Dialogue

Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
Marco: Hello, and welcome to the Beginner Series S2 at ItalianPOD101.com, where we study modern Italian in a fun, educational format!
Cinzia: So, brush up on the Italian that you started learning long ago, or start learning today.
Marco: Thanks for being here with us for this lesson. Cinzia, what are we looking at in this lesson.
Marco: In this lesson we will learn about masculine Italians nouns ending in -a
Cinzia: This conversation takes place at a wedding party
Marco: And it's between Peter and Luca
Cinzia: They are friends, therefore they will be speaking informally
Marco: Basic and Premium members....
Cinzia: if you have a 3G phone...
Marco: you can see the Lesson Notes in your favorite browser on your phone!
Cinzia: Stop by ItalianPOD101.com to find out more.
Marco: Let's listen to the conversation.
DIALOGUE
Peter: Non ho mai bevuto il Barbera, è buono?
Luca: Sì è molto buono. Specialmente il Barbera d’Asti.
Peter: Hai ragione, ha un aroma molto forte.
Luca: Prendiamo qualcosa da mangiare.
Peter: C’è anche il gorgonzola! Buono!
Luca: Sei un buongustaio.
English Host: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly.
Peter: Non ho mai bevuto il Barbera, è buono?
Luca: Sì è molto buono. Specialmente il Barbera d’Asti.
Peter: Hai ragione, ha un aroma molto forte.
Luca: Prendiamo qualcosa da mangiare.
Peter: C’è anche il gorgonzola! Buono!
Luca: Sei un buongustaio.
English Host: Now let’s hear it with the English translation.
Peter: Non ho mai bevuto il Barbera, è buono?
Marco: I’ve never drunk Barbera wine. Is it good?
Luca: Sì è molto buono. Specialmente il Barbera d’Asti.
Marco: Yes, it’s very good; especially Barbera d’Asti.
Peter: Hai ragione, ha un aroma molto forte.
Marco: You are right. It has a very strong aroma.
Luca: Prendiamo qualcosa da mangiare.
Marco: Let’s get something to eat.
Peter: C’è anche il gorgonzola! Buono!
Marco: There’s also gorgonzola cheese! Yummy!
Luca: Sei un buongustaio.
Marco: You’re a gourmet.
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
Cinzia: Barbera wine is very good.
Marco: Oh, yes it is. Its name derives from the name of the wine grapes from which it is produced.
Cinzia: And its major production center is near the city of Asti in Piedmont.
Marco: It’s quite near to Turin if you have a chance to visit the city!
VOCAB LIST
Marco: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson.
The first word we shall see is:
Cinzia: bere [natural native speed]
Marco: to drink
Cinzia: bere [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Cinzia: bere [natural native speed]
: Next:
Cinzia: barbera [natural native speed]
Marco: Barbera wine
Cinzia: barbera [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Cinzia: barbera [natural native speed]
: Next:
Cinzia: specialmente [natural native speed]
Marco: especially, notably, particularly
Cinzia: specialmente [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Cinzia: specialmente [natural native speed]
: Next:
Cinzia: aroma [natural native speed]
Marco: aroma, flavoring
Cinzia: aroma [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Cinzia: aroma [natural native speed]
: Next:
Cinzia: gorgonzola [natural native speed]
Marco: Gorgonzola
Cinzia: gorgonzola [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Cinzia: gorgonzola [natural native speed]
: Next:
Cinzia: buongustaio [natural native speed]
Marco: gourmet, foodie
Cinzia: buongustaio [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Cinzia: buongustaio [natural native speed]
VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE
Marco: Let's have a closer look at the usuage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson.
Cinzia: The first word we will look at is
bere
Marco: And the sample sentence is?
Cinzia: Bevo sempre un caffè dopo pranzo.
Marco: “I always drink coffee after lunch.”
Cinzia: The next word/expression we will look at is
barbera
Marco: And the sample sentence is?
Cinzia: Mi piace molto il barbera.
Marco: “I really like Barbera wine.”
Cinzia: The next word/expression we will look at is
specialmente
Marco: And the sample sentence is?
Cinzia: Specialmente di notte sono nervoso.
Marco: “I’m especially nervous at night.”
Cinzia: The next word/expression we will look at is
aroma
Marco: And the sample sentence is?
Cinzia: Il caffè appena macinato ha un buon aroma.
Marco: “Freshly ground coffee has a good aroma.”
Cinzia: The next word/expression we will look at is
gorgonzola
Marco: And the sample sentence is?
Cinzia: Il gorgonzola è un po’ piccante.
Marco: “Gorgonzola cheese is a little spicy.”
Cinzia: Today's last word/expression is
buongustaio
Marco: And the sample sentence is?
Cinzia: Luca è un buongustaio.
Marco: “Luca is a gourmet.”

