La Bella Lingua by Dianne Hales
Please welcome Dianne Hales, author of the new book La Bella Lingua, which I’ve already told you about when we discussed my favorite False Friends.
Well today is La Bella Lingua‘s release date, and I have to tell you, this book is fabulous!
I got my copy two weeks ago–and flew through it in a weekend. I plan on reading it again.
For anyone who has been enchanted by the always beautiful, often frustrating Italian language and tried to grasp its basics as well as its intricacies, Dianne’s tales will not only ring true but also comfort you.
From obscure word etymologies to entertaining anecdotes, La Bella Lingua will keep you turning pages, nodding along in agreement, laughing, and even learning–I picked up quite a few new words myself.
And the writing? A sheer pleasure. Truly.
A *must* for any lover of the Italian language, this book assolutamente warrants five espresso cups out of five.
What’s that? You’d like a copy for yourself?
Well FIVE lucky Bleeding Espresso readers have a chance to do just that.
Simply leave a comment on this post at or before 11:59 p.m. (Italy time), May 19, and I’ll draw FIVE names at random as winners.
**UPDATED: For those of you in Italy who were wondering how to find a copy, you can order the book through Webster.it for €22,37 and shipping is free!
Benvenuta Dianne!
Never did I—a sensible woman of sturdy Polish peasant stock—expect to become madly, gladly, giddily besotted with the world’s most luscious language. But on a mostly mute maiden voyage to Italy in 1983, Italians had talked constantly to, at, and around me. Yearning for a few words to offer in return, I decided to study their language.
My first teacher was an intense young woman from the Abruzzi who had recently moved with her new American husband to San Francisco. She insisted that I repeat an Italian sentence that translated into “I am going into the corridor to smoke a cigarette.”
“But I don’t smoke,” I objected.
“Italians smoke,” she countered.
“Signora, questa frase è importante.”
“It’s not important to me,” I persisted. “I am never, ever going into a corridor in Italy to smoke.”
She sighed. I changed the subject and asked her what she missed most about Italy. “La piazza,” she said as wistfully as if it were the name of a loved one left behind. After a few seconds, she added, “La domenica.”
“Sundays?”
“When you go to Mamma’s.” She began to sob. Shortly thereafter she packed up and returned to Italy.
My next teacher, an aspiring actress who taught Italian to local children, displayed picture books of baby ducks and puppies. When I balked at learning ninnananne (lullabies), she handed me off to her father, who taught Italian at the local community college. Tony, a trim Neapolitan who biked over the hills to my home, would break into arias, dropping onto one knee to serenade me with “E lucevan le stelle” and “Che gelida manina.”
Soon I was a goner, inebriated with Italian’s sounds, lovesick for its phrases. My next classroom was a Sausalito bungalow festooned with so many cherubs and hearts that I thought of its voluptuous owner as la mia Valentina. A Romana (and professional chef) of indeterminate age with henna hair and a full figure Italians might describe as abbondante, she served me delectable merende (snacks) and juicy tales of long-ago lovers.
Crossing the line from tourist to scholar, I decided I was ready to study in Italy. However, the first teacher I had arranged to study with developed a leg cramp while swimming off the Amalfi coast. A Sicilian prince sailing nearby swept her onto his private yacht—and then into a castello by the sea, She never again gave lessons—or, for all I know, decamped from her royal digs. I had better luck at a private school in a Renaissance villa in Assisi, where a faculty of striking young women did indeed excuse themselves to smoke cigarettes in the corridor.
The professor who headed the school complimented my grammar but grimaced at my accent. I must have looked crestfallen, for he hastened to assure me that this was “un problemino,” a teeny tiny problem. All that I had to do, he explained, was talk with more Italians. And so I did.
Returning to Italy every year, I improved my Italian in the most tried-and-true way: by tripping over my tongue and learning from my mistakes. At Camponeschi, our favorite restaurant in Rome, the waiters giggled when they overheard me describe the wonderful view from our terrace of the roofs of Rome. Instead of the masculine tetti (roofs, pronounced tet-tee), I had used the feminine slang tette (tits, pronounced tet-tay).
The madly ambitious idea of writing a book about a language other than my own grew out of a fiction-writing group I belonged to for several years. I wrote a rather prosaic novel called Becoming Italian about the adventures of a group of students, interspersed with notes on the language. Character, plot, and dialogue didn’t much interest me; writing about Italian was the most fun I’d ever had with a word-processing program.
I found the perfect collaborator in Alessandra, a Romana who migrated to the United States years ago and who taught me Italian the way Italians learn the language—through fairy tales, comic books, epic poems, classic novels, operas, folk songs, movies, newspapers, and hours and hours of chatting (chiacchierare) in Italian. I began each session with a mantra: “Sono italiana, sono italiana, sono italiana. “I am Italian, I am Italian, I am Italian.” I must see with Italian eyes, Alessandra would remind me, hear with Italian ears, speak with Italian rhythms.
