Madrelingua Italian Language School

Italian courses in the historic centre of Bologna, Italy, or online from your home or office!

You are here: Home / Archives for Daniel

Dinner invitation for this evening

by

This is possibly the weirdest thing I’ve ever done, inviting total strangers to dinner.

Let me explain.

You know how teenagers are? Competing friendships, ever-changing plans, group dynamics, that sort of thing?

Well, I was supposed to be cooking for my eldest daughter’s friends this evening. But now it’s just “friend”.

The fish was already defrosting. And I got a bit carried away at the supermarket and came home with vegetables for at least eight.

We’re six.

Seems a shame really, but who accepts dinner invitations for Saturday night on Saturday afternoon?

Certainly no one we know.

So, just on the off-chance, if you happen to be in Bologna this evening (Saturday 16th November), and don’t have anything better to do… [Read more…]

Where Italian came from, and 3 essential words in Bolognese!

by

The Tower of Babel, by Lucas van Valckenborch (1535 or later–1597) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

If you’ve have never spent an extended time in continental Europe, you’d be forgiven for assuming that modern Italian evolved from Latin over the centuries as generations and generations of Romans>>>Italians used it to talk to each other about day-to-day stuff like chariot-racing and spaghetti.

Just as French became the “lingua franca” in the area known as France, and Spanish the predominant language in Spain, so Italian evolved as the national tongue in Italy.

Right?

Wrong.

While it’s true that all three languages derive originally from Latin and have evolved their modern “similar but different” forms over many centuries, it’s certainly not the case that Italian, French and Spanish would have been the main form of communication across the respective territories during the whole of that time.

Language and empire

Those of us from the English-speaking world are used to speaking a fairly homogenous language, that is to say one without significant variations within our country of origin, or across different countries.

Despite the differences between, say, American, British or Indian English, people in each place are still recognisably speaking the same language, one which was spread by British settlers/colonisers during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

Empires require a degree of standardisation to function efficiently.

Geographical isolation, on the other hand, encourages variation, especially over the long term. So in Europe, with its long history, regional variations in language were and are profound, even within relatively small areas of the continent.

The European Babel

In the eighteenth century, at the time of the American declaration of independence, most Frenchmen, Italians or Spaniards would not have travelled more than a few miles from home, so the language they spoke would have been defined by the place of their birth rather than by the need for a national lingua franca.

Perhaps the same was true of the myriad of Native-American languages, or the hundreds of languages still spoken in modern India (but not true in what were once imperial China and Japan, where central rule was the norm.)

In short, politics and technology influence which language comes to be used in which geographical area.

French, for instance, is said to have been given a boost as a “national language” by Napoleon, who conscripted vast armies to conquer Europe at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Soldiers needed to be able to understand their orders, and conscripts who only spoke, say Breton, would have been have little use in a fight.

Likewise, many a Spaniard will tell you that at heart he is really a Catalan, Basque or whatever but speaks Spanish out of necessity, almost as a second language, because it is the language of his state.

Italy: a recent invention

If, like Sam Cooke, you “don’t know much about history”, you might be surprised to know that Italy was only unified as a nation around 150 years ago. Before that it was divided into various reigns and city states, each of which had its own dominant language/dialect.

Linguistic variations in the Italian peninsular were (and still are) particularly rich. As an example, according to Wikipedia there are six variants of the Bolognese dialect. If you lived right here in the city, you’d have spoken one form, while people living in the countryside to the north or south of town would have communicated in other, different, forms.

There was certainly no assumption that someone living in one part of what is now Italy would have been able to talk to an inhabitant of another city or region, and nor could they; Italian dialects/languages are very different from one another.

Modern Italian?

As history is said to be written by the victors, so today’s Italian is the dialect that happened to emerge from the unification process as the “official” one. The other forms continued to exist and to be used as before, but for the first time there was an “official, national” way of communicating.

With the new Italian state came military-service and education, both powerful forces for promoting the national language. Later the mass media helped too. First cinema, radio and newspapers, then TV gradually made a good working-knowledge of Italian indispensable, even in regions which still maintain separate linguistic traditions (German in Bolzano, for example.)

Once, many Italian children would have been effectively bi-lingual, speaking both their local dialect AND Italian, to a greater or lesser extent. Sadly, this has now changed, and in many areas of Italy dialect is more of a memory than a living language.

The demise of Bolognese

Fifteen or twenty years ago in Bologna it was still normal to hear older people chatting away to each other in dialect. Which was reassuring, as I always had a good excuse for not knowing what was going on.

