Parliamo di politica.

Parliamo comes from the infinitive parlare, meaning to speak or to talk.

Here it is the first-person plural form, so it goes with noi = we.

Depending on context, parliamo can mean:

• we talk
• we speak
• we are talking

It is also the same form used for the noi imperative, so in some contexts it can mean let's talk.

Italian often leaves out subject pronouns when they are already clear from the verb ending.

The ending -iamo in parliamo already tells you the subject is we.

So:

• Parliamo di politica. = normal, natural
• Noi parliamo di politica. = also correct, but more emphatic, like we talk about politics

With parlare, Italian normally uses di to mean about:

• parlare di qualcosa = to talk about something

So:

• Parliamo di politica. = We talk about politics.

This is just the usual Italian pattern. Prepositions often do not match English word for word.

After parlare di, Italian often uses the noun without an article when speaking about a topic in a general sense.

So:

• parlare di politica = to talk about politics
• parlare di musica = to talk about music
• parlare di sport = to talk about sport(s)

If you say della politica, it usually sounds more specific, as if you mean politics in a certain context or the political world/system.

It can mean either one. Italian often uses the present tense where English might use either the simple present or the present progressive.

So parliamo can mean:

• we talk
• we are talking

The exact meaning depends on context.

Yes. Parliamo is also the noi imperative form, which is used for suggestions including the speaker:

• Parliamo di politica! = Let’s talk about politics!

So the same words can be:

• a statement: We talk / we are talking about politics
• a suggestion: Let’s talk about politics

Context, tone, and punctuation usually make it clear.

A simple English-friendly guide is:

• parliamo ≈ par-LYAH-mo
• di ≈ dee
• politica ≈ poh-LEE-tee-ka

A few useful points:

• In parliamo, the li sounds like lya
• In politica, the c is a hard k sound because it comes before a

Yes. Parlare is a regular -are verb.

Its present tense forms are:

• io parlo = I speak / I talk
• tu parli = you speak / you talk
• lui/lei parla = he/she speaks / talks
• noi parliamo = we speak / talk
• voi parlate = you all speak / talk
• loro parlano = they speak / talk

So parliamo follows a very common pattern.

Yes, but Parliamo di politica is the most neutral and natural order.

You might also hear:

• Di politica parliamo.

That version is more marked and gives extra focus to di politica, almost like:

• It’s politics that we’re talking about

For a basic, neutral sentence, Parliamo di politica is the best model.