Mariangela De Luca, teacher, popularizer and, above all, in love with the Italian language has no doubts: “Language is dynamite in its pure state, it bursts and changes dramatically; it makes itself heard, it roars, it is more alive than ever. With words, a few friends can be transformed into a passionate audience and, conversely, an entire audience could rediscover the intimacy of a conversation between a few, capable of reaching straight to the heart. Because words have alchemical powers that are only waiting to be discovered and savored ”.
To confirm all this, here is his latest book "The language speaks (of you)" (Sperling & Kupfer, 2022, pp. 192, also e-book), an agile and entertaining essay, yet capable of opening an infinite number of doors : a happy and cultured exploration of our language, of the uses, of the distortions, of the neologisms and of the changes that make it an incandescent material. And not only. Because the words we choose to communicate do not simply testify to the current state of Italian, but say a lot about who we are.
In short, the language speaks of us, to paraphrase the title of the book, and this is confirmed by Mariangela De Luca:
“Through the language we go to give space and voice to all the imagery we hold within us. It is clear then that if I use words capable of nourishing this imaginary, I will benefit fully from it in everyday life ".
In the book, you argue that speaking and writing well helps you live better. But is it really so?
“Sure, I firmly believe that. Especially in an era like ours - marked by a strong propensity to verbal aggression and, on the contrary, characterized by a lack of desire to listen - it is even more important to decide how important we give to words. But it is not only this: we must pay attention not only to the words we choose, but also to how we connect them. We have to put effort into the construction of the discourse, decide which dress we want to 'sew' on to what we say so that it can be received and understood ”.
