Dizionario degli errori e dei dubbi della lingua italiana by Barbara Colonna

Dizionario degli errori e dei dubbi della
lingua italiana by Barbara Colonna
(published by Newton Compton)

Buon Natale e Buone Feste a tutti!  This will probably be the last post for 2010, and I would like to close the year with a review of Barbara Colonna's Dizionario degli errori e dei dubbi della lingua italiana published by Newton Compton. The author of this book has written an extremely valuable reference resource on the Italian language that is worthy of a place on your bookshelf!

I find this to be a very useful reference that is like a dictionary and is organized alphabetically (obviously).  With each letter you'll find useful tidbits about common errors and other useful information about various words in the Italian language.  I have been skimming the book all day looking for things that I didn't know, and I have found quite a few.  Did you know that the superlative of magnifico is magnificentissimo?  (p. 115) I'm sure I learned it at one point or perhaps I didn't -- regardless, it looked new to me!

Did you know that the word, tabu, has the accent on the first syllable and not the last as it does in English and defies the normal rules of pronunciation in Italian (that is, words ending in u usually have their syllable on the final vowel?)  Or that many Italians commonly pronounce it as tabù instead of tàbu? Do you know what a parola tronca is?  (It's a word that has its accent on the last syllable). (p. 175)

I think that non-native speakers (stranieri) would benefit from this book, even if it is in Italian, because it addresses certain topics and details that are often not taught in the classroom and shows readers where and how certain words entered Italian, pronunciation and usage tips. Throughout the book there are also "gray boxes" that identify various interesting notes on Italian words, usually with linguistic explanations about why various words are spelled or pronounced as they are.  The last part of the book contains Modelli di coniugazione (pp. 209 - 294) of various irregular verbs with an accompanying list of derived verbs to help aid conjugation.

Resources such as this book help us to unlearn and refine our Italian.  As we learn Italian from others, it is only natural that we pick up on their mistakes.  No teacher/instructor is perfect, and this book will certainly help us to improve our understanding this magnificent language.