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Bomba d’acqua! Italian media and new words.
Italian media and social networks are changing our language very rapidly. Here’s a small collection of “neologismi”, new words that are now of common …
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Sapere VS Conoscere, two Italian verbs “to know” – PODCAST
TherearetwoimportantItalianverbsEnglishspeakerstendtoconfuse:”Sapere”and”Conoscere”.TheybothtranslateintoEnglishas”toknow”.Podcast. Inapreviouspost,aboutsome Italianverbsthatmystudentstendtomistake,Idedicatedafewwordsto sapereVSconoscere.Ithinkthetopicdeservessomemoreattention.Theconfusionisquitenormal,becausebothverbsapparentlytranslateinto”toknow”.Let’sfirstseeandlistentotheirconjugations. ConoscereisaplainregularverbandSapereisirregular,butthedifferencesarenotonlyapparent.Althoughtheyseemtobeequivalent,inmanycasestheyarenotinterchangeableatall.Sometimes,theycanreplaceoneanotherbutgivethesentence adifferentperspective. Agoodruleofthumbforunderstandingthedifferent”depthofknowledge”,wecancomparethesetwoverbsto”tosee”and”towatch”,(orvedereandguardareinItalian)respectively,sapereandconoscere.Icanseesomethingbutitdoesn’tmeanIwatchedit.Possosapereunacosamanonèdettochelaconosca! CONOSCERE Wecanuseconoscere tosaythatweknowtheexistenceordetailsofthings,tobeacquaintedorfamiliarwithsomebodyorsomething. ConoscoAndrea,èsimpatico. ConosciunbuonristoranteaMilano?Iononne conosco. Nonconoscoleregoledelbaseball SAPERE Saperemeanstobeawareofsomething,cometoknow,knowfacts(butnotnecessarilytheirdetails).Ontopofthis,sapereisamodalverb,andmeans “tobeableto”dosomething,soitsupportsaninfinitiveverb.”soguidarelamacchina”Icandriveacar,Iamcapableofdoingit. HosaputocheMarioviveinAmerica. Saidovesonolechiavi?Nonloso! Hosaputochetisposi,auguri! Ifoundanicesentence inwordreference.Tantisannol’italianomanontutti loconoscono.ManypeoplearefamiliarwiththeItalianlanguagebutnotasmany knowit.IhavethesameproblemwithEnglishsometimes,soanycorrectionisappreciated.Allaprossima!
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Italian course for beginners: modal verbs, DOVERE
TodaywearegoingtohaveacloselookatDOVERE,:”Haveto”,”Needto”,”Must”.Listen tothepodcast. Alongwith”fare”,“essere”and”avere”,modalverbsarethepillarsoftheItalianlanguage:DOVERE,POTERE,VOLERE,SAPERE.AllItalianmodalverbsshareanimportantrule withEnglishmodalverbs.Theydescribethefunctionof asecondverbandmakeitstrongerinasentence. Theverbdoveresupportsotherverbs:andare,parlare,dire. Doveremeansmust,haveto, beobligedto,besupposedto,havegotto,oughtto,needto.InalltheseEnglishtranslations,verbssupportaninfinitiveverb,andsodoesdovereinItalian.Thegrammarruleis: DOVERE+ARE/ERE/IRE(infinito) Theconjugationis: IODEVO TUDEVI LUI/LEIDEVE NOIDOBBIAMO VOIDOVETE LORODEVONO IfyouaskItalianspeakerstotranslate dovere inEnglish,theywouldsay mustorhaveto.Iwouldsay”must”istoostrongand”haveto”quiteclose. Itdependsalotonthecontext.SoI believeit’stimetogiveyousomeexamplestopracticeonandrepeat.Listentothepodcast. Devoandareadesso,ètardi Imustgonow,it’slate Devidirequalcosa? Haveyougotsomethingtosay? Stefanodevestudiaredipiù Stefanoneedstostudymore Nondobbiamodimenticare Wemustnot forget Dovetesapereche… Youhavetoknowthat… Gliitalianidevonoimpararel’inglese! …
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Fare una cazzata, combinarla grossa
