It's marvellous that you learnt Italian through reading. I was reading your post awestruck with a smile on my face. And I enjoyed Colpo di fulmine very much. I lived in Italy for three years almost 20 years ago and since then never kept up with my Italian. It's at the stage of "conversational" now. But I'll try to write something, simpler perhaps, in Italian, see how that goes along.
What languages do you write in? And what type of writing do you do in different languages? I haven't yet gone through your posts (only read this one just now), so perhaps I might find an answer there.
I'm Romanian, but haven't lived there over 20 years. I lived in Argentina for over 8 years and now in the UK for 8 years. I took in English since a toddler from cartoons on the telly, though only now I've been living in an English speaking country. So I always wrote and write mostly in English. A fair amount is in Spanish as well, but I struggle so much to write in Romanian (though I do a bit) or Italian. I struggle in the sense that it simply doesn't come naturally. Then of course, I lack much practice in both.
I'm just sort of getting going on Substack (I don't have much to show). I feel quite daunted by it all. But I knew since I got the Substack going that I'll be publishing poems in three languages, except in Italian (for now).
Thanks for sharing your reading/learning experience. I'll grab a book in Italian and see what happens!
Hi Alex! Wow, what a thoughtful comment. "Reading in Italian" was one of my first posts here and very few people read it. I'm honoured you took the time! Really.
To answer your question, I write mostly in English as well, but the other languages that I speak (Hungarian, Hebrew, French, Spanish and Italian) always find their way into my English text. It's not even a conscious choice. It happens organically. My Italian is far from perfect, and my Spanish now is so confused by my Italian that it needs a drastic revival. but I do love reading in all these languages, and I find it very helpful for my writing. In other words, I'm encouraging you to write in Italian (in Spanish, or Romanian), even if you do it imperfectly, because it really stretches the brain and helps us think in new and creative ways! "Mistakes" are part of the fun! :)
It's marvellous that you learnt Italian through reading. I was reading your post awestruck with a smile on my face. And I enjoyed Colpo di fulmine very much. I lived in Italy for three years almost 20 years ago and since then never kept up with my Italian. It's at the stage of "conversational" now. But I'll try to write something, simpler perhaps, in Italian, see how that goes along.
What languages do you write in? And what type of writing do you do in different languages? I haven't yet gone through your posts (only read this one just now), so perhaps I might find an answer there.
I'm Romanian, but haven't lived there over 20 years. I lived in Argentina for over 8 years and now in the UK for 8 years. I took in English since a toddler from cartoons on the telly, though only now I've been living in an English speaking country. So I always wrote and write mostly in English. A fair amount is in Spanish as well, but I struggle so much to write in Romanian (though I do a bit) or Italian. I struggle in the sense that it simply doesn't come naturally. Then of course, I lack much practice in both.
I'm just sort of getting going on Substack (I don't have much to show). I feel quite daunted by it all. But I knew since I got the Substack going that I'll be publishing poems in three languages, except in Italian (for now).
Thanks for sharing your reading/learning experience. I'll grab a book in Italian and see what happens!
Hi Alex! Wow, what a thoughtful comment. "Reading in Italian" was one of my first posts here and very few people read it. I'm honoured you took the time! Really.
To answer your question, I write mostly in English as well, but the other languages that I speak (Hungarian, Hebrew, French, Spanish and Italian) always find their way into my English text. It's not even a conscious choice. It happens organically. My Italian is far from perfect, and my Spanish now is so confused by my Italian that it needs a drastic revival. but I do love reading in all these languages, and I find it very helpful for my writing. In other words, I'm encouraging you to write in Italian (in Spanish, or Romanian), even if you do it imperfectly, because it really stretches the brain and helps us think in new and creative ways! "Mistakes" are part of the fun! :)