It is getting so difficult being Italian. I am not talking about citizenship, of course. I am talking about being proud of living here, of being part of this country.
Election day is getting closer and closer, unfortunately that takes out the wrost of our politicians...
I keep on wondering what is the image of our country from outside Italy, and I can guess it is not that nice. I don't want to go through each and every thing that has been said in the last month, that would be of no use. But I would like to see someone else on that stage.
I would love to listen to a dream, to a wind of change... Even something idealistic, and too much to become true!
I cannot see where is going my country until we keep on voting the same people, sharing the same ideas, expressing old values...
I want something new just because I really love my contry, and by the way I feel proud to be Italian, and I want to feel even more proud. Not only of past things, of our great culture and ancient times... I want to be proud of what we are and going to be.
But I can see no way to realize it at the moment...
Showing posts with label Italian. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Italian. Show all posts
Monday, 4 February 2013
Monday, 15 October 2012
Food, or not?
Etsy is much more than a marketplace, it is a world where you can find almost everything!!
One of the prettiest things I found in my wandering is a particular kind of jewellery:
Food jewellery
Miniature of food used as earrings, rings, brooch, etc... are very popular, not only on Etsy!
What I personally adore are those miniatures where you could mistake them for real food and even eat them.
Aren't they gorgeous?!
1. (up left) Allart's kitchen: http://www.etsy.com/shop/AllartsKitchen
Chiara sends her beautiful pieces from Bologna! Her pictures are really funny, and she knows how to make her customer hungry, for sure.
In her shop you can find any kind of pastries! Entering her shop is like entering a real kitchen!!
2. (up right) Bijotti&Ciciotti: http://www.etsy.com/shop/BijottiCiciotti
Cristina does much more than food miniature, her jewels are fun and cool, and dreamy and... many much more!! She is a real artist in what she does!
Her shop deserves more than a look!
3.(down left) Le chou chou Bijoux: http://www.etsy.com/shop/LeChouChou
Paola has a particular retrò style that make her jewels extraordinarly fine! You could think that she is a very British lady, but she is not. Particularly skilled in cups of tea, she lives in the north of Italy, while her origin are from the south.
Let's have a cup of tea with her!
4. (down right) Amabito: http://www.etsy.com/shop/amabito
Roberta's works are peculiar for one single main reason. She makes glass on her own! That would be enough to have a serious look at her jewellery: All her beads are totally handmade by her. These cupcakes are made of real glass, that's quite new if you think that usually food miniature are made in polymer clay...
What are you waiting for? Go and see her incredible art!!
That's about four particular crafter that I have found on etsy, of course if you go directly into the cauldron you can find even more!!
I like food jewellery, and I made a particular present for a friend of mine through etsy, a tray of biscuits! She really appreciate it, it is the kind of thing you can wear to go to work or to go out at night. Something that make your style more personal! And that made my present surely personal!
One of the prettiest things I found in my wandering is a particular kind of jewellery:
Food jewellery
Miniature of food used as earrings, rings, brooch, etc... are very popular, not only on Etsy!
What I personally adore are those miniatures where you could mistake them for real food and even eat them.
Aren't they gorgeous?!
1. (up left) Allart's kitchen: http://www.etsy.com/shop/AllartsKitchen
Chiara sends her beautiful pieces from Bologna! Her pictures are really funny, and she knows how to make her customer hungry, for sure.
In her shop you can find any kind of pastries! Entering her shop is like entering a real kitchen!!
2. (up right) Bijotti&Ciciotti: http://www.etsy.com/shop/BijottiCiciotti
Cristina does much more than food miniature, her jewels are fun and cool, and dreamy and... many much more!! She is a real artist in what she does!
Her shop deserves more than a look!
3.(down left) Le chou chou Bijoux: http://www.etsy.com/shop/LeChouChou
Paola has a particular retrò style that make her jewels extraordinarly fine! You could think that she is a very British lady, but she is not. Particularly skilled in cups of tea, she lives in the north of Italy, while her origin are from the south.
Let's have a cup of tea with her!
4. (down right) Amabito: http://www.etsy.com/shop/amabito
Roberta's works are peculiar for one single main reason. She makes glass on her own! That would be enough to have a serious look at her jewellery: All her beads are totally handmade by her. These cupcakes are made of real glass, that's quite new if you think that usually food miniature are made in polymer clay...
What are you waiting for? Go and see her incredible art!!
That's about four particular crafter that I have found on etsy, of course if you go directly into the cauldron you can find even more!!
I like food jewellery, and I made a particular present for a friend of mine through etsy, a tray of biscuits! She really appreciate it, it is the kind of thing you can wear to go to work or to go out at night. Something that make your style more personal! And that made my present surely personal!
Thursday, 27 September 2012
Note from Chad/3
L'evoluzione delle nostre policy
Naturalmente questa ridefinizione causerà una revisione delle regole generali di Etsy su chi può vendere e cosa può essere messo in vendita. Le linee guida del nostro mercato sono rimaste praticamente invariate dal 2009. Vi abbiamo detto come abbiamo rafforzato le regole, ma il prossimo passo sarà avere una miglior struttura per il futuro. La nostra politica non è così chiara e le regole non si sono sviluppate di pari passo con le necessità dei venditori.
