Showing posts with label vocabolari. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vocabolari. Show all posts

Wednesday

A scuola | At school 01

Vocabolario della scuola, School vocabulary on Via Optimae, Click for more: http://www.viaoptimae.com/2014/11/a-scuola-at-school-01.html

How many of the above school-related vocabulary words do you recognize?  Try testing yourself first, then check out the English translations and useful phrases below. For example, do you know how to say "I passed my exam"?… 

Also, see if you can decipher the meaning of the quotes interspersed among the definitions below—

a scuola (at school)



NOUNS  |  NOMI

l'alfabeto
alphabet

l'aula
classroom

gli appunti
notes

il banco
student's desk

la calcolatrice
calculator

la campanella
school bell

la cattedra
teacher's desk

la classe
class*

Whereas in English we say "go to class" to refer to an individual session of class, Italian uses lesson or "lezione" <-Click to jump to example

la colla
glue

i compiti
homework

(in the singular "il compito"— homework assignment)
~
La differenza tra la scuola e la vita? A scuola, si insegna una lezione e poi si da un compito. Nella vita, si da un compito che vi insegna una lezione. (Tom Bodett)
~
l'esame
test

l'esercizio
exercise

il foglio di carta
sheet of paper

le forbici
scissors

il gessetto
chalk

la gomma
eraser

l'insegnante
teacher 
(both male & female)
~
La nostra insegnante parla sempre al suo amico immaginario chiamato classe. (Anonimo)
~
la lavagna
chalkboard

la lettura
reading

la lezione
lesson/lecture

il libro
book

la matematica
mathematics

la materia
subject

Quale materia ti piace di più?
Which subject do you like best?

La mia materia preferita è la storia.
My favorite subject is history.

la pagella
report card

il pastello
crayon

la penna
pen

il quaderno
notebook

il righello
ruler

la scrittura
writing

lo studente
student (male)

la studentessa
student (female)

lo zaino
backpack




VERBS  |  VERBI
imparare
to learn

insegnare
to teach


leggere
to read

scrivere
to write


studiare
to study


PHRASES  |  FRASI

andare a lezione (di)
to go to class


Vado a lezione di geometria.
I go/I am going to geometry class.

~

superare un esame - to pass a test, Via Optimae, http://www.viaoptimae.com/2014/11/a-scuola-at-school-01.html
to pass a test


Ho superato l'esame di matematica!
I passed the math test!


~


essere bocciato/a - to fail/flunk, Via Optimae, http://www.viaoptimae.com/2014/11/a-scuola-at-school-01.html
to fail, flunk


Sono stato bocciato all'esame di ieri. (male speaker)
Sono stata bocciata all'esame di ieri. (female speaker)
I failed yesterday's test.


~


essere bravo in
to be good at

Sono bravo in matematica. (male speaker)
Sono brava in matematica. (female speaker)
I am good at math.

~

essere scarso in
to be bad at

Sono scarso in ortografia. (male speaker)
Sono scarsa in ortografia. (female speaker)
I am bad at spelling.


There are a lot of words and phrases that could be added to this category… can you name a few?  Comment below!


Buono studio!
Alex on www.viaoptimae.com



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Friday

Coraggio e Paura | Courage and Fear

Il coraggio è fatto di paura - citazione da Oriana Fallaci, image of Alex at Palos Verdes by LeAnn for didattichiamo.blogspot


"Il coraggio è fatto di paura" (Courage is made of fear.) As somebody who interviewed top world leaders during the 60s, 70s and 80s, including Ayatollah Khomeini in 1979 & North Vietnamese General Vo Nguyen Giap during the Vietnam War, Italian journalist Oriana Fallaci, might know a thing or two about courage and fear.

The idea of courage and fear coexisting and even going hand in hand might not be a new one, but it has enjoyed more popularity lately thanks to the work of Dr. Brené Brown, who first came into the spotlight for her TEDx talk on vulnerability*, and her appearances on Oprah's Super Soul Sunday, and Lifeclass.  One of the central points of her research is the idea that vulnerability is not weakness, but rather being authentic and willing to stand up and be seen, and in order to be vulnerable, one must be courageous.  Being courageous does not require eliminating fear...the truly courageous still experience fear, but they know how to embrace it and use it to their advantage while staying true to their values.

{*Thanks to TED.com's subtitle feature, you can listen to your favorite TED talks in English while reading the translation in several languages.  It's a good way to see how different terms and expressions are worded in Italian, and can be a good way to recognize and memorize new vocabulary.  The Italian transcription & subtitles are available for Brené Brown's talk... give it a try! Just choose Italian from the dropdown menu labeled "42 languages [Off]" that appears when you scroll over the bottom portion of the video}

I wondered if the concept of courage was viewed the same between Italian and American/English culture, so I looked to dictionaries for clues.... 



coraggio: 1. Forza d’animo:
WordReference.com - Dizionario della Lingua Italiana © 2012 Le Monnier


courage: 1. the power or quality of dealing with or facing danger, fear, pain, etc
WordReference.com - Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers



I thought it was interesting that the Italian definition translated to "strength of spirit" while the English definition focused on some of the negative situations that might require courage.   I personally respond more to the Italian version, and wonder if defining it in more positive terms also helps one to embrace it more fully, with all its parts- bravery & fear, conviction & doubt, etc.

What do you think?  Che ne pensi?

Some of my favorite vocabulary from the transcription/translation of Brené Brown's talk:

il coraggio - courage
{comes from Latin "cor" for heart, which remains a common metaphor for inner strength} courtesy of etymonline.com

la paura - fear

la vulnerabilità - vulnerability

fare la sviolinata a qualcuno - to sweet talk somebody

la connessione - connection 

il senso di appartenenza - sense of belonging

la vergogna - shame

immedesimarsi - to empathize; put oneself in another's shoes, identify with

un senso di merito - a sense of worth

compassionevole - compassionate

l'autenticità - authenticity

un risveglio spirituale - a spiritual awakening

le balle - B.S. (bull-sh..)

abbastanza - enough

appassionatamente - passionately




Happy Studying!
-Alex

See also:

Frasi celebri su Via Optimae

Frasi celebri su Via Optimae
Acque del sud (To Have and Have Not) original: "You know how to whistle, don't you, Steve? You just put your lips together and… blow."