'Sounds of all sorts take on different accents in Italian. Rather than with a sloppy 'ah-choo', and Italian sneezes with a daintier eccì. Italian distinguishes between the sound of swallowing water (glu glu glu) and chewing food (gnam gnam gnam). Bells ring din don dan. Trains ciuff-ciuff. Motors vrum-vrum. Clocks tic-tac. Guns fire with a pim pum pam. A telephone's busy signal stutters tuu tuu tuu. Over the years I've been awakened by little birds that cip cip cip, dogs that abbaiano, roosters that go chicchirichì, and crickets that cri-cri-cri. In the morning, Bambola, the mangy stray cat who has become my pet at the villa we rent every summer, curls onto my lap and fa le fusa (purrs).'
from La Bella Lingua - Dianne Hales
