In every language learner’s journey, there comes a time when remaining neutral to the world of foreign-language media and internet spaces begins to feel like self-sabotage. What are you even doing if you’re not laughing along to your favorite Italian podcast hosts, or familiarizing yourself with contemporary lingo and humor every time you open your Instagram app? Most especially, what are you even doing if you’re not following the Pope’s Italian Twitter account?
If you haven’t yet had the opportunity to get acclimated to Italian Twitter, never fear. We’ve come up with a shortlist of accounts that will feed you bits of language knowledge, and in many cases, greater awareness of Italian news and culture.
Italian Twitter Accounts To Follow
1. Dite – Learn Italian with Nicco! @DiteNicco
Frutteto = Orchard
.#language #art #italian https://t.co/ghsupJP7Tg— Dite – Learn Italian with Nicco! (@DiteNicco) July 10, 2020
Nicco is an Italian language teacher who took that professorial energy to the Twitterverse. If you like your language lessons with a side of art history, you’ll probably particularly enjoy this account, which features a daily painting or photograph together with a word in Italian that relates to the work.
2. Daily Italian Words @WordsItalian
Parola del giorno / Word of the day: Piccante (hot / spicy)
More info + pronunciation: https://t.co/zk5KnsehCR
Avevo sete perché avevo mangiato un piatto piccante. = I was thirsty because I ate a spicy dish.#italian #italiano #learnitalian #italianlanguage #wordoftheday pic.twitter.com/BPuu8X9QeW
— Daily Italian Words (@WordsItalian) July 14, 2020
One thing Twitter is really good for is delivering bite-sized information to your awareness on a regular basis. And when it comes to language learning, a little bit at a time is actually great for your memory retention. This account regularly feeds you words and phrases in Italian, helping you expand your vocabulary almost on autopilot.
3. Papa Francesco @Pontifex_it
Nel giorno del giudizio non saremo giudicati per le nostre idee, ma per la compassione che avremo avuto.
— Papa Francesco (@Pontifex_it) July 14, 2020
The pope (as in various popes throughout history) has often been multilingual. Pope Francis can speak Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, French, German, Ukrainian, Piedmontese (a language spoken in northern Italy) and some English. He’s also well-versed in the language of Italian Twitter. Maybe Catholicism isn’t exactly your thing, but learning to understand his daily internet benedictions will definitely help with your Italian.
4. Italian with Susanna @italyconsusanna
The #art term “chiaroscuro” is composed of the #Italian words “chiaro” (= light) and “scuro” (= dark).
It refers both to shading (“chiaroscurare” means to shade a #drawing) and to an extreme tonal contrast in any monochrome or color image. #LearnItalian#vocabulary#artlovers pic.twitter.com/89lL5vfaas
— Italian with Susanna (@italyconsusanna) July 16, 2020
Susanna speaks Italian natively and has an Italian literature degree. She also tweets out regular bits of vocabulary, expressions, cultural notes, false friends and other grammatical “good to knows.”
5. Repubblica @repubblica
Coronavirus nel mondo, Barcellona chiede ai cittadini di rimanere a casa [aggiornamento delle 14:39] https://t.co/jxcN6VYULQ
— Repubblica (@repubblica) July 17, 2020
Because it never hurts to be up to speed on the news, following one of Italy’s major news publications will be a workout for your linguistic muscle, as well as a good way to get informed about the issues affecting Italy and beyond.
6. Beppe Severgnini @beppesevergnini
Come possiamo chiedere ai ragazzi italiani di stare distanti nelle piazze e sulle spiagge, se tolleriamo manifestazioni affollate e sgangherate come quelle viste il 2 giugno a Roma? @La7tv #ottoemezzo https://t.co/0pbS2XSm1v
— beppe severgnini (@beppesevergnini) June 4, 2020
Beppe Severgnini is an Italian journalist whose work has appeared in The New York Times and The Economist. In other words, he’s the guy who tells the Times‘ English-speaking readership what’s happening in Italy, but you can get it straight from him in his native language if you follow him on Twitter.