Software of the Month Club 1996 May

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*Italian Y6 A37 B37 C20 Y6 A37 B37 C20 Y9 A42 B44 C20 *Italian Y10 A42 B43 C20 Y5 A36 B36 C20 #A "ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZAAAAAAAEEEEEIIIIOOOOOUUUUUNNCC" "abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzÄÅâäàåáéêëèÉïîìíôöòÖóüûùÜúñÑÇç" "BCDFGHJKLMNPQRSTVWXYZbcdfghjklmnpqrstvwxyzñÑÇç" "AEIOUaeiouÄÅâäàåáéêëèÉïîìíôöòÖóüûùÜú" [USERTEXT] ▄▄ █ ITALIAN Copyright(C) 1996 Erik Zidowecki ██ Shareware. Donations welcome for ▐ ███ ▄ this and future modules. ▐ ░░ ████ ▐█▌ ▄▄ ▐ ░░ █░░██ ▄█▄ ▄▄▄▄▄▄▄▄ ▐▌ ░░ █░░██ ▌█▐ ▄ ▄▄▄█▄▄▄▄███▄███████████████ ≡≡ █████ ▄███▄ ▄█▄██████████████████████████████ __≡≡≡█░░██ ▐■ ■▌▄██████████████▐█▄▄███▄▄███▄▄███▄▄██ __▓▓_≡≡≡≡█ ▐▀█▀▌ \▌████████████▐█░░███░░███░░███░░██ __▓▓_█████ ▐ █ ▌ ▌██▓ ▓█████▓▐█░░███░░███░░███░░██ __▓▓_█▓▓██ ▀~~~~~▀ ▌████████████▐████████████████████ __▓▓_█▓▓██ (└) ▌███░░██████▌▐█░░███░░███░░███░░██ __▓▓_█████ ▓ █████████████▐█░░███░░███░░███░░██ _____▀▀▀▀▀ ▀~~~~~▀ ██▀▀▀▀██████▐██████████▓▓▓▓██████ _____█████ ███ ██▄▄▄▄██████▐█ ██░░███ ███░ ██ __██▄█ ██ ███ ████ █████▐█ ████████████████ ▀▀▌ _█ ▓▓▓Use this module as a guide to making your▓ ██▌ ▓▓▓▓▓own and as an intro to the Italian Language▓ $ 1 1 53 18 15 1 1 17 53 18 15 6 12 3 18 16 7 1 1 1 5 18 0 6 6 1 10 17 8 1 14 12 16 12 8 7 14 8 16 8 15 7 13 11 17 16 8 7 20 8 32 13 6 0 21 14 32 16 6 0 24 10 25 10 6 7 24 14 25 15 6 7 20 13 37 13 7 6 33 6 53 16 14 1 33 8 53 16 14 0 18 6 32 8 12 1 33 4 53 7 12 1 30 5 37 6 7 1 31 5 36 5 6 1 31 6 36 6 7 6 35 6 36 6 12 1 20 9 20 12 6 7 1 17 3 18 15 6 3 16 5 16 15 6 3 17 4 18 15 0 1 7 5 8 7 6 6 5 10 17 8 0 $$ .ABOUT ITALIAN 4 ..OVERVIEW 1 ^21███^F1███^41███^E0 ╔════╦════╗ ^21███^F1███^41███^E0 ║≡≡≡≡║≡≡≡≡║ ^21███^F1███^41███^E0 ║≡≡≡≡║≡≡≡≡║ ╚════╩════╝ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ^F4THE ITALIAN LANGUAGE. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Italian language is the standard language used for official, formal and literary purposes throughout Italy. The common everyday is either a local Italian dialect different from the standard, or the standard influenced by local usage. The number of Italian dialects is very great, and the differences are so deep that many are mutually unintelligible. The dialects may be divided into six major classes formed by more than 30 different varieties. Different classifications are also possible, as are further subdivisions. All speech forms called Italian belong to the Romance (or "^F4Neo-Latin^E0") languages, modern continuations of Latin. The Italian language belongs to the Indo-European family, whose main language, Latin, has developed over the centuries into two different forms, the written and the spoken or "^F4vulgar^E0" Latin. From the latter developed the Romance Languages - French, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian and Italian, which has nowadays over 60,000 mother-tongue speakers. ^F0INDO-EUROPEAN^E0════> ^F0LATIN ║ ╔═════════╩════════╗ ║ ║ ╔═══╩═════╗ ╔═══╩════╗ ║ ^F0written^E0 ║ ║ ^F0spoken^E0 ║ ╚═════════╝ ╚═══╦════╝ ║ ╔════════╗ ╔═════════════╩══════════════════╗ ╔══════════╗ ║ ^F0French^E0 ╠═══╣ ^F0Romance Languages^E0 ╠═══╣ ^F0Romanian^E0 ║ ╚════════╝ ╠═══════════════╦════════════════╣ ╚══════════╝ ║ ║ ║ ╔════╩════╗ ╔════╩════╗ ╔══════╩═════╗ ║ ^F0Spanish^E0 ║ ║ ^F0Italian^E0 ║ ║ ^F0Portuguese^E0 ║ ╚═════════╝ ╚═════════╝ ╚════════════╝ $$ ..HISTORY 1 ^21███^F1███^41███^E0 ╔════╦════╗ ^21███^F1███^41███^E0 ║≡≡≡≡║≡≡≡≡║ ^21███^F1███^41███^E0 ║≡≡≡≡║≡≡≡≡║ ╚════╩════╝ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ^F4HISTORY. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The linguistic fragmentation of Italy and the tenacity of the many dialects have historic causes. Although Italy was latinized by the conquering Romans, not all Italy was occupied by the Romans at the same time, therefore it was not all exposed to the same kind of Latin, nor latinized with equal thoroughness. Classical Latin, after the dissolution of the Roman state, became the property of a diminishing number of educated persons, largely to the clergy; it became unintelligible to the common man, whose vernacular continued to change. When it became urgent to employ, for state and private business, a language other than Latin which all could understand, and when literary men wished their works to appeal to the greater listening, if not reading, public, it became necessary to reduce previously unrecorded contemporary dialects to writing. In "^F4DE VULGARI ELOQUENTIA^E0" (=About Popular Speech), written in Latin early in