A Fish called Wanda, one of the brilliant commedies of the 1980s, has one of the funniest scenes I have ever seen in my life! Of course I’m talking about the scene in which Kevin Kline stirs Jamie Lee Curtis’s blood by speaking in Italian! Push the button and laugh with me!

After the jump, you can also watch the Italian version in which Kevin Kline speak Spanish! Enjoy!

Continue reading: A Fish called Wanda: do you speak Italian?

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English and Italian borrow words from each other, with Italian words in English generally of the culinary variety. After I was roundly criticised by one commenter for making fun of Italians and their use of the word ‘trendy’, we thought we’d take a closer look at how the two languages interact and indulge in a little Italian lesson.

Having a laugh in the office one day about the Italian words that English people use, the expression “al fresco” came up. We generally use this to mean dining or eating outside; be it on a terrace, in a garden or on a footpath, the important thing is that you’re in the open air.

Discovering this bizarre English expression borrowed from Italian created much hilarity among my colleagues. For the English out there, using this expression in your own country is fine - you can paint it all over the windows of your restaurant, if you like. Just don’t use it in Italy as it doesn’t really mean anything. Dining “all’aperto” is a much better expression, or if you know that the restaurant has this kind of facility, specify that you would like a table on the terrace, or in the garden.

Photo | Flickr

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In a long interview granted to Italian magazine Grazia, American actress Hilary Swank talked at length about her love for Italy and its language. The first time she visited the country , she was 16 and fell immediately in love with the country. And now that her ties with Italy have been somehow strengthen by her love for her fiancée John Campano whose parents were born here in Italy, she devotes her free time to learning Italian. She still makes a lot of mistakes but people in Italy , said the actress, are so kind that they pretend not to hear them!!

Fonte: settimanale Grazia

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A mime artist attacks a drunk guy with his juggling equipment in Heineken’s “Know the Signs” viral marketing campaign against excessive drinking. The mime artist is in Italy, and, in the funny viral commercial, the guy filming says “I’m going to put this on the internet as soon as I get home.” I have seen a drunken brawl in Italy once (the weapon of choice was a chair), but it wasn’t as funny as this, and certainly didn’t have the public awareness issue. For your Italian lessons, the closing lines are: “Che idiota, ragazzi”, or “what an idiot, guys”. For more on the Heineken campaign, check out Knowthesigns.com, but make sure you’re over 18.

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The Italian language is everywhere, especially in the world of cooking (where Italians believe that theirs is the best cuisine on earth), and with the new year come new dictionaries around the world. While some English words are adopted into the Italian language (try hearing “trendy” pronounced by Italians, for example), Italian words appear many times over in foreign language dictionaries.

The new Zanichelli German dictionary, for example, includes the traditional Italian vocab we’ve come to know, with words such as pizza, spaghetti, mozzarella, salame and mortadella. New Italian words for 2010, though, include rucola (rocket lettuce), gnocchi and bruschetta. Please remember that bruschetta is pronounced with a hard ‘c’ sound and not ’sh’.

Could it be that a simple Italian bread with tomatoes on the top is a rival to the fame of pizza? While some words were an obvious addition, including caffé and cappuccino, others were more left field. Like “latte macchiato” for example, which is actually known in the English speaking world as “caffé latte” (this should provide some confusion for coffee lovers in Italy). Others that were less obvious are “parmigiano” and the full term “aceto balsamico” or balsamic vinegar, which follow the new European Union DOP and IGT classification laws.

Photo | Flickr

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Every series of Italy’s Big Brother has at least one hysterical housemate. Here there are two, Veronica and Gabriele, who have apparently been doing nothing but arguing since they got in there, for the joy of Italian television viewers. For today’s lesson on the Italian language, and Italian swear words, you only need to watch the video. Which towards the end gets very trashy with our young, wannabe Italian show girl going off her brain when Gabriele says that you could buy her with just one “lira”.

Apparently she’s the classic hot chick with “only sawdust for brains” as one commenter says on Gossipblog. But then there are those who say she isn’t attractive at all (especially without make-up), and then….Oh the controversies! It’s tough going in the Big Brother household, and we’ll be bringing you more of this exciting action in the future.

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For the Italian language, or Italian English, we’ve already seen the creative and sparky side of the Romans come out with their “clients gentile” funny photo. Here we have another example, but for something far more serious - parking in Rome. While driving in Italy is bad enough, parking is even worse.

This sign is a true example of Italian genius - a work of art in how to get your point across, finally. The creator of the sign is a shop owner in Rome who was tired of people parking across his shop entrance in Trastevere. This picture has become famous, travelling the web and finishing in newspapers and on t-shirts.

The English part, you guys can happily read. For the Italian part the translation would go something like this:

For everyone else you have really pissed me off. Sunday open.

Only that the “pissed off” bit is far far more vulgar in Italian. We’ll explain another time, but for other examples of Italian swearing, see our introductory video. In the meantime Ivano has kept his sign, this time on the inside of his shop but is thinking of putting it up for auction. We get the feeling he may have more than one interested purchaser!

Ivano, owner and creator of Italy’s famous sign

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Far be it from me to criticise Italians for their English, this one comes from the locals themselves. I have been an English teacher in Italy and congratulate myself that none of my students would produce anything quite as creative as this (or perhaps just a few…). The photo forms part of a new series for our friends at 06blog.it, a blog dedicated to life in Rome.

This funny photo comes from a sign in a toilet of a restaurant in via della Pace, in the heart of one of Rome’s tourist districts. Our Italian colleagues are describing it as a “linguistic fantasy”, but one that we appreciate for amusing us.

Source | 06blog.it

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This is an oldie but a goodie: Monty Python Italian lessons. In hyperbolic style, Giuseppe answers all the questions in fluent Italian and translates, and there’s an interruption from a German getting the wrong class, before someone pulls out the guitar for the stereotypical serenade. If you’ve got any funny Italian videos, send them on!!

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Italian people are famous for the expressive way of communicating. Now, they will often combine the Italian gestures in this video with fast-paced, angry soliloquys, hysterical outbursts, sweet, ironic smiles or even as part of general conversation when relating anecdotes, in which the gestures are not necessarily aimed at the interlocutor. We recommend employing these at your own risk. In fact, we recommend first a keen observance of Italian behaviour and social etiquette, after which you may choose to be as conservative or risky as you please. Enjoy.

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