All'inizio di Etsy il "venditore" era una singola persona, un artigiano (più spesso un'artigiana) che fa tutto da solo. per alcuni negozi rimanere gestiti da una sola persona è ancora la scelta giusta. Mentre altri per raggiungere i loro obiettivi hanno bisogno di più aiuto. Sappiamo che non è ancora chiaro ai venditori se possono o menoassoldare persone per aiutarli a mandare avanti il negozio, e quanto della produzione può essere affidata ad altri, esterni o interni al loro business. Questa mancanza di chiarezza rende complicato a molti venditori attenersi alle regole anche per affari che non abbiamo nessun interesse a bloccare. Di seguito l'esempio di come una delle nostre policy sulle location impedisce una bella colaborazione tra madre e figlia:
Ho delle difficoltà a capire le ragioni dietroad una delle regole di Etsy... Miamadre è andata da poco in pensione, e ha ripreso il suo vecchio hobby di fare bigiotteria con le perline. L'ho incoraggiata ad aprirsi un negozio su Etsy, ma non è capace di gestirlo senza assistenza... Pensai che sarebbe stato bellissimo sorprenderla aprendole un negozio e gestendolo, inizialmente, per far in modo che prenda confidenza con la vendita online... o chiesto il permesso di gestire al posto suo il negozio, permesso che mi è stato negato eprchè non vivo con lei. olti figli adulti che hanno i genitori in pensione cercano il modo di aiutarli a portare avanti iloro hobby e a tenersi al passo con la new economy. Questa regola ci impedisce dicondividere la gioia che dà essere parte di una community come Etsy, ed è perlomeno sconfortante.
Ecco, questo succede quando una regola nata con la buona intenzione di evitare l'entrata di mega industrie impedisce senza intenzione l'accesso ad una realtà familiare. Sappiamo che questo deve cambiare. Il motivo per cui non l'abbiamo ancora cambiata è duplice. Per prima cosa è un lavoro molto delicato autorizzarvi a crescere mantenendo comunque intatto quello spirito di handmade che ha reso Etsy unico. Ci stiamo ancora ragionando sopra. In seconda battutanon possiamo decidere dei cambiamenti senza un imput da parte vostra. Per questo motivo non abbiamo sistemato nessuna delle nostre regole durante il periodo delle vacanze, ma abbiamo intenzione di aggiornarvi nel prossimo anno nuovo. Nel frattempo, ci piacerebbe davvero sentire le vostre storie, come quella riportata qui sopra. Sarebbe poco lungimirante pensare di poter crescere senza cambiare le nostre politiche, ma abbiamo intenzione di farlo in modo che a dettare la direzione siano i vostri traguardi.
Celebrare e ricompensare il successo
Naturalmente questa ridefinizione causerà una revisione delle regole generali di Etsy su chi può vendere e cosa può essere messo in vendita. Le linee guida del nostro mercato sono rimaste praticamente invariate dal 2009. Vi abbiamo detto come abbiamo rafforzato le regole, ma il prossimo passo sarà avere una miglior struttura per il futuro. La nostra politica non è così chiara e le regole non si sono sviluppate di pari passo con le necessità dei venditori.
All'inizio di Etsy il "venditore" era una singola persona, un artigiano (più spesso un'artigiana) che fa tutto da solo. per alcuni negozi rimanere gestiti da una sola persona è ancora la scelta giusta. Mentre altri per raggiungere i loro obiettivi hanno bisogno di più aiuto. Sappiamo che non è ancora chiaro ai venditori se possono o menoassoldare persone per aiutarli a mandare avanti il negozio, e quanto della produzione può essere affidata ad altri, esterni o interni al loro business. Questa mancanza di chiarezza rende complicato a molti venditori attenersi alle regole anche per affari che non abbiamo nessun interesse a bloccare. Di seguito l'esempio di come una delle nostre policy sulle location impedisce una bella colaborazione tra madre e figlia:
Ho delle difficoltà a capire le ragioni dietroad una delle regole di Etsy... Miamadre è andata da poco in pensione, e ha ripreso il suo vecchio hobby di fare bigiotteria con le perline. L'ho incoraggiata ad aprirsi un negozio su Etsy, ma non è capace di gestirlo senza assistenza... Pensai che sarebbe stato bellissimo sorprenderla aprendole un negozio e gestendolo, inizialmente, per far in modo che prenda confidenza con la vendita online... o chiesto il permesso di gestire al posto suo il negozio, permesso che mi è stato negato eprchè non vivo con lei. olti figli adulti che hanno i genitori in pensione cercano il modo di aiutarli a portare avanti iloro hobby e a tenersi al passo con la new economy. Questa regola ci impedisce dicondividere la gioia che dà essere parte di una community come Etsy, ed è perlomeno sconfortante.
Ecco, questo succede quando una regola nata con la buona intenzione di evitare l'entrata di mega industrie impedisce senza intenzione l'accesso ad una realtà familiare. Sappiamo che questo deve cambiare. Il motivo per cui non l'abbiamo ancora cambiata è duplice. Per prima cosa è un lavoro molto delicato autorizzarvi a crescere mantenendo comunque intatto quello spirito di handmade che ha reso Etsy unico. Ci stiamo ancora ragionando sopra. In seconda battutanon possiamo decidere dei cambiamenti senza un imput da parte vostra. Per questo motivo non abbiamo sistemato nessuna delle nostre regole durante il periodo delle vacanze, ma abbiamo intenzione di aggiornarvi nel prossimo anno nuovo. Nel frattempo, ci piacerebbe davvero sentire le vostre storie, come quella riportata qui sopra. Sarebbe poco lungimirante pensare di poter crescere senza cambiare le nostre politiche, ma abbiamo intenzione di farlo in modo che a dettare la direzione siano i vostri traguardi.