“How would you say, ‘Give me a kiss?’” Alessandra asked one day.
“Dammi un bacio,” I replied, somewhat taken aback by the query.
“No, no, no,” she chastised gently, explaining that the combination of “n” and “b” strikes an Italian ear as molto brutta, so I must run them together into an “m.”
“Dammi umbacio!” I dutifully repeated, although this phrase seemed even less likely to enter my conversations in Italy than excusing myself to smoke in the hallway.
I was wrong. One of the many Italians who coached me in their language asked for a kiss (and, yes, he said umbacio) the first time we met. When I pulled away, he added the irresistible kicker, “But I’m 87!”
In time all of Italy became my school house, and virtually all the Italians I met enthusiastic (and patient) tutors. In contrast to the French, who praise an impeccable speaker for having une langue châtiée, which literally means a punished tongue, an Italian friend gave me the highest of compliments when he said that my Italian had progressed from being involto (rolled tight, like cannelloni) to disinvolto, as loose and easy, in his words, as a lasagna noodle.
La Bella Lingua–a true opera amorosa, a labor of love—chronicles my idiosyncratic journey through (arguably, I concede) the world’s most loved and lovable language. I have cherry-picked the liveliest parts of Italian’s history and the golden eras of its literature, art, music, movies, and culture.
In its pages, you will meet the people, visit the places, read the words, behold the paintings, hear the music, taste the meals, and watch the movies that taught me the greatest of Italian secrets: how to make the soul smile.
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Thanks so much Dianne!
Remember to comment for a chance to win a copy of La Bella Lingua!
130 Beans of Wisdom to “La Bella Lingua by Dianne Hales”
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Add your two beans of wisdom.
Michelle Fabio is an American attorney-turned-freelance writer living in her family's ancestral village in Calabria, Italy and savoring simplicity one sip at a time.
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What a great post, fun to read and so vivid! I enjoy reading about other people’s experiences with the language and with Italy in general.
joanne at frutto della passione’s last blog post..Amatriciana
Me too, Joanne, and this is truly a great book…best of luck in the drawing
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mi piace l’italiano, ma posso parlare solo unpo
Sarabeth’s last blog post..Bringing Malai Kofta To the Table
There’s always time to learn Sarabeth! Thanks for coming by
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As someone who is trying to become fluent, this book sounds like a must read (and quite funny).
Look forward to reading it. Congrats to Dianne on its publication.
nyc/caribbean ragazza’s last blog post..A quick day trip to Naples: Art and some of the best pizza in the world.
Quite funny indeed! You’re going to love this book
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ciao!
Ciao Rod! Best of luck in the drawing
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I’m not sure if I can wait until the 19th, I may just have to saunter over to Feltrinelli and pick up a copy today. That section has me hooked!
Willym’s last blog post..Presents for Puppies
Ooh let us know if you find it!
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..will this encourage me to continue my wrestle with the Italian language? I hope so
Anch’io spero di sì Davide
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Pick me, pick me, pick me! And, if I don’t get picked, can I buy it in Italy?
Not sure if it’s sold through online Italian merchants, although it’s on Amazon, so Amazon UK might have it?
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Just reading her words here has renewed my determination to really learn this language! It’s not just another thing to check of the list; its an adventure to be had!
Nicole’s last blog post..Happy Mothers Day
That’s the spirit, Nicole! Best of luck
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I am also an avid fan of la lingua italiana. Can’t wait to read it!
Megan’s last blog post..“Collecting East & West” conference in Florence
You’re going to love it, Megan!
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This is gorgeous. I definitely want to get this book. Thanks Dianne & Sognatrice. I will look out for it in SA.
Or perhaps you’ll win a copy?! Fingers crossed!
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yes yes yes! I absolutely MUST have this book!
I agree Annika! Best of luck
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I love language books and could (still) use help linking the Italian language and culture…sounds fun and enlightening!
I think I’ll be learning this language forever
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I have been living here for 11 years and still get flack cause I mix up English, French and Italian….my latest doosie….wanted to say in Italian…SONO OBERATA DI LAVORO and instead it came out Sono Obliterata di lavoro…obliterated with work…my colleagues are still laughing and put up OBLITERATION sign on my desk!
Hah! Good that your coworkers have a sense of humor
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I’m excited about this book! I always say how proud and fortunate I am to be able to speak, and teach, “la lingua piu’ bella”….
I think you’re going to love this, Ann!
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As I prepare for my trip to Italy in October, I need all the help I can get with learning the Italian language!
I am looking forward to adding this book to my collection.
