Watch Your Language Blog

National Italian-American Heritage Month

Did you know that in the United States, October (ottobre) is National Italian-American Heritage Month?

Italian-Americans (many of them residing in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania) make up more than 5% of the American population. Some famous Italian-Americans you might be familiar with include Joe Dimaggio, Madonna, Al Pacino, Martin Scorsese, Robert DeNiro, and Nancy Pelosi.

Celebrate National Italian-American Heritage Month by looking for activities taking place in your neighborhood, especially if you live in a city that has its own Little Italy.

You can also create your own celebration by cooking up a feast; look online (or in your grandmother's recipe box if it's part of your heritage) for popular Italian-American recipes such as baked ziti, lasagna, spaghetti with meatballs, or a nice West Coast Cioppino. Calzone and pizza are always nice to have on the menu too.

And don't forget to brush up on your Italian! Here are some phrases to get you started.

Buongiorno!
Good morning!/Good day!

Ciao!
Hello!

Come sta?/Come stai?
How are you? (infml./fml.)

Arrivederci!/Arrivederla!
Goodbye! (infml./fml.)

For more Italian to help you celebrate National Italian-American Heritage Month, check out one of our many Italian courses, such as Italian Online, Complete Italian: the Basics, Drive Time: Italian, and Ultimate Italian Beginner-Intermediate.

UPDATE: We're sharing our love of Italian with you! Enter to win one of five fantastic prize packages (valued at over $100) in our Celebrate Italian Heritage Contest! Click here for more details.

Tags: Italian, Italian-American, newsletter
September 17, 2009