Heather Broster
We are all well aware that English is abound with words of Italian origin but did you know that Italian regularly borrows from English as well? Italian has a long history of incorporating foreign words into its vocabulary but it is only in recent years that the amount of English vocabulary entering Italian has exploded. …
Chissà is an interesting word in Italian because it is an abbreviation of chi lo sa (literally, who knows it). The accent on the à tells you that the stress falls on the final syllable. When used on its own in response to a question, its closest translation is Who knows! or Goodness knows! in …
An island – or isola (feminine, plural: isole) in Italian – can be formed in three different ways. The first is when continental plates (placche continentali) collide and push land up above the ocean’s surface. The second is when underwater volcanoes (vulcani sottomarini) continuously erupt in one area, causing land to form. The third is through …
Conoscenza, or knowledge in English, is an understanding of facts, information, descriptions, and/or skills which is acquired through experience (esperienza) or education (apprendimento). Conoscenza is a feminine noun and takes the following articles: la conoscenzauna conoscenza le conoscenzedelle conoscenze Ho una buona conoscenza della lingua italiana. I have good knowledge of the Italian language. Conoscenza …
You may already be familiar with the word forte, as it is the term we use in English for a thing at which someone excels (in other words, someone’s strong suit). Although this meaning exists in Italian as well, the primary meaning of forte (plural: forti) is strong. Carlo è forte ma se la tira …
One of the most majestic and well-loved animals in the world is the horse or cavallo (masculine, plural: cavalli) in Italian. Il mio animale preferito è il cavallo. My favourite animal is the horse. A male horse is called a stallone (stallion) whereas a female horse can be called either a cavalla or giumenta (mare). …