the 14th century, Dante Alighieri proposed to establish for all Italians a literary language which should be constructed from all the dialects, preserving a core of common features and discarding extreme local peculiarities. Anyways, contrary to his own theory, Dante himself wrote in his native dialect, Florentine, which got to be the literary standard language of Italy, acquiring great prestige through Dante's own "^F4DIVINA COMMEDIA^E0", and later Boccaccio's "^F4DECAMERONE^E0" and Petrarca's "^F4CANZONIERE^E0". Therefore, the dominance of Florentine Italian owes much to Dante and later humanists, just as standard English derives from the central-southern dialect of Chaucer. They both were key figures in the literary development of their own national languages. The dominance of Florentine, though aided by the poetry in the "^F4DOLCE ^F4STIL NOVO^E0" (=Sweet New Style), produced by a Tuscan school, was later threatened by other dialects in which meritorious works had been composed, such as the poetry of the Sicilian school, which flourished in Palermo at the court of the German emperor Frederick II and ended with the Hohenstaufen dynasty. However, graver obstacles impeded the development of Florentine as "^F4national idiom^E0": the persistence of Latin as the universal language of Church,the opposition of the "^F4intelligentsia^E0" -who did not wish to see Latin losing ground -, the needlessness of a national language in the absence of a nation, the cultural climate favoring a rising of antiquity and, most of all, the Italian as a language unfit for poetry. The so-called "^F4QUESTIONE DELLA LINGUA^E0" (=Problem of the Language) developed to decide whether Latin or Italian should become the national idiom, and, if the latter, which dialect and how "^F0pure^E0" it should be. It is impossible to set a date for the end of Latin and the beginning of the Italian language, for documents written in the "^F4lingua volgare^E0" (=vulgar language) got to be more frequent, but without completely replacing Latin. However, the standard Italian developed. Over the centuries, the idiom got to be modified by the several incursions and occupations by speakers of foreign dialects. Although the linguistic changes in the Italian language were small compared to the great transformation of the English idiom after the Norman conquest, some important German, French and Spanish borrowings can be found in the lexical area. Germanic speakers such Visigoths, Ostrogoths and Lombards, along with Arabian and Norman speakers, actually governed Italy from the Middle Ages to 12th century. None of these different languages significantly changed the Italian idiom, but certainly all of them left some traces in the linguistic structure. Modern standard Italian is, however, still largely based on the Florentine idiom, especially the formal style of the official documents. $$ ..COMPTONS 1 ^F4ROMANCE LANGUAGES^E0 ╔════╦════╗ ║≡≡≡≡║≡≡≡≡║ ║≡≡≡≡║≡≡≡≡║ ╚════╩════╝ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ^F0Italian --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Italian is the national language of Italy and San Marino. It is spoken on the nearby islands of Sicily, Sardinia (though the Sardinian language itself is different), and Corsica. The language is also used extensively in Malta, Somalia, parts of Switzerland, and a few other countries. There are an estimated 4.5 million speakers of Italian in the United States, 1.3 million in Argentina, and an estimated half million in Brazil. Many speakers of Italian know only its dialect forms and have little contact with standard Italian except in school, though this is changing with increasing exposure to national television and radio. Standard Italian emerged during the 13th and 14th centuries as the dialect spoken around Florence. Its use by Florentine writers such as Dante established it as the leading dialect. Many other spoken dialects nevertheless persist, including Piedmontese, Lombard, Ligurian, Emilian- Romagnol, Venetian, Veronese, Trevisan, Paduan, Neopolitan, and Calabrian. Each city-state and region developed its own dialect and maintained it, while standard Italian became the accepted literary form. - From the Compton's Concise Encyclopedia, on-line edition $$ $$$ .STATISTICS 4 ..MAP 1 ^F0 ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌─┐ ┌─┬─┐ ^F0 └┐ ┌┘ └┐ ┌┘ │ ─ │ │ │ │ │ │ ^F0 ┌┘ └┐ │ │ │ │ │ │ └─┐ └┐ ┌┘ ^F0 └───┘ └─┘ └─┴─┘ └───┘ └─┘ ^20 | ^20 ▄▄▄▄ ▄▄▄▄▄▄^21▄ ▀▀^02°^21███████^20▄▄▄ ^F7 ^07°^F7 Bolzano | ^20 ▄████████▄^21████████▀█▐████████████^20 ^F7 ^F7■^F7 Turin | ^20 ▐^21██^F2■^21██▀▀▀▀^E2■^21▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀██^62°^21▄▀▀█████████^42°^20 ^F7 ^E7■^F7 Milan | ^20 ▀^21▄▀▄▄██^62+^21█▄███^52°^21████▄▄▄▄▀▀▄^82°^21██████▀ ^20▀ ^F7 ^47°^F7 Trieste | ^20 ▄^21███▀ ▀███████^B2°^21██████▄ ▀^01°^21▀ ^F7 ^67+^F7 Genoa | ^20 ^21 █████████████▀ ^F7 ^57°^F7 Parma | ^20 ^21 ▀████████████▌ ^F7 ^67°^F7 Verona | ^20 ^21 ^C1°^21▄▄▄^D1°^21 ▀▄▐██^12°^21 ^F7 ^87°^F7 Padova | ^21 ▀███████▐████▄ ^F7 ^07°^F7 Venice | ^21 ▀ ████▀▄███████▄ ^F7 ^B7°^F7 Bologna | ^21 ▀▀^49*^21████████████▄ ^F7 ^C7°^F7 Pisa | ^21 ▀██████████^E2°^21██▄ ^F7 ^D7°^F7 Florence | ^21 ███████████▀▀▐▄▄ ^F7 ^17°^F7 Ancona | ^21 ▀█^42°^21█████▄▄██████▄ ^F7 ^4F*^F7 Rome | ^21 ▄██▄ ▀▀███████▀▀▀▀███▄ ^F7 ^E7°^F7 Foggia | ^21 ██▀▄█ █████ ▀██▀ ^F7 ^47■^F7 Naples | ^21 ▄▄██▌ ▀█████▄ ^F7 ^F7°^F7 Cagliari | ^21 ██▌^F2°^21█ ▄█████▀ ^F7 ^87+^F7 Palmero | ^21 ▀██ ▀ ▄████▀ ^F7 ^47°^F7 Messina | ^21 ▄███▀ | ^21 ▀██▀ | ^21 ██▄^82+^21█▄▄█^42°^21▀ | ^21 ▀▀▀██▐██▄ | ^21 ▀██ | ^21 | $$ ..GEOGRAPHY 1 ^21███^F1███^41███ ^21███^F1███^41███ ^21███^F1███^41███ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Italy: Geography --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ^F0Total area: 301,230 km2 ^F0Land area: 294, 020 km2; includes Sardinia and Sicily ^F0Comparative area: slightly larger than Arizona ^F0Land boundaries: 1,899.2 km; Austria 430 km, France 488 km, San Marino 39 km, Slovenia 199 km, Switzerland 740 km, Vatican City 3.2 km ^F0Coastline: 4,996 km ^F0Maritime claims: Continental shelf: 200 m (depth) or to depth of exploitation Territorial sea: 12 nm ^F0Disputes: none ^F0Climate: predominantly Mediterranean; Alpine in far north; hot, dry in south ^F0Terrain: mostly rugged and mountainous; some plains, coastal lowlands ^F0Natural resources: mercury, potash, marble, sulfur, dwindling natural gas and crude oil reserves, fish, coal ^F0Land use: arable land 32%; permanent crops 10%; meadows and pastures 17%; forest and woodland 22%; other 19%; includes irrigated 10% ^F0Environment: regional risks include land-slides, mudflows, snowslides, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, flooding, pollution; land sinkage in Venice ^F0Note: strategic location dominating central Mediterranean as well as southern sea and air approaches to Western Europe - CIA World Factbook, 1993 $$ ..PEOPLE 1 ^21███^F1███^41███ ^21███^F1███^41███ ^21███^F1███^41███ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Italy: People --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ^F0Population: 57,904,628 (July 1992), growth rate 0.2% (1992) ^F0Birth rate: 10 births/1,000 population (1992) ^F0Death rate: 10 deaths/1,000 population (1992) ^F0Net migration rate: 1 migrant/1,000 population (1992) ^F0Infant mortality rate: 8 deaths/1,000 live births (1992) ^F0Life expectancy at birth: 74 years male, 81 years female (1992) ^F0Total fertility rate: 1.4 children born/woman (1992) ^F0Nationality: noun - Italian(s); adjective - Italian ^F0Ethnic divisions: primarily Italian but population includes small clusters of German-, French-, and Slovene-Italians in the north and Albanian-Italians and Greek-Italians in the south; Sicilians; Sardinians ^F0Religions: virtually 100% Roman Catholic ^F0Languages: Italian; parts of Trentino-Alto Adige region are predominantly German speaking; small French-speaking minority in Valle d'Aosta region; Slovene-speaking minority in the Trieste-Gorizia area ^F0Literacy: 97% (male 98%, female 96%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.) ^F0Labor force: 23,988,000; services 58%, industry 32.2%, agriculture 9.8% (1988) ^F0Organized labor: 40-45% of labor force (est.) - CIA World Factbook, 1993 $$ ..GOVERNMENT 1 ^21███^F1███^41███ ^21███^F1███^41███ ^21███^F1███^41███ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Italy: Government --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ^F0Long-form name: Italian Republic ^F0Type: republic ^F0Capital: Rome ^F0Administrative divisions: 20 regions (regioni, singular - regione); Abruzzi, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Emilia-Romagna, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Lazio, Liguria, Lombardia, Marche, Molise, Piemonte, Puglia, Sardegna, Sicilia, Toscana, Trentino-Alto Adige, Umbria, Valle d'Aosta, Veneto ^F0Independence: 17 March 1861, Kingdom of Italy proclaimed ^F0Constitution: 1 January 1948 ^F0Legal system: based on civil law system, with ecclesiastical law influence; appeals treated as trials de novo; judicial review under certain conditions in Constitutional Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction ^F0National holiday: