My Family
La famiglia To practice vocabulary and pronunciation, use Quizlet. Pay particular attention to the hard sound –GLI (famiglia, figlio, figlia, moglie)
Note: a) The Italian word parenti is a ‘false friend’: it doesn’t mean parents but relatives. b) In Italian there are no separate words for grandchildren, nieces and nephews, they all are called nipote (sing.) and nipoti (pl.). c) Italian doesn’t have a specific word for stepfather and stepmother, but it uses phrases like la moglie di mio padre (‘my father’s wife’), il marito di mia madre (‘my mother’s husband’), il figlio di mio padre (‘my father’s son’), and so on. d.) Essere figlio unico is the equivalent of to be an only child: Martino non ha fratelli o sorelle, è figlio unico (Martino does not have brothers or sisters, he is an only child).Cultural Notes
- The words papà and babbo both mean dad/daddy. Babbo is used in Tuscany and in a few more Central areas while papà elsewhere. Tuscan sons and daughters would never use papà, it just doesn’t sound good to their ears! A Northern or Southern Italian would never use babbo for the same reason. Be very careful when you go down South with the word “babbo” as in many dialects it means “stupid.” However everyone in Italy calls Santa Claus Babbo Natale.
- The word suocera is often used in Italian to indicate someone (male and female) bossy, annoying, nagging. Che suocera! (What authoritarian, shrewd, petulant person!), Non fare la suocera (Do not act as an authoritarian, shrewd, petulant person) are common Italian expressions. Why? Famous is the Italian drama between wives and their mothers-in-law. Recent research studies have indicated that three out of 10 marriages fail because of the unusually close attachment of Italian men to their mothers. Wives feel like strangers in their own homes because the mother-in-law is always there. Actually even the majority of Italian husbands have the same problem whit their mothers-in-law.
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Tasks
- Following Giulia’s presentation as a model, introduce your family.
- Answer the following questions: Chi è il marito di Maria? – Chi sono i nipoti di Giulio? – Chi è la suocera di Alfredo? Ask your friend similar questions and use Speech to text to check your pronunciation.
- Talk about a member of your family: name, age, how he/she looks like, what he/she likes to do, etc. Use Speech to text to check your pronunciation.
- Write three sentences about your family (use the Dictionary if you need it) and use Spell and grammar checker to check if there are mistakes in your text.
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Practice
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