Who has NEVER used the words spaghetti, pizza, ciao, lasagna? They may sound trivial and stereotypical words, but they actually include pretty critical “pronunciation rules". Without them a “real’ beginner would not know how to pronounce the -gn sound (an otherwise almost impossible sound to learn, unless you know how to say ‘lasagna’). 

Same for -gh: same as above, very difficult sound. Also, if you pronounce spaghetti and pizza correctly, you got another important rule: how to pronounce a double consonant -tt; -zz and all other double consonants like -ll; dd; etc. In short, you do know more Italian than you think, far more. Let start:

- PERSONA NON GRATA, well, I hope you are not one (but even if you are, you can still enroll in our e-Tutoring sessions, so that is not an excuse...do it).

- CONOSCENTE from conoscente="acquaintance"

- DILETTANTE from dilettante="amateur"

- CONSIGLIERE from consigliere="Advisor"

- GRAFFITI from graffiti, plural of graffito; from graffiato="scratched". Before spray, grafffiti were scratches, hence the term. Well, do not tell that to the cool kids in US and European metropolitan centers, that they are just doing what kids of Roman Empires used to do about 3000 yrs ago. So uncool old.

- MAGENTA...magenta. A color BUT also a town Magenta. So find it our why that color is named after Magenta, Lombardy, Italy.

- MONTICELLO from monticello, ="little mountain" Yes, I know, some US patriots may get mad knowing that the sacred Thomas Jefferson’s house's name comes actually from Italian. But do not be upset: after  all all even the Jeffersonian architectural style is also a copy and paste from the work of Italian architect Palladio (compare University of Virginia's Rotunda and Villa Rotonda in the Veneto and you will get what I am saying. To his credit, Jefferson himself never tried to hide his Italian inspiration....).

- STUCCO from stucco="plaster, molding"

- TERRACOTTA from terra-cotta, ="baked/cooked earth/soil"

- VIRTUOSO from virtuoso="virtuous, righteous, moral, good at something"

- POLITICO from politico="political"

- AL FRESCO from al (at) and fresco ="fresh, cool", hence ="in a cool place". In a typical Italian twist, “al fresco” is also slang term for being in jail (cells tended to be pretty cold in the past also because most of the times they were underground).

- AMARETTO from amaretto, diminutive of amaro bitter, from Latin amarus. Speaking of which, a cultural note: Amaretto di Saronno in Italy is basically ONLY used to make a cake and some biscuits. No (no) human being would order a glass of it to drink. But, in sophisticated NYC, it is one of the coolest things you can order in a bar...go figure.

- GUSTO from gusto="taste". Mangiare lasagne con gusto (see below :) )

- LASAGNA from lasagne. Usually plural in Italian, but ok.

- PROSCIUTTO from, well, prosciutto

- SODA from soda.Yes, Americans did invent Coca Cola but did NOT invent soda.

- SPAGHETTI  from, guess, spaghetti, plural of spaghetto ="little string". Also a very thing person.

- LINGUA FRANCA from lingua franca. English is the lingua franca of glabalization. Latin used to be the lingua franca of the Roman Empire and (now) of the Catholic Church

- PROPAGANDA from propaganda=electioneering, (from Latin and Italian 'propagare'= "extending forth")

- ALGEBRA  via Italian, Spanish, and Medieval Latin algebra "resetting of broken parts" (and broken grades too...)

- GONZO  from gonzo, ="fool(ish)" And you thought that Hunter Thompson was a fully American phenomenon? No.

- MALARIA from malaria, contraction of mala, ="bad" and aria, "air". Do not catch it. It is really bad.

- NEUTRINO from neutrino, ="little neutron". Ha!

- BALLERINA from ballerina="female classical dancer"

- PRIMADONNA = a ballerina is often a primadonna too.

- DITTO from ditto, now detto,="said". But "Dito" is finger, so be careful.

So, what do you think? Ever used any of those words? Give me some stories and feedback!