Speak the World: Italian Celebrates the Beauty, Culture and Romance of the Italian Language

Speak the World: Italian — History & Culture Through Language, by Margherita Berti, is a new book that explores Italian language and culture through 200 essential words and expressions. Released in bookstores on August 11 and published by Adams Media, it is exactly the kind of book I wish I had written myself.

I was one of the lucky few to receive an advance copy. It warmed my heart to discover in its pages the same love for Italian words and expressions that I try to share with my students every day.

Discovering Italian Culture Through Language

This book is an invitation to discover Italy through its language. By introducing 200 essential Italian words and expressions, the author helps readers connect with the Italian way of life.

Written by linguist and digital creator Margherita Berti, founder of the popular Italian Matters platform with nearly 5 million followers worldwide, the book blends Italian language learning with cultural storytelling, history and everyday life.

A native Italian speaker from Bergamo, Italy, Margherita has a Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics. She founded Italian Matters, an educational platform offering courses, podcasts and digital resources for Italian learners around the world.

Her Italian Grammar Made Easy podcast has also attracted a large following. Her entertaining teaching style has helped thousands of students develop real-world Italian language skills.

The Meaning Behind Italian Words and Expressions

Speak the World: Italian explores the meanings, traditions and emotional richness behind beloved expressions such as la dolce vita (“the sweet life”) and vivere alla giornata (“to live day by day”).

Each entry includes pronunciation, translation, part of speech and engaging cultural context that brings the Italian language to life.

Page after page, you’ll find yourself eager to use this rich new vocabulary—not only to communicate, but also to bring warmth, nuance and color to your Italian.

As an Italian teacher with a passion for modi di dire and colorful expressions, I especially appreciated the thoughtful selection of idioms included throughout the book.

A Personal Approach to Learning Italian

The book is also a refreshing antidote to the flood of AI-generated Italian learning content that has overwhelmed the web. Behind every page, you can feel the research, passion and creativity that went into this work.

It is truly worth reading.

Grazie, Margherita—from one Italian teacher to another.

Speak the World: Italian is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other major retailers nationwide.

Chiara Borghesi

Contributor & Language Expert

Chiara Borghesi is a translator, Italian teacher, content creator and free-lance writer of Italian language and culture. Born in Siena, she lived for many years between the United States, England and around Europe before returning to her native Tuscany where she lives with her "multilingual" family. After 20 years of organizing study holidays, cultural trips and teaching Italian with her exclusive experiential learning method, she returned to Siena where she created Chiara's Tuscany Experiences: not a traditional Italian school. Chiara promotes language learning through emotions, story telling, online creative activities and practical live experiences with exclusive full immersions. A free-lance writer, she also collaborates with magazines, radio programs and podcasts in other countries to broadcast her passion for the Italian language, culture and lifestyle around the world. Passionate about words and communication, through her courses and social media, she shares with her readers and students, stories and meanings of curious expressions. Her goal is to make you fall in love with Italy and its language and, why not, understanding Italians’ mind too.