AP Italian Language and Culture Unit 1 - Familia e Società

Unit 1-Familia e Società Families and Communities Essential questions ● Quali ostacoli si pongono per le famiglie italiane al giorno d’oggi? ○ Al giorno d’oggi è più difficile preservare queste usanze culturali perché molti genitori lavorano e i figli vanno a scuola rendendo difficile trovare un tempo dove tutti possono passare tempo insieme per creare queste relazioni e conservare la cultura. ● Quali sono gli aspetti che le famiglie nelle nazioni italiane valorizzano di più ? ○ Le famiglie italiane valorizzano molto i pasti insieme, l’onestà l’uno con l’altro e le relazioni all’interno della famiglia. ● Come sono composte le famiglie nella società italiane? ○ Generalmente le famiglie nelle società italiane sono piccole e strette con solo uno o due figli in maggior parte. Spiega come la cultura italiana ha creato e influenzato queste usanze, tradizioni e valori. Unit 1 sub themes and keywords Strutture familiari: ● Family structure in Italian societies does not just mean how many people, on average, live in one household in Italian speaking countries or the normal age gap between generations in families. The more cultural aspect of family structure means understanding the perceived roles of each family member and how these roles are particular to Italian societies. ● Whether or not most Italian families have pets in their house and how it relates to their culture/traditions Important vocabulary for family structure: ● Il ruolo -- role, in this case, one’s role and “duties” within a household and for the family ● L’animale domestico -- pet, literal translation is animal for the house Rapporti generazionali: ● Generational relationships comprises the cultural significance of relationships between grandparents and grandchildren and parents and children. It also comprises interactions between teachers and students or coaches and athletes. ● Generational differences arising from the innovations of technology and communications Important vocabulary for generational relationships: ● La generazione -- generation ● I nonni -- grandparents, usually very close with their grandchildren and babysit them when they are very young and parents are working. Italian grandmothers are known for being excellent cooks and always wanting to feed their grandchildren. ● I nipoti -- also sometimes “i nipotini,” grandchildren, spend a lot of time with their grandparents especially grandmother, considering her a mentor Rapporti personali: ● The traditions and characteristics of friendships in Italian speaking regions and how they are different than the United States/other communities. ● Dating life in Italian societies is another major part of personal relationships and to understand Italian culture, in particular contemporary life in Italian countries. ● An important aspect of culture in personal relationships is an acceptable age to have a first boyfriend/girlfriend in society and in families Important vocabulary for personal relationships: ● L’allenatore/allenatrice -- coach and female coach ● Il ragazzo, il moroso, il fidanzato -- different terms to say boyfriend, moroso is least common, mostly used by older generations. Sometimes these words have -ino suffixes. ● La ragazza, la morosa, la fidanzata -- different terms for girlfriend. ● Migliore amico/amica -- best friend. Sometimes they will also use “best friend” as an italian word. ● Do not confuse fidanzato (boyfriend) with fidanzamento (engaged), fidanzato is used interchangeably for both but fidanzamento is only for getting engaged. Cultura giovanile: ● Youth culture means cultural traditions involving the young generations ● The youth culture category comprises the types of activities most popular in Italian societies for example sports, video games, makeup, social media ○ Almost all the boys play soccer, the most popular sport in Italy and Italian speaking Switzerland. Teenagers also follow soccer games between big Italian teams (Inter, Juventus, Milan,..). The sport is a source of entertainment and something to talk about between teens but also with other generations which follow soccer as well. Italians take great pride in their hometown soccer team. ○ Compared to the United States, very few Italian teenagers use Snapchat, as they prefer Instagram. Teens also use an online messaging platform, Whatsapp, as opposed to iMessages. ● Examples could be: which kind of phones youth mostly likes compared to the U.S. ○ As opposed to American teenagers, who almost always have Apple iPhones, Italian teenagers have other brand phones and rarely are Apple phones considered popular or prevalent. This shows a big cultural difference. Important vocabulary for youth culture: ● Il calcio -- soccer, the most popular sport among young boys ● Il telefono/ il tel -- phone Vita in città, periferia e campagna: ● People in Italian societies live in urban, suburban and rural areas, compare the reasons for living in these areas with the United States and find cultural/ traditional significance ○ Sometimes rural houses with orchards and fields stay in the same family for generations because it has sentimental value but also because the younger generations carry along the culture and traditions of wine making and farming. This factor plays a role in the distribution of people in rural, suburban or urban homes. It is important to note that people might have a house in an urban area, which is beneficial for the economy and education but also might have a second home in the periphery. ● The amount of people living in urban, suburban and rural areas also depends on what region of Italy/Switzerland they live in. Important vocabulary for urban, suburban and rural life: ● Il vigneto -- the vineyard, cultural significance because many rural houses have vineyards and sometimes even their own wine making business ● La campagna -- rural area, characterized by hills, trees and many farms/vineyards ● La vinificazione -- process of making wine ● La casa in campagna -- usually second house in a rural area