Celebrare e ricompensare il successo
Vogliamo costruire una community dove sia possibile che ognuno decida le dimensioni del suo business, ma comunque il successo sia ricompensato. Abbiamo sentito alcuni venditori che hanno iniziato da nulla a costruire il loro successo, ma non fanno altro che minimizzare quando ne parlano nei forum o nei team. Francamente penso che si atragico. In un mondo dove molte persone lottano contro la finanza, avere regole che scoraggiano la gente a condividere il proprio successo e ad ispirare gli altri è un fallimento.
Ho sentito chiacchere secondo cui l'unico motivo per cui Etsysostiene i suoi migliori venditori è per evitare la perdita che conseguirebbe al loro abbandono. Non è così che la pensiamo qui dentro. Abbiamo chiesto ai venditori di successo i Etsy perchè abbiano lasciato questo posto, ma non abbiamo mai calcolato la quantità di rinnovi persi da quando se ne sono andati. Come compagnia emergente, ci interessa fornire strumenti e servizi che servano alla direzione che i nostri membri stanno prendendo. I "top sellers" ci indicano che direzione sta prendendo il nostro futuro.
Cosa significa questo per il futuro
Guardando avanti stiamo cercando modi di incoraggiare il successo e ricompensare l'ambizione. Non abbiamo intenzione di cambiare il mondo pensando in piccolo. Per creare più guadagno possibile, mentre conserviamo il cuore e l'anima di Etsy, ci servirà il vostro aiuto.
Stiamo costruendo la strada verso il futuro, ma per costruirla davvero abbiamo bisogno di sapere come vedete la vostra di strada. Sappiamo che la parola successo ammette molte diverse declinazioni su Etsy, ecco perchè vi chiediamo di mandarci le vostre storie e i vostri pensieri all'indirizzo di posta: future@etsy.com
Voglio che Etsy sia una compagnia indipendente il più a lungo possibile, e ancora più importante che permetta ai venditori di essere indipendenti, e che gli permetta di vivere, non di sopravvivere. Cambiare il mondo significa pensare in grande, e vogliamo pensare in grande con voi.
Cosa significa questo per il futuro
Guardando avanti stiamo cercando modi di incoraggiare il successo e ricompensare l'ambizione. Non abbiamo intenzione di cambiare il mondo pensando in piccolo. Per creare più guadagno possibile, mentre conserviamo il cuore e l'anima di Etsy, ci servirà il vostro aiuto.
Stiamo costruendo la strada verso il futuro, ma per costruirla davvero abbiamo bisogno di sapere come vedete la vostra di strada. Sappiamo che la parola successo ammette molte diverse declinazioni su Etsy, ecco perchè vi chiediamo di mandarci le vostre storie e i vostri pensieri all'indirizzo di posta: future@etsy.com
Voglio che Etsy sia una compagnia indipendente il più a lungo possibile, e ancora più importante che permetta ai venditori di essere indipendenti, e che gli permetta di vivere, non di sopravvivere. Cambiare il mondo significa pensare in grande, e vogliamo pensare in grande con voi.
Saturday, 22 September 2012
Note from Chad/2
See here, to read the Article in English or to know about the translation of previous text.
I venditori di Etsy sono imprenditori
Questo potrà suonare ovvio a chi sta leggendo, ma avere un negozio su Etsy è un affare serio che richiede serie competenze e abilità. Spesso, chi è al di fuori della community definisce i venditori di Etsy degli 'hobbysti'. Noi sappiamo che chiunque apra un negozio punta ad un’attività a tempo pieno. Lottiamo per rendere facile per chiunque iniziare su Etsy e scegliere il proprio livello d’impegno, che siano un paio di listing ogni tanto o la succursale di un negozio fisico con tanto di vendita all’ingrosso. Che etsy sia facilmente accessibile non significa che non richieda duro lavoro. Si percepisce ogni tanto un sentimento di rifiuto e addirittura di sessismo ed elitarismo in quella definizione 'hobbysti'. Più del 75% dei venditori su Etsy sono donne, e la storia di come la manifattura femminile sia sottovalutata ha radici antiche. Ma non serve scegliere se essere un artigiano o essere un imprenditore. Le barriere all’entrata per iniziare una propria micro-impresa si stanno abbattendo e Etsy deve evolvere per stare al passo. Questo significa costruire oggi gli strumenti di cui i nostri micro-imprenditori avranno bisogno domani. Abbiamo fatto progressi su spedizioni, pagamenti, buoni regalo e ads, ma abbiamo ancora altro in serbo. In particolare siamo felici di annunciarvi i nostri progetti per un nuovo settore di vendita all’ingrosso su Etsy.
Operiamo attraverso il cambiamento
Il mondo è cambiato molto dall’avvio di Etsy nel 2005, quando l’i-phone non esisteva ancora e Facebook era praticamente sconosciuto al di fuori dei campus universitari. Ora siamo nel bel mezzo di una rivoluzione, potenziata dalle tecnologie, che si estende a tutti gli aspetti del nostro modo di fare. Sta cambiando il modo di concepire cos’è fatto a mano.
Macchine che ora fanno comunemente parte del nostro lavoro ,come la cara vecchia macchina da cucire, in passato potevano causare rivolte perché usate massivamente nelle industrie. Nel 1841 l’inventore di unadelle prime macchina da cucire, Barthélemy Thimonnier, vide distruggere la sua fabbrica dai sarti che temevano di perdere il loro future e la vitalità dei piccolo negozi.
