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La Bella Lingua | ||
 Language Learning Forum : Books, Literature & Reading |  | |
| NichtGut Groupie United States the-daily-treasure.bRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 6323 days ago 65 posts - 74 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: French | Message 1 of 4 24 December 2010 at 7:14pm | IP Logged |
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I just finished reading a wonderful book about the Italian language, La Bella Lingua: My Love Affair with Italian, the World's Most Enchanting Language. It is a quick, fun, easy read, but beware, you'll want to learn Italian after reading it :) The author relates the language to the culture and history of the country in an enticing fashion. Also she talks about her journey learning the language as well. Edit: It actually covers a lot ground as far as learning the language goes and fun concepts for the learner to make note of.
Here is what Amazon has to say: Amazon.com Review Book Description “Italians say that someone who acquires a new language ‘possesses’ it. In my case, Italian possesses me. With Italian racing like blood through my veins, I do indeed see with different eyes, hear with different ears, and drink in the world with all my senses...” A celebration of the language and culture of Italy, La Bella Lingua is the story of how a language shaped a nation, told against the backdrop of one woman’s personal quest to speak fluent Italian. For anyone who has been to Italy, the fantasy of living the Italian life is powerfully seductive. But to truly become Italian, one must learn the language. This is how Dianne Hales began her journey. In La Bella Linguaa, she brings the story of her decades-long experience with the “the world’s most loved and lovable language” together with explorations of Italy’s history, literature, art, music, movies, lifestyle and food in a true opera amorosa—a labor of her love of Italy. Throughout her first excursion in Italy—with “non parlo Italiano” as her only Italian phrase—Dianne delighted in the beauty of what she saw but craved comprehension of what she heard. And so she chose to inhabit the language. Over more than twenty-five years she has studied Italian in every way possible through Berlitz, books, CDs, podcasts, private tutorials and conversation groups, and, most importantly, large blocks of time in Italy. In the process she found that Italian became not just a passion and a pleasure, but a passport into Italy’s storia and its very soul. She offers charming insights into what it is that makes Italian the most emotionally expressive of languages, from how the “pronto” (“Ready!”) Italians say when they answer the telephone conveys a sense of something coming alive, to how even ordinary things such as a towel (asciugamano) or handkerchief (fazzoletto) sound better in Italian. She invites readers to join her as she traces the evolution of Italian in the zesty graffiti on the walls of Pompeii, in Dante’s incandescent cantos and in Boccaccio’s bawdy Decameron. She portrays how social graces remain woven into the fabric of Italian: even the chipper “ciao,” which does double duty as “hi” and “bye,” reflects centuries of bella figura. And she exalts the glories of Italy’s food and its rich and often uproarious gastronomic language: Italians deftly describe someone uptight as a baccala (dried cod), a busybody who noses into everything as a prezzemolo (parsley), a worthless or banal movie as a polpettone (large meatball). Like Dianne, readers of La Bella Lingua will find themselves innamorata, enchanted, by Italian, fascinated by its saga, tantalized by its adventures, addicted to its sound, and ever eager to spend more time in its company. Ps: Mods please feel free to move this to the book section, after it has been viewed a few times, the book is too lovely to pass up! :) The book sections goes under the radar sometimes. Edited by NichtGut on 24 December 2010 at 7:17pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| administrator Hexaglot Forum Admin Switzerland FXcuisine.com Joined 7367 days ago 3094 posts - 2987 votes 12 sounds Speaks: French*, EnglishC2, German, Italian, Spanish, Russian Personal Language Map | Message 2 of 4 25 December 2010 at 7:24am | IP Logged |
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This sounds like a great book, I have myself a love affair with the Italian language! Thanks for sharing your discovery with us and I hope it will inspire some people to learn that delicious language.
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| ChiaBrain Bilingual Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5799 days ago 402 posts - 512 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish* Studies: Portuguese, Italian, French Studies: German | Message 3 of 4 26 April 2011 at 4:31am | IP Logged |
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Thanks for mentioning this book. I'll be reading it soon!
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| seldnar Senior Member United States Joined 7123 days ago 189 posts - 287 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Mandarin, French, Greek | Message 4 of 4 26 April 2011 at 5:38am | IP Logged |
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She also has a blog. Becoming Italian
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