Lingua's Italian All The Time Log

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lingua
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Posts: 951
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Maintaining: italiano (B2/C1ish)
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Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 15&t=12257
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Re: Lingua's Italian, Sicilian & Latin Log

Postby lingua » Sun Aug 26, 2018 9:06 pm

I finally completed book #6. La testa degli italiani by Beppe Severgnini is a book on various aspects of the Italians. Each chapter is on a different subject. Some chapters were easier than others based on the subject matter of the chapter so it varied a lot how many words I had to look up. In some chapters virtually none and in others a lot. I took forever to finish this book so I've already forgotten most of it. Severgnini sometimes compared Italians to the English or the Americans (he's lived in both places) but I found the book to have too many stereotypes. From a language perspective the writing style is super easy to understand as Severgninini is a journalist. At times it was a bit tedious. I'd give it three stars on a scale of 1-5.

latestadegliitaliani.jpg
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1 x
Super Challenge 2022-23:
DE: books: 0 / 2500 film: 1654 / 4500
IT: books: 3065 / 5000 film: 5031 / 9000
PT: books: 2921 / 5000 film: 5010 / 9000

Output Challenge 2023:
IT: write: 0 / 50000 record: 84 / 3000
PT: write: 0 / 50000 record: 0 / 3000

PT: Read 100 books: 28 / 100

garyb
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Language Log: viewtopic.php?f=15&t=1855
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Re: Lingua's Italian, Sicilian & Latin Log

Postby garyb » Mon Aug 27, 2018 9:46 am

I agree about your experience with iTalki tutors. Unfortunately the best ones I've had were doing it temporarily to make some extra money between proper work or studies. I've found that paying the premium for a "professional" rather than "community" tutor doesn't usually mean better teaching, but it does mean more chance of them staying available over the long term.

I read "La testa degli italiani" years ago and agree with your assessment. It was a fun read but nothing amazing. I did enjoy "L'italiano. Lezioni semiserie" and it's interesting especially for a learner. Much of it is essentially a translation of "The elements of style", but there's also plenty material specific to Italian and it covers typical errors and questionable usage from native speakers.
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lingua
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Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 15&t=12257
x 2024

Re: Lingua's Italian, Sicilian & Latin Log

Postby lingua » Mon Sep 10, 2018 4:11 am

It's been awhile since I've updated. I've been traveling a lot the last couple of months so my studying has been sporadic. I'm hoping it will slow down soon.

Italian

memrise: 4606/5647 continue to review and add new words
clozemaster: played 2,314 sentences, mastered 969 sentences

film: total of 1221 minutes
la7.it: Menù di Benedetta: Fettuccine ai gamberi
YouTube: MasterChef Italia Stagione 7 Episodio 5
MHz Choice: Don Matteo: L’uomo che sapeva volare, Il ritorno, Tre nipoti e una tata, Severino innamorato, Un’altra vita, Sposami, Tiro mancino, Il suocero ha sempre ragione, I segreti di Gubbio, Scelta di vita, Generazione Y, Il giorno più bello, La bambina del miracolo, Il bambino contesto, Vecchie amiche, L’ombra del sospetto, Indagine su una figlia, L’amore non basta, Tradimenti, Tutto è perduto

I have one more episode of Don Matteo to watch and then I will have finally completed 8 seasons after about two years. The next season of BarLume starts next month which I'm looking forward to.

books:
La testa degli italiani by Beppe Severgnini <-- 100%
Storie per imparare... by Duso/Dinale <-- 23%
Il mondo in cucina: storia, identità, scambi edited by Massimo Montanari <-- 67%

edX mooc: I started Unit 6 which I had intended to do weeks ago but never got to.

Italki: I think I've had 2-3 sessions over the past few weeks.


Latin
memrise: 1389/1986 continue to review and add new words
clozemaster: played 5,731 sentences, mastered 3,745 sentences


Sicilian
memrise: 116/178 continue to review periodically to retain what I've learned


Piemontèis
clozemaster (from Italian): played 506 sentences, mastered 278 sentences
clozemaster (from English): played 291 sentences, mastered 49 sentences
1 x
Super Challenge 2022-23:
DE: books: 0 / 2500 film: 1654 / 4500
IT: books: 3065 / 5000 film: 5031 / 9000
PT: books: 2921 / 5000 film: 5010 / 9000

Output Challenge 2023:
IT: write: 0 / 50000 record: 84 / 3000
PT: write: 0 / 50000 record: 0 / 3000

PT: Read 100 books: 28 / 100

StringerBell
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Re: Lingua's Italian, Sicilian & Latin Log

Postby StringerBell » Mon Sep 10, 2018 4:34 pm

Why did you decide to study Piemontese and Sicilian? (Those were the only 2 dialects I noticed on Clozemaster, I wonder if that influenced your choice, or if someone in your family comes from either of these regions).

