italian at home

 ⋆ scendo a napoli centrale, vieni a prendermi puntuale ⋆ i'm learning italian so i can go to naples and never return

[macchilangi]

Football vocabulary

Women’s world cup just started and due to this amazing fact, I did some research and came up with a football-themed vocabulary list in three languages for practice! I realized I had zero knowledge of football related words in english but since it is a topic that is truly entertaining for me, I thought I could use it as practice for my target language. I also learned one or two things in my native one. Making this list was really fun!

Here’s some words related to football in english, portuguese and italian:

Footbal - O futebol - Il calcio

▶a match - a partida - la partita

▶a pitch - o campo de futebol - il campo di/da calcio

▶a referee - o juíz - l'arbitro

▶a goalkeeper - o goleiro - il portiere

▶a defender - o zagueiro - il difensore

▶a midfielder - o meio de campo - il centrocampista

▶an attacker - o atacante - l'attaccante

▶a skipper - o capitão - il capitano

▶a substitute - o reserva - la riserva

▶a manager - o técnico - l'allenatore

▶a foul - a falta - il fallo

▶injury time - tempo de acréscimo - il recupero

▶extra time - a prorrogação - i tempi supplementari

▶score - a pontuação/o placar - il punteggio/il tabellone

▶a goal - o gol - il gol

▶the win - a vitória - la vittoria

▶a defeat - a derrota - la sconfitta

▶to knock out - eliminar - eliminare

▶to kick- chutar/ dar um chute- dare un calcio

▶penalty- o pênalti- il rigore

▶a pass- o passe- il passaggio

▶a cross- o cruzamento- il cross

▶the team- o time- la squadra

▶to score a goal- fazer/dar um gol- segnare un gol

▶the net- a rede- la rete

▶a draw/ a tie- o empate- il pareggio

▶to switch fields- mudar de campo- cambiare gioco

▶first/second half- primeiro/segundo tempo- passagio di prima/secondo

If I made any mistakes, don´t hesitate and correct me! Your help will be more than appreciated. You can also answer this post with some info about football culture in your country, it would be so interesting! Good studies!~~

[sciogli-lingua]

#2: Mi aiuti a cosare quel coso?

The word “cosa”, not unlike its English counterpart “thing”, can be used in a number of contexts. And while its genericness has led teachers to encourage the use of more specific synonyms in essays, it also means that it is one of the most commonly heard words in spoken Italian; it’s no wonder, then, that what is easily the most comprehensive verb form in our language, namely cosare, derives from the word cosa itself.

Cosare is a word you’ll only ever hear used in spoken language, being extremely informal and context-related: it’s essentially a blanket verb that people use in place of another verb they don’t know or remember at the moment.

Provo a cosare la spina, vediamo cosa succede! – I’ll try to [cosare] the plug, let’s see what happens!

Let’s examine this example (source: Wiktionary): let’s say that your TV set, for some reason, doesn’t seem to be working. You decide to unplug it and then plug it again, to see if that might help; but as you’re informing your friend that you’re about to do just that, you suddenly can’t remember the word for “unplug”. On the spur of the moment, it’s not uncommon for people to use “cosare” instead, sometimes only to replace it with the right verb as soon as they remember it. Even though the verb cosare doesn’t technically stand for anything in particular, the listener is usually able to decipher its meaning in the sentence thanks to both its linguistic (the word “plug” following the verb) and extralinguistic context (the whole situation).

Something similar happens with nouns: that’s when the (equally colloquial) word coso comes into play. Roughly equivalent to expressions such as thingy or thingamabob, it’s used to designate something whose name you either can’t recall or don’t want to say, as well as any object that looks odd or unusual.

Pensavo non potessi oltrepassare il coso elettromagnetico – I thought you couldn’t break the electromagnetic thingy

Russell finds the snipe (from Up)

In the first example, taken from Reverso Context, the speaker can’t remember the word “campo”, so they use thingy instead.

In the video, when Russell goes to Carl with the snipe, the latter exclaims: “Che cos'è quel coso?!” (1:30 in the video): he’s never seen anything like it, and quite evidently finds it weird.

Coso/a can also be used in regard to a person, but that’s mainly in a pejorative sense, especially if you’re speaking directly to them (as in, I can’t even be bothered to remember what their name is)

Senti, coso, non ho tempo da perdere – Listen, what’s-your-name, I have no time to waste

[childweanedonpoison]

the two italian women who pretended to want a selfie with italian minister of interior (and leader of racist, xenophobic and homophobic right wing party nothern league) at a convention and then proceeded to kiss each other are braver than any us marine. look at his face. look at the shock and disappointment.

