Adapt to context
Present the same exhibition facts to a friend and a director.
Two spoken invitations, one factual core
You are Chiara from the fictional exhibition team. First, give a 45-second informal invitation to a close friend using tu. Then give a 45-second formal invitation to a director you know little, using courtesy Lei and third-person singular agreement. In both versions say that Le parole a tavola opens Saturday, presents written labels about food-name variants, and does not provide tastings. Explain one pair, anguria/cocomero, as two names for the same fruit. Do not change these facts when you change register.
- Amica: «Ti va di venire alla mostra sabato?»· Friend: “Would you like to come to the exhibition Saturday?”
- Direttrice: «La invitiamo a visitare la mostra sabato».· Director: “We invite you to visit the exhibition Saturday.”
- Vedrai cartelli su «anguria» e «cocomero».· You will see labels on “anguria” and “cocomero.”
- La mostra non prevede assaggi.· The exhibition does not include tastings.
Respond to a mistaken visitor
A visitor says: «Se una persona dice cocomero, allora viene sicuramente da Firenze; e arancino è il nome sbagliato». Give a respectful 30-second correction. State that one word does not prove a person’s city and that arancina/arancino have broad area patterns with exceptions. Ask «Come lo chiami tu?» instead of assigning identity. If you practise alone, read the visitor’s line aloud before answering. Check your recording or notes for a consistent tu/Lei choice within each invitation.
- Una parola sola non prova la provenienza di una persona.· One word does not prove someone’s origin.
- Entrambe le forme sono in uso, con distribuzioni diverse.· Both forms are used, with different distributions.
- Ci sono anche eccezioni locali.· There are also local exceptions.
- Come lo chiami tu?· What do you call it?