My Mélange

Dusting off the Italian Language Skills

It has been about a year since we have taken any form of Italian class.  And even more disturbing is that it has been five years since I have visited Italy and heard the real deal spoken all around me.

The cliché "Use it or lose it" is so appropriate for languages, as well as in other things in life.  And man, we really haven't been using it.

We used to be really good about speaking to each other in Italian for a bit each day. 

The basics like "How was your day?", "What time is it?", "What do you want for dinner tonight?"

But as time went on, and with no impending trips on the horizon, Italian got less and less of a starring role in our day and eventually just faded into the sunset.

Now, that we have another trip coming in two months, we are finding ways to brush-up on our Italian.

Though we did forget alot, like weight-training or bike-riding, it comes back easier than if you are learning for the first time.

Like falling off a Vespa and getting right back on- or something like that.

We are reviewing chapters of Ultimate Italian, by Living Language, which was our text book for our Italian class.

We are downloading Podcasts on my Macbook, so that I can listen while I am working on projects.

Some of my favorites, include:

ItalianPod

ItalianPod 101

Learn Italian Pod

Let's Speak Italian

I am also the type of person that puts the TV on for background noise when I am writing and blogging. So, I am having the RAI Italian channel added to our cable package for the next two months.  

The hope is that just hearing the Italian spoken word for a few hours a night, might just make us learn by osmosis.  I think it is worth the twenty dollar investment to find out- especially if I find a great place to eat, score a digestivo on the house or a make a new Roman friend as a result!

No matter what, I know that the Romans will appreciate whatever Italian we manage to eek out, and won't get offended if our tense or grammar isn't perfetto.  

In fact, during our first visit we had  ordered drinks at a caffé, in Italian, prior to learning about pluralization. We ordered 'due cappuccino' and the barista made our drinks, placed them on the bar and graciously announced that our 'due cappuccini 'were ready.  

We didn't really understand why he did that, until we learned that cappuccini is the correct form when ordering more than one cappuccino.

And though he could have made a huge, overblown scene, he could have not corrected us, or answered us in English (I am sure it was painfully obvious that we were American), he chose instead to help us in a respectful way.  I am convinced that this was because we respected him enough to try speaking his language.

So, no matter how bad we speak, how many words we may have forgotten over the last year, how many times we forget to put the adjective after the noun, or how many times we are answered in English- we will still try our best to speak Italian in Rome. 

And though we won't speak it perfectly, I am quite certain that we will be more fluent than we were five years ago.  

And that's something, right?

Tell me your foreign language stories?  The good, the bad and the ugly!

Lovely Italian Words

Many of you know that I had taken some Italian lessons at the beginning of the year.  You can read more about that here and here.

Needless to say, we have been lax in our studies, but Italian is never far from my mind or my heart.

I consider Italian one of, if not the most beautiful language in the world.  C'mon, fess up - you do too!

Here are some more words to add to the growing list that prove my point.

crocodillo---crocodile

attraversiamo---to cross over

sensuale---sensual

telefonino---cell phone

lussuoso---luxurious

girasole---sunflower

pipistrello---bat

pomodoro---tomato

dimmi---tell me

So, now it's your turn.  Tell me, what are some of your favorite words  in Italian?

Finito Italiano

Well, it's over.  Italian I class...is history!  I never thought I'd get through it.  But, I did!

As you know, we had 10 classes of Italian and though I can't say that I am fluent in the lingua, by any means, I can say that I have certainly learned alot.  I have come to appreciate this beautiful language even more than before. 

If that was even possible?

You may remember that our professoressa was having a contest.  She  told us to keep adding Italian parole that we learned, to our vocab bank, and that the person with the most words at the end of class would win.  Something.  I was hoping the prize would be an all-expenses paid trip to the Bel Paese.

Being that I am a competitive person, I added new words like a mad-woman.  My strength is usually in the vocabulary and the memorization of said words.  My weakness...ahem, grammar.  So, this contest played to my strengths.

I started my vocab bank with a mere 100 words.  I am happy to announce that the night of our last class, I had 547 words!  Yep,cinquecento quaranta sette parole!!!  And I owned 'em!!

When the insegnante heard how many words I had, she said "Whoa, va bene, va bene!"

She grabbed my quaderno and started quizzing me.  As if she didn't believe me.

After she declared me the winner, she presented me with two little doni.

First, she told me to open the piccolo one first.  She said it was *the card*.   And this was my card...

A little pin that says.....I Love Italian!!   È vero!!! 

The second gift was a copy of a popular American children's book . Tre Orsi.  The Three Bears.  Awww, how cute!!  A perfect gift!

Allora, we are left to our own devices for the summer.  Italian II does not being until September.  We will be challenged to keep up what we have learned and not lose it.  I have found this free Italian pod-cast that can be used as basic review.  I am considering investing in some Pimsleur Cd's and of course we continue to rent Italian movies through Netflix.