[unearthitaly]

[ITALY FROM A TO Z]: B for BACIAPILE

“Baciapile” is a compound noun formed by the verb ’baciare’ ( = to kiss) and the plural form of the noun ’pila’ ( = holy water font). So it literally means “kisser of holy water fonts” 😂. It’s a word used to indicate those people who are, apparently, very pious, because they always go to the Mass, but that, in the end, do not follow the Christian precept of love for the others. It is believed that, for them, the Mass is just means to appear good in public. A synonym is “Fariseo”/“Pharisee”, a Jewish social movement/political party that, according to the New Testament, Jesus reprimanded for exactly this kind of behaviour: formality of the rules chosen over love and good deeds. {It’s advisable not to use Pharisee in this sense, though, as many people of the Jewish community find it insulting.}

Many Italians think the country is full of baciapile 😕

[unearthitaly]

[ITALY FROM A TO Z]: A for “AMERICANATA”

“Americanata” [ fem.noun, pl.form “americanate”] is a word used by Italians to underline an action, a thing, a behaviour which is judged kitsch and characterized by delusions of grandeur, considered typical of the American demeanor [American intended as “citizen of the USA”]. It can be used in different ways:

✴ to indicate movies, TV programmes and Hollywood’s productions full of cgi effects, but with little “substance” and meaning;

✴ to refer to eccentric behaviours and objects deemed as American like, for example, incredibly large and pimped out SUVs, extravagant wedding dresses and Vegas-like Christmas decorations;

✴ Italian products and behaviours which are poor imitations of the previously mentioned American ones (yes, there are Italians who do try to emulate Americans);

✴ Italian-American food products which are believed  “100% Italian” by Americans and all the “new versions” of dubious quality of Italian dishes;

✴ American movies trying to depict “la dolce vita in Italy” in a stereotypical way.

There’s not an exact traslation for this word, so I will leave you here the most on-point definition given by the dictionary Garzanti Lingua: “Action, behaviour, characterized by an unsophisticated taste, which focuses on delusions of grandeur and exhibitionism, usually attribute of Americans”. 😳😅

So, American friends, how do you feel about this word? Try not to be offended, as we can be harsher when talking about the typical Italian behaviour 😅😅 Have you ever heard an Italian says “fare le cose all'italiana” (“do the things the Italian way”)? Believe me, we aren’t usually paying us a compliment with such an expression 😶

———-

Given that many people complain that they’re not able to find videos in Italian with subtitles to practice their listening skills, I have recorded for you this video where I give some practical examples on how to use the term “americanata”. I’ve spoken Italian and put English subtitles. It’s uploaded on IGTV, so consider to add me on your instagram feed to stay updated!

[socwinter]

In Spain is “americanada”, and means the same.

[unearthitaly]

Someone here told me it exists also in Greek: “amerikania”. I had no idea!

[italianoacasa]

italian in class 11/? - “with regards to”

Some options for saying “regarding” or “with regards to” in Italian, ranging from everyday language to pretty formal:

quanto a

in quanto a

per quanto riguarda a 

con riguardo a

per quanto concerne

per quel che riguarda

Examples:

Un dialetto è diverso dalla varietà standarizzata di una lingua per quanto riguarda la pronuncia oppure il lessico.  A dialect differs from a standardized variety of a language in terms of pronunciation or vocabulary.

I miei colleghi pensavano di sapere tutto su di me, ma quanto al denaro che avevo aiutato riciclare tutti quegli anni fa, non si rendevano conta di niente. My colleagues thought they knew everything about me, but when it came to the money I helped launder all those years before, they had absolutely no idea.

In questo periodo nei paesi sviluppati si potè osservare grandi miglioramenti per quanto concerne la movilità sociale e le opportunità profissionali disponibili alle donne. During this period, in developed countries one could observe great improvements regarding the social mobility and the career opportunities available to women.

Please correct my mistakes and add your suggestions to this post! In bocca al lupo!

[italianoacasa]

italian in class 10/?