Anniversary of the Republic, 2 June (1946) ^F0Executive branch: president, prime minister (president of the Council of Ministers) ^F0Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament (Parlamento) consists of an upper chamber or Senate of the Republic (Senato della Repubblica) and a lower chamber or Chamber of Deputies (Camera dei Deputati) ^F0Judicial branch: Constitutional Court (Corte Costituzionale) ^F0Leaders: Chief of State: President Oscar Luigi SCALFARO (since 28 May 1992) Head of Government: Prime Minister Guiliano AMATO (since 28 June 1992); Deputy Prime Minister ^F0Political parties and leaders: Christian Democratic Party (DC), Arnaldo FORLANI (general secretary), Ciriaco De MITA (president); Socialist Party (PSI), Bettino CRAXI (party secretary); Social Democratic Party (PSDI), Carlo VIZZINI (party secretary); Liberal Party (PLI), Renato ALTISSIMO (secretary general); Democratic Party of the Left (PDS - was Communist Party, or PCI, until January 1991), Achille OCCHETTO (secretary general); Italian Social Movement (MSI), Gianfranco FINI (national secretary); Republican Party (PRI), Giorgio La MALFA (political secretary); Lega Nord (Northern League), Umberto BOSSI, president ^F0Suffrage: universal at age 18 (except in senatorial elections, where minimum age is 25) ^F0Elections: Senate: last held 5-6 April 1992 (next to be held by April 1997); results - DC 33.9%, PCI 28.3%, PSI 10.7%, other 27.1%; seats - (326 total, 315 elected) DC 107, PDS 64, PSI 49, Leagues 25, other 70 Chamber of Deputies: last held 5-6 April 1992 (next to be held April 1997); results - DC 29.7%, PDS 26.6%, PSI 13.6%, Leagues 8.7%, Communist Renewal 5.6%, MSI 5.4%, PRI 4.4%, PLI 2.8%, PSDI 2.7%, other 11% ^F0Other political or pressure groups: the Roman Catholic Church; three major trade union confederations (CGIL - Communist dominated, CISL - Christian Democratic, and UIL - Social Democratic, Socialist, and Republican); Italian manufacturers association (Confindustria); organized farm groups (Confcoltivatori, Confagricoltura) ^F0Member of: AfDB, AG (observer), Australia Group, AsDB, BIS, CCC, CDB (nonregional member), CE, CERN, COCOM, CSCE, EBRD, EC, ECE, EIB, ESA, FAO, G-7, G- 10, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IEA, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LORCS, MTCR, NACC, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, PCA, MTCR, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIIMOG, UNMOGIP, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC ^F0Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Boris BIANCHERI CHIAPPORI; Chancery at 1601 Fuller Street NW, Washington, DC 20009; telephone (202) 328-5500; there are Italian Consulates General in Boston, Chicago, Houston, New Orleans, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Consulates in Detroit and Newark (New Jersey) US: Ambassador Peter F. SECCHIA; Embassy at Via Veneto 119/A, 00187, Rome (mailing address is APO AE 09624); telephone [39] (6) 46741, FAX [39] (6) 467-2356; there are US Consulates General in Florence, Genoa, Milan, Naples, and Palermo (Sicily) ^F0Flag: three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and red; similar to the flag of Ireland, which is longer and is green (hoist side), white, and orange; also similar to the flag of the Ivory Coast, which has the colors reversed -orange (hoist side), white, and green - CIA World Factbook, 1993 $$ ..ECONOMY 1 ^21███^F1███^41███ ^21███^F1███^41███ ^21███^F1███^41███ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Italy: Economy --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ^F0Overview: Since World War II the economy has changed from one based on agriculture into a ranking industrial economy, with approximately the same total and per capita output as France and the UK. The country is still divided into a developed industrial north, dominated by small private companies, and an undeveloped agricultural south, dominated by large public enterprises. Services account for 48% of GDP, industry about 35%, agriculture 4%, and public administration 13%. Most raw materials needed by industry and over 75% of energy requirements must be imported. After growing at an annual average rate of 3% during the period 1983-90, growth slowed to about 1% in 1991. For the 1990s, Italy faces the problems of refurbishing a tottering communications system, curbing pollution in major industrial centers, and adjusting to the new competitive forces accompanying the ongoing economic integration of the European Community. ^F0GDP: purchasing power equivalent - $965.0 billion, per capita $16,700; real growth rate 1.0% (1991 est.) ^F0Inflation rate (consumer prices): 6.5% (1991) ^F0Unemployment rate: 11.0% (1991 est.) ^F0Budget: revenues $431 billion; expenditures $565 billion, including capital expenditures of $48 billion (1991) ^F0Exports: $209 billion (f.o.b., 1991) Commodities: textiles, wearing apparel, metals, transportation equipment, chemicals Partners: EC 58.5%, US 8%, OPEC 4% ^F0Imports: $222 billion (c.i.f., 1991) Commodities: petroleum, industrial machinery, chemicals, metals, food, agricultural products Partners: EC 58%, OPEC 7%, US 5% ^F0External debt: NA ^F0Industrial production: growth rate - 2.0% (1991); accounts for almost 35% of GDP ^F0Electricity: 57,500,000 kW capacity; 235,000 million kWh produced, 4,072 kWh per capita (1991) ^F0Industries: machinery, iron and steel, chemicals, food processing, textiles, motor vehicles, clothing, footwear, ceramics ^F0Agriculture: accounts for about 4% of GDP and 10% of the work force; self- sufficient in foods other than meat and dairy products; principal crops - fruits, vegetables, grapes, potatoes, sugar beets, soybeans, grain, olives; fish catch of 388,200 metric tons in 1988 ^F0Economic aid: donor - ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $25.9 billion ^F0Currency: Italian lira (plural - lire); 1 Italian lira (Lit) = 100 centesimi ^F0Exchange rates: Italian lire (Lit) per US$1 - 1,248.4 (March 1992), 1,240.6 (January 1991), 1,198.1 (1990), 1,372.1 (1989), 1,301.6 (1988), 1,296.1 (1987) ^F0Fiscal year: calendar year - CIA World Factbook, 1993 $$ ..COMMUNICATIONS 1 ^21███^F1███^41███ ^21███^F1███^41███ ^21███^F1███^41███ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Italy: Communications --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ^F0Railroads: 20,011 km total; 16,066 km 1.435-meter government-owned standard gauge (8,999 km electrified); 3,945 km privately owned - 2,100 km 1.435- meter standard gauge (1,155 km electrified) and 1,845 km 0.950-meter narrow gauge (380 km electrified) ^F0Highways: 294,410 km total; autostrada (expressway) 5,900 km, state highways 45,170 km, provincial highways 101,680 km, communal highways 141,660 km; 260,500 km paved, 26,900 km gravel and crushed stone, 7,010 km earth ^F0Inland waterways: 2,400 km for various types of commercial traffic, although of limited overall value ^F0Pipelines: crude oil 1,703 km; petroleum products 2,148 km; natural gas 19,400 km ^F0Ports: Cagliari (Sardinia), Genoa, La Spezia, Livorno, Naples, Palermo (Sicily), Taranto, Trieste, Venice ^F0Merchant marine: 546 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 7,004,462 GRT/10,265,132 DWT; includes 17 passenger, 39 short-sea passenger, 94 cargo, 4 refrigerated cargo, 24 container, 66 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 9 vehicle carrier, 1 multifunction large-load carrier, 1 livestock carrier, 142 petroleum tanker, 33 chemical tanker, 39 liquefied gas, 10 specialized tanker, 10 combination ore/oil, 55 bulk, 2 combination bulk ^F0Civil air: 125 major transport aircraft ^F0Airports: 137 total, 134 usable; 91 with permanent-surface runways; 2 with runways over 3,659 m; 36 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 39 with runways 1,220-2,439 m ^F0Telecommunications: modern, well-developed, fast; 25,600,000 telephones; fully automated telephone, telex, and data services; high-capacity cable and radio relay trunks; very good broadcast service by stations - 135 AM, 28 (1,840 repeaters) FM, 83 (1,000 repeaters) TV; international service by 21 submarine cables; 3 satellite earth stations operating in INTELSAT with 3 Atlantic Ocean antennas and 2 Indian Ocean antennas; also participates in INMARSAT and EUTELSAT systems - CIA World Factbook, 1993 $$ ..DEFENSE 1 ^21███^F1███^41███ ^21███^F1███^41███ ^21███^F1███^41███ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Italy: Defense Forces --------------------------------------------------------------------------- ^F0Branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Carabinieri ^F0Manpower availability: males 15-49, 14,864,191; 12,980,362 fit for military service; 441,768 reach military age (18) annually ^F0Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $22.7 billion, 2.2% of GDP (1991) - CIA World Factbook, 1993 $$ $$$ .Grammar Basics 4 ..ITALIAN ALPHABET 1 ^F4THE ITALIAN ALPHABET Letter | Name | Approximate Sound -------+------+----------------------------------------------------------- a | a | Like a in English "father" | | b | bi | Like b in English "boat" | | c | ci | When followed by e or i, like ch in English "cherry" | | When followed by