Heritage Language: Italian

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Fun Facts & Finds

University of Toronto

Finding great publications to suit your interests in learning more about Italian is easy with such vast selections that can be found in the University of Toronto library system. The North American Review is a journal that focuses on language and literature. There is a fascinating and passage titled "History of the Italian Language and Dialects" written by Leonardo Nardini and Serafino Buonaiuti. Not only does it include passages of the phenomenal literature written by writers such as Ciullo d'Alcamo, Dante, and Brunetto Latini, but the publication is insightful and satisfying to read.

Crosswords

Another entertaining resource for both speakers and non-speakers of Italian is Crossword Italian written by Marcel Danesi. This workbook was aimed particularly towards individuals with an interest in learning the Italian language at a basic level, but there is no doubt that many current Italian speakers would also enjoy the content. The beauty of it is that the learning process is made fun and enjoyable, and it even includes crosswords on typical conversations with a thematic basis. This is a publication that would benefit and give insight to anyone in the process of simple entertainment.

Italica

Italica is a journal made up of scholarly articles predominantly regarding Italian language and culture. Published by the American Association of Teachers of Italian, this journal includes a very interesting article titled, ""Body Language" in Italian," by Aristide B. Masella and I. A. Portner. What is particularly interesting about the passage is the way in which the article is divided based on the body part most used by Italian speakers. This may not be directly regarding the spoken language, but the passage is sure to include numerous references to basic Italian words, and is quite fun to read and relate to. Italian culture is greatly represented through the use of body language, and this article allows both speakers and non-speakers to understand concepts of body language that are particular to Italian culture.
Another featured article in Italica titled "The Languages of Italian Canadian" by Jana Vizmuller-Zocco breaks down the evolution of Italian language as Italian and English roots cross. Despite encountering some difficulties in her research, as statistical data does not specify Italian speakers in Canada based on dialects, she was able to narrow down two distinct features of Italian Canadians in language contact. The result is the evolution of Italian language, which is occurring every day and developing more as time passes. Speakers of Italian may be able to closely relate to this passage, as the cross between English and Italian is inevitable whilst living in Canada.

Learning the Language

Finally, for those interested in learning to speak Italian on a basic conversationalist level, there is a book titled "Street Italian 1: The best of Italian slang" by David Burke. This book may be a great help to those who are not interested in a formal introduction to the language, but desire a background in loosely communicating with others in Italian. The book is not only funny, but also interesting to read and learn from. It includes a review exam of each chapter, word games, crosswords and word search puzzles that will make learning the language easy and enjoyable. Instructions on sentence structure and other important speech components are emphasized in order to ensure that one learns to speak Italian with proficiency.
You may want to also take note on the abundance of Italian thesauruses and dictionaries (with English translations) available in the city. One that may stand out is titled "Streetwise Italian Dictionary/Thesaurus : the user friendly guide to Italian slang and idioms". Such simple and easy-to-reach resources can help your understanding of Italian develop, whether or not you already know how to speak the language. There is always something new to learn, and a simple dictionary or thesaurus may expose you to a new realm of the Italian language.