I am sure you all have some even better recommendations for how to keep up on our new Italian language skills. 

I would be grateful if you shared....

Italian Dialects

Italy is made up of 20 different regions.  Until the 1800's each region had it's own dialect that was spoken.  In Tuscany, the National language of Italy was created.  It is this Italian language that is taught and is now known by all of Italy.  This is the Italian that we are currently learning.  Well, attempting to learn.

So, all along, I have thought about these other dialects in the 20 regions.  I imagined it would be like someone from the US, hearing the same word spoken in Maine, Tennessee, West Virginia, New York and Boston.  Each word would have a little different sound, based on the area you were from, but that basically you would be able to understand one another. 

I further imagined what  different words might sound like traveling from region to region in Italy.  Hmm, would southern Italy have like a twang, like we do in the South of the US.  Would Northern Italy pronounce there words with more of  a German sound and perhaps.

So, I went out on a limb and asked our professoressa about it in our last class.  She stared at me like I was pazza.  Apparently, I didn't quite *get* the whole dialect thing.  You see, I though dialects were kinda like an accent.  Oh, nay- nay.  The dialect of a region is a totally different language. And there are 20!  Yeah, missed the boat on that one.

Allora, basically, we are learning the national Italian language that everyone understands, yet there are 20 other completely different local languages, different in each region, that people speak.  The words are totally different.  Oh Caspita!

So, I took a few deep breaths and decided not to get overwhelmed....one thing at a time.  The National language is challenging enough without even thinking aboutadding a local dialect to the mix.

I guess I won't be fittin' in with the locals any time soon.

I leave you with a few more of my favorite Italian words.  And don't worry, these are from the National language...not dialects.

francobollo
boh
professoressa
zanzara
spuntino
tee voo (tv)
abbigliamento
dappertutto
cinquantacinque
lungomare
parcheggio
certo

So, what are some of your favorite words or sayings in a foreign language and why? 

 

Italian Cinema

One of the ways we are trying to get more practice with the Italian language is renting and watching Italian movies.  We have seen three in the last few weeks, and not only did we have fun picking out some words that we knew, but we thoroughly enjoyed the movies.  Uh, we also learned that we won't be speaking and understanding any Italian locals for quite some time.  *Sigh*

So, I would like to share those movies with you. 

Add them to your Netflix queue or run out to your local video store to rent them.  Or, if you want to add them to your DVD collection, click on the links below to purchase them through Amazon.

I loved all three movies.  Each has it's own unique message of love, of inspiration, of destiny.  Each one can make you cry...but for very different reasons.  I had seen Life is Beautiful before, but I can watch that movie over and over and fall in love with it again and again each time I see it.  That one is certainly my favorite of all three.  That Roberto Benigni is some genius!  It is no wonder he and the film won the Academy Award some ten years ago.

Have you seen any of these movies?  What did you think?  Do you like any of them so much, that you had to own it?  Do you have any other Italian movies that you'd recommend to me?

   

Lesson Four

Or Lezione Quattro.  As expected the lessons are getting harder.  It is increasingly difficult to find enough time to practice from settimana to settimana.  Seven days is not alot of time between lezioni.  I never thought I would wish I could go back to High School, where I didn't have to work, clean, shop, cook or pay bills, so that I could have all that extra study time.  I guess when you have that time, you won't use it...and when you don't have it, you want it.  Go figure.

On the plus side, my vocabulario is expanding and my pronunciation remains strong.

So far, some of my favorite words are:

Allora......so.  This is used often as a little in between word like OK.  Plus is sounds so pretty.
Lentemente....slowly.  This is a great one to know when someone is talking at the speed of light.
Passaggiata....a walk around town after a meal.  You see this often in Italy.
Ecco....here it is!
Dopodomani....day after tomorrow.
Stamattina...this morning.
Piacere.....pleasing, pleasure.
Anche....also.
Cosi cosi......this or that.  so so.

I can now also count to sixty(sessanta) and can ask and tell time.  Both military and digital. 

In Italy, schedules of trains, plane flights and concerts are written in military time, while everyday happenings like cena(dinner), lavoro(work) and general questions regarding time are told in standard time.  There is not however, AM or PM, in Italian.  If it is not obvious (you wouldn't have dinner at 8am, so dinner at 8:00 (otto) means 8:00 at night) you use the words di mattina (in the morning), di pomeriggio (in the afternoon) or di sera (in the night), to differentiate.  And any true Italian will tell you time is a subjective thing.  So 8:00 (otto) is really 8-ish.  Could be 8:30, 8:45, whenever.  If you are planning dinner or a gathering with amici (friends) and it needs to start on time....follow your time with the phrase, in punto, which means sharp!  Hopefully, they will get the picture!

