Archive for the ‘italian’ Category
La Bella Lingua/Celebrate Italian Heritage Contest
Remember when we talked about Dianne Hales’ book, La Bella Lingua? Well here is your chance to win another copy–plus four other Italian-themed books from Random House through the:Celebrate Italian Heritage Contest
From the contest page:
October is Italian Heritage Month so Living Language and Broadway Books are pleased to provide five lucky winners with an all-about-Italian prize package, valued at $115.79.
Each prize package will include the following:
• (1) signed hardcover copy of La Bella Lingua by Dianne Hales
• (1) Living Language Complete Italian: The Basics package
• (1) Living Language Baby’s First Words in Italian package
• (1) Living Language 2000+ Essential Italian Verbs with CD-ROM
• (1) Fodor’s Italy 2010
The contest runs until November 7. The email addresses go straight to a computer in Random House’s vault and will not be used for any solicitations. The contest is limited to people with mailing addresses in the U.S and Canada.
Read more at the contest page, and hurry!
Viva l’italiano!
La Bella Lingua by Dianne Hales
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.
Read on...False Friends/Falsi Amici in Italian
I was recently introduced to a fabulous new site about the Italian language called La Bella Lingua by Dianne Hales.
Dianne has a book by the same name coming out in May, and you will see her here at Bleeding Espresso closer to that time, but for now, Dianne has inspired me to share one of my favorite/least favorite parts of the Italian language:
False Friends/Falsi Amici
What are false friends in Italian?
Also called “false cognates,” these are Italian words that sound a lot like English words but *so* do not correspond in meaning.
If you’re just starting to learn Italian, this is a great list to simply commit to memory. It is by no means exhaustive, but these are some that have always stuck in my mind:
Italian False Friends/Falsi Amici in Italiano
Attualmente: currently NOT actually (in realtà)
Camera: room NOT camera (la macchina fotografica)
Cocomero: watermelon NOT cucumber (cetriolo)
Comprensivo: understanding NOT comprehensive (completo)
Confetti: sugared almond NOT confetti (coriandoli)
Confrontare: to compare NOT to confront
Crudo: raw NOT crude (volgare)
Educato: polite NOT educated (istruito or colto)
Educazione: good manners NOT education (istruzione)
Eventuale: any NOT eventual (finale)
Fabbrica: factory NOT fabric (tessuto)
Fastidio: annoying NOT fastidious (pignolo)
Fattoria: farm NOT factory (fabbrica)
Firma: signature NOT firm, as in company (azienda) or firm, as in a mattress (rigido)
Gentile: nice NOT gentle (dolce or leggero)
Intendere: to understand NOT to intend
Libreria: bookstore NOT library (biblioteca)
Magazzino: warehouse NOT magazine (rivista)
Morbido: soft NOT morbid (morboso)
Noioso: boring NOT noisy (rumoroso)
Parente: relative NOT parent (genitore, madre, padre)
Patente: license NOT patent (richiesta di brevetto)
Peperoni: peppers NOT pepperoni, the spicy sausage (salame piccante)
Preservativo: condom NOT preservative (conservante)
Pretendere: to expect NOT to pretend (fare finta)
Rumore: sound NOT rumor (voce)
Sensibile: sensitive NOT sensible (ragionevole)
Simpatico: nice NOT sympathetic (comprensivo)
Stravagante: eccentric NOT extravagant (sprecone)
Have you made any false friend mistakes?
Do you have more to add to the list? Please share!
Top 5 Italian Words You Really Don’t Want to Mispronounce
Whether you’re coming to Italy for your first or twenty-first time, ready to meet your future in-laws, trying to impress your new Italian amore, or just in the mood to laugh *with* us as we maneuver our way through the beautiful Italian language, I have compiled for you:
The Top 5 Italian Words You Really Don’t Want to Mispronounce.
Michelle Kaminsky is an American attorney-turned-freelance writer who lived in her family's ancestral village in Calabria, Italy for 15 years. This blog is now archived.
Calabria Guidebook
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