Do you listen to Podcast Italiano? Davide is from Piemonte, though he doesn't use any dialect. I really enjoy listening to his advanced (without transcription) podcasts.
1 x
Season 4 Lucifer Italian transcripts I created: https://learnanylanguage.fandom.com/wik ... ranscripts

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lingua
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Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 15&t=12257
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Re: Lingua's Italian, Sicilian & Latin Log

Postby lingua » Tue Sep 11, 2018 1:18 am

StringerBell wrote:Why did you decide to study Piemontese and Sicilian?


I'm a huge Montalbano fan which was my impetus for learning Sicilian. I've read most of the Camilleri books in English and want to read them in Italian but I know they are not the easiest for non-natives and I've been told even Italians (especially those in the North) have trouble with the dialect in the books.

I've always been interested in the dialects and languages of Italy. The only reason I'm currently dabbling in Piemontese is because it's on Clozemaster. I am also interested in Napoletano.

I didn't see Sicilian on Clozemaster. The Sicilian memrise course is my own based off the books of Gaetano Cipolla who came to the US from Sicilia in the 50s. He's taught Italian at several universities here and seems committed to creating sources for the Sicilian language.

Do you listen to Podcast Italiano? Davide is from Piemonte, though he doesn't use any dialect. I really enjoy listening to his advanced (without transcription) podcasts.


I'm not familiar with Podcast Italiano but I just subscribed to it so thanks for mentioning it. I'm subscribed to quite a few Italian podcasts but don't listen all that often.
0 x
Super Challenge 2022-23:
DE: books: 0 / 2500 film: 1654 / 4500
IT: books: 3065 / 5000 film: 5031 / 9000
PT: books: 2921 / 5000 film: 5010 / 9000

Output Challenge 2023:
IT: write: 0 / 50000 record: 84 / 3000
PT: write: 0 / 50000 record: 0 / 3000

PT: Read 100 books: 28 / 100

User avatar
lingua
Blue Belt
Posts: 951
Joined: Sun Mar 13, 2016 11:23 pm
Languages: English (N)
Maintaining: italiano (B2/C1ish)
Studying: português, Latina
Dabbling: siciliano, Deutsch, français, piemontèis
Abandoned: ไทย, español
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 15&t=12257
x 2024

Re: Lingua's Italian, Sicilian & Latin Log

Postby lingua » Mon Sep 17, 2018 1:28 am

I've come to the conclusion that I'm spreading myself too thin and I need to concentrate 100% on Italian. So no more dabbling in other languages/dialects for now. To that end I've decided that I need a goal so I am working towards passing the B2 exam sometime next year. I haven't yet determined which month or where I'll take it. I've ordered several B2 exam preparation books from the mondadoristore.it whom I've ordered from for a long time.They have a flat shipping rate to the US that hasn't changed in over 10 years so I prefer to place large orders for books and DVDs every year or two to get the best shipping value. One of the books isn't available until the 1st of next month so I don't expect to get my order for 3-4 weeks which is fine.

memrise/clozemaster: continue to add/review words and sentences

film: total of 176 minutes
MHz Choice: Don Matteo sotto accusa, BarLume: La brisolca in cinque

Podcasts: total of 118 minutes
Assortment from Best Video Feltrinelli, Change of Pace (Adv), Chiamate Roma Triuno Triuno, Italiano Automatico Podcast, News in Slow Italian (Int), Ospite Marco Mazzocchi, RadioPNR, Tempo di caffè, Tutta la città ne parle

The Change of Pace and News in Slow Italian are specifically made for students of the language but I found them both too slow so I'll probably drop them. They also don't give the full podcast but only the first 7-8 minutes for free. Otherwise you have to pay though I believe they do have transcripts I'm beyond that. I liked Chiamate Roma Triuno Triuno. There are three guys and they talk fast and tend to interrupt each other at times but I found them mostly easy to understand. They also talk to other people.

