One of my readers
recently asked me why did I decide to write my blog in English and not in Italian.
I think that it is correct to dedicate a post to this matter.
First of all I
have to confess that it was not a simple and immediate decision but when I
definitely decided to start writing a blog that could help us to stay motivated
and to have an exchange of ideas, advice and information with all the fantastic
PF/FRUGAL blogger over there, I thought that it would have been better to write in
English.
The problem is that I studied English in my classes at school but it is not my first language. For this reason I surely make some mistakes or use words that are not
perfectly correct. Moreover, even if I had been reading blogs in English for years, for me
it is still difficult to organize clear, complete and well written texts. (Anyway,
I hope to improve my abilities in the
future)
It would be simpler to write in Italian. And so what?
The reason is that
there are not so many blogs on frugal life or personal finance in Italy and I don't know why. The reality is that I have been able to find 10 or 15 Italian blogs that
talk about frugality, decluttering or minimalism and no one blog about personal
finance. This is the reason why I started to read American/ Canadian and
English blogs.(If you are an Italian blogger and you write about this topic,
please get in touch with me, it is possible that I have never found your blog,
sorry!).
The point is that what I had the
possibility to read on blogs helped me to change my life (or at least to try). I am
thankful to all the bloggers that every day work hard to help people through their words . It
is clear that habits and traditions are not the same all over the world and
that if I read for example an American blog I have to consider that the tax
system is completely different from the Italian one, the same goes for the
health system and so on, but some values, advice, information are universal and
valid all over the world. I thought that writing in English could give
us the possibility to compare our story with a community that we already knew and loved as we had been reading their blogs for a
long time.
Another reader
suggested to me to write my blog both in English and in Italian and I admit that this
could be a wonderful idea as it would permit us to be part of the Italian community too. Unfortunately this is not possible in the
present as I work from 8.30 to 15.30 and then I have to follow my son
with his homework, I have to clean and organize my house etc. and so I have a small amount of time left to do what I love:
reading blogs, writing, DIY projects and so on. Today I unfortunately can
manage just one blog, but perhaps in the future things will change...
So, dear friends,
this is the reason why I write in English. Please try to understand my mistakes
and difficulties and to forgive them... I think that being part of this
community is the best gift I could receive and I am so thankful to all of you.
I am sooooooo glad you write your blog in English. I am an Italian American and I learned to be frugal from my Italian grandparents. They have taught me many traditions. You would be surprised at how many Italians living here in America are frugal and past down from generation to generation all those Italian secrets (how to cook, save money, repair things).
ReplyDeleteYou don't have to write two blog. Since you blog using Blogger, you just have to add a widget to your blog and it will automatically translate it into many other different languages, including Italian. Here is the link:
http://www.theedublogger.com/2014/06/23/how-to-add-a-google-translate-widget-to-your-blog/
Good luck. I enjoy reading your blog. I live in America but my family is from Bologna. Ciao!
Cindi
PS: I look forward to translating your blog into Italian...by myself.....thanks to your addition of the widget, so no bother to you.
ReplyDeleteGrazie tanto!
Grazie mille a te! A presto!
DeleteOh dear Sabrina, I'm the same with you (Eng not being 1st language) but i agree the principles of frugality is about the same even in another language and culture :-) keep up with your blog, i read whenever there's a new post!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much!
DeleteI am so glad you are writing it in English, as I wouldn't be able to understand otherwise. I think you're English writing is great by the way.
ReplyDeleteThank you, you are so kind :)
DeleteFirst of all, I think that makes total sense. If there aren't any other Italian PF blogs, it would be a lonely world for you! Second, I think you write in excellent English. I didn't even notice it was your second language.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Holly :)
DeleteI too would not have known English was a second language for you. I'm not a frugal blogger specifically, more simple and less stressful living, and I too love the international perspective.
ReplyDelete