Parla Italiano Archives - Pizzeria Prima Strada

October 19, 2012

Parla Italiano – Lesson 9

Ciao! At our last Parla Italiano “Professore” Gabriella taught us about una tipica famiglia italiana (a typical Italian family). La cultura italiana é conosciuta in tutto il mondo come una cultura basata sulla famiglia (Italian culture is known all over the world as a family-based culture).

Quali sono i componenti principali di una famiglia (what are the main components of a family)?

Moglie/Marito – Wife/Husband Mamma/Papá – Mother/Father Fratello/Sorella – Brother/Sister Figlio/Figlia – Son/Daughter Nonno/Nonna – Grandfather/Grandmother Nipote- Nephew/Niece Zio/Zia – Uncle/Aunt Cugino/Cugina – Male cousin/female cousin Ragazzo/Ragazza – Boyfriend/Girlfriend Fidanzato/Fidanzata – Boyfriend/Girlfriend or Fiancee (Which results in confusing Facebook relationship status updates)

Now that you know how to say each family member in Italian here are some domande relative alla famiglia (questions concerning family.)

Quante persone ci sono nelle tua famiglia? (How many people are in your family?) Nella mia famiglia ci sono 4 persone. (In my family there are 4 people.) Quanti figli/fratelli/zii/cugini hai? (How many children/siblings/aunts & uncles/cousins do you have?) Ho 3 figli/fratelli/zii/cugini. (I have 3 children/siblings/aunts & uncles/cousins.) Da dove viene la tua famiglia? (Where does your family come from?) La mia famiglia viene da Canada. (My family…

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October 2, 2012

Parla Italiano – Lesson 8

Ciao! At our last Parla Italiano “Professore” Gabriella taught us about un tipico pasto italiano (a typical Italian meal). In Italy, food is a very important part of life. Di che si parla oggi? (What will we talk about today?) Che domande…di cibo! (It’s obvious…food!)

La cucina italiana è famosa in tutto il mondo. (Italian cuisine is famous all over the world). Ma come si mangia il cibo italiano? (But how should we eat Italian food?)

Typical hours for an Italian meal:

Prima delle 10.00 am: COLAZIONE! 12.30 pm – 2.30 pm: PRANZO! 5.30 pm – 8.00 pm: APERITIVO! 7.30 pm – 10.00 pm: CENA!

I pasti principali sono il PRANZO e la CENA. In generale, il PRANZO è più sostanzioso della CENA. (The main meals are LUNCH and DINNER. Generally, LUNCH is a bigger meal than DINNER.) Unlike the typical North American breakfast of eggs, bacon and toast, Italian colazione typically consists of a capuccino and a biscotti or cornetti (the Italian equivilant of a croissant). The light breakfast keeps you hungry for Pranzo, a meal so important most shops close between 1-4pm. After work, many Italians enjoy a drink & an apertivo – a small serving of nuts,…

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September 6, 2012

Parla Italiano Returns

Buon giorno a tutti! After a brief summer break, Parla Italiano returns on Wednesday, September 19th at 7pm. Much like a traditional Italian family gathering, “students” meet over dinner at one of PPS Bridge’s communal tables.

Dinner begins with a small plate of something special from Chef Alex followed by a selection of pizzas & gelato for $20. In between courses “Professore” Gabriella leads the group through a short syllabus suitable for any level. Whether you’re an absolute beginner or a born & raised Italian speaker – there’s a spot at the table for you.

Haven’t been able to attend any of our past “lessons?” Have no fear – we have notes from previous “classes” for you to review. To reserve your place at the table, email jesse@primastrada.com.

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June 29, 2012

Parla Italiano – Lesson 7

Ciao! Last Tuesday at our Italian Speaking Night we learned all about La geographia italia (Italian geography). Some of you might already recognize some of the regions from our Italian Long Table Dinners, but talking about geography in Italian requires some finesse.

L’Italiaè uno Stato o Paese (Italy is a State or a Country). Here’s where it gets a bit tricky – Paese means country whereas paese means town or village. Be careful of using capital letters, they are used very differently in Italian.

Ogni regione ha un capoluogo di provincia (Each region has a provincial capital). Per esempio: Bari è il capoluogo di provincia della Puglia (For Example: Bari is the provincial capital of Puglia). Tuttavia, in ogni regione ci sono varie province (However, in each region there are different provinces). In ogni provincia ci sono città, cittadine, paesi e villaggi (In each province there are cities, towns and villages).

Ci sono venti regioni in Italia (There are 20 regions in Italy):

(la) Valle D’Aosta (il) Piemonte (la) Liguria (la) Lombardia (il) Trentino Alto Adige (il) Veneto (il) Friuli-Venezia Giulia (l’) Emilia Romagna (la) Toscana (le) Marche

(l’) Umbria (il) Lazio (l’) Abruzzo (il) Molise…

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June 11, 2012

Parla Italiano – Lesson 6

Ciao! Planning an Italian getaway this summer? This lesson’s for you! Today we’re going to learn about the Olimpiadi (Olympics). First, the names of the sports –

Gli sport olimpici:

Tiro con l’arco (Archery), Ginnastica Artistica (Gymnastics), Atletica (Athletics), Badminton (Badminton), Baseball (Baseball), Boxe (Boxing), Calcio (Soccer), Canottaggio (Rowing), Ciclismo (Cycling), Equitazione (Equestrian) Golf (Golf), Judo (Judo), Lacrosse (Lacrosse), Nuoto (Swimming), Nuoto Sincronizzato (Syncronized Swimming), Pallacanestro (Basketball), Pallamano (Handball), Pallanuoto (Water polo), Pallavolo (Volleyball), Peso (Weightlifting), Scherma (Fencing), Tennis (Tennis), Tuffi (Diving), & Vela (Sailing)

For those of you looking to flex your Italian skills and interact with the locals, practice these questions –

Che sport fai/pratichi? (What sport do you do/practice?) Qual è il tuo sport preferito? (What is your favorite sport?) Sai giocare a _____ ? (Can you play _____ ?)

Although we know you’ll be cheering for Team Canada, here are a couple atleti italiani famosi (famous Italian athetes) so you can root for Team Italia –

Nuoto: Alessia Filippi, Federica Pellegrini Canottaggio: Luca Agamennoni, Simone Venier, Rossano Galtarossa, Simone Raineri Boxe: Roberto Cammarelle, Clemente Russo, Vincenzo Picardi

Want to practice speaking before your Italian holiday or just missing the sound of the lyrical…

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