ITALIAN VOICES
Italian Voices
La, la, la
A window on language and customs in Italy
Although Italy
has taught me to nurture a neurotic need for aesthetic perfection, I am not
much of a scenery girl. And, while I do prefer palaces to skyscrapers, I'm
seldom subject to the wide-eyed ‘wow' that gives weak knees to those who marvel
at …
Italian Voices
Control issues
A window on language and customs in Italy
A month after I had settled into my new apartment, my ex-landlady called. She had just received a notice in the mail from the garbage collectors. They had neglected to bill our neighborhood for three years and now that they'd finally …
Italian Voices
'Non fa parte della nostra mentalita''
A window on language and customs in Italy
If you’ve just arrived in Italy and are kicking for a little avventura italiana, you’re probably still feeling excited and optimistic. Most likely you’re convinced that if you ever decided to stay long term, you’d never get homesick enough to miss …
Italian Voices
'Mi raccomando'
A window on language and customs in Italy
In 1998, I was hired to teach English at the military barracks in the province of Mantova. The course was funded by the European community so that all the draft soldiers would be able to understand each other. The post was …
Italian Voices
'L'amicizia'
A window on language and customs in Italy
Nell'amicizia, Italians do not necessarily aim for understanding. The simply see, know and feel. And while this type of soul-searching needs no consent, real trust might not apear for years.
People phone the pressroom with various questions. Some depend on the season. …
Italian Voices
'Magari'
A window on a language and customs in Italy
My colleagues and I were having a meeting and I might as well have been talking to myself. A curly white wig and a gavel to pound out ‘order in the court’ would have been the only way to get everyone …
Italian Voices
'Come si deve'
A window on languagge and customs in Italy
In a country where food must always be served at the right time and temperature, I find Sunday brunch the easiest way to entertain. I say this for two simple reasons. First, I am a morning person who makes a mean …
Italian Voices
'Arrangiarsi',
A window on language and customs in Italy
‘Arrangiarsi or the ability to ‘arrange oneself’ is all about overcoming obstacles. Italians love to jump fences, and they do it with an agile grace that people from Anglo-cultures can almost never pull off’.
Writing about arrangiarsi is a bit like chasing …
Italian Voices
'Insomma',
A window on language and customs in Italy
The Florentine is hunting for a new home and I’ve been trying all day not to write about it. But our search for an office keeps sneaking into my article as if this page were the rented space we’re looking for. …
Italian Voices
'Mah...'
A window on language and customs in Italy
‘Sometimes used to introduce discussion or resume debate, mah is the net that captures stray thoughts. It’s the time you take before you jump and your chance to consider how cold the water is.’
I have never been on a speed-date in …
Italian Voices
'La Privacy'
A window on language and customs in Italy
Watch how people share secrets and you’ll discover the things they are trying to hide. Learn how a country exchanges confidences and you’ll uncover the cornerstone of social rapport.
Italians may be known to the world as free-speaking, overly expressive individuals, but …
Italian Voices
'Bello, bellino, bellissimo'
A window on language and customs in Italy
It was only the third day of the New Year and I had already decided that I was not going to write a single word until the end of the next century. When I am struck by that particular form of …
Italian Voices
'Avere un feeling'
A window on language and customs in Italy
It was an eerily sunny day in December and my friend Silvia and I were weaving our way to the park with the greenhouse. Her daughter Sofia had a play-date and we were, of course, late. As we dragged the poor …
Italian Voices
'Ritratto di signora...' Portrait of a lady
A window on language and customs in Italy
Today I’m waging a silent war against a blank page and an enemy expression that has yet to reveal itself. It is Saturday and, gratefully, the office is quiet. Most of the theatre troupe that makes this newspaper have all trooped …
Italian Voices
'Vorrei'
A window on language and customs in Italy
I spent my first years in Florence teaching parts of speech to mother-tongue English speakers who considered grammar the Boogie man under the bed. Now my stints as ‘grammar girl’ are limited to a few English lessons a month with my …
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Thursday, May 23, 2013