Quella che sta iniziando ora è una rivoluzione molto diversa: ogni persona può creare qualcosa nella propria casa o nel proprio studio e si hanno a disposizione strumenti che non erano così accessibili fino a poco tempo fa. Questi nuovi sviluppi si chiamano “personal manufacturing,” “micro-manufacturing,” o “desktop manufacturing.” In altre parole le macchine da cucire che hanno portato alla lotta ora sono parte delle nostre case o dei nostri ambienti, insieme a tutti quegli strumenti che per secoli sono stati fondamentali per l’artigianato. Proprio per questo vogliamo costruire su Etsy un mondo in cui sia sempre possibile ripensare e ridefinire il ‘creare’.
(to be continued...)
I venditori di Etsy sono imprenditori
Questo potrà suonare ovvio a chi sta leggendo, ma avere un negozio su Etsy è un affare serio che richiede serie competenze e abilità. Spesso, chi è al di fuori della community definisce i venditori di Etsy degli 'hobbysti'. Noi sappiamo che chiunque apra un negozio punta ad un’attività a tempo pieno. Lottiamo per rendere facile per chiunque iniziare su Etsy e scegliere il proprio livello d’impegno, che siano un paio di listing ogni tanto o la succursale di un negozio fisico con tanto di vendita all’ingrosso. Che etsy sia facilmente accessibile non significa che non richieda duro lavoro. Si percepisce ogni tanto un sentimento di rifiuto e addirittura di sessismo ed elitarismo in quella definizione 'hobbysti'. Più del 75% dei venditori su Etsy sono donne, e la storia di come la manifattura femminile sia sottovalutata ha radici antiche. Ma non serve scegliere se essere un artigiano o essere un imprenditore. Le barriere all’entrata per iniziare una propria micro-impresa si stanno abbattendo e Etsy deve evolvere per stare al passo. Questo significa costruire oggi gli strumenti di cui i nostri micro-imprenditori avranno bisogno domani. Abbiamo fatto progressi su spedizioni, pagamenti, buoni regalo e ads, ma abbiamo ancora altro in serbo. In particolare siamo felici di annunciarvi i nostri progetti per un nuovo settore di vendita all’ingrosso su Etsy.
Operiamo attraverso il cambiamento
Il mondo è cambiato molto dall’avvio di Etsy nel 2005, quando l’i-phone non esisteva ancora e Facebook era praticamente sconosciuto al di fuori dei campus universitari. Ora siamo nel bel mezzo di una rivoluzione, potenziata dalle tecnologie, che si estende a tutti gli aspetti del nostro modo di fare. Sta cambiando il modo di concepire cos’è fatto a mano.
Macchine che ora fanno comunemente parte del nostro lavoro ,come la cara vecchia macchina da cucire, in passato potevano causare rivolte perché usate massivamente nelle industrie. Nel 1841 l’inventore di unadelle prime macchina da cucire, Barthélemy Thimonnier, vide distruggere la sua fabbrica dai sarti che temevano di perdere il loro future e la vitalità dei piccolo negozi.
Quella che sta iniziando ora è una rivoluzione molto diversa: ogni persona può creare qualcosa nella propria casa o nel proprio studio e si hanno a disposizione strumenti che non erano così accessibili fino a poco tempo fa. Questi nuovi sviluppi si chiamano “personal manufacturing,” “micro-manufacturing,” o “desktop manufacturing.” In altre parole le macchine da cucire che hanno portato alla lotta ora sono parte delle nostre case o dei nostri ambienti, insieme a tutti quegli strumenti che per secoli sono stati fondamentali per l’artigianato. Proprio per questo vogliamo costruire su Etsy un mondo in cui sia sempre possibile ripensare e ridefinire il ‘creare’.
(to be continued...)
Saturday, 28 July 2012
Translating into Italian
Etsy is growing... and learning a new language: Italian.
The project started, and many members of Etsyitaliateam are helping in this great issue of translating etsy into Italian.
I've never translated a web-site before. I am very gratefull to my informatics course at University, otherwise html would be an enormous difficoulty. These codes are everywhere while translating and sometimes they make it difficult to understand the real meaning of a very simple sentence or phrase.
It's tricky, but so far is also interesting.
What is strange about it is that it must be functional, there is very little to "read". What we are translating are basic information to surf the great sea of shops on Etsy. Thus, we need to focus on the very use of words.
Another thing to take into consideration is lenght. Bottons and links are supposed to take the same amount of space of the english ones.
Luckily, we have a thread to compare our doubts and talk with the admin to be sure of doing a good job. Once again, what makes Etsy different from other places on the net, is the main idea of community.
Working (and living) with what has to do with languages, I've been wondering about this project before joining. We are doing it as volunteers, we are just partecipating in what we want to became real. We first wanted this site to speak Italian. But translation is also a serious matter, people do it for a living, so... how fair is it doing it for free?
I hope someone is supposed to revise our whole work, in the end. Someone that do it for a living.
So far, once again I am learning something new!
Friday, 24 June 2011
Language learning: two languages, two experiences
In my long journey as a language learner I've understood a couple of things; I've experienced it as a student, but also studied it. I started studying English when I was quite young (10 years old), and my teacher was Italian. With German, things were different. I started to study it when I was at University (20 years old), my teachers were mainly mother-tongue. These differences made me think about how I apprehended these two languages.
