Italian Taxing the Brain

After more than a month off, due to bereavement, a holiday, and the Beloved's recent bout of cellulitis, it was time to get back to Italian.

Anna had us take it in turn to name things in the house, and to fit them into a Scrabble-like grid system. It proved to be very tricky. In situations like that my brain freezes, and I forget everything. After we had enough words we had to write sentences using those words. 

I have decided I need to put in a lot more effort into my Italian, and actually do work outside of class. My goal is to become familiar with 30 house related words before class next week.

My first ten includes some new, some old: il tavolo (the table), la sedia (the chair), il divano (the sofa), il cuscino (the cushion), il telefono (the telephone), il televisore (the television), le scale (the stairs), la lampada (the lamp), il tappeto (the rug), and lo specchio (the mirror).

Miso Sabbatico

We've had a break from Italian classes for the last month. This is my last free Tuesday afternoon, and I managed to fit in a whole load of nothing.  I have no guilt, nor shame in the doing of nothing. It's doing it's job of bringing me back onto an even keel, and I am deeply appreciative.

I've also gone back to quilting. It's good to be back. My Ducky Ducky Duck Duck quilt has almost been completed. This is rather good as my boss has asked if I have a quilt she could display in the shop. There will be a photographer in, and my quilt will add a bit of colour.

Winnie Pooh

I'm practicing my Italian comprehension by listening to Winnie the Pooh in Italian. It's proving to be rather tricky to understand Pooh when he has his head stuck in a honey pot! 

The three most important things I have learned are: 'O rabbia' (oh bother), 'pensa, pensa, pensa' (think, think, think) ,and eating hunney cause people to get stuck in rabbit holes - don't eat hunney!

CoffeeBreak Italian

Angela recommended a podcast, CoffeeBreak Italian. It's 20 minutes long, and starts at the absolute beginner level. It teaches conversational Italian, with bits of Italian culture thrown in for good measure.

The Italian lessons I've been taking aren't geared towards conversation. It's a much more structured course of study. We've touches on various things that would be good in conversation, but we don't often just talk. 

The podcast will provide revision, and hopefully get me talking more.

Cake or Homework

L’orco ruggì “Dov’è il mio tributo?” “Il tributo?” sussurrò la donna. “IL MIO TRIBUTO! IO VOGLIO IL MIO TRIBUTO! Dove sono i verbi coniugati? Dove sono i tempi? Dove sono i compiti?”

La donna tremò di paura.“Sono stata occupata a riordinare la mia casa. Stavo lavorando i cappelli a maglia. E, ho fatto una torta. Una torta al limone.” L’orco ruggì, “La torta al limone sarà il mio tributo!”

“Ma, ho scritto la storia.” disse tranquillamente la donna. “La torta è meglio dei compiti.” L’orco mangiò la torta al limone. Tutto andava bene.

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Anna, my tutor, set homework of writing a few paragraphs using different tenses. She was expecting diary entries, but that's not really my style. Instead, she received a story about an ogre demanding tribute. The 'tribute' is conjugated verbs, tenses and homework. The quivering woman replied she was busy tidying the house, knitting hats and making lemon cake. Apparently, lemon cake is better than homework. The orge ate the cake, and all was well. 

Anna read out my story, laughing as she did so. At the end, I reached into my bag and brought out lemon cake. This resulted in a howl of laughter. I do like it when my stories and cakes are appreciated.

E and É

Un piccolo passo avanti! I now have the difference in my head between e and è. The former means 'and' and the later is 'he/she is'. E is 'ee' and è is 'eh'. For the last few months I have known there is a difference in pronunciation, but I have failed to really grasp it. Now I know. It's there, it's a part of my working knowledge of the language.

One little step forward, and more are needed. Other areas where work is needed is nel/nella, sul/sulla, del/della, and questo/questa, qui, quella, quanta. I want to learn the 1000 most frequently used words in Italian.

Lui è italiano. (eh) He is Italian.
La mela e l'arancia (ee) The apple and the orange

Io Sono Vlad (completed)

Salve, mi chiamo Vlad.

