What does going to the bar mean to an Italian? Many things!
In the morning, Italians go to the bar to have breakfast: cappuccino or coffee and a pastry: usually this is done standing and in a hurry…work is waiting! At one, a lunch break: a sandwich, something to drink, a coffee (not a cappuccino!) and then quickly back to work! But what happens around seven in the evening? Bars begin to prepare trays with pizzas, nuts, sandwiches, olives, potato chips, and every other snack you can imagine… why?
Because it’s APERITIF time! The aperitif is something very special for Italians: it’s the time to get together with friends, to chat and to relax after a hard day’s work..people meet up in their favorite bar (or the trendiest one!) and share news, eating potato chips and drinking a good glass of wine.
So what could a linguistic aperitif be?
An opportunity to unite study and fun! These get-togethers offer ’slices’ of Italian, garnished with a pleasant, relaxed atmosphere, some snacks and naturally, a good glass of Italian wine! The linguistic aperitif is a weekly meeting which lasts one hour in the early evening, where people talk and enjoy themselves. A current topic is chosen for each meeting. Here are some examples:
- X-Factor vs. Big Brother: which one do you watch? The victory of ‘trash TV’: Italy divided on reality shows!
- Advertising: how provocative can it get? Watch this one!
- The deep North of Italy: ‘Malpensa, Italia’ is the new political talk show on Rai Two, hosted by the most right-wing journalist in Italy, who has shouted about anti-immigration measures for years, as well as measures against southerners and practically everyone else…The North and South of Italy: a love-hate relationship which has lasted for centuries..
- Stereotypes of Italy: pasta, pizza, mandolins, the mafia…is our country really only these things?
The choice of a topic differentiates this ‘linguistic’ aperitif from a normal aperitif: we don’t want the meeting to become a normal chat between friends, where we often talk without following a topic, or where there’s the ’strong’ person who puts themselves at the center of attention without letting others contribute. We want to maintain the vivacious and familiar atmosphere of the aperitif, without feeling the ’stress of the lesson’. To this we add a more ’structured’ conversation, more guided, which offers all participants the chance to express their opinions. The teacher is the guide for the dialogue, the mediator, giving everyone a chance to speak and correcting errors or imprecision.