Fareunacazzata meansmakingamistakeinItalianslang.Therearemorefunwordstosaythat.Listentotheaudio Badwordsarepartofourlanguageandyoushouldknowsomeofthem.Youwillfindafew inthispost,buttheyareharmlessandprettycommon. Then,itisyourdecisiontousethemornot.IjustwanttoteachyousomeusefulItalianeverydaylanguage.Ifyoudon’tlikesoftbadwords,stopreadinghere. Todaywetalkabout”makingmistakesandsayingthatinItalian”.Youcanuse differentcommonsentences,dependingonthepersonyouaretalkingto.Forexample,fareunacazzata,averysoftbadword,isnotreallyrecommendedifyouareconfessing yourmisfortunesto aperfectstranger.Youcanuseapronominalverb andsay,L’hocombinatagrossa!,andgive anaturaltouchtoyourspokenItalian. Let’slistentosomeexamples Hofattounacazzata Thewordcazzatacouldmean:”nobigdeal”,nontipreoccupareèunacazzata; “Bullshit”, Mariodicesolocazzate; butalso”bigmistake”,likeintheexampleabove.Cazzataisa softbadword,verycommon,sosoonerorlateryouwillhearthatinItaly.Ifyouareanintermediate(andabove)learnerandhaveItalianfriends,cazzatawillbecomepartofyourvocabulary. TheSicilianword minchiataisidentical inmeaning,commoninthewholecountry butitsoundsmuchmorevulgar,atleasttome. L’hocombinatagrossa Literally”Ihaveputtogetherabigone”,bigtrouble,abigthing,unacosagrossa,hencethefemininedeclination.YoucouldsayL’hofattagrossa.Weliketousethetheverbcombinareinsteadofsimplyfare fordescribingmistakes. Combinareunguaio, causingalotoftrouble,iscommontoo.Hocombinatounguaio! Chemacello! Whatamess!Macello literallymeansslaughterhouse.Bloodyandmessy… Hofattouncasino Casinoisanotherofthoseflexiblewordsyoucanusetodescribe”amess”.Theoriginal meaningis “brothel”butnobodythinksaboutthatwhenwesaycasino.Itmeans”mess”butalso”loudnoise”.Wecanusecasinotosay “alot”:mipiaceuncasino Ilikeitalot!Morevulgarbutalsomoreeffective,is bordello. Nowpeopleknowthatwearetalkingaboutabrothel!YoungItaliansuseitveryfrequently.Chebordello! Whatamess!PleasenotethatCasino,forgambling,inItalianisCasinò.WeusetheFrenchword. Chepasticcio! Soundslikepasta!IfyougotoVeneziaandaskforpasitccio,thewaiterwillgetyouasortoflasagnawithmanyingredients.Thereareplentyof localItaliandishescalledpasticcioandthey areallpreparedwithallsortsof different ingredients,sometimesleftovers,togetherwithsomeeggsorcheesetoformanewdish.Pasticcioisthereforesomethinguneven,messy,andcanmean”trouble”,somethingdifficulttosolve.IfyouwanttoavoidbadorstrongwordsorwanttoteachyourkidssomethingfuninItalian,thisisoneisforyou. Thanksforreadingandlistening.Allaprossima!
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Cacchio, Vaffambagno, Cavolo! Italian soft swearing – PODCAST
Badwords, “Parolacce”are usedandabusedinItaly.Forthisreason,somepeopleprefermildexpressions,whichsoundlikebadwordsbutarenot.LearnItalian”non-swear”words withourpodcast. “Parolacce”areamongthefirstwordsforeignerslearnwhentheycometoItaly.Theyarefun,verycommonandmostimportant,theybreaktherulesofpolitecommunications,stuff theyteachyouatschool,sotheyareveryintriguing. ButifyouareheretolearnnewItalianbadwords,youwillprobablybe disappointed.Justgooglethemandyouwillfindplentyofresourcestofulfillyourcuriosity.I will teachyousomeItalian”pseudo-cursing”,euphemisms(eufemismi)likethe Englishdarn,freaking,shootetcthatItalianpeoplesayinsteadofnormalparolacce. Listentothepodcastandlearnsomemanners! Checacchiovuoi? InItalianthere’saCword,probablythemostused”parolaccia”.EvenifyouareabeginnerinItalian,youknowwhatI’mtalkingabout,sodon’tpretendyoudon’tknow!Therearecountlesswordstonameitandcacchioisanalmost”cleanversion” ofthose.”Checacchiovuoi”hasaboutthesamemeaningof”whattheheck doyouwant?”