Stelle's log (Spanish, Italian, Tagalog)

[Ogrim]

I read the following in Assimil Italian at Ease:

- Mi chiami un taxi?
- Te lo chiamo subito.

Why is it "mi" in the first sentence and "te" in the second? I would have assumed that it should be mi/ti or me/te. Can anyone clarify for me?

Grazie!

The reason is simply that when there are two object pronouns together, the pronouns mi, ti, ci, vi, si change to me, te, ce, ve, se. See this Wikipedia article for more detail.

[Kerrie]

Why is it "mi" in the first sentence and "te" in the second? I would have assumed that it should be mi/ti or me/te. Can anyone clarify for me?

I was just going to respond with the fact that Assimil is full of mistakes, but ... it looks like they change a little (like Spanish doesn't do le-lo they will do se-lo when combing pronouns).

Combining Direct and Indirect Italian Pronouns

Edit: Bah, Ogrim beat me to it!

[Stelle]

Thanks to both of you! You made things very clear!

[tastyonions]

A good example is the locution "farcela," which is sort of like "se débrouiller" and makes an appearance in the fun Adriano Celentano song "Svalutation": "Ma quest'Italia qua se lo vuole sa / Che ce la farà."

[garyb]

My favourite "farcela" use is when Ligabue rhymes "ce la faremo" with "Sanremo" in Per Sempre. It's so cheesy that it always makes me smile.

[Stelle]

Thanks for the song suggestions! I actually haven't listened to any Italian music yet. It's time to start!

113 minutes of Italian yesterday:

1st session - computer (49 minutes): anki, memrise, duolingo, conjuguemos, bliubliu
2nd session - listening (32 minutes): Al Dente 9 (second listen), confessiamoci Game of Thrones (second watch), bliubliu
3rd session - reading (32 minutes): Al Dente 9 (intensive reading), Il piccolo principe (extensive reading)

I'd really like to find an addictive cartoon to watch in Italian. I searched a bit for Avatar the Last Airbender dubbed into Italian, but I didn't come up with anything. Does anyone have any recommendations for cartoons or anime with good story lines? While I enjoy the fact that I can understand Peppa Pig, it's not exactly riveting stuff...

[garyb]

From what my friends from there have told me, Italian kids all grow up watching dubbed Japanese cartoons. So there must be plenty out there, although I don't have any particular suggestions. Personally I watched a bunch of dubbed Futurama episodes when I was beginning in Italian and it worked for me, quite easy to understand and I was already familiar with the storylines.

[rdearman]

I used to watch two or three cartoons in Italian a couple of which were:

• Huntik
• Diabolik

But really it wasn't any easier than a sitcom.

EDIT: Changed to a list to make it clear what I meant.

[Stelle]

Thanks for the suggestions! I was able to find Huntik on Netflix with Italian dubs, so I'll start with that. I was looking for anime because my 13-year-old niece is very into anime and cartoons right now. If it's a good show, she can watch it in English, I can watch it in Italian, and we can discuss it to our nerdy little hearts' content. I'm pumped that I was able to find something on Netflix, which is so much easier than trying to source TV shows in other ways!

On a slightly-but-not-quite related note, I was watching El Internado on DailyMotion, but that site is starting to wreak havoc, with loud ads that shout out while the the show is still playing. It's bad enough that I've abandoned the show...and I loved that show.

I really wish that there were an easier way to subscribe to legal, ad-free TV. Copyright laws can't keep up with globalization, and I understand that it's complicated, but I would happily pay for a truly multilingual Netflix.

Yesterday's Six-Week Challenge update: 140 minutes

1st session - conversation (55 minutes): I had a rather frustrating session with a tutor yesterday. She over-explained and over-corrected - even though I told her more than once that I was ok with making mistakes, and that I just wanted to practice. I prefer a conversation that flows, with more targeted and less frequent corrections. I felt that I didn't really have the chance to talk much. I'll have to decide whether to write her with more detailed instructions and give her another chance, or whether to just quietly choose a different tutor. I do really like her, so I might try one more session.

2nd session - computer (49 minutes): anki, memrise, duolingo, bliubliu, conjuguemose

3rd session - Language Transfer (16 minutes): LT Italian is now up to 22 tracks! I did the first 8 tracks when they first came out, but I hadn't checked the site since then. I considered starting over at the beginning, but instead I picked up where I left off, and did tracks 9 and 10.

4th session - reading (20 minutes): I finished Il Piccolo principe last night. What a sad, beautiful little story. I logged it as 55 pages for the Super Challenge based on the word count.

[Stelle]

130 minutes of Italian yesterday:

1st session - computer (53 minutes): anki, memrise, duolingo, bliubliu, conjuguemos
2nd session - listening (19 minutes): bliubliu, Al Dente 9 (third and final listen)
3rd session - reading (48 minutes): Twilight. Yes, I started reading Twilight. But it's in Italian, so there's that.
4th session - Language Transfer (10 minutes): track 11

After reading a few suggestions on my log, I spent some time digging through Netflix last night. I found several anime-style cartoons available in Italian, some of them with Italian subtitles as well.

I know that cartoons are no easier to understand than regular TV shows, but I'd like to be able to share them with my 13-year-old niece. As I mentioned earlier, she's really into anime and cartoons with long complex story lines. Another bonus for cartoons is that the dubbing seems less annoying. The mouths don't move in the way that human mouths move, so the dubbing seems somehow less intrusive.

Anyway, these are some of the cartoons that I saved:

Huntik
Kuromakuro
Cyborg 009 vs Devilman
Magi: Adventure of Sinbad
The Seven Deadly Sins
Little Witch Academia
Bionicle: the Journey to One
Glitter Force