Italian for beginners

by Nicole Findlay

Mirella Ioly, a visiting lecturer from Italy with in the School of Linguistics and Applied Language Studies has brought a slice of the culture with her.

In an effort to promote Italian language and culture to the Ottawa community, the Italian government sponsored Ioly’s term here.

Ioly together with the Dante Alighieri Society, an organization committed to promoting the Italian language in the Ottawa community, organized an Italian Film Festival.

While the monthly films are open to the Ottawa community, Ioly emphasizes their importance to students. The films provide students of Italian with an opportunity to practice their listening skills and comprehension.

“The idea was to give students from Italian language an extra exercise in listening,” said Ioly. She adds that the films are “characteristic of Italian society and style of life, and are all directed by a new generation of Italian directors.”

It is often said that one has a strong grasp on a foreign language when the subtle nuance of humour is understood. Many of the films are comedies that illustrate the changes occurring within the traditional Italian family system.

The films also portray darker undercurrents of Italy’s recent history, including themes that address terrorism that scarred the country in the late 1970′s and early ’80s. Ioly contends that whether comedy or tragedy, the films help Canadian audiences understand the Italian psyche.

A number of films remain to be screened. These include:

Colpire al cuore
L’amore ritrovato
Segreti Segreti
Le conseguenze dell’amore
Caroe Michele
La vita che vorrei
L’amore molesto