Middle-aged people would understand what their parents were saying, but probably not use it much themselves. The world had moved on, after all.

Their children/grandchildren would be oblivious.

Fast-forward to today, and the last generation to use Bolognese dialect naturally and fluently has mostly disappeared, the middle-aged are now aged, the children are adults.

It’s become much rarer to hear dialect spoken on the bus or in the park. Only traces remain, though there are a number of websites for people interested in learning.

Nevertheless, there remain a few words of Bolognese which are indispensable for both Italian and foreign visitors to the city.

3 essential Bolognese dialect words

Learn these 3 dialect words to get by in Bologna, and to give your Italian a Bolognese flavour!

In Bologna, you’ll throw your trash into the “rusco” (in Italian that would be: pattume, spazzatura).

And you’ll gain entry to an office or appartment building, by pressing the “tiro” (which rings the bell to invite whoever’s inside to open the main door.)

When something surprises you, exclaim “soccia” or “socmel” (which means “suck it”.) While that sounds, and is, very vulgar, even old ladies use the term round here, so there’s no reason why you shouldn’t too.

Try it: tiro, rusco…

Socmel, you’re talking Bolognese already!

More Articles About Learning Italian | FAQ

 

Just like they eat it in Bologna, right?

by

Like Italian food?

Then you’ll certainly be familar with the classic ‘spaghetti bolognese’. Mmmm! Just like they eat it in Bologna, right?

Well no, actually.

The famous ‘ragù alla bolognese’  is used in lasagne, people eat it with polenta, but mostly, it’s served with tagliatelle. NOT with spaghetti. (If you must, you can find out more about spaghetti here)

What are tagliatelle? Yellow sheet pasta, less than 1 mm thick, cut into long strips around 7-8 mm in width.

According to the Italian cooking website giallozafferano.it, tagliatelle were invented in 1487 by Bolognese master chef Zefirano on the occasion of the wedding of Lucrezia Borgia and Alfonso I d’Este, Duke of Ferrara.

He was apparently inspired by the bride’s long blonde hair. The cook, that is, not the Duke.

How to make tagliatelle [Read more…]

It’s a beautiful day in Bologna!

by

Finally, the clouds have cleared and the greyness and humidity of autumn has gone.

The sky is a bright blue today, and the sun is hot.

So, I had no excuse not to cycle to work this morning, which brought back memories of the London commute, before we moved to Italy.

Shudders. Truly, on a day like today, I wouldn’t live anywhere else but Bologna.

Which kind of put me in the mood to write about the attractions of our city and why it’s such a great place to learn Italian.

I even thought of popping out to the piazza and taking a few photos for you. [Read more…]

Not in an appartment you found on the Internet

by

I have a paperback book next to my computer with the title “Not in a Tuscan Villa”. It was written by an American couple who studied Italian at our school a while back.

The back cover reads:

What happens when you decide to make a dream come true? Newly retired and looking for more than a vacation, John and Nanacy Petralia intrepidly pack a few suitcases and head to the “perfect” Italian city for a year.

The “perfect” Italian city in question is Bologna. But it seems that, having booked an appartment sight-unseeen from someone that turned out to be rather untrustworthy, “within days their dream becomes a nightmare.” [Read more…]

“Great Offer” Closes Midnight (Italian time): Last Chance!

by

128 people have signed up for our “Great Offer”. Two unsubscribed right after. Well, I guess it wasn’t really their thing.

People have been writing to me saying stuff like this can’t be serious, right? It’s not really free, is it? What’s the catch??? There must be a catch!

No catch.

The braver ones on our mailing list have already booked their flights. Stefi told me we have 6 people starting their free courses on Monday.

The rest of you are thinking, no, this can’t be real. No way Madrelingua will let me take a week’s course absolutely free and download an e-book worth €19.99 for nothing, just for giving my email address (which they already have anyway because they emailed me this offer.)

It can’t be real. It’s one of those tricks. Like you have to pay for four weeks and then you get one free, or something like that. Right?

Wrong. It’s a genuine offer.

Some people DO click the link & read the offer. But then, they smile to themselves as they realise that it’s gotta be a fake. Gotta be.

70% of those who viewed our offer this week decided right off that they really didn’t want a free course or e-book about Italian tenses.

Well who would?

The other 30% downloaded their e-book no probs, got the e-mail with the voucher for a week’s free course, and are now looking for cheap flights to Bologna. Hopefully not all at once.