English at the beginning was totally a matter of fun! our teacher showed us cartoons, and then taught us some words and phrases. I can't remember any writing exercise during the first year. We learnt to say something and mainly how to use those phrases. Nothing about grammar or how to build up sentences. Then time for grammar came: present simple, Subject Verb Object structure, and so on... but only later. What we learnt first of all were Formulae. It was not important to learn the rule, but how to say things, because we need to spend time talking, somehow.
German came to a very different time of my life. After so many years at school there is something in your mind that tells you that the way to learn thing is to deeply understand them. Unfortunately that is not always true!
The first time my teacher came in class I was so scared! She started talking in German, only very few of us could understand what she was saying; I remember I thought something like: "How am I going to learn anything about it if she's not going to stop and explain us what she's saying?!" I was wrong; what they were trying to do was a total immersion in the language and also they tried to make us used with the sensation of not understanding each and every words they say.
Something in my mind was not helping me, because I wanted explanation, but actually I didn't need them.
The first thing is talking. That's why I started this new topic giving just phrases and words and not rules. I'll give some basic rules, if the time comes. In the meantime, stay tuned!
Tuesday, 14 June 2011
sources and words
Writing academic essays in English, I've sometimes found it difficult to translate technical words. I mean those words that refers to a very specific meaning but sounds like other words. I'll make an example to be sure you can understand. Last week I was wondering how to translate "sensibile" from Italian to English, but I didn't mean the adjective (sensitive), but the substantive that indicates a particular musical note that in a scale risolves to a note one semitone higher. Putting just 'sensibile' on google translate or any other online translator I could not find the word I meant.
The solution is easy, anyway. If you don't have a specialized dictionary (which is a very good way to solve the problem, but it is quite difficult to have one specific for each and every semantic field!!) you can just go on wikipedia, and search in your own language the word you are interested in. Then, you can click on the list of languages on the left and what you get is the corresponding entry in English, so your perfect translation. Moreover, the complete entry makes you certain to be perfectly right.
The solution is easy, anyway. If you don't have a specialized dictionary (which is a very good way to solve the problem, but it is quite difficult to have one specific for each and every semantic field!!) you can just go on wikipedia, and search in your own language the word you are interested in. Then, you can click on the list of languages on the left and what you get is the corresponding entry in English, so your perfect translation. Moreover, the complete entry makes you certain to be perfectly right.
Friday, 15 April 2011
I love you...or not?!
Thinking about the next lesson with a question in my mind: what is worth after greetings and presentation, what do you need to enter the Italian language?!
I could not find an answer, but I realized what will be the next lesson:
No need to say that feelings are not to be translated, but what we can translate is the way to express them. A friend asked me about German language some days ago, we were discussing sound and so on... I was telling him that German is not that harsh to pronounce and he told me "How do you say 'I love you'?", "Ich liebe dich", "you see, it sounds better in Italian or Spanish..."
Probably, it is right, the sound of the whole expression is a bit harsh, let see the Italian for
I love you: ti amo; very easy, two words. Anyway, pay attention on how to use it! Any Italian mother-tongue speaker will tell you that this formula is used only to express your feeling to the man/woman you want to share your life with. You usually do not use it with friends, relatives, or any other similar context. If you want to express your loving feelings towards other people (brothers, sisters, friends, parents, and so on) say:
Ti voglio bene: very difficult to translate it is a mix of I care of you/I want the best for you. Unfortunately, you can hear it in combinations like: "Ti voglio bene, ma non ti amo"; that we could translate as: "I really care of you, but I don't love you". A polite, but very sad way to say that your feelings towards the other person are not so deep.
Anyway, thinking about it I realized also, that I actually use it in different ways... Just a couple of example... When a friend says or does something peculiar for me I could express my joy in that moment saying "ti amo!!" but clearly, it is an exaggeration that help to express how happy I am about it. Sometimes I can express my reproach for something bad that one cold have said, saying "ti amo anch'io!" (I love you too!), it is of course ironic, the meaning is more or less "Your reproach is too hard to me, but I understand what you are saying!". Here of course the way it is said express more than half of the meaning!
I could not find an answer, but I realized what will be the next lesson:
expressing feeling/sentimenti
No need to say that feelings are not to be translated, but what we can translate is the way to express them. A friend asked me about German language some days ago, we were discussing sound and so on... I was telling him that German is not that harsh to pronounce and he told me "How do you say 'I love you'?", "Ich liebe dich", "you see, it sounds better in Italian or Spanish..."
Probably, it is right, the sound of the whole expression is a bit harsh, let see the Italian for
I love you: ti amo; very easy, two words. Anyway, pay attention on how to use it! Any Italian mother-tongue speaker will tell you that this formula is used only to express your feeling to the man/woman you want to share your life with. You usually do not use it with friends, relatives, or any other similar context. If you want to express your loving feelings towards other people (brothers, sisters, friends, parents, and so on) say:
Ti voglio bene: very difficult to translate it is a mix of I care of you/I want the best for you. Unfortunately, you can hear it in combinations like: "Ti voglio bene, ma non ti amo"; that we could translate as: "I really care of you, but I don't love you". A polite, but very sad way to say that your feelings towards the other person are not so deep.