books:
Storie per imparare... by Duso/Dinale <-- 23%
Il mondo in cucina: storia, identità, scambi edited by Massimo Montanari <-- 79%
Che Pizza! by Paolo D'Achille <-- 5%

Il mondo in cucina has a different author for each chapter and the current one is a slog so my rate of reading has slowed way down. I hope to complete it this week so I can start a mystery soon. In my search for B2 study materials and other books I came across Che Pizza! which is written by a linguistics teacher. It seems pizza has other meanings in roman slang. The book itself will cover pizza, variations of pizza, the etymology of the word, slang and other words derived from the word pizza. This is the type of thing I enjoy learning so it should be a quick and easy read at only 133 pages.

edX mooc: nothing this week

italki: One hour lesson

This weeks goal is to come up with a more rounded study plan that includes reading, writing, speaking, listening and grammar which matches the exam.
2 x
Super Challenge 2022-23:
DE: books: 0 / 2500 film: 1654 / 4500
IT: books: 3065 / 5000 film: 5031 / 9000
PT: books: 2921 / 5000 film: 5010 / 9000

Output Challenge 2023:
IT: write: 0 / 50000 record: 84 / 3000
PT: write: 0 / 50000 record: 0 / 3000

PT: Read 100 books: 28 / 100

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lingua
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Studying: português, Latina
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Abandoned: ไทย, español
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 15&t=12257
x 2024

Re: Lingua's Italian All The Time Log

Postby lingua » Sat Sep 22, 2018 6:21 pm

I finished book #7 Il mondo in cucina: Storia, identità, scambi edited by Massimo Montanari. The book contained nine chapters written by various authors including one by the editor. Most of the authors are professors or teachers of history with an emphasis on food and in one case champagne. The majority of them were French too.

It took me so long to read that I've already forgotten most of it but if I were to sum it up it's primarily about the influence of food in various parts of the world (including China, the Americas and Africa) on Italy. It is heavily annotated and is an uneven read due to the different authors and their style. I would assume some of it was due to the variance in references.

On a scale of 1-5 I would only give this a 2. While some parts were informative and of interest to me a lot of it was boring. SInce food is one of my favorite subjects it was a disappointing read.

ilmondoincucina.jpg
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0 x
Super Challenge 2022-23:
DE: books: 0 / 2500 film: 1654 / 4500
IT: books: 3065 / 5000 film: 5031 / 9000
PT: books: 2921 / 5000 film: 5010 / 9000

Output Challenge 2023:
IT: write: 0 / 50000 record: 84 / 3000
PT: write: 0 / 50000 record: 0 / 3000

PT: Read 100 books: 28 / 100

User avatar
lingua
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Posts: 951
Joined: Sun Mar 13, 2016 11:23 pm
Languages: English (N)
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Studying: português, Latina
Dabbling: siciliano, Deutsch, français, piemontèis
Abandoned: ไทย, español
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 15&t=12257
x 2024

Re: Lingua's Italian All The Time Log

Postby lingua » Mon Sep 24, 2018 4:42 am

Reading:
Storie per imparare... by Duso/Dinale <-- 23%
Che Pizza! by Paolo D'Achille <-- 43%
BarLume: Il gioco delle tre carte by Marco Malvaldi <-- 5%

Writing:
I wrote a few sentences specifically using various verb forms for several verbs that I was having difficulty remembering. I probably won't do a lot of writing until I get the B2 study books next month.

Speaking:
Nothing this week as I wasn't able to find a time that worked for me and this coming week isn't looking very free either so I'm aiming for the first week of October.

Listening:
film: total of 690 minutes
SerieTV: MasterChef Italia S7 Ep 6-7
YouTube: Eredità 7 sep-dec 2012 episodes
YouTube: Cuochi e Fiamme 22-24 may 2017 episodes

Eredità is a game show that has been around for quite a few years. I like it. The host speaks very clearly and is easy to understand. The contestants vary because they're from all over Italy. I tried to answer the questions before the contestants did and a few times I was able to guess the correct answer when the contestant was not. Cuochi e Fiamme is a cooking competition with two contestants, three judges and a chef host. It's also easy to understand and has been around for a few years so I should be able to find lots of episodes for both of these. Both of these series are from MagnoliaTV which produces quite a number of Italian shows and is a good source to find new ones.

podcats: total of 112 minutes
Mix of Cafè Bleu, Chiamate Roma Triuno Triuno, DiWineTaste, Grammatica italiana, Podcast Italiano, Tempo di caffè, Tre generazioni in cucina and Un maestro in cucina. I

I like Tre generazioni in cucina but it appears that someone lost interest in producing it quickly as they only made a few episodes in June. I unsubscribed from the two slow podcasts I mentioned last week as I decided I didn't want to listen to anything that wasn't at a normal speed.