Here is a revision of some vocab I learnt in class this past term. Examples by me. Please correct any mistakes and add to this list if you so wish!

la soglia - doorstep / threshold

Ci sono troppe persone che vivono sotto la soglia di povertà.  There are too many people who live below the poverty line.

la ricetta/la prescrizione medica - prescription

Questo farmaco non è disponibile senza una ricetta. This drug is not available without a prescription.

aulico - academic

Uno stile elevato, diciamo aulico, mi sembra più che adatto per questo tipo di discorso. An elevated, let’s call it academic, style, seems to me more than appropriate for this type of subject.

l’assuefazione (f) - addiction

Tra gli effetti collaterali che più mi preoccupano si trova l’assuefazione. Addiction is one of the side effects that worry me most.

mettere a nudo - to lay bare, to demonstrate

Questo articolo mette a nudo le difficoltà che trovano i ricercatori quando cercano di smascherare i miti legati al tema della buona alimentazione. This article demonstrates the difficulties that researchers find when they try to debunk the myths surrounding the topic of nutrition.

il provino - rehearsal

Quando ero all’università, avevo tanta voglia di participare in progetti artistichi, ma i provini erano troppi e mi stancavo troppo facilmente.  When I was at university I was so keen to take part in artistic projects, but there were too many rehearsals and I got tired way too easily.

[langsandlit]

Great list! :) I hope you don’t mind these corrections! ♡

Aulico means “grand” or “solemn”, very elevated. “Academic” is accademico, and it refers to universities or, well, academies, not to an author or poem’s style.

Assuefazione can be used to mean “addiction”, though it’s most commonly used in the sense of “inurement” (to drugs, including medicines), when a particular drug has no effect on the individual anymore because of their addiction or because they were put on the medication for too long. That’s mostly how you’ll see the word used. For “addiction” we say dipendenza (da), essere dipendente (da) “to be addicted (to)”.

Mettere a nudo means “to expose” rather than “to demonstrate” (dimostrare), but “to lay bare” is a good equivalent! 

Provino means “audition” (audizione) or “screen-test”, whereas “rehearsal” translates to prova; “to rehearse” is fare le prove.

[jaimetalangue]

I’d like to add a little something about assuefazione from my francophone doctor point of view, and I insist that I don’t know Italian in a medical context.

In French we have a similar word assuétude, that seems to be related to the Italian assuefazione (though I don’t know for sure). We use it as a synonym of our words for addiction (dépendance, toxicomanie) in medical contexts, which is in the medical record of the patient and in scientific literature. But obviously, as its Italian counterpart, it is very rarely used elsewhere nowadays.

So naturally I’m wondering if maybe assuefazione is used in Italian more often in medical and scientific contexts? I’d say it’s not impossible since we tend to use a different vocabulary to talk more formally in specialised fields.

[italianoacasa]

italian in class 10/?

Here is a revision of some vocab I learnt in class this past term. Examples by me. Please correct any mistakes and add to this list if you so wish!

la soglia - doorstep / threshold

Ci sono troppe persone che vivono sotto la soglia di povertà.  There are too many people who live below the poverty line.

la ricetta/la prescrizione medica - prescription

Questo farmaco non è disponibile senza una ricetta. This drug is not available without a prescription.

aulico - academic

Uno stile elevato, diciamo aulico, mi sembra più che adatto per questo tipo di discorso. An elevated, let’s call it academic, style, seems to me more than appropriate for this type of subject.

l’assuefazione (f) - addiction

Tra gli effetti collaterali che più mi preoccupano si trova l’assuefazione. Addiction is one of the side effects that worry me most.

mettere a nudo - to lay bare, to demonstrate

Questo articolo mette a nudo le difficoltà che trovano i ricercatori quando cercano di smascherare i miti legati al tema della buona alimentazione. This article demonstrates the difficulties that researchers find when they try to debunk the myths surrounding the topic of nutrition.

il provino - rehearsal

Quando ero all’università, avevo tanta voglia di participare in progetti artistichi, ma i provini erano troppi e mi stancavo troppo facilmente.  When I was at university I was so keen to take part in artistic projects, but there were too many rehearsals and I got tired way too easily.

[langsandlit]

Great list! :) I hope you don’t mind these corrections! ♡

Aulico means “grand” or “solemn”, very elevated. “Academic” is accademico, and it refers to universities or, well, academies, not to an author or poem’s style.

Assuefazione can be used to mean “addiction”, though it’s most commonly used in the sense of “inurement” (to drugs, including medicines), when a particular drug has no effect on the individual anymore because of their addiction or because they were put on the medication for too long. That’s mostly how you’ll see the word used. For “addiction” we say dipendenza (da), essere dipendente (da) “to be addicted (to)”.

Mettere a nudo means “to expose” rather than “to demonstrate” (dimostrare), but “to lay bare” is a good equivalent! 

Provino means “audition” (audizione) or “screen-test”, whereas “rehearsal” translates to prova; “to rehearse” is fare le prove.

