the Italian Constitution (anti-costituzionale). The cancellation of the law which effectively gave Berlusconi, … Continue reading →

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Italy to begin influenza A vaccination

Posted on 07/10/2009 by

The Italian Health Minstry (Ministero della Salute) has announced that it will begin vaccinations (vaccinazioni) for the A H1N1 flu strain, commonly known as ‘swine flu’ (‘la suina‘), as from next Monday. Vaccinations will be distributed and organised on a … Continue reading →

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Buongiorno or Ciao? – the greetings dilemma

Posted on 29/09/2009 by

Unlike English, especially American English, the Italian language is still strictly divided into formal and informal codes which determine how you address a certain person, which will range from how you translate the word ‘you‘ (more of that later) to … Continue reading →

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Ancelotti continues with Chelsea success

Posted on 22/09/2009 by

Chelsea FC’s new manager Carlo Ancelotti continues his successful start with the London club with his sixth win in a row on Sunday against Tottenham, securing a maximum 18 points in the Premier League.The former Parma, Roma and AC Milan … Continue reading →

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Italian lessons despite drop in language learning

Posted on 15/07/2009 by

Guardian.co.uk has recently launched it’s “Learn Italian” series under the travel section. So far this internet-age phrase book complete with audio section has covered Culture & Sport, Food & Shopping and Travel and Accomodation. A useful ‘Italian gestures‘ section is … Continue reading →

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