Discussing Your Job in Italian

Business contacts with people in other countries continues to increase in importance. Because modern technology supports the quick exchange of information over vast distances, you may have to talk to foreign business partners — or even travel to their countries. If you happen to have business contacts with Italian companies, knowing some basic Italian business vocabulary may be useful. Because English is the language of business, however, Italian has adopted many English computer and software terms.

Italian has at least three words for "company" — la compagnia (lah kohm-pah-nyee-ah), la ditta (lah deet-tah) (which also means "the firm"), and la società (lah soh-cheh-tah). These words are virtually interchangeable.

L'ufficio (loof-fee-choh) is Italian for "office," but people often use stanza (stahn-tsah) (room) to refer to their personal office.

The following sentences give you a taste of the phrases you hear in uffici (oof-fee-chee) (offices) everywhere:

• La mia scrivania è troppo piccola. (lah mee-ah skree-vah-nee-ah eh trohp-poh peek-koh-lah) (My desk is too small.)

• È una grande società? (eh oo-nah grahn-deh soh-cheh-tah) (Is it a big company?)

• Non proprio, diciamo media. (nohn proh-pree-oh dee-chah-moh meh-dee-ah) (Not really, let's say medium-sized.)

• Lavora per una piccola agenzia. (lah-voh-rah pehr oo-nah peek-koh-lah ah-jehn-tsee-ah) (He works for a small agency.)

• Amo il mio lavoro. (ah-moh eel mee-oh lah-voh-roh) (I like my job.)

To learn a language, you have to work, too. Here's the conjugation of the verb lavorare (lah-voh-rah-reh) (to work).

S.p.A. is the Italian abbreviation for Società per Azioni (soh-cheh-tah pehr ah-tsee-oh-nee) (joint-stock company), whereas a S.A.S., Società in Accomandita Semplice (soh-cheh-tah een ahk-koh-mahn-dee-tah sehm-plee-cheh) is a limited partnership. Another type of company is an S.r.l. (Società a responsabilità limitata) (soh-cheh-tah ah rehs-pohn-sah-bee-lee-tah lee-mee-tah-tah) (public limited company, also know as a p.l.c.).

Language Phrases Glossary

accusative case

When noun or pronoun is the direct object of the verb of the sentence, you are required to switch to the accusative case ending.

Language Phrases Glossary

dative case

When noun or pronoun is the indirect object of the verb of the sentence, you are required to switch to the dative case ending.

Language Phrases Glossary

genitive case

When the noun or pronoun indicates possession, you are required switch to the genitive case ending.

Language Phrases Glossary

instrumental case

A Russian grammatical term that indicates that the noun or pronoun assist in the carrying out of an action, you are required to switch to the accusative case ending.

Language Phrases Glossary

interrogative

Words used to ask questions, such as who, what, when, where, and why.

Language Phrases Glossary

macron

A small, horizontal mark above the vowel that indicates a long vowel sound. Make the vowel sound like its name.

Language Phrases Glossary

nominative case

When noun or pronoun is the subject of the sentence, you are required to switch to the nominative case ending.

Language Phrases Glossary

prepositional case

A grammatical case that indicates that the noun or pronoun is the object of a preposition, you are required to switch to the accusative case ending. Used with the Russian prepositions: v (v; in), na (nah; on), o (oh; about), and ob (ohb; about).