Reporting on the VI Italian Language Week: Days One and Two
I thought it would be a good idea to share a little of what happened during the first two days of the Italian language Week, currently underway in the University of Jordan. Well, I was present for the activities organized and I have to say that the level of organization this year surpassed that of previous years.
The lecture of Signora Romero was somewhat challenging to follow but there was interaction from the audience and that is really the point of such an event - to get students to ask questions and to use the language with native speakers. I arrived a little late thanks to heavy traffic but it was great seeing my professors and knowing that a new Angolo d’Italiano was inaugurated just before I got to campus. Here are a couple of pictures from day one:
I asked if they will be moving the loads of books they have in the Italian Studies hall to the Angolo d’Italiano and I was told that this is part of the “plan” for the corner. However, I have serious doubts they will be able to move all the books. It’s a great step nonetheless and it’s definitely good to know that the relationship between the Italian Embassy and the university is progressing at last! It seems the embassy people are paying more attention to the actual needs of language learners.
After I inspected the corner (which is located in the new Languages Centre right beside the American Corner), I heard this funny noise outside. It turned out a demonstration against the daily massacres in Palestine was just starting so I figured I could take some shots of the event and maybe even capture some video. More on that in upcoming entries though, stay focused on the Italian Language Week, citizens!
I also discovered that prof. Iasci is a regular reader of The Box and that was absolutely thrilling. She particularly liked the entry on Soug El Harameyyeh so I should be giving her directions to go there soon enough. I also suggested she start a blog on her life, as an Italian, in Amman. That should be very interesting to read and I sincerely hope she does it.
On day two, which was today, there was a workshop on the geography of food in Italy by prof. Graziella Galliano from the University of Genoa. This was much more enjoyable than the lecture on day one, more students interacted and asked questions or answered some. I myself had to interact thanks to prof. Lugli who said he saw me raise my hand to answer a question by an Italian priest, although I really did not raise my hand (I was happily silent). Evidently, I was framed.
There were some handouts distributed and such, and the funniest thing happened. Among the handouts there was this brochure on Il Salone Internazionale del Gusto, which I blogged about last week. I have the map of the salone now and for some reason I think this is pretty twisted. What are the odds, huh?
Not to distract you further with these trifles, here are some pictures of day two:
Tomorrow at 10:00 AM a screening of an Italian movie titled “Ricette d’amore” (2002) by Sandra Nettlebeck willl take place at Al Kindi auditarium. Make an effort to come, ci vediamo!
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November 7th, 2006 at 12:56 pm
Cool idea having an Italian language Week.Any stats of the number of people speaking Italian in Jordan?
November 7th, 2006 at 10:14 pm
Hi…..<br />sono contento di vederti!<br /><br /><br />
November 10th, 2006 at 7:07 pm
<p>Great….lot’s of useful info…. thank you very much, especially for your comments!!</p>
<p>Ema</p>
November 11th, 2006 at 7:39 am
I’ve looked through your posts concerning all things Italian. I’m curious as to exactly why you are so fascinated by Italy, Tololy. What set off your interest? Do you have some personal history that connects you to Italy? Is it the cuisine or Italian entertainment? A fascination with the Rennaissance, perhaps? Just a personal fetish?<br /><br />Not a bad choice, I suppose. Certainly beats being a Francophile. ;-)<br />
November 11th, 2006 at 9:07 pm
<p>G. , unfortunately, I do not have that sort of information. I can tell you though that the number of those who speak French and Spanish exceeds those that speak Italian. We have a small community of Italian ladies married to Jordanian men, a few Jordanian scholars who graduated from Italian universities, and a larger number of novel language learners - such as myself. Sorry for not being able to provide numbers.</p>
<p>Ema, you are welcome. I wonder if you attended the event yourself but I am uncertain about the name. Do inform me if you please.</p>
<p>Tommy, I am glad you asked. I think I am a big fan of Italy’s for all the reasons you mentioned, and then some. When this "fascination spree" started, I had such a crush on Morocco that I wore traditional Moroccan clothes in public. Then it was Italy, then Japan, then… It’s a cycle I guess, but I never stop loving these cultures.</p>
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November 12th, 2006 at 11:21 am
Here is some Italian-speaking population figures from Ethnologue:<br /><br />http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=ita<br /><br />There are apparently not enough first-language Italian speakers in Jordan to merit mention. Due to the circumstances of colonialism, Italian only has a few million fluent, first-language speakers outside of its homeland. It should be mentioned that some forms of "Italian," like Sardinian, are high divergent from ordinary Italian and are often considered separate languages. In fact, I know that Sardinian is especially archaic. It has many features in common with Latin that have been lost in all of the other Romance languages.<br /><br />I know that Italians also generally tend to speak on a spectrum of dialects. If an Italian is talking to someone from the same town or city, they will use the local dialect. If they are conversing with somebody from the same overall regional area, they will use a more broadly understood regional dialect. If they are talking to someone from outside of their area of Italy entirely, they will use standard Italian. Of course, it is likely with mass communication, that most speakers are gradually abandoning the local dialects in favor of the national standard. Which is kind of a shame, I think.<br />
November 12th, 2006 at 12:24 pm
The Italian taught to us was the "standard" form of Italian. Thanks for a valuable comment, Tommy.
November 15th, 2006 at 2:25 pm
wow.. it’s great to see these new activities in the JU. My mom used to teach italian there and even at the "Terra Santa"..