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Buondì.
Many thanks to the people who took the time to comment on last week’s article, Why you should quit studying Italian.
Comments help so much with the ‘club vibe’, in the sense that learners around the world can read what others are saying, and respond if they choose, or say whatever’s on their mind.
Thanks also (though fewer) to everyone who emailed in response to the article, which is easier to do (just hit reply and it’ll get to me) but less appreciated.
Apart from the fact that when someone has been kind enough to write to me I feel bad not responding, one-to-one emails of that type do nothing to inform other club members, or encourage them to participate in the ‘conversation’.
It’s not that I’ve stopped replying to emails from club members in the hope that they’ll get the message and leave a comment instead, more that the job of emptying my inbox tends to end up at the bottom of the pile.
Another thing is that I’m always keen to find topics to write about for these Wednesday articles.
If someone raises an interesting, or controversial, point in a comment on an article I’ve written, then it’s implied that their words are for public consumption, meaning that I can reply publicly – either in a comment or an article – without treading on anyone’s legal toes.
Whereas if a club member emails something article-worthy, I really need to get their OK before responding on the site or to the mailing list. Or at least rewrite their words rather than quoting them directly.
Honestly, I’d rather people commented than emailed – the work involved in replying is the same, but comments ADD TO THE VALUE OF THE CLUB ‘EXPERIENCE’ for all twenty-two thousand members. Emails don’t.
So how to comment on an article?
You have to do it with your web browser, not by replying to an emailed article.
Go to the club homepage https://onlineitalianclub.com/
Scroll down a little, past ‘Need help?’ to where you’ll see the most recent article which, as I type this is ‘Why you should quit studying Italian’ but once I’ve published it, it’ll be ‘The ‘club vibe’ and why you should invest in it (not email!)’.
Click on the ARTICLE TITLE, which will take you to the dedicated article page. For last week’s article it was Why you should quit studying Italian.
Scroll right down to the bottom of the article and you’ll see other people’s comments, if there are any.
And below that – drum roll – where it says ‘Leave a Reply’, the comments box!
Type your piece there, press the POST COMMENT button, and wait patiently for me to notice your comment and approve it.
We get hundreds of automated spam comments that need to be filtered out and deleted, so it’s not possible to published your comment automatically and immediately.
But I check for comments on the club site multiple times each day. https://easyitaliannews.com/ too, if you have something to say about their bulletins. All genuine comments on both sites WILL be published.
And what about where it says ‘Email address required’???
First, your email address will not be published.
It’s ‘required’ as an identifier in the system, so that if someone replies to you, the exchange is Person B replying to Person A. The club website is based on a database. Databases need identifiers for everything stored in them.
Second, there’s nothing to stop you using a fake email address (just make one up). The only downside is that, should someone reply to you (“Hi, you’re in Melbourne/Falmouth? Let’s meet up and chat in Italian!”) the notification the system sends won’t reach you.
And third, if you email me, I’ll have your email anyway, right? And if you’re a club member, it’ll be on our mailing list software. So basically, privacy-wise, there’s nothing to lose.
Oh, and a final thing about comments. On the club homepage, where it says ‘Join the conversation!’ (right-hand side of the homepage), you can see recent comments, with the person’s name and the article commented on, like this:
Helen on Why you should quit studying Italian
It’s a super-handy way to find out where the buzz is happening, and to go right there! If there’s any ‘buzz’ at all, that is.
And if you don’t want your name/surname visible? Well don’t use it. Pick an alias. I could, for instance, be ‘Daniele’ or ‘Bologna blogger’…
So, briefly, turning to the emails, two in particular stand out as potential article topics. One person wanted to know (I paraphrase) “With all these languages you know, don’t you get mixed up?”, which is a fascinating question, one to which I couldn’t resist replying. Shame that my words would have been read by just one person rather than multiple thousands…
And someone else – this morning, actuallly – emailed to ask what my background is and how I came to start OIC. Also a good question – everyone likes writing about themselves – but wouldn’t an eventual response be better posted as a comment, where all club members could read it, rather than in a private email??
Please invest in the ‘club vibe’ by commenting rather than emailing.
Grazie.
Alla prossima settimana!
P.S.
EasyItalianNews.com is running it’s bi-monthly donations appeal this week.
Many thanks from the EIN team to everyone who’s already sent a contribution, no matter if small or large.
Donations pay the writers, my son who does the audio, a daughter who formats and searches for images, the rapacious accountant and his barely competent staff, and so on.
Stefi, who manages and edits, while also running our Italian school in Bologna, changing Bug’s diapers, and knitting obsessively (not all at once) doesn’t get paid at all.
I do the marketing (basically this) and the website technical stuff (approving and replying to comments, for instance) and don’t get paid either. Though she and I indirectly own the company.
Tuesday’s FREE bulletin of ‘easy’ Italian news is here. If you’re a fan, consider sending a donation to help us meet payroll.
You can do that here:
https://easyitaliannews.com/support-easyitaliannews-com/
Don’t know what I’m talking about? Take a look at their website to get started on improving your Italian immediately!
