*Common courtesies. You’re more likely to get what you ask for when you preface a request with “per favore” (please) and respond to any kindness with “grazie” (thank you). Prego (literally “I beg”) can mean, “You’re welcome,” or, in some circumstances, “by all means.”

*Salutations. Although “ciao!” has become world-famous, the more polite greeting is “Buongiorno” (Good Day, used until after lunch or late afternoon, depending on the region) or “Buonasera” (Good Evening). An alternative more common in the North than the South is “Salve!” Take your leave with a cheery “Arrivederci!” (See you again! Goodbye!)

*Introductions. In Italian, you don’t simply announce your name. You say, “Mi chiamo…” (I call myself). To find out another person’s name, ask, “Come si chiama?” (How do you call yourself?)

*How are you? When asked “come sta?” you might reply “bene” (well), “molto bene” (very well) or non c’é male (not bad). If asked “come va?” (how’s it going), the most common answer is the Italian equivalent of “okay”: “va bene” (it’s going well). A common alternative: “Tutto a posto” (everything’s in order).

*Asking for help. If it’s a true emergency, shout “Aiuto!” If you’d like help buying a souvenir, ask, “Scusi, può aiutarmi?” (Excuse me, can you help me?) If you need directions, say “Scusi, potrebbe indicarmi la strada per….” (Excuse me, can you indicate the way to…) To acknowledge the kindness of a stranger, say, “Lei é molto gentile” (You are very kind).

*Buying. It’s possible to shop without words anywhere in the world, but the following phrases will serve you well in Italy: Quanto costa? (How much does it cost?) Posso pagare con la carta di credito? (Can I pay with a credit card?) “In cash” translates as in contanti. If you want to try something on, ask “Posso provarlo/a?”

*Time. To find out the time, you ask “Che ora é?” (what is the hour?) or “Che ore sono?” (what are the hours?). Italy uses a 24-hour clock (sistema orario a 24 ore) so that 6:00 p.m., for instance, is 18:00 (diciotto). “Mezzo” refers to the half (3:30 is le tre e mezzo); “quarto,” to 15 minutes. Le tre meno il quarto is 2:45; le tre e un quarto is 3:15).

*Weather. Everyone talks about it everywhere, but in Italian weather (il tempo) “makes” rather than “is.” “Fa bello” (literally makes beautiful) means “It’s a nice day.” Weather can also fa brutto (ugly), freddo (cold) or caldo (hot). On a sunny day, “c’è sole” (there’s sun). “Cloudy” translates as coperto (covered) or nuvoloso; “it’s raining,” as piove.

*Illness. “Sto male” means “I’m feeling bad.” Common travelers’ complaints include headache (mal di testa), stomach ache (male di pancia), fever (febbre) and pain (dolore). If you’re allergic to anything, be sure to say, “Sono allergico a...”

*Compliments. Memorize at least one of the following: Che bello! (How beautiful!) Che meraviglia! (How marvelous!) Favoloso! (Fantastic!). With any luck, you’ll have many occasions to unfurl these words of praise and delight.

Other Useful Words and Expressions

Sono americano/inglese/ francese/spagnolo, etc. — I’m American, English, French, Spanish, etc.

Non ho capito – I didn’t/don’t understand

Può ripetere, per favore? — Can you repeat, please?

Parla inglese? — Do you speak English?

Come si dice……in italiano? – How do you say …… in Italian?

Dianne Hales is the author of LA BELLA LINGUA: My Love Affair with Italian, the World’s Most Enchanting Language.

The post 10 Phrases You Shouldn’t Go to Italy Without appeared first on The Faster Times.

