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Eat Pizza, Learn Italian

If learning Italian were as common as ordering a pizza, then the Italian language would have the largest number of speakers in the world. For those crazy for pizza, here's a scioglilingua (tongue twister) and a vocabulary list featuring pizza.

Talk Italian With Your Mouth Full

Italian Language Spotlight10

Michael's Italian Language Blog

Scherzi d'Acqua

Wednesday July 28, 2010

Given the torrid temperatures this summer both in Western Europe and in North America, even adults might find themselves in search of scherzi d'acqua for relief from the heat. Literally "water jokes," these fountains or jets of water, typically found in villas and formal gardens such as Villa d'Este and Villa Litta, are turned on by hidden means or at unexpected times.

Hands Off Our Language!

Sunday July 25, 2010

"The Italian language is untouchable." That was the reaction of Alessandro Masi, director of the Società Dante Alighieri, to the recent European Commission proposal to eliminate Italian and Spanish from EU-issued drivers licenses. The proposal calls for using only English, French, and German for the EU licensing system, and would also do away with licenses issued by individual countries.

In an interview with Il Tempo headlined "Giù le mani dalla nostra lingua" Masi said:

"È una situazione inaccettabile. Siamo alle solite e vogliono ridurre la comunicazione a un trilinguismo strisciante anglo-franco-tedesco. In questo modo creerebbero l'Europa di serie A e noi con gli spagnoli e il resto dei Paesi andremmo nelle fasce si serie B."

In a statement titled "L'UE Accantona l'Italiano" (The EU Shelves Italian) the organization declared: "The Dante Alighieri Society is not prepared to compromise. The Italian language is a basic and indispensable foundation of European culture and consciousness; we cannot passively take note of the institutionalization of its downsizing in favor of English, French and German."

Italianistica Online

Saturday July 24, 2010

Italianistica Online è un progetto di informatica umanistica. Si occupa specificamente di italianistica in rete, non di italianistica tout court. Seleziona e segnala risorse telematiche. Mira alla valorizzazione degli strumenti digitali e della rete come ambiente per lo sviluppo della ricerca in maniera democratica. Sostiene le pratiche dell'archiviazione e dell'accesso aperto alle pubblicazioni scientifiche.

Forza Fiat!

Wednesday July 21, 2010

The New York Times notes in "Fiat Pushes Work Ethic at Italian Plant" that "Italians have long clung to a revealing proverb: as Fiat goes, so goes Italy."

Let's hope that Fiat improves its competitiveness in the automotive sector for the sake of the country.

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