Jennifer Rafferty’s last blog post..A Mother’s Day Gift: Help K and Her Children
Enjoy, Jennifer!
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Love, Love, Love to Read! Love, Love Love to Eat! Love, Love Love Languages!
Sounds like we have a lot in common, Amy! Best of luck
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Wow-
I have to read this book- if I win it or not!
I believe that the Italian language is the most beautiful language out there.
No other language can compare.
Thanks Michelle….
Susan’s last blog post..Oregano
Thank *you* Susan, and good luck!
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I recently found her blog on the web and have been enchanted by her posts. It really made me want to buy the book. Thanks for introducing her to your readers too.
Ciaochowlinda’s last blog post..Citrus Scallops
Yes, Dianne has a great blog too; thanks for coming by Ciaochow
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Dianne, your guest post had me grinning wistfully as I read it this morning. I can relate to your story wholeheartedly. The Italian language arrived in my life two years ago like a chance meeting with a beautiful stranger. I was smitten instantly. Its rhythms and rhymes appeal to me on a very fundamental level and I’m forever changed by my decision to start to learn it. I have some facility with Spanish and French but after Italian, all other languages seem cold and static to me. The spirit of the Italian language transcends vocabulary and grammar and it offers its speakers a deeper level of communicating. I cannot get enough of it and I cannot wait to read your book!
Paul Anater’s last blog post..I want to smack this kid
Best of luck Paul! Thanks so much for coming by
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This sounds like such a funny book! I love hearing about people’s adventures learning a different language!
Karina’s last blog post..Writing, writing, writing!
Best of luck in the drawing, Karina!
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Oooooooooh pick me!! Pick me!!!!!! I cannot wait to read this.
Paola’s last blog post..5 months
Best of luck, Paola
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A work colleague is in Italy, staying in Bologna for two months, primarily to improve her Italian. She is now utterly besotted with Italy and keeps posting giddy ‘magnifica’ and ‘bellissima’ comments on Facebook. She studied Italian for a year – battling horrendous shiftwork hours which left her exhausted – in order to ready herself for her Excellent Adventure. I would love to give her a copy of the book which captures her experience as well. So here’s hoping my name will be pulled out of the hat!
Fingers crossed Helena!
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The book sounds wonderful! I’ll have to keep an eye out for it, my husband just joined me in Italy and is embarking on learning Italian. It probably does not help that we all tell horror stories of our linguistic mishaps (still happening). Me to scooter mechanic: “Voglio incendere questo motorino.” (to burn it up). The mechanic said he *could* do that, absolutely, but perhaps I meant to say “accendere”? To start it?
The book is available at Amazon.uk. I just checked (and bookmarked it for myself):
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bella-Lingua-Italian-Enchanting-Language/dp/0767927699/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1242132213&sr=8-12
Thanks for looking that up, Kristin, and for sharing your fabulous language story! That’s a great one
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But I’m 87!!! That is just adorable. I hope I get a chance to read the book, the guest post was great.
Aimee’s last blog post..Baby the Maltese
Best of luck, Aimee
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What an awesome giveaway! I would LOVE a copy of this book, and if I don’t win, I will definitely be going out to get it. I have really been slacking with my study of Italian, so maybe this is just the thing to get me excited about it again.
Heather’s last blog post..Nine Days
Best of luck Heather! Good to “see” you
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Pick me! Pick me! I live in south-central PA! I would love a copy of this book…. PLEASE!
Hee hee, best of luck Michelle!
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What a great post!!
I have been self teaching myself Italian for over a year now and it’s definitely slow moving but I picked up so much when I was in Italy. Italy was by far the best classroom for me! 
I can’t wait to go back and learn some more!!
Definitely putting this on my GoodReads “To-Read” list!
Thanks for sharing your reviews, and thanks Dianne for the entertaining guest post!
It was a pleasure to read.
Oh yes, jumping in *definitely* speeds up the learning process, that’s for sure!
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I would love to read this book! It sounds great! =)
Good luck!
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Just reading Dianne’s post is enough to want to read any book by her — she has a lovely fun way with words! I too have fallen in love with the Italian language after spending time in Le Marche and Campania and driving all around the south of Italy on another occasion. My first teacher was … an Armenian woman in Armenia, where I was domiciling at the time. She was great and gave me even more enthusiasm. Now I have to get back to Italy and have the courage to just open my mouth!
Miss Footloose’s last blog post..SHEARING THE EXPAT
Lucky for us Italians are very forgiving and love when we try to speak their language
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Just this morning I was trying to figure out how I can get myself ready to meet with my Italian tutor tomorrow-she’s been back in Italy since Dec. and in that time my speaking skills have really deteriorated! I saw her once a week ago and was tongue tied the whole time! Help!
