L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2024 www.italoamericano.org 18 L'Italo-Americano T o d a y ' s w o r d i s p a r l a n t i n a ( p a h r - l a h n - t e e - n a h ) a n d , j u s t like our title says, if you"have it" or are with someone who does, you are likely to never get bored. This is because parlanti- na refers to a person's ability to speak fluently, often with a natural ease or persuasive charm: in other words, if you h a i p a r l a n t i n a , y o u j u s t c a n ' t s t a y s i l e n t a n d a r e likely to speak for hours and hours … and hours! D e r i v e d f r o m t h e v e r b parlare (to speak), parlanti- n a i s c o m m o n l y u s e d t o describe someone who has a way with words, frequently characterized by quick, agile, o r e v e n o v e r l y t a l k a t i v e speech. It's associated with people who talk a lot or skill- fully use words to influence others, sometimes hinting at a persuasive or loquacious personality. In Italian, parlantina can h a v e b o t h p o s i t i v e a n d slightly negative connota- tions: for example, describ- ing someone with parlanti- 1 (a plural of) to the; at the 3 seal, the animal 7 my, belonging to me 8 ten 9 smiles 13 west 15 (he/she) loves 16 (you/voi) say 17 face Using the provided meanings as clues, search for the appropriate Italian word in the grid 1 weapon 2 place, position 4 hours 5 air 6 (you/voi) smell 10 (you/tu) dig 11 north 12 dear, loved; expensive 14 east na might suggest they have the gift of gab or a knack for social interaction, as in, "Ha una bella parlantina" (He has a nice way with words). Conversely, it can also imply that someone talks too much or is overly chatty, as in, "Ha una parlantina che non fini- sce mai!" (She has a never- ending chatter!). The idea of parlantina often surfaces in scenarios w h e r e c o m m u n i c a t i o n o r social skills play a key role, whether in informal gather- ings or professional settings. A skilled salesperson, for instance, might be admired for their parlantina, espe- cially if they use it to engage clients effectively. Marco ha una parlantina impressionante, riesce sem- p r e a c o n v i n c e r e t u t t i . M a r c o h a s a n i m p r e s s i v e way with words; he always manages to convince every- one. Elena ha una parlantina senza fine, può parlare per o r e s e n z a f e r m a r s i . Elena has endless chatter; she can talk for hours with- out stopping. LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE Parlantina, a word that's never boring! © Vadymvdrobot | Dreamstime.com 1 to run 2 son 3 hand 4 one 5 face 6 girl 7 bird 8 Tuesday 9 to talk 10 to drink 11 door 12 woman 13 mother 14 three A C R O S S D O W N ITALIAN WORD SEARCH The solution to these word games will be available on the next edition. Games courtesy of Lexis Rex

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