Anyway, thinking about it I realized also, that I actually use it in different ways... Just a couple of example... When a friend says or does something peculiar for me I could express my joy in that moment saying "ti amo!!" but clearly, it is an exaggeration that help to express how happy I am about it. Sometimes I can express my reproach for something bad that one cold have said, saying "ti amo anch'io!" (I love you too!), it is of course ironic, the meaning is more or less "Your reproach is too hard to me, but I understand what you are saying!". Here of course the way it is said express more than half of the meaning!
Friday, 25 March 2011
Shaking hands
Foto from FlickrToday's Italian lesson:
Introducing- Presentazioni
Ciao, mi chiamo ...: Hi, my name's ... (informal, just to say your name, to make it formal, just change Ciao with Buongiorno)
Piacere di conoscerti/la: Nice to meet you/How do you do
Come ti chiami (inf)/ Come si chiama?: What's your name?( for a suitable answer see the first sentence)
E' stato un piacere parlare con te/lei: It's been a pleasure talking to you (inf/form).
It is quite usual among friends too shaking hands while you introduce somebody. Quite rarely you exchange kiss while introducing for the first time. It could happen among very young people (teen agers and so...), just a couple of kisses on cheeks.
Friday, 18 February 2011
wondering.... surfing....
One of the best way to be serious in my "start again" could be making the same steps of the first time. Since my blogroll is not so updated, this must be a really effective starting point.
So the blog I signal today is very relate to my new topic, Italian Lessons, the url is
http://becomingitalianwordbyword.typepad.com
You can find language hints to discover Italian, but also, some little story on how we use the language. The comparison, of course, is with English language.
Italian habits and lifestyle are described in a very interesting and "colourful" way.
It defenitely deserve a chance, click and see it!
So the blog I signal today is very relate to my new topic, Italian Lessons, the url is
http://becomingitalianwordbyword.typepad.com
You can find language hints to discover Italian, but also, some little story on how we use the language. The comparison, of course, is with English language.
Italian habits and lifestyle are described in a very interesting and "colourful" way.
It defenitely deserve a chance, click and see it!
Thursday, 13 January 2011
Lesson Number One
Knowing the risks of my laziness, I decided to start a new topic. It is not a casual one, but the reason of it will be revealed a bit later...
This new topic is: Italian lessons. I will write some basic Italian for beginners, but anybody can ask questions and I will be pleased to answer.
So, let's start, Lesson number One:
Ciao: Hello/Hi; very informal, but also common among friends and so on... You can use it either when you arrive or when you leave.
Salve: hello; a bit less informal, but anyway not a formal way of greeting.
Buongiorno/ Buon giorno: Good morning; You can use it until noon, as in English. You can say Buongiorno when you start a conversation, when you arrive and (in formal context) you can say so even when you're leaving. My Granma used to say that it was more polite than "arrivederci". Actually, nobody would say that "arrivederci" is unpolite!
Buon pomeriggio: Good afternoon; I think that a common grammar would tell you that you can use it when you arrive or starting a conversation after noon, but it is quite unusual to use it like this. If you really want to say so, and not give the impression of being a foreigner, use it before leaving, is a good and polite way to wish a nice day!
Buona sera/Buonasera: You can start using it after noon. As Buongiorno, is mainly use when you arrive, and if you want to be very polite you can say so when you're leaving (see Buongiorno).
Buona notte/Buonanotte: Good night; mainly used before going to bed, or very late at night.
This new topic is: Italian lessons. I will write some basic Italian for beginners, but anybody can ask questions and I will be pleased to answer.
So, let's start, Lesson number One:
Greetings- Saluti
Ciao: Hello/Hi; very informal, but also common among friends and so on... You can use it either when you arrive or when you leave.
Salve: hello; a bit less informal, but anyway not a formal way of greeting.
Buongiorno/ Buon giorno: Good morning; You can use it until noon, as in English. You can say Buongiorno when you start a conversation, when you arrive and (in formal context) you can say so even when you're leaving. My Granma used to say that it was more polite than "arrivederci". Actually, nobody would say that "arrivederci" is unpolite!
Buon pomeriggio: Good afternoon; I think that a common grammar would tell you that you can use it when you arrive or starting a conversation after noon, but it is quite unusual to use it like this. If you really want to say so, and not give the impression of being a foreigner, use it before leaving, is a good and polite way to wish a nice day!
Buona sera/Buonasera: You can start using it after noon. As Buongiorno, is mainly use when you arrive, and if you want to be very polite you can say so when you're leaving (see Buongiorno).
Buona notte/Buonanotte: Good night; mainly used before going to bed, or very late at night.
Saturday, 5 December 2009
Dictionaries and co.
Foto from FlickrIf you study languages, or are interested in language learning one of your best friend is called dictionary. I often use online dictionaries, because it's quicker than turning pages. You just type in a word and wait.
Doing my german homework I've found a couple new sources that deserve mention in this blog. The first is the online version of SANSONI provided by the italian newspapaer "Corriere della Sera", which is a really good dictionary and of great help. But one of the greatest problem when you study German is the possibility of creating new words that could generate confusion in the reader, and here the second source could be of great help. Bab.la is something more than a dictionary, because provides you the meaning of the words, but also an example of use. But the thing that deserves mention is this: whenever you cannot find there the word you need you can look for it in another source (so far, quite obvious)and then put it there. It will be checked, but in the meantime it is available with the red writing "non verif." (not checked).
That's great for a basic reason, language is something alive, then changes and enlarges itself, so obviously a living dictionary is a great advantage.