May festivals

“Aprile con il fiore, maggio con il colore,” Italians say, “April with its flower, May with its color.” A rainbow of Italian colors, sounds and flavors is on full display during le feste (festivals) of May. If you’re heading to Italy this month, you can cheer the drivers in the famous Mille Miglia (1000 mile) car rally, celebrate Pinocchio’s birthday in Collodi (Tuscany) or sip Chianti at the wine festival in Montespertoli. Here are some other not-to-be-missed festivities:

*Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, one of the oldest music festivals in Italy, features opera, concerts and dance. The outdoor performances at night often end with dazzling fireworks displays. While in Florence, be sure to go the city’s famous Iris Garden, open to the general public only in May. You’ll gain an entirely new appreciation for the root of Florence’s Italian name: Firenze, derived from the Latin for “to flower or blossom.”

*Giro d’Italia, the largest cycling event of the country, begins on May 5 and eventually climbs the famous Passo dello Stelvio to finish at the summit for the first time in the history of the event.

*Corsa dei Ceri (Race of the Candles). The stony, silent town of Gubbio in Umbria explodes into frenzied excitement every May 15. Three teams of men run up and down its steep streets carrying Ceri, gigantic wooden constructions, each weighing about a thousand pounds and bearing a statue of a saint on top. The Ceri and the Corsa dei Matti (Race of the Crazy Ones, as it’s nicknamed) may date back to the twelfth century, when Gubbio was miraculously spared from the forces of Frederick Barbarossa. Its citizens credited Sant’ Ubaldo, who died on May 16,1160, for its salvation, and the town has held a ceremony on the eve of his death since the Middle Ages. The celebration culminates with La Tavola Bona, a banquet for 700 people, including the “crazy” Ceraioli or candle-bearers.

Other options include:

*Calendimaggio, a series of medieval and Renaissance spettacoli (shows) with concerts, dances, archery, flag-waving, cross-bow displays and torch-lit processions, held in Assisi in early May.

*La Barabbata, a procession in which men wear costumes and carry tools representing the traditional trades while white buffalo pull floats displaying the fruits of the trades, celebrated May 14 in Marta on the shores of Lake Bolsena.

*La Festa di San Domenico, a procession on the first Thursday in May in Cocullo in the Abruzzi, highlighted by the carrying of a statue of the town’s patron saint covered with live serpents.

*Sposalizio dell’Albero, the wedding of the tree, on May 8 in Vetralla in northern Lazio, in which townspeople decorate a couple of oak trees with garlands and plant new trees in a ceremony that asserts the town’s domination over the forest.

*Infiorata di Noto, a huge festival with flower petal art displays and a parade in Noto, Sicily, during the third weekend of May.

*Il Palio di Ferrara, a historical horse race dating from 1279, run the last Sunday in May, with events every weekend of the month, including a procession with over 1000 people in Renaissance costumes on the Saturday night before the race.

Words and Expressions

festeggiare – to celebrate, welcome, entertain

festaiolo — party animal, merry maker

il festeggiato / la festeggiata — the guest of honor

festino — banquet, party, feast

festicciola — get-together, gathering, small party

far festa a qualcuno — to welcome or greet someone warmly

guastafeste — party pooper

Dianne Hales is author of LA BELLA LINGUA: MY LOVE AFFAIR WITH ITALIAN, THE WORLD’S MOST ENCHANTING LANGUAGE.

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The Tuscan Sun Cookbook

Some people win you over with “hello”; some books, with an irresistible cover or title. Frances Mayes had me with one spell-binding sentence about the choreography of the kitchen (la coreografia della cucina). The moment I read it, I wondered how it would sound in Italian. With the help of my invaluable colleague Valentina Medda, here is the translation:

*I peel (io che sbuccio)

*you scrape (tu che gratti)

*wine spills (vino che si rovescia)

*bag splits (busta che si rompe)

*beans simmer (fagioli che cuociono a fuoco lento)

*sink slurps (lavello che inghiotte l’acqua avidamente)

*petals fall (petali che cadono)

*flour drifts (farina che scivola)

*crust splits (crosta che si spacca)

*aromas spread (aromi che si diffondono)

*lights flicker (luci che sfarfallano)