Grammar/Vocabulary
edX mooc: nothing this week
memrise: review and added new words daily
clozemaster: did 1000+ sentences

There is some overlap in these categories as the book Storie per imparare... has exercises that include writing. My plan for any writing is to go over it in my italki session with one of my long time teachers. She's already agreed to do this.

I also need to work on balancing the amount of time spent on each of the five categories.
1 x
Super Challenge 2022-23:
DE: books: 0 / 2500 film: 1654 / 4500
IT: books: 3065 / 5000 film: 5031 / 9000
PT: books: 2921 / 5000 film: 5010 / 9000

Output Challenge 2023:
IT: write: 0 / 50000 record: 84 / 3000
PT: write: 0 / 50000 record: 0 / 3000

PT: Read 100 books: 28 / 100

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lingua
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Languages: English (N)
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Studying: português, Latina
Dabbling: siciliano, Deutsch, français, piemontèis
Abandoned: ไทย, español
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 15&t=12257
x 2024

Re: Lingua's Italian All The Time Log

Postby lingua » Fri Sep 28, 2018 5:48 pm

Completed book #8: Che Pizza! by Paolo D'Achille. This was an enjoyable read. The author has an easy to understand writing style. And the vocabulary was such that I didn't have to look up many words.

This wasn't about pizza the food but rather about the etymology of the word pizza and history of when it was first found in writing. Also covered was the relationship to focaccia, torta and schiacciata and other words related to pizza such as pizzetta, pizzaiolo and pizzeria.

chepizza!.jpg
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0 x
Super Challenge 2022-23:
DE: books: 0 / 2500 film: 1654 / 4500
IT: books: 3065 / 5000 film: 5031 / 9000
PT: books: 2921 / 5000 film: 5010 / 9000

Output Challenge 2023:
IT: write: 0 / 50000 record: 84 / 3000
PT: write: 0 / 50000 record: 0 / 3000

PT: Read 100 books: 28 / 100

User avatar
lingua
Blue Belt
Posts: 951
Joined: Sun Mar 13, 2016 11:23 pm
Languages: English (N)
Maintaining: italiano (B2/C1ish)
Studying: português, Latina
Dabbling: siciliano, Deutsch, français, piemontèis
Abandoned: ไทย, español
Language Log: https://forum.language-learners.org/vie ... 15&t=12257
x 2024

Re: Lingua's Italian All The Time Log

Postby lingua » Wed Oct 03, 2018 4:00 am

Reading:
Storie per imparare... by Duso/Dinale <-- 26%
BarLume: Il gioco delle tre carte by Marco Malvaldi <-- 18%

This is the second BarLume book in the series. Evidently there was no episode made from this one as I would have watched it first if there had been. The reading is tougher than the first book. A lot of unknown words.

Writing:
I wrote several paragraphs related to the selections from Storie per impare. I also randomly wrote sentences containing different forms of any new verbs I learned this week.

Speaking:
No speaking but I have made a couple of italki appointments. I found someone who specializes in preparing for exams who is also reasonably priced.

Listening:

podcats: total of 43 minutes
Mix of Un maestro in cucina and Chiamate Roma Triuno Triuno

film: total of 443 minutes
YouTube: Eredità 1 episode
MHz Choice: La piovra S1 E1-6

I watched an episode of Eredità where there was this grammar question and neither of the contestants were able to answer the question. I did know so those years of grammar have paid off.
verbo.jpg


Grammar/Vocabulary
edX mooc: nothing this week
memrise: review and added new words daily
clozemaster: did another 1000+ sentences or so

As far as the B2 exam, I'm leaning towards June 2019 but it will depend on my workload this winter.
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1 x
Super Challenge 2022-23:
DE: books: 0 / 2500 film: 1654 / 4500
IT: books: 3065 / 5000 film: 5031 / 9000
PT: books: 2921 / 5000 film: 5010 / 9000

Output Challenge 2023:
IT: write: 0 / 50000 record: 84 / 3000
PT: write: 0 / 50000 record: 0 / 3000

PT: Read 100 books: 28 / 100


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