Tanto tempo fa, nel dicembre del millequartocentotrentuno, io sono nato, in Romania. Mio fratello e io siamo cresciuti sui Monti Carpazi. Ogni estate, noi siamo andati in Ungheria per visitare i nostri nonni, i Nosferati. Noi siamo restati per tre mesi. La vita era buona.

Nel millequartocentosettantasette, un pipistrello mi ha morso sul lato sinistro del collo. Poi sono morto. Ora, io sono un morto vivente. Io sono Vlad Dracula!

Ho bevuto il vino porto scuro e ricco. Adesso mi piace bere il sangue. Agli abitanti del villaggio non e` piaciuto questo. Loro sono venuti a casa mia, e urlato, e gettato delle pietre grandi e rotto tutti vetri. Così, sono partito per l'Inghilterra.

Noi abbiamo navigato fino al porto di Whitby, e siamo entrati in una terra nuova.  Siamo arrivati all'hotel, ma l'addeto era uscito. Noi siamo tornati più tardi. Era tornato ubriaco. Così, io ho bevuto lui.

Dieci anni fa, io sono ritornato in Romania.  Gestisco l'hotel Transilvania, un hotel per i mostri, vampiri, fantasmi e licantropi. Abbiamo tredici camere da letto. Vuoi prenotare una stanza?

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My story is complete. In class, we were given homework to use a number of verbs that take 'essere' in the past perfect tense. One warning was given, 'Don't say "Io sono morto." as this means "I was dead, but that over now, complete."' Naturally, this got my little grey cells working, and Vlad Dracula popped into my noggin. 

It was hard work trying to shoe horn each verb into the story, and when my work was being corrected, one of those verbs was changed to make it an Italian would say it.

The very best bit was when my tutor laughed at "Era tornato ubriaco. Così, io ho bevuto lui." (He arrived drunk. So I drank him.) She also laughed the end when Vlad opened a hotel for monsters.

Io Sono Vlad!

The story progresses!  

In Italian class last night, we were told to practise using the Passato Prosimmo, the Present Perfect tense. This is used for things that have happened, and have been completed. At its simplest, it's a noun or pronoun, the correct form of 'to be' or 'to have', and then the infinitive.  eg 'Io ho mangiare' and 'Io sono nata'. Most verbs takes 'to have', but we were asked to practise the ones that take 'to be', and we were warned about 'Io sono morta'. It has the flavour of 'I was dead, but I'm finished with being dead now.'

Naturally, this led my thoughts into vampiric pathways, and before I could concentrate on how to translate "I arrived at the cinema at 8.15pm" (Sono arrivata al cinema alle 20.15), I had started planning out a story about Vlad Dracula. Here's where I am at the moment. There's quite a bit more to add, but I'm rather liking it so far.

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Salve, mi chiamo Vlad.

Tanto tempo fa, in diciembre millequartocentotrentuno, io sono nato, in Monti Carpazi, Romania. In millequartocentosettantasette, un pipistrello mi ha morso sul lato sinistro del collo. Poi, sono morto. Ora, io sono il morti viventi. Io sono il vampiro, il vampiro grande. Io sono Vlad Dracula!

Ho bevuto il vino porto scuro e ricco. Ora, a me piace bere il sangue, e odio l'aglio.

Gestisco l'hotel Transilvania, un hotel per i mostri, vampiri, fantasmi e licantropi. Abbiamo dodici camere da letto. Vuoi prenotare una stanza?

Mi Chiamo Vlad

Mi chiamo Vlad. Sono nato in milleduecentodiciotto, in Ungheria, e sono morto in millleseicentosettantadue. Io sono il vamipro, il vampiro grande, Vlad Dracula.

Italiano on a Wednesday?!

The place we normally meet for class on a Thursday was not available this week. Instead we each had individual lessons. Mine was today. 

Anna, my tutor, asked me to put together a list of things I would like to review. I realised I understood things pretty well, but I hadn't practised enough to make the leap from 'I understand the concept' to 'I can use it easily'. Practise, practise, practise. 

