Picking Up Italian

My sister and I have decided to learn Italian together. Well, more like she decided to learn Italian and I decided to study the language as well.

As is my way, I immediately started gathering sources. Obviously Live Mocha and Pimsleur are on my plate. I’ll be referencing a bilingual dictionary (either the DK version or Firefly) and getting a grammar book in addition to that. I might just buy the Italian/English version of the DK dictionary as it is much more affordable and will enable me to get a few other books at the same time. Italian Verb Drills is definitely on my list of items to purchase as one of my weaknesses with languages is the memorization of verbs. The Big Green Book of Italian Verbs is also on my amazon wishlist, I love the fact that the various color books are filled with fully conjugated verbs (I have the Spanish and French books, without the cd-rom).

Lastly, I’m adding a bunch of Italian blogs (mostly found on Expat Blog) to my blog roll. Nein, your eyes are not deceiving you, there is no blog roll tab in this section. You’ll need to click back to Over the Moon and Sun and then click blog roll. One day I’ll get back to updating the functionality of my blog but until then, I’m very sorry, you’ll have to take the long way around.

This Week’s Lists

Monday

1. pulp : die weiße Haut
2. tangerine : die Mandarine
3. lime : die Limone
4. lemon : die Zitrone
5. kumquat : die Kumquat

Tuesday

1. peach : der Pfirsich
2. nectarine : die Nektarine
3. cherry : die Kirsche
4. plum : die Pflaume
5. apricot : die Aprikose

Wednesday

1. pear : die Birne
2. apple : der Apfel
3. strawberry : die Erdbeere
4. raspberry : die Himbeere
5. blackberry : die Brombeere

Thursday

1. cranberry : die Preiselbeere
2. blueberry : die Heidelbeere
3. watermelon : die Wassermelone
4. grapes : die Weintrauben
5. avocado : die Avocado

Friday

1. kiwi : die Kiwi
2. pineapple : die Ananas
3. papaya : die Papaya
4. pomegranate : der Granatapfel
5. banana : die Banane

Confession

I have a confession. I have been majorly slacking with German. I speak English to my kids most of the time with sprinkles of German thrown in. I noticed this awhile ago and attempted to pick back up with German. However, I also added three languages to the mix and when it all got to be too overwhelming I dropped all additional languages and concentrated on life.

This isn’t how to raise multilingual children. So I’ve decided to take action and make a plan.

I’ll start with meal times. From this point (actually, this morning) on, I’m going to speak only German to my kids. As Fin is learning to read, I’ll teach him a few German words as well.

Monday

1. vegetables : das Gemüse
2. green bean : die grüne Bohne
3. pea : die grüne Erbse
4. corn : der Mais
5. okra : die Okra

Tuesday

1. celery : der Stangensellerie
2. leaf : das Blatt
3. stalk : der Strunk
4. kernel : der Kern
5. spinach : der Spinat

Wednesday

1. lettuce : der Salat
2. broccoli : der Brokkoli
3. cabbage : der Kohl
4. artichoke : die Artischocke
5. cauliflower : der Blumenkohl

Thursday

1. potato : die Kartoffel
2. onion : die Zwiebel
3. squash : der Gartenkürbis
4. turnip : die Rübe
5. radish : das Radieschen

Friday

1. sweet potato : die Süßkartoffel
2. yam : die Jamswurzel
3. eggplant : die Aubergine
4. tomato : die Tomate
5. garlic : der Knoblauch

Friday

1. mushroom : der Pilz
2. cucumber : die Gurke
3. pumpkin : der Kürbis
4. fruit : das Obst
5. orange : die Orange

Lesson 12 : Spanish

1. grocery cart : el carrito
2. groceries : la compra
3. hand basket : la canasta
4. handle : el asa
5. cash register : la caja
6. shopping bag : la bolsa
7. bar code : el código de barras
8. scanner : el escáner
9. bakery : la panadería
10. dairy : los lácteos

Lesson 11 : Spanish

1. home furnishings : el mobiliario para el hogar
2. notions : la merceria
3. lighting : la iluminación
4. groceries : los abarrotes
5. supermarket : el supermercado
6. aisle : el pasillo
7. shelf : el estante
8. checkout counter : la banda transportadora
9. cashier : el cajero
10. checkout : la caja

Lesson 10 : Spanish

1. lingerie : la lencería
2. perfumes : la perfumería
3. cosmetics : los cosméticos
4. linens : los blancos
5. kitchenware : los artículos de cocina
6. sportswear : los artículos deportivos
7. toys : la jugueteria
8. china : las vajillas
9. electronics : los aparatos eléctricos
10. stationary : la papelería

Lesson 9 : Spanish

1. customer service : el servicio al cliente
2. bathroom : los baños
3. fitting rooms : los probadores
4. baby changing room : el cuarto para cambiar a los bebés
5. store directory : el directorio
6. shoe department : el departamento de zapatería
7. children’s department : el departamento de niños
8. department store : las tiendas departamentales
9. menswear : la ropa de caballero
10. womenswear : la ropa de dama

Lesson 8 : Spanish

1. shopping : las compras
2. shopping mall : el centro comercial
3. sign : el letrero
4. elevator : el elevador
5. third floor : el segundo piso
6. second floor : el primer piso
7. ground floor : la planta baja
8. escalator : la escalera eléctica
9. customer : el cliente
10. sales clerk : el vendedor

Lesson 7 : Spanish

1. left : a la izquierda
2. near : cerca
3. next to : al lado de…
4. on the corner : en la esquina
5. right : a la derecha
6. opposite… : frente a…
7. straight ahead : todo derecho
8. this weekend : este fin de semana
9. Really? : ¿De veras?
10. Listen! : ¡Escucha!

Lesson 6 : Spanish

1. a receipt : un recibo
2. my change : mi cambio
3. my money back : que me devuelva el dinero
4. I have already paid for this. : Ya pagué ésto.
5. There’s a mistake in the bill. : Hay un error en la cuenta.
6. I don’t want to pay the full price. : No quiero pagar el precio total.
7. behind : detrás de…
8. three blocks from here : a tres cuadras
9. far away : lejos
10. in front of : en frente de