Buondì. Is Italian hard to read? Well, it can be. In certain registers (legal style, the more pompous newspapers) it can seem as if writers are intentionally minimising the chances of their readers getting any idea of the content of the articles, instead prioritising the self-serving, show-offy message: ‘Look at how well I can write! […]
Confused? Good! /And 4 Half-Price Easy Readers from 2015
Buondì. Following on from Friday’s popular quiz on ‘false friends’, today I have something similar for you. The words I chose for you last week were identical to English words, in their spelling, if not in their pronunciation or meaning. The examples I used were ‘male’ and ‘brave’. But there really aren’t so many of […]
A little quiz for you…
Buondì. Here’s a little quiz for you. Guess the fifteen English words defined below (= number of letters): a female horse (4) when goods are sold at a lower price than usual (4) a thin, bony flake on a fish (5) spies might use one to communicate (4) a military or police gesture that shows […]
Vai a quel paese, Bing!
Buondì. Checking emails this morning, I was struck by the subject line of one from a company we use for certain elements of our many websites: Introducing (company name) AI Assistant – Your New Partner in Content Creation The strapline was: Meet Your New Creative Writing Partner! Nah, I thought, I don’t need a ‘new […]
Parliamone
Buondì. Before seven a.m. this morning I was at Bologna’s Ospedale Maggiore for a ‘prelievo sangue’. It’s an imposing modern building with a helicopter pad on the top. Ayrton Senna, perhaps the most famous Formula 1 driver of all, was air-lifted there after the accident which ended his career, and his life. I was ‘recoverato’ […]
Mixed results to report
Buondì. Mixed results to report… The EasyItalianNews.com donations appeal, which ran from Tuesday last week to Tuesday this week, was a huge success, our best ever! Meaning that we can pay our team for a few months without having to worry. MANY THANKS to everyone who helped. We really, really appreciate it. And if you […]
Ebook reviews are back (maybe)
Buondì. Just a quickie today, as it’s the end of the month (lots of bills to pay!) Club member Felice has been helping me out trying to fix the ‘leave a review’ function in our ebooks store. Those of you paying attention will recall me moaning about this problem, which I assumed to be a […]
I went abroad for Sunday lunch
Buondì. Being a Brit, going abroad always used to seem like a major undertaking. When I was a kid, it involved getting on a cross-channel ferry to reach France the next day. Once we drove as far as the Alps, another time to someplace in Spain. Obviously things have got a lot easier with low-cost […]
Learning more than one foreign language at a time
Buondì. Gotta be brief this morning, as I’m taking my son Tom (voice of EasyItalianNews.com, see today’s P.P.S.) to do the first part of his driving test – the theory exam. I’m not sure how that works exactly. Whether the stuff that he has to study is all about how to drive as dangerously and […]
Read the effing FAQ!
Buondì. There are people in the world that read instructions, manuals, and the small print. For instance, me. And there are those who don’t, like my wife, wonderful though she is in all other respects. For the former, I usually write a FAQ, an acronym which stands for ‘Frequently Asked Questions’, and is pronounced like […]