Lesson focus

Marco: A certain number of singular masculine Italian nouns end with the vowel -a
Cinzia: Let us not forget that we normally associate the ending -a with feminine singular nouns.
Marco: These nouns may be divided into four categories according to the historical development within the Italian language.
Cinzia: First Category
Marco: Various Italian names, the majority of which come from ancient Greek words, have mostly kept their gender and form.
Cinzia: The plural form of these nouns still end with -i.
Marco: For example
Cinzia: Il poeta scrisse una profonda poesia. poeta (masculine singular)
Marco: "The poet wrote a profound poem."
Cinzia: I poeti civili sono sempre stati parte d'ogni cultura. poeti (masculine plural)
Marco: "Civil poets have always been part of every culture."
Marco: As shown in these sample sentences, articles and adjectives agree with the gender and number of the nouns we attach them to.
Cinzia: And now for a learner's Tip. Many of these nouns end with -ma, -gramma, or -arca.
Marco: We shall now give you some of the most widely used nouns belonging to this category. Please check the PDF as there is a rather long list of these tricky nouns.
Cinzia: I will give you the Italian singular form.
Marco: While I will give you the English singular form.
Cinzia: aldilà
Marco: "afterlife"
Cinzia: arciduca
Marco: "archduke"
Cinzia: aròma
Marco: "aroma, fragrance"
Cinzia: barbera
Marco: "kind of Italian wine"
Cinzia: bòa
Marco: "boa"
Cinzia: bòia
Marco: "executioner"
Cinzia: càccia
Marco: "fighter"
Cinzia: capolinea
Marco: "Terminus, end of the line"
Cinzia: cìnema
Marco: "cinema"
Cinzia: clima
Marco: "climate"
Cinzia: diplòma
Marco: "degree"
Cinzia: dogma
Marco: "dogma"
Cinzia: enigma
Marco: "enigma"
Cinzia: entroterra
Marco: "inland"
Cinzia: fantasma
Marco: "phantom"
Cinzia: gorgonzola
Marco: "kind if Italian soft cheese"
Cinzia: gorilla
Marco: "gorilla"
Cinzia: guardaroba
Marco: "closet"
Cinzia: idiòma
Marco: "idiom"
Cinzia: monarca
Marco: "monarch"
Cinzia: panorama
Marco: "view"
Cinzia: papà
Marco: "dad"
Cinzia: pàpa
Marco: "pope"
Cinzia: parabrezza
Marco: "windshield"
Cinzia: pianéta
Marco: "planet"
Cinzia: pilòta
Marco: "pilot"
Cinzia: retroterra
Marco: "hinterland"
Cinzia: schema
Marco: "scheme, pattern"
Cinzia: scioglilingua
Marco: "tongue twister"
Cinzia: sistèma
Marco: "system"
Cinzia: sòsia
Marco: "double"
Cinzia: telegramma
Marco: "telegram"
Cinzia: tèma
Marco: "theme"
Cinzia: tràuma
Marco: "trauma"
Cinzia: valpolicella
Marco: "kind of wine"

Outro

Marco: That just about does it for today.
Marco: Before we go, we want to tell you about a way to drastically improve your pronunciation.
Cinzia: The voice recording tool...
Marco: Yes, the voice recording tool in the premium learning center...
Cinzia: Record your voice with a click of a button,
Marco: and then play it back just as easily.
Cinzia: So you record your voice, and then listen to it.
Marco: Compare it to the native speakers...
Cinzia: And adjust your pronunciation!
Marco: This will help you improve your pronunciation fast!
Marco: Ciao
Cinzia: A presto!

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