Buondì. Next week, starting on Monday, we’ll be having our popular November ‘Free Trial Lesson’ offer. Which means that, FOR NEW STUDENTS ONLY, the price of this: Online Italian lessons: 1 x 30-minute lesson in our online shop will be reduced from £20 to an unbeatable £0! Obviously, the idea is to get people to […]
Archives for October 2019
‘How Not to Be a Nerd’
Buondì. I’m finally reading a book (in English) that’s been gathering dust on a shelf in my bedroom for several years. I managed to buy this particular paperback twice in successive summer holidays in the UK, but not read it on either occasion. I was finally prodded into doing so (and into discovering that I […]
“E quindi uscimmo a riveder le stelle”
Buondì. Don’t the stars look good today? Well, the overcast, late-October, Bologna-Friday-morning sky, anyway. Though it is drizzling some as I write. So damp, yes. But refreshing! And importantly, with no whiff of sulphur, nor even an echo of the cries of the damned. Yes, we’ve escaped hell at last! (This is NOT a Brexit […]
“Why bother babbling to a babbler?”
Buondì. Below is another entry in the Dante/Nimrod translation competition, from Killian in Ireland. Sorry not to have seen it before, Killian – it ended up in spam. We get so many spam comments that it’s virtually a full-time job separating the thousands of fake ones from the infrequent real ones. It’s interesting though – […]
A special place in hell for…
Buondì. Today we have the third in the Anselmo trilogy, plus a few items sent in by club members. In fact, I think I’ll do those first… Manju sent in this photo from Saturday’s anti-Brexit march. The cheerful-looking protestor is clearly a Dante fan, as well as a remainer. The caption at the top (sorry […]
Two Entries in our Dante Translation Competition!
Buondì. We had two responses to Wednesday’s challenge to translate this section from Canto XXXI of Dante’s Inferno: Poi disse a me: «Elli stessi s’accusa; questi è Nembrotto per lo cui mal coto pur un linguaggio nel mondo non s’usa. Lasciànlo stare e non parliamo a vòto; ché così è a lui ciascun linguaggio come […]
Having trouble learning Italian? Blame Nimrod.
Buondì. Having trouble learning Italian? Can’t understand a word anyone says to you? Can’t get a coherent sentence out? Blame Nimrod, A.K.A. Nembrotto. He was a King from Genesis (the first book of the Bible, not the English rock band.) He’s a giant, apparently, famous for having tried to construct the Tower of Babel. So […]
‘Anselmo e la moglie spagnola’ – get it while it’s hot!
Buondì. Last week we published the first in a trilogy of historical mysteries set in the court of the infamous Borgias, Anselmo e l’omicidio di Giovanni Borgia. And as it is with buses, which come along in threes after you’ve waited ages and ages for one, so too with historical mysteries: Anselmo e la moglie spagnola […]
Dante, and the usual reminders
Buondì. Sorry I’m late today. I had to walk around the corner and queue (there was one person in front of me) to stock up on ‘socialised medicine’. I needed new supplies of three different medications out of the five that I have to take every day. Plus blood tests (Italians call them ‘esami’, which […]
Janet’s question
Buondì. Here are some extracts from an email I received from Janet in Sydney, Australia last week. I’ve bolded her question, so it stands out: I always enjoy your emails about language learning. … Thank you for all the free stuff, and the Dante. It’s enriched my life and I probably would never have delved […]