It’ll all come back, Janie…just like riding a bike! Kinda
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I just got a notice from Barnes&Noble that my advance order has arrived…….I’ve hesitated reading excerpts on Diane’s website because I didn’t want to shorten the pleasure of reading the entire book in context. But like you said…..I could always read it again…..and again…..Can’t wait to get my hands on it………I could always gift a second copy to una bella amica.hehehe
Exactly, Carol! And good thinking on avoiding the excerpts, although what self-control you must have!
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Sounds like a must read! where is it available for purchase, on the off chance I don’t win a copy?
If you’re in the States, pretty much everywhere, I would imagine (definitely online at Amazon and BN.com).
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I am ready for my soul to smile!
Yeah! Best of luck
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Ti ringrazio, Michele–and also all of you who commented. Your words have me smiling from the depths of my soul to the tip of my nose. Aren’t we all “fortunati” indeed to have Italian in our lives?
Please keep in touch at my website or blog. I’d love to get to know you all better.
A presto,
Dianne
http://www.labellalingua.org
http://www.becomingitalianwordbyword.typepad.com
Thanks so much for sharing your words with us, Dianne
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I’m looking forward to reading this book, Dianne’s writing is beautiful! I would love to learn Italian, but have always been daunted by it.
I’m traveling to Rome next week, and plan to read this when I get back…the two should be plenty of inspiration to get studying!
Thank you both for a great post today!
Jennifer’s last blog post..Travel Countdown
Thanks so much for coming by Jennifer
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This book sounds absolutely fabulous! Thanks for entering me into the drawing
City Girl’s last blog post..Bookmarked Recipes – Cucumber Watermelon Cooler
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Oh my… what a wonderful story! I have been eagerly awaiting Diane’s book since you first mentioned it here. You are so sweet to offer a giveaway! Now I will be eagerly awaiting May 19th!
Thanks Michelle!
Laura at Ciao Amalfi’s last blog post..Tempting Tuesday: Ravello’s Villa Rufolo
In bocca al lupo Laura
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It’s Erica, generally too lazy to identify, but the book sounds awesome so I had to post a comment. We were just in Italy last month for our Calabrian wedding extravaganza, so I’m particularly inspired to read it now in hopes of making fewer errors next visit!
Hah, I can only imagine the extravaganza…best of luck
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Just moved to Italy and looking to learn more about this beautiful language – sounds like a great book to learn a bit more of the intricacies!
Benvenuta Linda, and best of luck
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Amazon UK says they have it, but they want at least 12-14 days (UK), so getting it to Italy will probably take longer. Sounds like a fun read for under the umbrella this summer.
Jacques, I’ve updated the post with info about an online bookseller in Italy that has it…with free shipping
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How I’d love to read this book – I think I will have to order it from Amazon and have a friend bring it over from the UK to Calabria for me 8-))
Now there’s a plan, Lesley; if you’re in the Badolato area, let me know
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Me! Me! Me!
Sounds lovely.
Best of luck BT!
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Michelle..enjoy your posts on Facebook!
Thanks for this facinating info!
Put my name in the hopper! Thx.
Joyce Mariani – Italian Cultural Garden
Cleveland Italian Film Festival
Best of luck, Joyce!
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This looks to be a fantastic book! Thank you for the opportunity to hopefully win one, and for the great guest post
Thank *you* for reading, Juliette!
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Thank you for this, it sounds like a great book and I am looking forward to reading it! I just added it to my amazon wishlist.
Best of luck, Jill!
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Absolutely hilarious! While I grew up speaking Italian at home here in Canada, that didn’t make me immune to the amusing grammatical mistake…although mine was forgetting to put that extra “n” when I was talking about my “pens” (for those of you still scratching your head, leaving out that extra letter means you’re talking about a male body part rather than a writing implement!)
I look forward to reading the book, as I suspect I’ll be chuckling my way through it all.
Julia’s last blog post..What a Sunday
One of most/least favorite Italian errors, Julia
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But of course, I’d love to be a winner
Maybe I can come right to Calabria to get mine if I win. I’ll be on my way to Roma by then anyway………..
xo
My Melange’s last blog post..Travel Tip Tuesday – 7 Tips for Making Travel Stress-Free
Hee hee…come on down anyway!
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I’ve been slacking DREADFULLY on my Italian studies. This excerpt makes me think this book might just give me the kick in the bum I’ve been needing. Would be great to win, but alas, if not, it’s already on my Amazon wish list
.
In bocca al lupo Carrie!
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Oooh, sounds like a fascinating must read!
IMHO it *absolutely* is
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After hearing my husband’s family laugh at the italian heard in NY this book sounds like a great read! It’s on my Barnes and Noble wishlist now~ Thanks for the peek!
Best of luck, Rose!
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