THE DAY OF LANGUAGES!!!

This 7th of May, 2024, we use our own language again!

Please submit me some language facts for me to share on this day <3

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Ask Game for us Self-proclaimed BOOK WORMS 📖🐛

just saw a video and I think there's a cultural difference and I wanna know what you think:

so in the video they showed ski lifts (where you sit on the benches) and most of the people didn't put down the safety bar. and in the comments of this video most people said that you only need it when you're 10 years or younger.

and I'm over here??? in Germany and Austria everyone closes the safety bar because it's dangerous otherwise?? imagine falling off the lift because you didn't use the bar. I am truly flabberghasted

so tell me if you ski: how is it where you are?

We ask your questions so you don’t have to! Submit your questions to have them posted anonymously as polls.

General question to reblog and tell me in the tags;

You go into a used bookstore - what are the two sections you head to first?

Fabrizio De André || Un chimico || Italian lyrics + English translation

Solo la morte m'ha portato in collina, Only death could take me up on the hill, Un corpo fra i tanti a dar fosforo all'aria A body among many giving phosphorus to the atmosphere Per bivacchi di fuochi che dicono fatui For bivouac fires known as will-o’-the-wisps, Che non lasciano cenere, non sciolgon la brina That don’t leave ashes and don’t melt the frost Solo la morte m'ha portato in collina Only death could take me up on the hill

Da chimico, un giorno, avevo il potere As a chemist, I once had the power Di sposar gli elementi e farli reagire To marry the elements and make them react Ma gli uomini mai mi riuscì di capire As for people, however, I was never able to understand Perché si combinassero attraverso l'amore Why they combined through love Affidando ad un gioco la gioia e il dolore Leaving joy and pain at the mercy of a game

Guardate il sorriso, guardate il colore Look at the smile, look at that blush Come giocan sul viso di chi cerca l'amore How they play on the face of those looking for love Ma lo stesso sorriso, lo stesso colore But the very same smile, the very same blush, Dove sono sul viso di chi ha avuto l'amore? Where are they on the face of those who’ve had their love? Dove sono sul viso di chi ha avuto l'amore? Where are they on the face of those who’ve had their love?

È strano andarsene senza soffrire, It’s strange to leave without suffering, Senza un volto di donna da dover ricordare Without a woman’s face you have to remember Ma è forse diverso il vostro morire But is your way of dying really all that different? Voi che uscite all'amore, che cedete all'aprile? You, who open yourself to love, who give in to springtime? Cosa c'è di diverso nel vostro morire? What’s so different about your way of dying?

Primavera non bussa, lei entra sicura Spring doesn’t knock, she confidently gets in Come il fumo lei penetra in ogni fessura Just like smoke, she finds her way into every crack Ha le labbra di carne, i capelli di grano Her lips are made of flesh, her hair is corn Che paura, che voglia che ti prenda per mano How you fear, how you wish she’d take you by the hand Che paura, che voglia che ti porti lontano How you fear, how you wish she’d take you far away

Ma guardate l'idrogeno tacere nel mare But see how hydrogen lies quietly in the sea Guardate l'ossigeno al suo fianco dormire See how oxygen sleeps next to it Soltanto una legge che io riesco a capire Only a law that I can understand Ha potuto sposarli senza farli scoppiare Could marry them without having them explode Soltanto la legge che io riesco a capire Only the law that I can understand

Fui chimico e, no, non mi volli sposare I was a chemist, and yes, I refused to get married Non sapevo con chi e chi avrei generato I didn’t know whom I’d marry, nor whom I’d father Son morto in un esperimento sbagliato I died in a failed experiment Proprio come gli idioti che muoion d'amore Just like those idiots who die of love E qualcuno dirà che c'è un modo migliore And someone might say there’s a better way 

Lucio Dalla || La sera dei miracoli || Italian lyrics + English translation

È la sera dei miracoli, fai attenzione It’s an evening of miracles, watch out Qualcuno nei vicoli di Roma In the alleys of Rome, someone Con la bocca fa a pezzi una canzone Is tearing a song apart with their mouth È la sera dei cani che parlano tra di loro It’s an evening of dogs talking to each other Della luna che sta per cadere Of the moon that’s about to fall E la gente corre nelle piazze per andare a vedere And people rush to the squares to go and have a look

Questa sera così dolce che si potrebbe bere This evening so sweet that you might as well drink it Da passare in centomila in uno stadio To spend in a stadium filled with hundreds of thousands Una sera così strana e profonda che lo dice anche la radio An evening so strange and so deep that even the radio says so Anzi, la manda in onda Or rather broadcasts it Tanto nera da sporcare le lenzuola So black that it soils the sheets È l'ora dei miracoli che mi confonde It’s an hour of miracles that confuses me Mi sembra di sentire il rumore di una nave sulle onde I think I can hear the sound of a ship over the waves

Si muove la città The city is stirring Con le piazze e i giardini e la gente nei bar With its squares and its gardens, and the people in the bars Galleggia e se ne va It floats and leaves Anche senza corrente camminerà Even without current, it’ll still sail on Ma questa sera vola But this evening is flying Le sue vele sulle case sono mille lenzuola Its sails on the houses are a thousand sheets

Ci sono anche i delinquenti There are also criminals Non bisogna avere paura ma stare un poco attenti No need to fear, just be a little careful A due a due gli innamorati Lovers, two by two, Sciolgono le vele come i pirati Set sail like pirates do E in mezzo a questo mare And in the middle of this sea Cercherò di scoprire quale stella sei I’ll try and find out which star you are Perché mi perderei Because I’d get lost Se dovessi capire che stanotte non ci sei Should I ever work out that tonight you aren’t here

È la notte dei miracoli, fai attenzione It’s a night of miracles, watch out Qualcuno nei vicoli di Roma In the alleys of Rome, someone Ha scritto una canzone Has written a song Lontano una luce diventa sempre più grande Far away, a light grows bigger and bigger Nella notte che sta per finire In the night that is about to end È la nave che fa ritorno It’s the ship on its way back Per portarci a dormire To take us to sleep

your life is not meaningless, you just haven't seen the sea in a while

put a film in my ask

never seen | want to see | terrible | boring | okay | good | great | a favorite

Alternative uses of “ma” in Italian

You’ve been (correctly) taught that ma in Italian roughly means but – an adversative conjunction, expressing contrast or opposition between to statements. However, you’ve also been puzzled by expressions like “Ma tu pensa!” or “Ma che bello!” – what exactly is the “ma” doing there?

Sometimes, when at the beginning of a sentence, ma really serves as a subject-changer, or as an intensifier for exclamations, both affirmative and negative in nature:

Ma is also often found before the che + adjective (+ noun) construct (as in “che bello!”, meaning “How wonderful!”, or “che bella giornata”, meaning “what a wonderful day!”). Once again, it acts as an intensifier:

Also useful to remember – ma can have an ironic/disbelieving shade to it. A lot depends on context, so you’ll have to train your ear to that:

The last example is the trickiest one. ”Figurarsi” literally means “to imagine”. “Figurati!” – ”(You) imagine!” – is a common answer to “Thank you!”, roughly expressing this sentiment: imagine thinking you have to thank me, after I did so little for you! No need for that. Now, add a “ma” to that and it can either 1) intensify that sentiment, or 2) in other contexts, express utter disbelief at what the other person just said. A fitting example:

Another interesting expression with ma whose meaning can change quite a bit depending on context is “ma va’ ” (“va’ “ is the 2nd person singual imperative form of “andare”, lit. “to go”).

Ma dai is used in similar fashion.

Italian expressions with “mai”