*chocolate melts (cioccolato che si scioglie)

*glass shatters (vetro che va in frantumi)

*sauce thickens (salsa che si addensa)

*finger bleeds (dito che sanguina)

*cheese ripens (formaggio che matura)

*crumbs fall (briciole che cadono)

*sweat drips (sudore che cola)

*spoon bangs (cucchiaio che sbatte)

*meat glistens (carne che brilla)

*oil spatters (olio che schizza)

*wine breathes (vino che respira)

*garlic smashes (aglio che si schiaccia)

*lettuces float (lattughe che galleggiano)

*silver shines (argento che brilla)

*apron snags (grembiule che si impiglia)

*you sneeze (tu che starnutisci)

*I sing ‘oh, my love, my darling’ (io che canto ‘oh, amore mio, tesoro mio’)

*and dough rises (e pasta che lievita) in soft moons the size of my cupped hand (in morbide lune, delle dimensioni della mia mano a coppa),

*as planet earth tilts us toward dinner (mentre il pianeta Terra ci inclina verso la cena).

The Tuscan Sun Cookbook: Recipes from our Italian Kitchen, by Frances and Edward Mayes, celebrates the soul- and appetite-satisfying essence of la cucina povera (the poor kitchen) of rural Tuscany. If you could capture the sweet and savory joys of Italian food and friendship in a book, this sumptuous volume would be it. It delights the eye, tickles the taste buds and warms the soul.

More of a buona forchetta (hearty eater) than a cook, I found the words as mouth-watering as the dishes, including such savory ones as:

*scottadito: finger-burners, small grilled lamb chops you eat with your fingers

*stagionata/o: seasoned, used for cheeses aged about a year until hard and flaky; semi-stagionata/o, aged for three or four months

*sformato: unformed, sort of a quiche without a crust (or form)

*pomarola: tomato sauce. Cans of Italian tomatoes are pelati.

*pasta asciutta / pastasciutta: dry pasta that comes in dozens of tongue-pleasing forms, such as mezze maniche (short sleeves), radiatori (radiators), strozzapreti (priest stranglers), stellette (little stars), orecchiette (little ears), penne (pens), vermicelli (little worms), linguine (little tongues), farfalle (butterflies) and cavatappi (corkscrews).

Another essential lesson: The abbreviations “q.b.” or “q.s.” in Italian recipes stand for quanto basta and quantum sufficit (whatever’s enough) — something Tuscans always seem to know.

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Carnevale Carnival

Thanks to my Catholic childhood, I could easily follow the Sunday mass in the tiny stone church of the Borgo Monte Vibiano Vecchio in Umbria. Then the white-haired priest began to preach in ever more impassioned tones about the evils of “i peccati della carne,” which I translated literally into “the sins of the meat.”

Had the Church reinstated its Friday ban on meat? Had the dreaded mucca pazza (mad cow) returned? I glanced at the dozen or so townspeople in attendance. Most were averting their eyes and looking embarrassed—or guilty. An Italian friend later explained why: “carne” also means flesh, and a sermon on the sins of the flesh could discomfit almost anyone.

For centuries the pre-Lent festivities of Carnevale sumptuously celebrated “carne” in every sense. However, the name comes specifically from the Latin for meat (carnem) and “take away or remove” (levare). A church decree dating back to 653 declared that anyone who ate meat during the forty days of Lent (Quaresima in Italian) could not receive communion on Easter. Charlemagne reportedly sentenced Lenten meat-eaters to death.

The prospect of long months without meat or merriment inspired Italians to gorge themselves throughout — and often long before – la settimana grassa (the fat week) before Ash Wednesday. It also inspired a luscious vocabulary for the culinary treats of this festive time, such as the delicate fried pastries we might call fritters. In Piedmont, they’re bugie (little lies); in Tuscany, cenci (rags); in Milan, chiacchiere (gossips); in Emilia-Romagna, lattughe (lettuce leaves). Cooks elsewhere may call them nastri delle suore (nuns’ ribbons), galani or sfrappe and add ingredients such as raisins and anise.

