Claudia comes from Rome in Italy. She studied modern foreign languages and literature at the University of Rome, graduating with an MA in English Language and Literature. She works as an Italian trainer here in the Netherlands.
‘When learning a language, you need to be aware that culture plays an important role in the way you communicate. That’s why it’s not always possible to translate everything literally from one language to another. You have to take into account the effect that your way of communicating has on others.
Being brief and to the point in a friendly request would sound a bit rude to an Italian. In Italian, the sentence structure can be quite different in these instances. Additionally, body language and intonation are also critical: a friendly request can come across as an order if it’s done in the wrong tone. And you can emphasise what you’re saying even more with your body language. So you can’t learn a language well without a solid understanding of the body language that goes with it.’
Speaks
Italian, Dutch, English, German, Spanish