a, o, u, or consonant, | | like c in English "cook" | | d | di | Like d in English "dance" | | e | e | One like a in English "make", shown by é | | One like a in English "met" | | f | effe | Like f in English "fool" | | g | gi | When followed by e or i, like g in English "general" | | When followed by a, o, u, or consonant, | | like g in English "go" | | h | acca | Always silent | | i | i | Like i in English "machine" | | l | elle | Like l in English "lamb" | | m | emme | Like m in English "money" | | n | enne | Like n in English "net" | | o | o | One like o in English "note", shown by ó | | One like ou in English "ought" | | p | pi | Like p in English "pot" | | q | cu | Always followed by u and sounds like qu in English "quart" | | r | erre | Like r in English "rubber" with a slight trill | | s | esse | Like s in English "see" | | Like z in English "zero" | | t | ti | Like t in English "table" | | u | u | Like u in English "rule" | | When followed by consonant, like w in English "was" | | v | vu | Like v in English "vain" | | z | zeta | Like ts in English "nuts" | | Like dz in English "adze" $$ ..OTHER LETTERS 1 ^F4OTHER LETTERS Letter | Name | Examples Letter | Name | Examples -------+---------+-------------------------+---------+-------------------- j |i lunga | jazz, jingo x |ics | xenofobo, xilofono k |cappa | kiosco, kodak y |ipsilon | yacht, yoghurt w |doppia vu| water-polo $$ ..VOWEL COMBINATIONS 1 ^F4VOWEL COMBINATIONS Vowel | Pronunciation Vowel | Pronunciation ------+------------------------------------+------------------------------ ai | ai in English "aisle" au | ou in English "out" ei | ay-ee eu | ay-oo ia | ya in English "yard" ie | ye in English "yes" io | yo in English "yoke" iu | you oi | oy in English "boy" ua | wah ue | way ui | oo-ee uo | oo-oh $$ ..CONSONANTS 1 ^F4CONSONANTS h is never pronounced When two consonants occur in the middle of a word, they are both pronounced. Notice the difference between: caro = dear casa = house pala = shovel carro = truck cassa = case palla = ball $$ ..SPECIAL ITALIAN SOUNDS 1 ^F4SPECIAL ITALIAN SOUNDS Italian Example English Example -------------------------------------------------------------------------- cci cce cacciatore ch chair ch before e or i chitarra k key gh before e or i ghirlanda g gate gli egli, paglia lli million gn segno, Spagna ni, ny onion, canyon sc before e or i scendere, sciroppo sh shoe sc before a, o or u sculoa, scarpa sk sky $$ ..STRESS 1 ^F4STRESS 1. Words of two syllables are generally stressed on the first syllable, unless the other one bears an accent mark: lapis = pencil città = city penna = pen virtù = virtue meta = goal metà = half 2. Words of more than two syllables are generally stressed on the syllable before the last, or on the syllable before that: ancòra = more àncora = anchor dolòre = grief amòre = love scàtola = box automòbile = car $$ ..USE OF THE DEFINITE ARTICLE 1 ^F4USE OF THE DEFINITE ARTICLE Definitive articles define, specify, or limit nouns. MASCULINE SINGULAR PLURAL before a consonant il i before s + consonant lo gli before z, ps, or gn lo gli before a vowel l' gli FEMININE before all consonants la le before a vowel l' le Used before nouns used in a general or all inclusive sense: Il denaro è molto utile. Money is very useful. The definite article is used with titles preceding a name, except in direct address: Il signor Cabot è un commerciante. Buon giorno, signor Cabot. $$ ..Prep + Art. Contractions 1 ^F4CONTRACTION OF PREPOSITIONS WITH THE DEFINITE ARTICLE The prepositions di, a, da, in, con, su, and per contract with the seven forms of the definitive article (il, la, lo, l', gli, le) in the following ways: /------------------------------------------------------------------\ | | il | la | lo | l' | i | gli | le | |-----------------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------| | di | del |della |dello |dell' | dei |degli |delle | | (of) | | | | | | | | |-----------------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------| | a | al |alla |allo |all' | ai |agli |alle | | (to) | | | | | | | | |-----------------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------| | da | dal |dalla |dallo |dall' | dai |dagli |dalle | | (from, by) | | | | | | | | |-----------------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------| | in | nel |nella |nello |nell' | nei |negli |nelle | | (in) | | | | | | | | |-----------------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------| | con | col |colla |collo |coll' | coi |cogli |colle | | (with) | | | | | | | | |-----------------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------| | su | sul |sulla |sullo |sull' | sui |sugli |sulle | | (on) | | | | | | | | |-----------------+------+------+------+------+------+------+------| | per | pel | | | | pei | | | | (for, through) | | | | | | | | \------------------------------------------------------------------/ $$ ..USE OF THE INDEFINITE ARTICLE 1 ^F4USE OF THE INDEFINITE ARTICLE Indefinite articles have four forms which correspond to the words "a" and "an" as well as to the numeral "one". Selection depends upon the initial letter of the word following, as in English: MASCULINE FEMININE before a vowel or consonant un Before a vowel un' before z, ps, or gn uno Before a consonant una before s + consonant uno Italian uses no indefinite article in cases like the following ones: Io sono maestro. I am a teacher. Che donna! What a woman! mezzo quilo half a kilo cento uomini a hundred men $$ ..NOUNS 1 ^F4NOUNS GENDER Nouns in Italian are either masculine or feminine in gender. There is no neuter gender. Nouns ending in -o are nearly all masculine. Nouns ending in -a are nearly all feminine. Nouns ending in -e are masculine or feminine. MASCULINE FEMININE un telefono una donna un esame un'amica uno studente una classe il ragazzo la ragazza il libro la signora l'americano l'americana l'ufficio la casa PLURALS The final letter of the singular form usually determines the plural form. ENDING IN SINGULAR PLURAL Masculine nouns -o -i Masculine or feminine nouns -e -i Masculine nouns -a -i Feminine nouns ending in -a -e There are two plural endings for masculine nouns ending in -io: If the "i" is stressed, final "o" changes to "i". If the "i" is not stressed, final "o" is dropped. Nouns which do not change form in the plural are: 1. Accented on the last vowel: il caffè -> i caffè la città -> le città 2. Ending in any consonant or any foreign noun: il bar -> i bar lo sport -> gli sport $$ ..ADJECTIVES 1 ^F4ADJECTIVES An adjective agrees with the noun it modifies in GENDER and NUMBER. 1. These invariable adjectives have only one form and are used in the singular: ogni = every ogni settimana = every week qualche = some qualche donna = some women qualsiasi = any qualsiasi libro = any books 2. The remaining adjectives belong to one of the two groups: Endings of adjectives in -o Endings of adjectives in -e Singular Plural Singular Plural Masculine -o -i Masculine -e -i Feminine -a -e Feminine -e -i POSITIONS OF ADJECTIVES Descriptive adjectives usually come after the nouns they modify: un ragazzo alto = a tall boy capelli lungi = long hair Some adjectives are normally placed before the nouns they modify: bello = beautiful, handsome brutto = ugly vecchio = old giovane = young grande = large, big piccolo = small, short buono = good cattivo = bad lungo = long breve = short nuovo = new $$ ..ADVERBS 1 ^F4ADVERBS A. To form adverbs of manner, add -mente (which corresponds to the suffix -ly) to the feminine form of the adjective: vero = true veramente = truly elegante = elegant elegantemente = elegantly comune = common comunemente = commonly B. If the adjective ends in -le or -re, the final vowel e is dropped before adding the suffix -mente: generale -> generalmente regolare -> regolarmente $$ ..ECCO VERSUS C'E 1 ^F4ECCO VERSUS C'E Italian speakers use "ecco" (here is, here are, there is, there are, comes, here come) to indicate the arrival or physical presence of one or more people, things, or places: Ecco i miei genitori. Here are (come) my parents. Ecco l'autobus. Here is (comes) the bus. "C'è" and "ci sono" indicate the existence, although not necessarily the presence or arrival, of someone or something: C'è il dottore oggi? Is the doctor in today? Non c'è classe domani. There is no class tomorrow. $$ ..INTERROGATIVE WORDS 1 ^F4INTERROGATIVE WORDS Interrogative words can be adjectives, pronouns, or adverbs. 1. ADJECTIVES che? = what? what kind (or sort) or? di chi? = whose? quale? quali? = whose? quanto? quanta? = how much? quanti? quante? = how many? Che macchina è questa? What (kind of) car is this? Di chi sono queste chiavi? Whose keys are these? Quale volo preferisce? Which flight do you prefer? 