Birthday Money: Spent

It often takes me time to spend birthday money, and today, I finally spent all of it.  The Amazon voucher was spent a little while back on new e-books, and a paper-book of "First 1,000 Words in Italian".

Today's purchase was far more expensive, and it is a course at italymadeeasy.com The idea is to use this course to supplement and revise the studies I am doing with Anna at Buzy Bee - Italian Language and Culture.

Sophia e Jacamo

Sophia ha vissuto nei boschi per sei mesi. Il figlio di Sophia era Jacamo. Loro sono diventati povero. Sophie ha detto a lui "Jacamo, tu vai al mercato con Daisy, la mucca." Lui è andato al mercato. Il ragazzo stupido ha venduto la mucca per cinque fagioli. Lui è partuto dal mercato e è ritornato a casa sua.

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The homework set was to write a diary for a week. After a few days, my diary entries were incredibly boring. As the object was to practise writing in the passamo prossimo (present perfect tense), I decided to re-write a fairy tale.

In the next lesson, I learned the verb 'to grow' - 'crescere' and how to say "I am being eaten" - "Io sono mangiato". It is incredibly similar to "I have eaten" - "Io ho mangiato". The first form uses part of the verb 'essere' (to be) and the second 'avere' (to have). Essere and avere are used as auxiliary verbs to move the present to the present perfect. Using the wrong one can cause all sorts of problems.  

I can see a future where the fagioli start growing, and Jacamo is eaten. (grin)

Dates and Numbers

A couple of tips when learning numbers and dates in a new language. 

As you are putting things away, count them out in the new language. As you climb the stairs, uno, due, tre, quattro... Look at phone numbers and read them out in Italian. When you see a car, look at the registration plate and read out the numbers. With a plate that has "756", say "sette, cinque, sei". Then later when you are feeling more secure with your numbers, turn it into "seven hundred and fifty six" (settecentocinquantasei).

Each day, write out the date in your journal or diary, or even just a random piece of paper. Today is dominica, quindici luglio duemiladiciotto.

It's practise, and more practise, and a bit more on top. Use numbers and dates, and keep using them.

Noi Parliamo Italiano

I am buzzing!

Last night,  we went out to the local Italian restaurant to celebrate my birthday (earlier this month). I was talking with two of the waiters, in Italian. They understood me, and I understood them! It wasn’t big complicated stuff, just the little bits like ‘Good evening, a table for 3, please’, “I am learning Italian”, “I would like the duck”, etc.

The lovely tall waiter asked in English when I started learning Italian, and I replied in Italian, ‘marzo’ (March). He was so kind, and said I was speaking the language really well, and was surprised at how well I could speak it given the short time I have been learning. He said he could understand everything I was saying. Talk about a boost! I’m buzzing, buzzing, I tell you.

Italian Brain - Hot Brain

During the last two days I've had 3 hours of Italian tuition. In addition, I've done 5 hours of independent study/homework. I'm now losing words in English, and can only grasp the Italian. This language seems to be sinking in.

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The temperatures are still high. This morning, at 8.45 it was 23C. The ground temperature at the nearest weather station is 31.9C at 9pm. Hot!

Knitting the Italian Way

I'm going to be using an Italian knitting pattern for the first time. It is very much a 'get the gist of it and try to decode the rest' project. I was pretty sure it was 'Cast on 126 sts on 3mm needles, join. Work 1x1 rib for 2.5cm, Switch to 4mm needles, and increase by 6 sts. Work 9cm in stocking stitch.' Just to check, I popped it into Google translate, and was told that the increases didn't justify a press release. Also, I had to wash it til it was 9cm. 

Google is having problems with the difference between 'lavorare' and 'lavare' (to work and to wash). I'm going to go with my 7 hours of Italian classes and say it's 'work', not 'wash', and I'm ignoring the bit about increases not justifying a press release. My knitted increases are totally worthy of a press release!

Conjugations Again

Dormire - to sleep

io dormo

tu dormi

lei/lui dorme

noi dormiamo

voi dormite

loro dormono

The instructions in today's Italian class was to conjugate, conjugate, and conjugate again. 