The sin-drenched Venetian Republic was famous for indulgences of carne in its more sensual sense. During Carnevale, which lasted for months, party-goers of all classes hid their identities behind elaborate maschere (masks).

Artisans known as mascherari gained fame for their exquisite creations, which came in three varieties. The bauta covered the entire face but had no mouth opening and a lot of gilding. The oval-shaped moretta was worn by women, often along with a veil. The full-face white larva (from the Latin for mask or ghost) was made of fine wax cloth.

Words and Expressions:

fare le frittelle –- literally, to make the fritters; to celebrate Carnival carnevalone –- the four extra days of Carnevale celebrated in places like Milan carnevalata –- Carnival revelry A Carnevale ogni scherzo vale –- Anything goes at Carnival time. L’amore di Carnevale muore in Quaresima –- a love that starts during Carnival dies in Lent.

Dianne Hales is the author of LA BELLA LINGUA: My Love Affair with Italian, the World’s Most Enchanting Language.

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La Parolaccia

Bad Language

It has become the oscenit

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Studying Italian

“What is the most important thing to focus on when learning a new language?” a reader recently wrote. I posted his question on the LA BELLA LINGUA page on Facebook and got some great responses from Italian teachers and students.

“When learning a language like Italian, I feel the most important thing to focus on is the WHY,” says Christina Ball, director of the Speak! Language Center. “Why are you learning Italian? What do you absolutely love about the language? Maybe it’s the way it makes you feel when you speak it, the thought of all the people you’ll be able to connect with when next in Italy (or in your Italian class at home!), the musicality, perhaps — in the case of those with Italian heritage — the way it makes you feel closer to your family, to your roots.”

As Christina wisely observes, “Learning a language is like any relationship. You’ll experience ups and downs, but remembering why you’re so committed will help you through those challenging moments so that you can enjoy the journey itself.”

“There is no one way or one golden method that you learn from,” observes Melissa Muldoon, the “crazy student” (studentessa matta) with a terrific blog in English and Italian, “You have to read, write, listen and speak the language and build your vocabulary every day. I at first concentrated primarily on grammar, learning conjugations and tenses. Then I began to branch out and found native speakers to converse with on the internet. If you set aside time every day to create your own experience of immersion, you will get past the proverbial wall that all language learners hit at a certain point.”

Here are some other useful tips:

*Especially in the beginning, focus more on simply expressing yourself and carrying on meaningful conversations vs. perfecting pronunciation and grammar. “Perfectionism can be a true obstacle,” Christina Ball notes, “not only to progress, but also to true enjoyment of another language/culture and your personal experience of it.”

*Don’t worry about your vocabulary; it will grow naturally. Instead, learn the basic verb conjugations. Find Italian newspapers, which generally (but not completely) stick to the simpler conjugations, online, and read stories out loud.

*Immerse yourself. Listen to Italian CDs; watch Italian TV and DVDs; stream Italian music and news stations daily. You can find native speakers to Skype at sites such as livemocha and mylanguageexchange. They offer both free and paid programs.

*Talk to yourself in Italian. One student pronounces Italian phrases in front of the mirror every morning. Another practiced rolling her r’s while sitting on her scooter at stop signs in Italy.

*Stick with it. ”Surround yourself with Italian in every aspect — listening, reading, speaking, and watching — and don’t stop for as many years as it takes you to learn the language,” urges Italian teacher Carolina Gengo di Domenico of Piazza di Carolina.

*Enjoy yourself. “The most fun way for me to learn was marrying an Italian,” wrote one student, “but the verbs help!” (Unfortunately, as I replied to her, verbs don’t hug back.)

*Savor your successes,” another reader urges. “And downplay your everyday mistakes. Your listeners will, I can assure you.”

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