2. PRONOUNS che cosa? = what? cosa? = what? che? = what? chi? = who? whom? a chi? = to whom? con chi? = with whom? da chi? = from whom? per chi? = for whom? quale? = which one? quali? = which ones? quanto? quanta? = how much? quanti? quante? = how many? 3. ADVERBS AND ADVERBIAL EXPRESSIONS A che ora? = At what time? Dove? = Where? Come? = How? Perchè? = Why? Come mai? = How come? Quando? = When? $$ ..NEGATIVE 1 ^F4NEGATIVE Place the word "non" before the verb to make a sentence negative: Parlo italiano. I speak Italian. Non parlo italiano. I don't speak Italian. $$ ..SUBJECT PRONOUNS 1 ^F4SUBJECT PRONOUNS ----------------------------------------------------------- | SINGULAR PLURAL | | io I noi we | | tu you (familiar) voi you | | egli, lui he loro, essi they (m) | | lei she loro, esse they (f) | | Lei, Ella you (formal) Loro you | ----------------------------------------------------------- Use "tu" to address God, relatives, friends, children, and animals. The formal forms (Lei and Loro) are used to address strangers, authority figures, people with titles. $$ ..OBJECT PRONOUNS: CONJUNCTIVE 1 ^F4OBJECT PRONOUNS: CONJUNCTIVE Conjunctive pronouns have either a direct object form or an indirect object form. Direct object pronouns: ---------------------------------------------------------- | mi me ci us | | ti you vi you | | lo him, it (m) li them, you (pol., masc) | | la her, it (f) le them, you (pol., fem) | | you (pol., m or f) | ---------------------------------------------------------- Dove mi hai visto? Where did you see me? Ti ho visto al cinema? I saw you at the movies. Scusi, Professore, posso veder La? Excuse me, Professor, can I see you? Quel ragazzo ci sta salutando. That boy is greeting us. Indirect object pronouns: ----------------------------------------------------------- | mi to me ci to us | | ti to you vi to you | | gli to him loro to them, to you | | le to her, to you (pol.) gli to them (colloquially) | ----------------------------------------------------------- Il cassiere mi ha dato lo scontrino. The cashier gave the receipt to me. Gli dico sempre la verità. I always tell him the truth. $$ ..OBJECT PRONOUNS: DISJUNCTIVE 1 ^F4OBJECT PRONOUNS: DISJUNCTIVE Disjunctive pronouns are not necessarily associated with a verb form. The forms are: ---------------------------------------------------------------- | me me noi us | | te you voi you | | lui, lei, Lei him, her, you loro, Loro them, you | | esso (f) it essi (m) them | | essa (f) it esse (f) them | | sè himself, herself, sè themselves, | | itself, yourself yourselves | ---------------------------------------------------------------- They are used: 1. As objects of the preposition: Che cosa vuoi da me? What do you want from me? 2. In exclamations: Poveri noi, se non ci sbrighiamo. Poor us, if we don't hurry up. $$ ..POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES 1 ^F4POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES Indicate ownership. Preceded by the definitive article and agree in gender and number with the thing possessed, not the possessor. my, mine il mio la mia i mei le mie your, yours il tuo la tua i tuoi le tue his, her, hers, its il suo la sua i suoi le sue your, yours il Suo la Sua i suoi le sue our, ours il nostro la nostra i nostri le nostre your, yours il vostro la vostra i vostri le vostre their, theirs il loro la loro i loro le loro your, yours il Loro la Loro i Loro le Loro $$ ..RELATIVE PRONOUNS 1 ^F4RELATIVE PRONOUNS A. Relative pronouns link two clauses. L'uomo che cante è mio cugino. The man who is singing is my cousin. B. The most common relative pronouns: 1. Che (who, whom, that, which) is always expressed in Italian. It is invariable. 2. Cui (whom, which) is only used as the object of a preposition: La persona a cui scrivo è mio amico. The person I'm writing to (to whom I am writing) is my friend. 3. Il quale, la quale, i quali, le quali often replace cui or che to avoid ambiguity or repetition. 4. Quello che, quel che or ciò che, all meaning that, which, or what, are invariable and can function as subject or object. 5. Chi, functioning alone as a relative pronoun, is followed by the third person singular of the verb: Chi cerca, trova. He who seeks, finds. $$ ..COMPARISONS 1 ^F4COMPARISONS A. Comparisons of equality: 1. To form the comparison of equality with adjectives, use: tanto (as, so) + adjective + quanto (as) or così (as, so) + adjective + come (as): Angela è tanto bella quanto sua sorella. Angela is as beautiful as her sister. Angela è così bella come sua sorella. Angela is as beautiful as her sister. 2. To form the comparison of equality with nouns, only tanto...quanto may be used and these words must agree with the nouns they modify: Lui vende tanti libri quante riveste. He sells as many books as magazines. B. Comparisons of superiority or inferiority 1. When to characteristics or qualities of one person or thing are being compared, use più (more) or meno (less)...che (than). 2. When two person or things are compared to each other, use più (more) or meno (less)...di (than). $$ $$$ & Italian.LT2