Io dormo nella notte.

L'orso dorme nel letto.

Alle nove, Ava dorme sul divano.

I have taken to conjugating verbs whilst I walk the dog. I'm getting a dab hand at conjugating regular -are, -ere, and -ire verb in the present tense. 'To be' and 'to have' are now second nature. A few more irregulars were thrown our way in class. 'Fare' (to do/make) was one of them. My objective this week is to learn the new irregular verbs and the number 7. It's proving to troublesome.

Conjugate Your Way Out of That!

In the latest lesson, we were learning about time, and prepositions. Suddenly a whole host of possibilities opened out ahead of me. 

We were set homework of writing out our day, hour by hour, and saying what we are doing. Things were rather normal, until I reached 4pm, and then I went to the moon, in a rocket. But, I was back home in plenty of time to cook dinner at 5, and then eat it at 6pm. 

Having the class, and then completing my homework immediately afterwards sent my brain into a series of loops. I was getting it. I new what I wanted to say, and it was coming, and then suddenly, I was derailed because I don't yet have the vocabulary. Dictionaries were consulted, and I managed to add in some interesting words. 

The conjugations were coming along nicely, but they wouldn't stop. At bedtime my poor brain was still racing round in circles, conjugating any verb it happened across. This was incredibly annoying, but it's a very good sign. The new information is now sticking, and my brain is craving more and more. It's shouting, screaming 'Feed me! Feed me, now!'

Io parlo un po 'di italiano

Io parlo scozzese, inglese, gallese, e un po 'di italiano. (I speak Scots, English, Welsh and a little Italian.)

Over the last few weeks I've been learning so many bits of Italian. It feels like I've accumulate a load of jigsaw pieces and I'm now ready to start thinking about putting little bits and pieces together to make up actual Italian sentences and conversations.

Here's some little bits.

Io ho Ava, il cane. Tu mangi la mela. Noi abbiamo la foto. Luigi e Anna parlano italiano. (I have Ava, the dog. You eat the apple. We have a photograph. Luigi and Anna speak Italian.)

More practise is required. There's three main verb ending -are, -ere and -ire.

To speak or talk/Parlare

Io parlo

Tu parli

Lei, lui parla

Noi parliamo

Voi parlate

Loro parlano

To sleep/Dormire

Io dormo

Tu dormi

Lei/lui dorme

Noi dormiamo

Voi dormite

Loro dormono

First Italian Course Work

The first unit of my Italian course has finished, and Anna, my tutor has marked it. 94 per cent! I'm really happy. Can't wait to get it back to see which ones I got wrong. Perhaps I should celebrate this evening with lasagne, salad and garlic bread?

Lasagne is an interesting word. Naturally, it came from the Italian, where it's 'la lasagna' in the singular, and 'le lasagne' in the plural. (It follows the regular pattern of feminine words ending in 'a' and changing to 'e' when pluralised.) 

However, in English, it's one 'lasagne, two lasagnes', this is with the exception of North America, where is' 'lasagna/lasagnas', unless they are Italian speakers. I've decided to go with the Italian spellings, and use 'lasagna/lasagne'.

Another example of the plural form being adopted in English is 'painini' (the Italian toasted sandwich). In Italian,  the singular is 'il painino' and 'i painini' in the plural. Also, it's just a sandwich, not a toasted sandwich. English has taken the plural, 'painini', made it singular and then when it wants a plural, it adds an 's' - 'paininis'.

Similar things have happened in the past. The word 'pease' was a mass noun, used to refer to an uncountable number of the little veggies, rather like 'rice, sugar and salt. The 's' sound at the end led people to believe a single little green veggie was a 'pea', and later an 's' was added onto make a new plural. Most people who have heard of 'pease' only know of it from pease pudding, often from the nursery rhyme 'Pease pudding hot, pease pudding cold, pease pudding in the pot, nine days old. Some like it hot, some like it cold. Some like it in the pot, nine days old.'