[italianoacasa]

Thank you!!! So!! MUCH!!!

[sayitaliano]

False Friends ENG/ITA - 5

attitude: atteggiamento attitudine: propensity, aptitude, inclination ex. Always keep a positive attitude = Mantieni sempre un atteggiamento positivo. | Ha una buona attitudine al lavoro in gruppo = He has a good propensity to work in a group.

brine: salamoia, acqua salata brina: frost ex. Sarah is mixing the brine. = Sarah sta mescolando la salamoia. | Le piante sono coperte di brina, fa molto freddo! = Plants are covered with frost, it’s very cold!

caution: cautela, attenzione cauzione: bail, deposit   ex. Use caution when you cross the street. = Fai attenzione quando attraversi la strada. | L’avvocato ha pagato la cauzione. = The lawyer paid the bail.

corpse: cadavere, corpo morto, corpo senza vita*  corpo: body ex. They found a corpse in the river. = Hanno trovato un cadavere nel fiume. | La luna è un corpo celeste. = The moon is a celestial body. * [ corpo as a translation for corpse is actually something we say but probably is idiomatic/regional; we mean “dead/lifeless body” ofc and you can understand it by the context in which is used ]

educated: colto, istruito educato: polite ex. Jack is a really well educated guy. = Jack è un ragazzo molto ben istruito. | Jack è un ragazzo molto educato. = Jack is a really polite guy. [ ENG educated = ITA educato if it means “trained” = “educato a, educated to something, to act in a certain way”. “Jack was educated to respect others = Jack è stato educato a rispettare gli altri” ]

factory: fabbrica fattoria: farm ex. He works in a factory. = Lavora in una fabbrica. | Lavora in una fattoria = He works in a farm.

large: grande, esteso largo: wide ex. This lake is very large. = Questo lago è molto esteso. | La gamma di valori accettabili è molto larga. = The range of acceptable values is really wide.

mansion: villa mansione: task, job ex. She lives in a beautiful mansion. = Lei vive in una villa bellissima. | Le hanno dato una nuova mansione. = She was given a new task.

[italianoacasa]

italian in class 10/?

Here is a revision of some vocab I learnt in class this past term. Examples by me. Please correct any mistakes and add to this list if you so wish!

la soglia - doorstep / threshold

Ci sono troppe persone che vivono sotto la soglia di povertà.  There are too many people who live below the poverty line.

la ricetta/la prescrizione medica - prescription

Questo farmaco non è disponibile senza una ricetta. This drug is not available without a prescription.

aulico - academic

Uno stile elevato, diciamo aulico, mi sembra più che adatto per questo tipo di discorso. An elevated, let’s call it academic, style, seems to me more than appropriate for this type of subject.

l’assuefazione (f) - addiction

Tra gli effetti collaterali che più mi preoccupano si trova l’assuefazione. Addiction is one of the side effects that worry me most.

mettere a nudo - to lay bare, to demonstrate

Questo articolo mette a nudo le difficoltà che trovano i ricercatori quando cercano di smascherare i miti legati al tema della buona alimentazione. This article demonstrates the difficulties that researchers find when they try to debunk the myths surrounding the topic of nutrition.

il provino - rehearsal

Quando ero all’università, avevo tanta voglia di participare in progetti artistichi, ma i provini erano troppi e mi stancavo troppo facilmente.  When I was at university I was so keen to take part in artistic projects, but there were too many rehearsals and I got tired way too easily.

[be-qarar]

Amalfi, Italy

By Gennaro Rispoli

[floralls]

Positano by arielle vey

[sartorialadventure]

Sardinian fashions

1-2. Dorgali 3. Sassari 4. Oliena 5. Quartucciu 6. Sagra del Redentore 7. by Cristiano Cani

[langsandlit]

Hi! This is a basic one but I've never understood why sometimes it's mio/mia and sometimes its il mio/ la mia..

Hi! 

Possessive determiners are always used together with the articles except when they

appear after the verb essere;

are pronouns (with exceptions);

refer to family members (with exceptions);

are used with the noun casa “house, home” (with exceptions);

are vocatives.

Before we dig into how they change based on context and meaning, it should be noted that possessive determiners in Italian agree not with the subject but with the noun being possessed, e.g.

i tuoi cani = your dogs

le tue mani = your hands

è una mia amica = she’s a friend of mine

Keep reading

[mapsontheweb]

Wine map of Italy.

[breathtakingdestinations]

Vernazza - Italy (by Giorgio Rodano) 

[fotojournalismus]

Calabria, 1964.

Photographs by Bruno Barbey