LILT polyglot languages club meeting Sunday 11 th Feb 2024

Rehearsal of Italian on Friday Feb 9th 

Those attending  were Angela, Carolyn of Advancity, Mike Ma previously of BHA, Medhavi of Harrovians in London, and Surya, a student who works in customer service. The name Medhavi is Sanskrit for intelligent.

Pronunciation

Carolyn told us her mother's side of the family are from India. She said that if Medhavi pronounced her name the Indian way it would be Madhavi.

I opened with Bongiorno, good day in Italian. Carolyn gave the German. 

When Mike joined I said the Chinese greeting, Ni hao. 

Mike told us the Korean greeting, and said the only Korean words he knows are hello, goodby and thankyou. His English is much imporoved with a good command of vocabulary as well as general fluency.

Mike likes man-made noodles (we say hand-made noodles) not made by machine but by man power. Machine noodles taste different. 

Hot pot restaurant. Hai da Lo. 

I asked, 'How to you eat noodles with chopsticks?'

Medhavi answered, 'You roll the chopsticks and blow on them to cool the food, or ask for a fork ,' (if a Westerner). 

Mike said, 'stick chop', meaning chopsticks.

Chinese noodles are made white with white flour.  or yellow. Add fishballs.

TABLE TOPICS

I was table topics master, with Carolyn to evaluate.

I asked, 'What is your favourite Italian food or drink?'

Carolyn asked me to speak about Italian wine.

I mentioned Prosecco. 

She asked about Chianti. I mentioned in a straw flask.

I said Asti was sparkling, Asti Spumante from the Sixties, when sparkling wine was drunk. For example, Babycham in the UK. It was drink from wide sundae glasses, before we moved to Champagne flutes. Your nose can't get in the flute.

Table Topics

What is your favourite pasta?

Medhavi said, lasagne. Vegetarian. (She is vegan.)

You put the pasta in boiling water. Use a paper towl to dry it out. Add shredded cheese and red sauce. (Tomato sauce.)

I added a language tip. In English we don't say a bit of salt but a pinch of salt.

Carolyn said, 'My favourite pasta is canneloni with cream and cheese'.

Mike enjoys Chinese noodle dishes from a Chinese shop. Steamboat you have hot water or soup, and add your own meat or vegetables.

Surya said his favourite Italian food is pizza. Cheesy and sticky. With cheese or chicken on top.

Carolyn suggested, 'Try pineapple, Hawaian pizza, and deep crust pizza from Pizza Hut has cheese isnide the thick tubular crust.

Later, Surya said, 'How can I eat dog meat! . 

Mike said, 'Dog meat was now banned in Korea.'

MY SPEECH ON ITALIAN

Title

Where To Speak Italian and How to learn it

................................... 

Carolyn taught us that arigato, Japanese for thank you sounds like Italian.

I was asked, 'How do you learn the Italian pronunciation, if you are using Duolingo?'

Membership

Surya is 23, from Calcutta, not a toastmaster member. He thought the price for a year, plus the newcomer joining fee, was high. 

I suggested, 'You could ask for a 6 month fee as a gift for a birthday or Xmas.' 

He said, 'Students should get a discount.' 

(This is the second potential member who was deterred by the price. LILT is currently a branch of Advancity. However, if we do not get the needed 20 members by June, I shall have to transfer to Agora, who rquire only 8 members. Easier to achieve. And no fee.