. Non hocapitouncavolo Itreplacesthesamebadwordasabove.Cavolo(lit.cabbage)isatotallyharmlessversionofcacchio,whichinstead retainsalittledose ofcursing.Itissolightthatchildrenactuallysaythat.Itisverycommon,soyoucansafelyuseitandgiveaninformaltouchtoyourItalianspeech. “Vaffambagno!”or”Vaiafartiungiro” Again,iosochetusai!IknowthatyouknowtheItalian”vaffa…”wordanditsmeaning.Ifyoudon’t,lookitupongoogle.Therootoftheword,vaffa…isactuallyquiteclean.It’sthecontractionofvaiafare lit”goanddo”,or”goandmake”.Vaffambagnomeans”goandtakeabath”.Itdoesn’tgetcleanerthan this…Vaiafartiungiro literallymeans”goandtakeawalk”,muchhealthierthangoand…dosomethingelse.Youcanreadanotherpost+podcastontheuseoftheverbfarsiinconversationalItalian. Accidenti,hopersolechiavi! Quiteunderstandable.Ilostmykeys!Thisisnotareplacementofanybadword,it’sjutsasoftexclamation.Simpleandelegant,notvulgar.Usit! Porcamiseria! Okay,theword”porca”(comingfromporco,pork)maynotbeveryelegant,butit’snotsodirtyeither.WeuseitalotinspokenItalian.Whatmakesitabadwordiswhatcomesafter”porco”or”porca”.Porcamiseria soundslike”Damnedmisery”.That’sthebasic,acceptablesoftcursingthatgoesalongwith”porca”.Inmostcases,Italianssayporca+verybadwords anditcanescalatequitedramaticallyintosomethingyouhaveneverheardinyourlife. Mannaggia! Verymild expression, absolutelyclean.It’sactuallycleanerthantheequivalentEnglishGosh!Thiswordcomes fromoldSouthernItaliandialects:”maln’aggia”,roughly”Mayyoubedamned”.Nowadaysnobodyisreallyawareof theoriginal meaningofthisinteriezione.WealsosayMannaggiaame(tome),ate(toyou),aluiandsoon… Cribbio! I’mabigfanofAmericanmoviesandIdon’tpaymuchattentionto profanities.TherearebadwordsonItalianTVtoo.Nonetheless,Ifellvery uneasy whenIhearthenameofJesus followedbyanumberofbadwords.SomeItaliansdoswearalotagainstgod,butmostpeopledon’t.Andyouwon’thearany”bestemmia”(blasphemy)onTV.Theclosestsafeword,whichhasalmostnothingtodowithCristo isCribbio, asortofholycow! Caspita! Orcaspiterina simplymeans wow!It’saCA…wordlikecavoloandcacchio,buttotallyinoffensive. Somestudentsassume thatItalianscursealotandit’scool,orentertaining,ifaforeignerdid too.It’soktoplacesomebadwordshereandthere,but Ithinkit’susefultoknoweuphemisms and usetherealdeal onlywhenyoureallyneedit… Thanksforlistening!Allaprossima.
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“Non ho fatto niente!” Italian double negatives. Audio.
YesterdayIwatchedamoviewithJasonStathamanditmademethinkaboutItaliandoublenegatives.IsItalyacountryinneedofgoodgrammar? ThemovieiscalledCHAOS,Jasonisabadcopandhe’sextortingaconfession.Youcanseethescreenshots here: Girl: Ididn’tdonothing! Jason: It’sIdidn’tdoanything.”Didn’tdonothing”isadoublenegative,infersthepositive.Thegrammarinthiscountryisterrible. Thisfilm isnotamasterpiece,butthe linewasbrilliant. Ithoughtaboutthestructureofthesentence”Ididn’tdonothing”,wronginEnglishbutrightinItalian(nonhofattoniente),andaboutallthestudentswho pointedthatoutduringmylessons.Isn’tthatadoublenegative?WhyItaliansusesentenceslike”nonc’ènessuno”and”nonhomangiatoniente”? Theassumptionthatadoublenegationautomatically”infersthepositive”belongstomathematicsandlogic,nottolanguage.”Ididn’tsayIdon’tloveyou”doesn’tmean”IsaidIloveyou”. ButthequestionhereiswhyinItalianweusetheredundantNONinthesamesentencewithNESSUNO,MAI,NIENTE,NULLA(nobody,never,nothing),which alreadyarenegations.TheanswerisbecauseinvulgarLatin,becomingmodernItalian,wealreadyhaddoublenegatives asnegativesentences. Theansweristherefore”because”. Ifyouareparticularlyfastidiousaboutgrammar,wecanliquidatethemattersayingthattheadverbNONis”pleonastic”.Forsimplepeoplelikeme,itmeansthatNONinsentenceslikenonhofattonienteisjustanadditiontoreinforcethenegation.Becarefulthough.Itdoesn’tmeanyoucansayhofattoniente tosayIdidnothing. WemustaddNONtobuildacorrectsentenceinItalian. Someexamples.Trytotranslatethefollowingsentences: Hofame.Nonhomangiatoniente. Lucaècadutomanonsièfattoniente. Hotelefonatoacasamanonharispostonessuno Nonavetemaimangiatoilsushi? Nonsentonulla,alzailvolumedellativùperfavore. Senonstudimai,nonimparerainiente. Thelastone isadouble-doublenegative,butit’sperfectlycorrect.Thankgod,Jason,grammarinthiscountryisjustfine. IhopethisshortlessonaboutItaliandoublenegativeswashelpful.Apresto!
