Italian All-in-One For Dummies by Consumer Dummies

dee mahs -sah) ( media ) played a major role in Italy’s cultural transformations in the years following World War II, driving and accompanying the modernizzazione (moh-dehr-neet-tsah- tsyoh -neh) ( modernization ) of the country. RAI Radiotelevisione Italiana, emittente televisiva e radiofonica nazionale (eh-meet- tehn -teh teh-leh-vee- see -vah eh rah-dyoh- foh -nee-kah nah-tsyo- nah -leh) ( national radio and television broadcaster ), helped nationalize the country by bringing the Italian standard language into every household, where only regional dialects had been spoken until then. Only in the early ’80s did RAI lose its monopolio (moh-noh- poh -lee-oh) ( monopoly )on Italian TV, with the advent ofthe first Italian private television broadcasting companies.
    Besides programmi radiofonici e televisivi (proh- grahm -mee rah-dyoh- foh -nee-chee eh teh-leh-vee- see -vee) ( radio and TV programs ), Italian media include a plethora of printed and online quotidiani (kwoh-tee- dyah -nee) ( daily newspapers ), riviste (ree- vee -steh) ( magazines ) and periodici (peh- ryoh -dee-chee) ( periodicals ), and settimanali e mensili (seht-tee-mah- nah -lee eh mehn- see -lee) ( weekly and monthly magazines ), which contain notizie politiche, d’attualità, sportive, economiche, e di cronaca (noh- tee -tsyeh poh- lee -tee-keh, daht-twah-lee- tah , spohr- tee -veh, eh-koh- noh -mee-keh, eh dee kroh -nah-kah) ( political news, current events, sports, economics, and city life events ). The most important daily newspapers are distributed across the Italian regions and abroad, in the major traffic areas, such as airports and train stations.
    Il Corriere della Sera (eel kohr- ryeh -reh dehl -lah seh -rah) was the first Italian national newspaper. Its first 1906 issue had a tiratura (tee-rah- too -rah) (circulation) of 106,000 copies! Today, Corriere della Sera (kohr- ryeh -reh dehl -lah seh -rah) and Repubblica (reh- poohb -blee-kah) are the most important Italian daily newspapers. Gazzetta dello Sport (gahds- dseht -tah dehl -loh sport) is a daily newspaper that has only sport news, mostly soccer news, and it sells hundreds of thousands of copies.
    Some of these means of mass communication are politically oriented or influenced by economic lobbies. However, there’s also independent media to guarantee pluralità d’informazione (ploo-rah-lee- tah deen-fohr-mah- tsyoh -neh) ( plurality of information ). Because facts can be cast in different light, well-informed Italians explore different fonti ( fohn -tee) ( sources ).
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    The expression a domani (ah doh- mah -nee) ( see you tomorrow ) is a bit different in Italian, in that it doesn’t have a verb. In English, the verb see indicates that you will see the other person tomorrow. Italian is more concise; you say a domani — literally, until tomorrow.
    Asking for People and Getting the Message
    This section offers useful terminology about asking to speak to people and leaving messages. You know how often the person you want isn’t available, so you need to be comfortable getting a message across.
    Or you may find yourself in this familiar situation: You’re waiting for a call, but the telephone doesn’t ring. Then, you have to go out. When you get back, you want to know whether anyone called for you. You can ask that question in several ways:
    Ha chiamato qualcuno per me? (ah kyah- mah -toh kwahl- kooh -noh pehr meh?) ( Has anybody called for me? )
    Mi ha chiamato qualcuno? (mee ah kyah- mah -toh kwahl- kooh -noh?) ( Did anybody call me? )
    Non mi ha cercato nessuno? (nohn mee ah chehr- kah -toh nehs- sooh -noh?) ( Has anybody looked for me? )
    Talkin’ the Talk
    Leo wants to give Camilla a call, but she’s not home. Therefore, he leaves a message for her.
    Leo: Buongiorno, sono Leo.
    bwohn- johr -noh, soh -noh leh -oh.
    Good morning, this is Leo.
    Voice: Ciao Leo.
    chou leh -oh.
    Hello, Leo.
    Leo: C’è Camilla?
    cheh kah- meel -lah?
    Is