Five small letters are all you need, according to a poll on the favorite words of Italians. “Amore” or love ranked ranked top for 22% of Bel Paese residents, nearly three times as popular as “mamma” followed by “pace” (peace) and “libertà ” (freedom). Full results of the poll from think-tank Eurisko, commissioned by the Dante [...]
zoomata.com staff updated:Fri. Nov. 14 11:07 amLooking for Mr. Hardhead? Miss Nitpicker? The son of ‘Napoleon?’ Search no more: listings in phone books on the Italian isle of Sardinia will be complete with nicknames in local dialect. The idea came to local truck driver Salvatore Cabras who was tired of fielding calls from people looking [...]
Students of Italian may have an easier time using Italian newspapers to improve their understanding of the language thanks to the latest flood of neologisms from English. Italian journalists have coined 5,000 new words over the last five years, many of them come from English, according to a new book from the National Research Center [...]
Modern Italian has lost some 40% of words commonly used in Medieval times, according to a study by national research council CNR. Linguists are compiling an historical dictionary to record these extinct terms and preserve them for the future. Perhaps more surprising than the quantity of linguistic dinosaurs are the 60% of words carried down [...]
The oldest language watchdog in Europe finally entered the Internet age. L’accademia della crusca, whose very name implies separating the wheat from the linguistic chaff, can now help students of today’s Italian clear up doubts on the language in real time. Even some of the more tricky questions, such as how to deal with foreign [...]
Readers have often asked how to perfect a resume for the Italian job market (called ‘curriculum vitae’ or CV by Italians) and while there is no perfect formula, here are a few pointers. Once you’ve secured the interview, try our interview tip sheet or the Reader-recommended reference: Survivor Package. • Italian CVs are generally a [...]
It’s mosquito season and what better way to test your Italian than nitpick for errors in this instruction manual for an electric bug zapper. Everyday proof that universal translators are far from perfect…The first reader to send back a “debugged” Italian version wins an Italian mosquito kit complete with a citronella candle and itch creme, [...]
+7,000 words added 75% new words (circa) high-tech related 145,000 words total +200 false friends The authoritative Italian-English 2003 dictionary published by Zingarelli presents an interesting dilemma for students of contemporary Italian. Most of the new terms — the last edition was published in 1995, before the Internet made much headway in the Bel Paese [...]
Often the first words learned and the last mastered, le parolacce (bad words) pose numerous problems for students of Italian. Rules about using slang or dubious expressions are constantly changing, however, women who liberally use the “baddies” are still often considered sboccate (without restraint) even by the younger set. Yet the Italian chaos (lost baggage, [...]
Soccer, “pallone” is the national sport and a national obsession every four years when the World Cup comes around. Ever since Silvio Berlusconi co-opted the hurtling cry “Go Italy” (Forza Italia) for his political party and peppered speeches with increasingly sporty metaphors (“scendere in campo” is another favorite) Italians have become a little more shy [...]