And/or to get all three text + audio bulletins of ‘easy’ news emailed to you each week, on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, subscribe (they really are FREE) by entering your email address on this page and clicking the confirmation link that will be sent to you.
Half-price Ebook of the Week, ‘2 giugno 1946’ (A2/B1), £4.99
Here’s a new half-price ebook ‘easy reader’ promotion, one that we do each year at around this time…
Why? The clue is in the title: 2 giugno 1946.
June 2nd seventy-nine years back was a historic moment in Italy, and this ebook celebrates that, as well as providing invaluable and enjoyable skills practice for students of Italian.
The level of this one is A2/B1 (pre-intermediate/intermediate). Do check out the Free Sample Chapter (.pdf) (which includes a link to the free online audio for the entire story…) to see if the material is right for you.
Bologna, 2nd of June 1946. Italy is slowly recovering from the devastating effects of World War II. A referendum has been organised to decide whether the reborn state will be a republic or continue as a monarchy. And for the first time in history, Italian women can go to the polls! Newly-wed Marcella is so excited at the prospect she barely slept last night. But her husband, Antonio, is unconvinced…
- .pdf e-book (+ audio available free online)
- .mobi (Kindle-compatible) and .epub (other ebook readers) available on request at no extra charge – just add a note to the order form or email us
- 8 chapters to read and listen to
- Comprehension questions to check your understanding
- Italian/English glossary of ‘difficult’ terms for the level
- Suitable for students at any level
- Download your Free Sample Chapter (.pdf)
Buy 2 giugno 1946, just £4.99! | Free Sample Chapter | History/historical ‘easy readers’ | Catalog
Or find more ebooks, organised by level, then type: A1 | A1/A2 | A2 | A2/B1 | B1 | B1/B2 | B2 | B2/C1 | C1 | C1/C2 | C2
How do I access my ebook?
When your order is ‘completed’ (normally immediately after your payment), a download link will be automatically emailed to you. It’s valid for 7 days and 3 download attempts so please save a copy of the .pdf ebook in a safe place. Other versions of the ebook, where available, cannot be downloaded but will be emailed to people who request them. There’s a space to do that on the order form – where it says Additional information, Order notes (optional). If you forget, or if you have problems downloading the .pdf, don’t worry! Email us at the address on the website and we’ll help. Also, why not check out our FAQ?
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Mayken says
So true!
I don’t often go read the comments, but when the subject of a blog post really piques my interest, I might go and check out the comments.
I admit I did e-mail you once, Daniel, but I felt it was a rather personal question, and I didn’t even expect you to reply. (You did, thank you!)
I’d be interested in the two topics you mentioned, about mixing up languages (happens to me but in very specific situations only) and learning about how you came to found the club.
Grazie mille e alla prossima!
Daniel says
Thanks for starting the ball rolling, Mayken. I have a Swedish lesson in a few minutes, but should be checking in again later.
Daniel says
…“how you came to found the club”
Well, to keep a long story short, we were running an English school in Italy, which made a huge loss. as these things do when you focus too much on teaching and not enough on marketing. So, to pay the bills, we started Italian, too, using the same building etc.
Unfortunately, because we were the most recent Italian school in our city none of the agents around the world would work with us (most Italian schools rely on agents to send them students.)
So I was basically forced to learn about websites and the marketing of them. For a few years I wrote articles for the school website, including some early exercises and materials. It didn’t help much: visitors to the school website looked at the articles but didn’t buy a course.
So one summer holiday, probably in 2012, while my parents were entertaining their grandchildren and my wife was knitting, I started OnlineItalianClub.com, though without much hope that it would go anywhere.
It can’t have done any harm. The Italian school is still going, and arriving students often ask about Bug. All publicity is good publicity!
EasyItalianNews.com was a much more deliberate project, by the way, one that was ‘inspired’ by a site I’d made use of when initially learning Swedish. It was such a great idea (regular audio bulletins for learners with text support), I couldn’t resist trying the same for Italian, and so was happy to fund it myself for the time it took to get going.
Zsuzsanna Snarey says
I have often wondered about Bug! Why do you take him to the petting Zoo and bring him home in the evening? Is he a dog?
Daniel says
Not a dog, no. More of a metaphor, really. There are certain types of rescue animals that require discretion. Social services would have my guts for garters if I was more specific…
Mary Wilson says
“Sicilian builders”
All my sympathies to you Daniel and to anyone else who is having a “little bit” of building work .done at the moment. I have just changed my faithful old oil boiler for a shiny new model. Like you I’ve had the workmen all over the house, taking up carpets, installing new pipework and drilling holes in the solid brick wall. (And I’m also waiting for an approved person to come and sign the job off). A “vero e proprio incubo”. The best bit was the rainy day when they removed the old boiler from its home in an old fireplace and the soot fell down the chiminey!
There is a plus side to this though! I’m getting to know wonderful words like “canna fumaria” (flue), “comignolo” (chimney stack) and “caldaia” boiler when I try to talk about it all with my teacher.
Lucinda says
OMG! Face Palm Moment!
I’ve been reading the emails (in my email program) but it never occurred to me that they also appear here, with comments, as a way to form community.
Many apologies for staying in my own little learning bubble for so long.
