Lingua's 2019 Italian, Sicilian, Latin, German, Portuguese Log

[rdearman]

Thanks to rdearman I am another Cuore di Cioccolato convert.

Don't tell Brun Ugle, but he does an English version too. We'll wait until she is hooked on Italian before we let her know.

[aravinda]

...I have a list of the books I'm using for studying on page 15 of my old log. But from what I've done so far I'd recommend these two as they are organized logically by subject and start somewhat easy and get progressively harder since they work to C1.
GP. Grammatica pratica della lingua italiana by Marco Mezzadri
GP. Grammatica pratica della lingua italiana (esercizi supplementari) by Mezzadri and Pederzani...

These books certainly look better than most Italian grammar books I've seen.
This won't be of any use to you or IronMike but there's an English version of the grammar book. There's no English version of the Exercises book so far.
By the way, I'll be following your new log too.

[lingua]

aravinda, there are no explanations at all in the exercise book. It's just additional exercises related to the chapter topic that was explained in the other book which also has exercises.

Theoretically, I don't need explanations since I learned all of this in two years of school. In reality, I keep finding myself being reminded of various grammar points that I'd forgotten about in other books though not these two since I haven't gotten very far with them. I have a ton of grammar books so should have no problem finding what I need somewhere on my bookshelves.

[aravinda]

Sorry, my previous post wasn't clear. I just mentioned the fact that there's an English version for the benefit of any potentail beginner in Italian reading your log. That part wasn't intended for you or IronMike (again not a beginner if I recall correctly). Of course, reading your previous log, I was well aware that you are past the point of needing explanations in English.

[Tristano]

Since my goal this year is to pass the CILS Due (B2) Italian exam I decided to start with a fresh log.
Previous log: Lingua's old log

With the new year I will be continuing the double Super Challenge with more emphasis on reading. On top of that I've added the 365 Challenge and the Output Challenge to address consistency and to stress more writing and speaking/recording. Last, I'll continue to work on my grammar and increase my vocabulary.

I finished book #14. Lo chef in tasca: ricetta per l'estate by Max Mariola. I've never heard of the guy but evidently he is/was a TV chef on Rai and Sky. Tasca means pocket and the title refers to the size of the book being so small it will fit in your pocket. It's part recipe book and part "scene setting" as it's broken up into meal plans for the beach, camping, patio, mountain, city, etc. He likes to set up the scene prior to providing the menu (which usually consisted of three dishes). Each recipe consists of instructions, variations, hints on buying the best quality of a given ingredient and so forth. It was an easy read and being in my favorite subject there were very few unknown words. Some of the recipes actually sounded good and I might even make them but others sounded disgusting. And there are no photos at all which is a big negative for me as I like to see what the finished dish will look like. I'd give it about 2.5 stars out of 5 as I found all of the scene setting to be too flowery and borderline silly.

I am now up to 14 actual books and 45 SC books. At the current rate I might barely make the 100 books for the SC but given my double goal I need to read more and faster.

lochefintasca.jpg

Per favore, sono troppo curioso di sapere quali ricette suonano disgustose! Qualche esempio?

[IronMike]

Sorry, my previous post wasn't clear. I just mentioned the fact that there's an English version for the benefit of any potentail beginner in Italian reading your log. That part wasn't intended for you or IronMike (again not a beginner if I recall correctly). Of course, reading your previous log, I was well aware that you are past the point of needing explanations in English.

No, no, I'm a complete beginner at Italian so I greatly appreciate the link to the English version you sent. Grazie!

[lingua]

Some of the recipes actually sounded good and I might even make them but others sounded disgusting.

Per favore, sono troppo curioso di sapere quali ricette suonano disgustose! Qualche esempio?

mi dispiace

a couple of examples:
piccione ripieno di salsiccia e fegatini
zuppa di granchi e pane carasau

Pigeons don't appeal to me and I despise liver in any form regardless of which animal it came from or how it's prepared. The description of the second sounded like it would be a soggy mess.

[Tristano]

Lol! My mouth is watering though. Pidgeon is nice, I had pasta with pidgeon ragu in Tuscany, I thoroughly enjoyed.

[lingua]

Book #18. Scacco alla torre by Marco Malvaldi. Malvaldi wanted people to know that Pisa is more than the tower so he wrote this little book. He covered a bit of everything including but not limited to the University, sports (rowing and calcio), restaurant and bar recommendations, a goth church and a few historical people such as Fibonacci, Carduci and Galilei. The tone of the writing was on the conversational side.

scaccoallatorre.jpg

18 actual books = 56 SC books

[lingua]

Reading:
GP. Grammatica pratica della lingua italiana by Marco Mezzadri <-- 8%
GP. Grammatica pratica della lingua italiana (esercizi supplementari) by Mezzadri and Pederzani <-- 8%
BarLume: La battaglia navale by Marco Malvaldi <-- 63%
Ciao by Nicola De Blasi <-- 6%

Writing:
No writing this past week outside of grammar exercises.

Talking/Recording:
One 60 minute session which went really well. I felt like it was the best I've spoken in quite a long time. Unfortunately, no recording this week since I prefer to do it on the one day I'm assured of being home alone but I had appointments myself so it didn't happen. Two hours next time.

Listening:
film: total of 139 minutes
YouTube: Cuore di Cioccolato: birra alle patate, vino di fragole; Cuochi e Fiamme (ep sep21, 2011); cosa vendono nei supermercati americani? walmart tour; i cibi più assurdi nei supermercati inglesi, fare la spesa in american; spesa al supermercato americano: costco

While watching Cuore di Cioccalato I saw cosa vendono nei supermercati americani? walmart tour show up on the sidebar and watched it. That lead to three other similar videos. They were 12-17 minutes each. Some of the Italian commentators made fun of the fake Italian products sold in the US. They also commented a lot on the hugeness of our grocery stores and super sizes of product. It was mildly entertaining though after the fourth one I lost interest.

Grammar/Vocabulary
memrise: review and added new words off and on
clozemaster: did another 200 sentences (approximately)

I did a small amount of grammar but not nearly enough to meet my goals. I am one of those that likes grammar but I have to be in the right mood for it and wasn't this week.

365 Challenge: I'm averaging about 96 minutes a day from last Sunday through yesterday and have no missed days. Definitely a slip in time this week because I had things that needed to be done.

Book #19. Bravo! by Giuseppe Patota. This was a short book on the etymology of the word bravo and how it changed from a negative meaning (savage, cruel, rash, arrogant, etc) to a positive meaning (good, capable, honest, etc). Also touched on how it became used after a good performance. The author is/was a linguistic professor so this is heavily annotated. I enjoy this type of subject but wouldn't recommend it unless it's also your interest. You might find it a bit dry.

bravo.png