Media
Who Had the Best--and Worst--Italian Accent in em House of Gucci /em ? A Dialect Coach Dishes About Lady Gaga, Jared Leto, and More.
House of Gucci, in theaters this week, is ostensibly a drama about the family behind the Italian fashion house, but it is soon clear what the movie is really about: accents. It's a showcase for stars like Lady Gaga, Adam Driver, and Al Pacino to test-drive their Italian and Italian-accented English, and critical reactions have been mixed, to say the least: Lady Gaga was slammed by one expert for sounding more Russian than Italian, and Jared Leto earned comparisons to a certain cartoon plumber. How fair is all this grousing? To get an expert's perspective on the matter, Slate spoke to Garrett Strommen, who runs a Los Angeles company that offers language lessons and dialect coaching, among other services. Strommen has worked as a dialect coach and consultant for TV, movies, commercials, video games, and more, and agreed to explain exactly what is going on with Gaga and Leto in House of Gucci. Our conversation has been edited and condensed. Heather Schwedel: Can you tell me about your background with Italian?
Cellphone and tech clues that your partner is cheating on you
An easy way to keep two romantic lives separate is to buy two separate phones. That way, the cheater doesn't get confused and text the wrong person by mistake. A second phone is also a liability, even if expressed as a "work" or "emergency" phone. Another technique is to purchase a separate SIM card. Some phones allow you to have two SIM cards but that can be a hassle. A much easier way is to get a Google Voice number that rings on the current phone. In this photo illustration, Apple's iPhone 12 seen placed on a MacBook Pro.