Maybe eventually I’ll get brave enough to post a comment/reply in Italian . . . 🙂
Lucinda, New Jersey, USA
Sergey says
Buona sera Daniel!
Ciao a tutti quelli che imparano l’italiano soprattutto per divertimento.
Guys, considering the recent event, namely the conclave to elect the new Pope, I recommend you watch the film in Italian “Habemus Papam!” directed by Nanni Moretti. The film, in my opinion, is very beautiful and interesting, sometimes it makes you think, sometimes it makes you smile. The film’s main characters, the cardinals, are mostly elderly people, and the dialogues between them take place at a slow pace, which makes it possible to understand much of what is said in Italian.
Enjoy watching!
Ciao!
Anita Dermer says
When they chose the last pope, my son, who enjoyed a year of Latin, emailed me “Habemus papam” — “We have a pope”.. “Habemus papadom” — “We have Indian food.”
Julie M says
I pretty much always comment on your articles, just to my husband rather than here, so maybe I’ll start typing my musings, I very much enjoy the ‘club vibe’ and your articles in particular…..
Just to assure anyone not wanting to leave any identifier, I have never received any sort of spam originating from this website, (and I can tell where my spam comes from)
Back to the topic, I mix up my 2 languages all the time, especially when I get stuck for a word in Italian, it comes out of my mouth in English and the other way around. I can only wonder at the brain power of any polyglots out there who can keep it all separate.
Buona giornata tutti.
Daniel says
Muse away, Julie, and keep raising interesting points.
I don’t use the word ‘polyglot’ much. It’s a useful term in some contexts but unhelpful in the extreme if used to imply language-learning superpowers (internet sensations, subjects of stupid newspaper articles, etc.)
All of my family are bilingual, except me, so I’m in a good position to observe how their minds work, and sometimes don’t, around their languages.
As you say, they ‘keep it all separate’, but they do that by speaking a particular language to a particular person in a particular place. The cost of that is that they can get totally blocked trying to do otherwise. For instance, my Swedish/Italian bilingual wife is happy as a duck speaking Swedish to her relatives in Sweden, but almost never speaks Swedish to her poor mom (who always speaks to her in Swedish.) My brother-in-law is the same. Neither one will speak to their mom in Swedish, or to me, but they’re fine with visiting cousins and so on.
Ditto with my kids, who are bilingual Italian/English. They’re fine speaking English to me, to their British relatives, at college or work, and so on. But together and with their mom they speak Italian.
In short ‘keeping it all separate’ is just as much a curse as a blessing. The most competent language learners also need to be super-flexible, so able to switch language as required without ‘blocking’. A little bit of ‘mixing things up’ is a small price to pay for that.
Also, using an English word when you don’t know the Italian word is a really good strategy. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, but it’s way better than having no option at all.
N.b. When you say ‘keep it ALL separate’ it’s worth thinking about what ‘ALL’ is, as people have different needs and resources in each language. Chatting with Italian neighbors, for instance, won’t be the same as using English with relatives or family. Different language patterns, stored in different places in the brain.
claire says
When you don’t know an Italian word & haven’t time to look it up, putting an -o or -a on the end of the English one & using an Italian accent can often work!
Daniel says
Similar to what Italians do for Spanish…
Alison Ledgerwood says
You wouldn’t think you could mix up German and Italian but I do frequently. I belong to two conversation groups, one for each language and you can guarantee then when I get stuck for a word when I am in the German group, the Italian will come to me and vice versa.
I also have to compartmentalise. Many years ago I was with an Irish friend and her boyfriend. We were all students at a German university at the time and I spent a few days with them in Italy. We all spoke German together and I was the only Italian speaker. At one point we went to a small restaurant where there was no written menu and a husband and wife team were front of house and in the kitchen respectively. The husband came to tell us what was on the menu and I opened my mouth to translate into German and was totally bloccata. I ended up having to translate into English which my friend then translated into German.
On another occasion I was with my partner in Sicily when his wallet was stolen. For insurance purposes we had to report it to the police and I found myself speaking to the policeman in English and my partner in Italian. Somehow I don’t think I would have made a great interpreter. By the way I still remember the name of that policeman: Commissario Belfiore Giangabriele. Che bel nome!
Mayken says
Hi Alison!
I sympathise with you over the language mix-ups!
I was in Italy with my French husband when I’d been studying Italian for a short time after giving up on Russian. (It had seemed a goid idea in the mid-1990s.) In a little shop I found a cute egg cup for my mom who collected them and asI asked for the price, the word egg cup came out in Russian. I’m still puzzled by that today.
(I’m German, by the way.)
Sergey says
Hallo Mayken!
I wonder how did you call an egg cup in Russian? I know only one Russian name for this item: “подставка для яиц”. But I think it’s difficult for a speaker of European languages to pronounce.
You know, my wife and I once stayed at a hotel in Bad Nenndorf, Germany. (A wonderful hotel, I must say!) There in the massage room I saw a Russian samovar (самовар). I was curious about what it was called in German and asked the masseuse about it. “Wir nennen das Samowar”, she replied. I thanked her for increasing my German vocabulary by one German word. 🙂
Ciao!