Of course there is the negative aspect that we always find talking about online sources: reliability. But as always the solution is to take it as a starting point and not as a universal truth. To have an initial meaning (the most unprecise it could be) it is better than wondering without knowing.
Monday, 20 July 2009
Language education
I live in the north-east of
At home wespeak Italian, and that was the language that we, children, were supposed to learn, but of course when we get in contact with our granpas and granmas we hear other languages. In my father’s family a chair is a ‘carega’, but in my aunt’s house (near
I learned Dialect when I was grown-up, I used to spent much time with my granparents and the only language used at home was dialect; my sister didn’t like it, she insisted to speak Italian, and sometime reproached me for my talk. At school, no doubt, Italian was the only language allowed, and also with unknown adults. My granma worked as a tailor, there were many people at any time of day at home, and I could appreciate moments in which (and clients to whom) she spoke a fine Italian, and others when dialect was possible.
Until high-school I’ve always used Italian at school, but then in my class I was the only one coming from the city (if we can talk about city…) and all my mates came from villages around Rovigo and Padua the language used among us was definitely dialect. I still remember a group of girls from another class saying “How rough, they speak dialect!”. That’s how it was considered.
Venetian dialect is the language of great writers and artists through different centuries, and part of this language became Italian in the long process called “questione della lingua” that started with Dante, went on with Manzoni, until the language that is now called Standard Italian. So, it is clear that it is not rough or anything, they were (and probably still are) a group of posh girls!
Now, I speak Italian the most, with some of my friends I speak dialect, at home I know that there are different dialects to use with different people, and there are still words that are unknown to me in some of my family languages. But dialect is a kind of code for me, I cannot recognize the code-switching moment, but when I use it I feel at home. I consider it much more expressive, because is the language in which I usually express feelings, bad feelings most of all. When I’m too nervous to control what I’m saying I don’t use a proper Italian….
If you ask me, I speak a very good Italian, I can speak a good English (or i hope so!), and I get angry in Dialect.
Thursday, 4 December 2008
Nice trip into science world!
No photo this time!
Another meeting for bloggers, but without any evidence! I'm just back home (well, I had dinner before start writing!) from Pisa, where I met A.C. and qualcosa di bello, and her "baby"! We spent a beautiful day trying to understand something about scientific research. If You have any question ask qualcosadibello, she knows!
It is always a surprise that there are so many different ways to get in contact with people, and that just writing some random thoughts, you have the chance to meet such beautiful people.
I have no other words for tonight, (I had few words during the whole day!)...
but thank you!
Another meeting for bloggers, but without any evidence! I'm just back home (well, I had dinner before start writing!) from Pisa, where I met A.C. and qualcosa di bello, and her "baby"! We spent a beautiful day trying to understand something about scientific research. If You have any question ask qualcosadibello, she knows!
It is always a surprise that there are so many different ways to get in contact with people, and that just writing some random thoughts, you have the chance to meet such beautiful people.
I have no other words for tonight, (I had few words during the whole day!)...
but thank you!
Tuesday, 18 November 2008
Surprise surprise...
foto from FlickrIt is at least surprising with this great crisis, money crisis, University crisis, whatsoever crisis... that my University was able to buy three (not just one, but three!) new German vocabularies!
I'm almost moved... and pleased, because the former were impossible to use!
... I attend to the 2nd oldest University in the world, you know!
Thursday, 13 November 2008
Out of my window...
Image taken from here.They go on saying that the world is changing, or better, is changed. The new President of United States of America, is the final sign of this change.
Before the election I was (most of all) curious to see whether Americans were brave enough to elect a President like Obama. Yes, you need courage to have such a President, for several reasons that I'm not going to investigate here. I'm happy that he's been elected, because, even though I'm not American (and proud to be Italian, despite Silvio...), I'm aware of the great influence of U.S. on the world. I'm happy because he seems to be a man able to do unpopular choices.
Since the day of his election I see people exulting there(in America) and here (in Italy). It is clear why Americans are happy about it, but it is not so clear to me why the Italians are so happy! I mean, we're governed by the same people as before, the only hope for us is... an invasion(remember Fascism?)! And what is more, we would have never elected such a candidate! And I'm not talking about the colour of his skin! I'm talking about those unpopular choices that we're not able to do... We want our leaders to be the image of what we would like to be, and not real persons who tell us what the real problems are.
So, keep on celebrating, but out of my windows it is still raining...
Sunday, 5 October 2008
Some hours in Rome...
...not even a day! I had time just for a walk, starting with San Peter.
Passing by, because I had no time to stand in a queue...
Then I passed by Castel Sant'Angelo, and I stopped few minutes in the park, just to read my map and decide the next target...
Which could not but be Trinità dei Monti, and to reach it I went along a street, where I could see Bulgari, Cartier, Buccellati... and I was wondering what kind of place it was... The to decided the next stop of my trip I realize that I was passing by via Condotti!!
It's almost impossible to take a picture without people in it, when you're in Rome...
I went up the stairs, and up there I decided the next stop...
...can you guess where I am?!
I thought I could sit for a moment, bu when I reached Fontana di Trevi I realized that it was too crowded!
So, I stopped just a minute to watch the tourists taking picture of the wife/son/daughter/boy-girl-friend throwing a coin...
Then through unknown ways I arrived in Via Venezia from where I could see Altare della Patria, but I didn't dare go up the stairs here! (once in a lifetime, and I had already done it!)
When you're there you cannot avoid to see Colonna traiana and Foro di Traiano, of course!