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Some common Italian verbs English speakers mistake
There are some Italian verbs English speakers often mistake when they start learning Italian. Most of my students learned them right and so should you. …
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What they don’t teach you #4: Figurati, figuariamoci, che figura! PODCAST
IfyouopenyourItaliandictionaryandchecktheverbs“figurarsi”and“fareunafigura”youwillseetheybothhavedifferentmeanings.LearnhowweusethosewordsinconversationalItalian.ListentothePodcast. Recently,astudentaskedmethedifferencebetween“figurati”“figuriamoci”,and“fareunafigura”,allverycommonexpressions.Perhapsyouheardtheidiom “chefigura!”.Let’s”figure”outwhattheymean. *SpecialthankstoMariko,ourJapanesefriend,forrecordingpartofthispodcast. FiguratiandFiguriamoci. Tiringrazioperiltuoaiuto. Figurati!Nonc’èdiche. It’spronouncedfigùratianditliterallymeans“imaginethat,picturethat”.Ifyoureadorhearitaftera”grazie”,itsimplymeans“youareverywelcome,don’tmentionit”.AnotherinterestingwaytosayyouarewelcomeinItalianisnonc’èdiche,literally,there’snothingtobe(thankful)about.Butagain,justlikewelcomeinEnglish,whenwesaythatwedon’tthinkabouttheactual,literalmeaning.It’sjustaninteriezione,anautomaticanswer. Laringrazioperilsuoaiuto Sifiguri! Thisisthepoliteversionoftheinformalthankyou-welcomeformulaabove.YouaregoingtochangeFiguratiinSifiguriwhenyousayyou“arewelcome”toastranger,usingtheformalLei. Mariotihatelefonato? Figurati!(Figuriamoci!) That’syetanothermeaningoffiguratiandfiguriamoci.OfcourseMariodidn’tcallme,“youcanpicturethat”,weknowhowheis,figurati!Inthiscase,itwillalwaysmean“ofcoursenot,don’tevenmentionthat”,youknowtheanswer. WecanusethepluralFiguriamoci(noi-we)withthesamemeaning,butwithanimpersonaltone.Figuriamociseilcapomidaràunaumento,mybosswillnevergivemeasalaryincrease,wealreadyknowthat,don’twe? Asubstantial differencebetweenFiguratiandFiguriamociisthatwedon’tusuallysaythelattertomean“youarewelcome”. Nonmipiacemoltoilpesce,figuriamociquellocrudo. Idon’tlikefishthatmuch,letalonewhenraw.FiguratiandFiguriamocicanalsoreinforceapreviousstatement,likeinEnglish“letalone…”.Anotherexample:Nonhotempoperleggereilgiornale,figuriamociunlibro! ComealsolitoStefanononsièricordatodelnostroanniversario,figurati. Stefanoforgotaboutouranniversary,“tellmeaboutit!”That’sexactlywhatFiguratiorFiguriamocimeaninthiscase.Firenzeinestateèpienadituristicomealsolito,figuriamoci!TellmesomethingIdon’tknow. Ifyouhaveachance,trytousefiguratiandfiguriamoci.YourspokenItalianwillsoundmorenatural.Next,wearegoingtoexplain”fareunafigura” Fareunabrutta/bellafigura Chefigura! That’skindoftoughtotranslateinEnglish.Ifwegofor“tomakeabadimpression”wemaythinkof someone whodidn’timpresspositivelyotherpeople,forsomereason. Chefigura!isdifferent,itreferstoanembarrassingevent,asingleepisode.Mentreparlavoavevolacernieraaperta,chefigura!whenIwastalkingtheflyofmypantswasopen,Chefigura!InItalian,weadd thesuffix–acciato giveanegativemeaningtoalmosteveryword.Chefiguraccia!whatanembarrassment! Che(brutta)figura! …
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