Buondì. Today is the first day of the summer, for me at least. There’s no school, my most urgent current work project is more or less complete, and tomorrow we set off on our holidays, a couple of weeks in the UK. So all I have to think about this morning is organising the kids […]
Archives for July 2018
Have you ever read a newspaper or novel in Italian?
Buondì. Hope the studying is going well. If not, if say the weather’s too hot and you’re not feeling very motivated, well why not try something different? For example, I was at the doctor’s office this morning and had to wait for my turn. So I spent the time browsing the news in Swedish using […]
A set of free Italian conversation lesson prompts on Culture
Italians are very into ‘cultura’. Art, literature, opera, ballet, classical music, theatre, cinema and so on. Kids at school have to read ‘I promessi sposi‘, and worse. It’s a form of socialisation, like hazing in the military. Video games and rap? Right-thinking people wouldn’t regard either as ‘cultura’, I’m sure. I was trying to convince […]
More likes and dislikes to listen to and read!
Buondì. I’m in a rush this morning as I have to go the book-wholesaler (don’t ask) where no doubt I’ll be kept waiting for ages while the guy behind the desk pokes at the keyboard of his nineteen-eighties vintage desktop computer with one finger in that time-honored way that Italian office-workers have of indicating that […]
Stuff you do every day vs. stuff you’d do if you only had time
Buondì. I use a .txt file to organise my life. This has got to be the most primitive possible way to create ‘to do’ lists and schedule appointments, other than using a piece of paper and a pen. However I touch type faster than I use a pen, and my computer goes everywhere with me, […]
Get completely ‘blocked’ when you try to speak? Try this!
Buondì. As you’ve no doubt already heard, ad nauseam, I study Swedish (I just added it to my LinkedIn profile, so it must be true.) The idea is to have material to write about, given that I’m no longer learning Italian (though I live and work in Italy.) Plus, I recently started Turkish lessons, in […]
For those of you who aren’t spending the summer in Italy…
Buondì. Hope you had a relaxing and enjoyable weekend. We were in Rimini and got out on the boat a few times. There was wind, which was good, and plenty of sunshine. After an hour or so of zipping across the waves, we got the rather-rusty anchor down and the kids dived and splashed. Later, […]
Beh insomma, insomma! And another free Italian conversation
Buondì. The always-useful online Italian-English dictionary, WordReference.com, gives three meanings for ‘insomma‘, a word you’ll often hear Italians use when they’re chatting. It’s used for concluding what you’re saying, like ‘so’ or ‘I mean’. “Insomma, it’s a very useful word.” It can also mean ‘so-so’, as in: “How are you getting one with your Italian?” […]
What’s wrong with Italy / New audio and transcript
Buondì. If you’ve ever been into an Italian post office, you’ll know why I’m later today. It took them an hour to change my daughter’s savings book from a child account to an adult account. When it was finally done (really, it took a whole hour) the teller handed her the new savings book and […]
Which languages do you speak?
Buondi. The Summer Sale is over, huge sigh of relief, as it’s been intense! So today it’s back to publishing native-speaker conversations with transcripts, for your learning pleasure. This one is my daughter interviewing my wife (everyone needs spending money for the up-coming summer holidays), said daughter also having written up the transcript. Stefi is […]