And if you go up to reach Piazza del Campidoglio you can see the whole city (almost)...
And then you can easily recognize Marco Aurelio when you arrive...
So far I was almost tired (it is a really long way...) but I thought I could take a bus to come back, so I decided to go on (Colosseo is so near...)
...but I just managed to reach Tempio di Vesta which is just opposite La Bocca della verità! Then I had to come back, no more time, and no more energy for my quick trip in Rome!
Passing by, because I had no time to stand in a queue...
Then I passed by Castel Sant'Angelo, and I stopped few minutes in the park, just to read my map and decide the next target...
Which could not but be Trinità dei Monti, and to reach it I went along a street, where I could see Bulgari, Cartier, Buccellati... and I was wondering what kind of place it was... The to decided the next stop of my trip I realize that I was passing by via Condotti!!
It's almost impossible to take a picture without people in it, when you're in Rome...
I went up the stairs, and up there I decided the next stop...
...can you guess where I am?!
I thought I could sit for a moment, bu when I reached Fontana di Trevi I realized that it was too crowded!
So, I stopped just a minute to watch the tourists taking picture of the wife/son/daughter/boy-girl-friend throwing a coin...
Then through unknown ways I arrived in Via Venezia from where I could see Altare della Patria, but I didn't dare go up the stairs here! (once in a lifetime, and I had already done it!)
When you're there you cannot avoid to see Colonna traiana and Foro di Traiano, of course!
And if you go up to reach Piazza del Campidoglio you can see the whole city (almost)...
And then you can easily recognize Marco Aurelio when you arrive...
So far I was almost tired (it is a really long way...) but I thought I could take a bus to come back, so I decided to go on (Colosseo is so near...)
...but I just managed to reach Tempio di Vesta which is just opposite La Bocca della verità! Then I had to come back, no more time, and no more energy for my quick trip in Rome!
Wednesday, 17 September 2008
simple and cute!
Saturday I went to a marriage. We have a little choir for friends, usually, but this time was for people we didn't know. They are friends of a friend of ours... Anyway, when we went to the church Saturday morning we could see little sunflowers everywhere! Such a beautiful landscape for this marriage! Sunflowers were surrounded by little green and pink meadows...
These 2 guys are really fantastic, he is from Colombia, and she's Italian, they have been living together for 5 years because they were married in Colombia, and now they are in Italy too.
She cut her hair at the beginning of September in order not to have problem in hair dressing and he was so nervous before she appeared that Saturday...
So sweet, and so simple...
After the ceremony we were allowed to steal a sunflower! Unfortunately it won't last long... but they were so cute!
Wednesday, 9 July 2008
Language learning is relative....
My father always says that learning Italian is quite easy.
Then he usually goes on saying that the reason why Italian is so easy is that words are pronounced the very way you write them. This is more or less true. We have pronunciation rules, that's all. German too! But we also have a very complicated verbal system composed of several modes and tenses.
At this point in the conversation my sister usually says :"Some modes and tenses are no longer used in Italian!". She refers to passato remoto, and some kind of congiuntivo. Go and ask to southern people if they no longer use passato remoto!!
Passato remoto is used to narrate events that happened very long ago, or at least that's what my teacher told me when I was 6! Speaking Italian I very rarely use passato remoto (telling once-upon-a-time stories, imitating southern people...), a class mate of mine, who come from the south of Italy used passato remoto to tell me about events that occurred the day before...
When I spoke to Elena (American student), during the exchange, I had the opportunity to ask her what is her greatest difficulty speaking Italian. I expected she to say: Italian verb system. She told me several things that were difficult for her, but she didn't mention verbs! I must confess I was a bit disappointed!
My German teacher in my first year at the University, used to underline that Italian is far more complicated than German, because irregular verbs in German show their irregularity in precise "points": 2nd and 3rd singular person, Praeteritum, and Partizip. No more no less. While in Italian you don't know where you can find irregularities.
Anyway someone should remind her that German still have declination for nouns, articles, and adjectives, and there is no way at all to guess the gender of words!
So... time is not the only relative thing, I assume!
Then he usually goes on saying that the reason why Italian is so easy is that words are pronounced the very way you write them. This is more or less true. We have pronunciation rules, that's all. German too! But we also have a very complicated verbal system composed of several modes and tenses.
At this point in the conversation my sister usually says :"Some modes and tenses are no longer used in Italian!". She refers to passato remoto, and some kind of congiuntivo. Go and ask to southern people if they no longer use passato remoto!!
Passato remoto is used to narrate events that happened very long ago, or at least that's what my teacher told me when I was 6! Speaking Italian I very rarely use passato remoto (telling once-upon-a-time stories, imitating southern people...), a class mate of mine, who come from the south of Italy used passato remoto to tell me about events that occurred the day before...
When I spoke to Elena (American student), during the exchange, I had the opportunity to ask her what is her greatest difficulty speaking Italian. I expected she to say: Italian verb system. She told me several things that were difficult for her, but she didn't mention verbs! I must confess I was a bit disappointed!
My German teacher in my first year at the University, used to underline that Italian is far more complicated than German, because irregular verbs in German show their irregularity in precise "points": 2nd and 3rd singular person, Praeteritum, and Partizip. No more no less. While in Italian you don't know where you can find irregularities.
Anyway someone should remind her that German still have declination for nouns, articles, and adjectives, and there is no way at all to guess the gender of words!
So... time is not the only relative thing, I assume!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)