Michael's Italian Language Blog

New York University’s Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò, in conjunction with RAI, the Italian state television channel, is sponsoring an entire week devoted to Italian fiction. On Thursday, October 9, at 5 PM there's a roundtable discussion titled: "Politics and Show Business" with writers Gay Talese and Cathleen Schine, director Giorgio Capitani, and actor Alessio Boni.

Following the discussion that evening is a screening at 6 PM of "Sanguepazzo," the real-life story of Luisa Ferida and Osvaldo Valenti, two film stars whole lives became identified with the Fascist regime. Directed by Marco Tullio Giordana, the film stars Monica Bellucci, Luca Zingaretti, and Alessio Boni.

Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò: 24 West 12th Street (between Fifth & Sixth Avenues) / (212) 998-8730

The New York Times, in an article titled "Mozzarella, an Unlikely Star, Opens in Midtown," notes that "After more than a year of construction and red tape, the latest installment of Obikà, which opened its first mozzarella bar in Rome four years ago, will open on Sept. 22 in the sculpture garden of 590 Madison Avenue, the former I.B.M. building, between 56th and 57th Streets."

In what amounts to a mini-lesson on mozzarella (a DOP-designated cheese), the writer enumerates these cheesy delicacies:

burrata: a ball of mozzarella with a soft center of cream and stracciatelle, or "little rags" of mozzarella left over from the mozzarella-making process
burricotti: ricotta-filled mozzarella
scamorza: smoked mozzarella dipped in wax to lock in the flavor
ovalini: three-and-a-half-ounce balls
bocconcini: mini mozzarella balls

The word mozzarella, in fact, is thought to derive from the verb mozzare—to cut or chop off (in this case, the working of the cheese). And a mozzarellone is a giant mozzarella. The term, which includes the augmentative ending -one, is a type of nomi alterati.

Given the plethora of Italian scandals both recent and current (Tangentopoli, Calciopoli, the garbage crisis in Napoli, and the mozzarella dioxin scare, to name just a few) you might think Scandalo Italiano was a rap sheet listing disgraceful misconduct and moral outrage in Italian politics, sports, and public health. In fact, it's dedicated to just one current scandal: The inability of the Italian government to successfully launch a Italian tourist Web site after spending five years, and with a budget of more than €45 million, to create the portal.

There's nothing yet to show for all that time and money—the Web site www.italia.it is currently non-functioning. And given that over the past several years the country has lost ground as a tourist destination to France, Spain, the U.S., and China, it has to be frustrating to those in the Italian tourism industry to witness a missed business opportunity—think of such branding successes as I Love New York, 100% Pure New Zealand, and España. The litany of ineptitude, incompetence, and idiocy, as chronicled by Scandalo Italiano, should make Italian tourism professionals, government watchdog groups, and Internet Web site developers alike all cringe.

È qui. Il nuovo iPhone 3G. Oltre 1,000 incredibili applicazioni pronte per il vostro iPhone.

If you're one of the many iPhone owners who have been part of iPhone mania, there's another reason to fare il tifo (support, cheer on). You can learn Italian with iPhone apps! Several iPhone apps for Italian language learners include audio phrasebooks and English-Italian dictionaries. A few Italian language newspaper feeds have been optimized for the iPhone platform too (not technically iPhone apps, but nonetheless a great way to use the iPhone as a learning device), and there is even a poem-of-the-day in Italian and English. And one other way to use the iPhone to learn Italian—try changing the interface to Italian commands.

Ever wonder why we should study Italian? Some of the top 10 reasons to learn Italian include the ability to read La Divina Commedia as Dante wrote it, as well as conversing with your Italian-born grandparents. Then, of course, Italy and the Italian language are perceived as beautiful, fun, and sexy.

There's another reason, though, and it's pertinent to everyone, not just Italian-Americans or Italophiles: The Italian language is an integral part of a culture and heritage that has made innumerable contributions to the world at large and has enriched all peoples, regardless of their nationality, religion, or political beliefs. As Matilda Raffa Cuomo and Margaret I. Cuomo, M.D., point out, over many centuries there have been countless memorable achievements in the arts, music, education, literature, fashion, science, and cuisine by Italians.

So you've joined the legion of other iPhone users, learned how to zoom in and out using the iPhone Multi-Touch interface, and have even installed a few iPhone apps for Italian language learners. But how do you type an accented Italian character on the iPhone, one of the most elementary functions?!

Here's an iPhone tip you'll find handy when typing an accento grave (a grave accent such as à, è, ì, ò, and ù) or an accento acuto (an acute accent such as á, é, í, ó, and ú): To type a letter or symbol that isn't on the keyboard, press and hold the related letter or symbol, then slide to choose a variation. For example, to type the word città (with the grave accent à), press and hold the letter "a" and slide your finger to the desired character.

Note, too, that the iPhone provides keyboards in multiple languages, and supports the Italian keyboard format. To turn on any international keyboard on or off:

1. In Settings, choose General > International > Keyboards.
2. Turn on the keyboards you want.

Now there's no excuse for not correctly spelling such words as dà, è, là, ciò, più, and servitù!

Italians have voted for the ugliest English words, and the winners (or losers, depending on your point of view) include: 'weekend', 'welfare', 'OK', 'briefing', and 'mission'. The Società Dante Alighieri, over the past few months, has conducted a sondaggio (survey) asking readers to nominate their least favorite English expressions: Qual è la parola straniera che ritiene più inoppotuna nell'uso quotidiano della lingua italiana, scritta o parlata?

When announcing the voting results-to-date for the le parole straniere più inopportune (the most awkward (or unsuitable) foreign words), the Società Dante Alighieri noted that: "...è chiaro che gli italiani chiedono più rispetto e più tutela per la propria lingua, soprattutto quando debba essere rimpiazzata da vocaboli stranieri solo per presunta eleganza e non per concreta efficienza..."

For those still suffering from 'lo stress' from 'il weekend', voting continues for the ugliest English words.