French and Italian Language and Culture Studies

Language is the key that opens the door to understanding culture. Without knowing the country’s language, one can never fully appreciate its culture.

In France, there are two excellent sayings about culture, travel, and languages. The first is les voyages forment la jeunesse, which means that travel trains and educates the young. The second French saying that I really enjoy is le bagage culturel, which translates to ‘cultural baggage/luggage.’ This refers to the great depth of cultural knowledge one acquires through traveling and living abroad, similar to the physical luggage or baggage of souvenirs that one takes on and acquires through travel.

The Italians also say viaggiando s’impara, meaning that the more you travel, the more you learn, and bagaglio culturale, which translates to cultural baggage. However, a very famous Italian expression relating to culture, travel, and language is quando a Roma andrai, fa come vedrai. This expression is also well-known in English. It is usually translated roughly as ‘when in Rome, do as the Romans do.’ This highlights how important it is to adapt to and respect the cultural context in which one finds oneself when going abroad.

I truly believe that learning foreign languages is crucial. As I mentioned before, language is a central part of culture, and it makes the rest of the culture understandable. It is also a very important skill for a number of other reasons. First, it helps greatly improve communication skills because one learns to ‘talk around’ what one doesn’t yet know in the language, such as a particular vocabulary word, and still get the intended message across to the listener.

Italian Language Fluency Certification:

PLIDA Internationally-Recognized Italian Language Certification Exam, The Dante Alighieri Society Italian Language and Culture Instruction Organization: B2 Level Italian Language Certificate on the European Union QCER Language Proficiency Level Framework

Italian-English and French-English Translation and Interpretation

As a fluent speaker and an upper-level student of Italian and French, I have received instruction in and successfully performed French-English, Italian-English, and English-French translations of real documents in professional internships and externships for American, Italian, and French organizations. These organizations include Visit Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, US, MUCEM (The Museum of the Mediterrannean) in Marseilles, France, the creative communication and promotion agency Flod in Florence, Italy, Visit Tuscany in Tuscany, Italy, the Dievole food and wine products brand in Tuscany, Italy, the Podere Brizio hotel and food and drinks brand in Tuscany, Italy, the Il Borro high-end hotels company in Tuscany, Italy, and a branch of the Relais & Chateaux hotel chain in Tuscany, Italy. As a member of the University of Pittsburgh chapter of the international university student social entrepreneurship organization ENACTUS, I worked with the local not-for-profit KIVA, leading my team of ENACTUS student-consultants to provide business strategy, marketing, and finance consulting for an emerging local business. I drew on my French language skills to provide French-English and English-French interpretation for the francophone company founder.