Wonder which group you were in?

Anyway, this post/e-mail is just to let you know I’m closing this offer down at midnight today. Saturday 7th September. That’s Italian time.

So, if you’re not the hyper-suspicious type, or maybe in jail or paralysed, click the link to view the offer.

And remember, just looking at it won’t get you anywhere. You actually have to fill in the form with your name and e-mail to get your voucher and free download.

Whether you go then ahead and study the e-book is up to you. Nobody’s forcing you to learn Italian. But it’s an excellent product, really good, with integrated audio and exercises.

Also entirely optional is whether you ever actually come to Bologna to do your free course. Lots of people just dream of doing stuff like that, but never actually get round to it. They have jobs, partners, kids and so on to worry about.

But clicking the link and filling in the form, at least keeps your options open, right?

OK, assuming you’re NOT at the beach this afternoon, click the link, fill in the damn form (it won’t bite, and you can unsubscribe at any time with just one click), and I’ll send you your e-book and free course voucher.

Midnight Italian time, the page comes down. The offer will be over, and my wife will cease complaining about all the emails she has to answer.

P.S. Apologies to anyone who hates getting reminders about special offers. Stefi says I shouldn’t send them. I say that there must be people out there like me who really mean to do these things, but just don’t get round to it. And so might appreciate a last minute reminder (click the link).

Great Offer Ends Very Soon: Click Or Miss Out!

by

Since I posted on Wednesday about the great offer we’re currently running (it really is unmissable), we’ve had 86 people sign up…

For what? More on that in a moment.

But as the offer has been SO successful, we’ve got to end it very soon. Depending on the response, probably today, or tomorrow at the latest.

So what’s the deal?

Well, as I said in the last article… I’m not going to explain it here. There’s a webpage which explains what we’re giving away, and how to get it (no catches, this REALLY IS A GREAT OFFER).

If you’re one of the 86 people who’ve already signed up, sorry to have bothered you again.

But if you didn’t open the last mail, or didn’t click the link, do it now.

I really don’t want you to miss out on this.

Find out more.

 

P.S. Don’t forget, this is time limited, so PLEASE visit the webpage to find out more. In a short time, the page will be taken down and our next promotion is not scheduled until December of this year.

Find out more

Great Offer on Italian Courses

by

Thought you might like to know about a fantastic promotion we’re running at the moment on our Italian courses.

This hasn’t been publicised on our site or through our mailing list (until now, that is), and may not be available for long.

In fact, it’s such a great offer, I’ll probably be forced to take it down in a day or two.

We’re looking at people who want to learn Italian, but wouldn’t normally think of coming to Bologna or trying our school.

Basically, we’re trying to attract new clients, the ones who would unthinkingly go to Rome or Florence to study, without even considering wonderful Madrelingua in wonderful Bologna.

But don’t worry if you’re not a new client. Even if you’ve already studied with us in the past, you can profit from this.

We’re generous like that.

So what’s the deal?

Well… I’m not going to explain it here, as I just got done writing a great webpage which says it all. And to get the offer, you HAVE to visit the webpage,

Let me just assure you, that this really IS a great offer.  Trust me, click the link. You’ll be missing out, if you don’t.

Click here to find out more.

Got a question? Leave a comment. I’ll be happy to give you more details.

 

P.S. Remember, this page may be taken down at any time, especially if demand is more than we expected. So don’t hang about:

Link to fantastic offer

A ticket from Bologna to Florence, please!

by

by Agata Bubrowiecka (Poland)

Studying Italian at a language school in Bologna is ideal for many reasons, not least because, as a major rail hub, it makes the perfect base for visiting many other wonderful Italian cities.

When I’ve finished my homework, that is!

So, today’s Saturday and I’m off to “La culla della Rinascimento”: Florence.vista

My Bologna-Florence high-speed rail ticket costs about 25 euros and the journey is less than an hour, city-center to city-center!

Florence is totally charming! I hardly know which way to look because there are so many beautiful things to see and I really don’t want to miss a thing!

My tour starts from “Piazza di Michelangelo”, a large, quiet square above the city, from which there’s an unmissable view of the old town.

From there, I head directly to the most exciting and interesting part of the city [Read more…]

Quality Italian Language Schools

ASILS - Association of Schools of Italian as a Second Language
Madrelingua is a member of ASILS
Find out more >>
 
 
 

Learn Italian in Italy or online