However, there are still things that continue to haunt me.  Namely conjugating verbs, the use of indefinite and definite articles and pluralizing nouns.  Like any language, there are rules...and sometimes the rules just don't apply.  Argh.  Not an easy thing to learn. 

I keep pluggin' away though!

A presto! (see you soon) 

 

What's in your Vocab Bank?

Last week in Italian class, our professore announced a little contest.  A contest involving words.  She actually says that vocab, aka, vocabulary is like a savings account.  Every word you put in is equal to one Euro, or Dollar here in the US (actually, at this point, I'd rather it be Euro.)  And every word you use, or withdraw from the bank is worth the same.  I like her little stories and rationalizations.  It keeps us having fun in class!!

So, she told us to start keeping track of every word in Italian that we know.  Really know! We have to write them all down on a sheet of paper. She will quiz us at the end of our 10 weeks when we hand it in, to make sure we really know them.  The student that knows the most vocab will win!  Win what?  Well, we don't know yet..but I for one am hoping it is either the amount of cash in our Vocab Bank...or at the very least, a trip to Italia!  (A perfect example of why Sognatrice, aka..dreamer, is a fitting name for me)

When I first thought about it, I was reluctant to play.  I kept thinking how sad my short little list would be.  But as I kept thinking and thinking, listing and listing...my list kept growing and growing.  And I did not cheat and write down every number I know, every type of coffee drink I know, every pasta dish or noddle name or tiny words like he, it, the, or, and the like. I used actual words.  So far I am up to over 150 words....and counting.  I think traveling to Italy, watching movies about Italy, and reading every Italian travel guide and memoir known to man, has helped me immensely in my quest for Vocab Victory!!!  It is amazing to see how many words you really do know.... it excites you, pushes you to learn more and makes you believe in your abilities!! 

So, now I am passing the torch along to you, dear readers.  I thought it would be fun for you to play along.  Why not come up with your own list of words you know in a foreign language..even English...if that happens to not be your native tongue?  You never know....you may know more than you thought...and it just may motivate you to continue learning a new language.

For anyone who does their Vocab homework, if you post a comment telling  us your non-native language and the total number of words that you know in that language, I will enter you in a little drawing.  And no cheating!!!  We are all on the honor system here, folks.  Your homework is due by midnight, Friday, EST.   A little language themed prize will be awarded to the random winner of the drawing. 

Photo:  Water flows from a fountain in Lucca, Italy.   Both fontana and acqua are words in my Vocab Bank.

So, what's in a name?

This week in Italian class we got to pick our own names.  We each had to pick an Italian pseudonym to call each other during class.  Down the line we went, Antonia picked Antonia, Mary chose Maria, Joe went with Giuseppe, Chris translates to Cristoforo (careful, if you pronounce it wrong it means Christopher Columbus).  And then there was me. 

I consider myself lucky in this respect, because there is no Italian translation for Robin.  I was hoping Professore wouldn't say Roberta, as I really don't care for that name.  Instead, I got to pick whatever I wanted.  Oh, the possibilities. 

And then it dawned on me.  I asked her if it had to be a Proper name.  She said it could be whatever I wanted.  Well, I wanted Sognatrice, which means dreamer...because I dream of Italy and in honor of my dear friend Michelle over at Bleeding Espresso.  My pronunciation must have been a little off, because when I asked her, she said.." oh, one who prays, a prayer?"  Uh, well, no, not exactly, at least I don't think so.  So, I tried again, this time emphasizing the ya in Son-ya-tree-chey.  That must have done it because she smiled and said, "Ah, dreamer, veddy nice-a!" 

Meanwhile, the rest of the class were busy sounding out my new name.  They were all moaning and groaning, while realizing that they will have to now address the former easy-breezy named Robin, as the now more complicated...Sognatrice.  I think a saw a few dirty looks and perhaps heard an "oh, brother" from the far corner of the room.   

Boh.

Photo:  A trattoria in San Gimignano named Chiribiri...which really doesn't translate to anything.  It's just a happy sounding name, obviously chosen from the heart.

Language Links

So, I was thinking I might share a few links with you...just in case you would like to join me in my attempt to learn the Italian language.

1. You can learn a word a day and hear it spoken by a native Italian, at Transparent Language.  You also get an example spoken in a sentence.
2. About.com offers Italian Word a Day.  You can also get it delivered in a newsletter.  I like browsing the archives there.
3. Rosetta Stone is touted by companies like NASA, IKEA and the US Army for being the  best way to learn a language.  Learn on your computer by associating words and phrases with corresponding pictures!
4. Learn some of the basics, for free.  Including some popular phrases..one or two naughty ones too.
5. Another set of short, basic lessons on the Internet.  A good reference, with some quizzes to test your knowledge at the end.
6. Talk about tech savvy.  Why not learn Italian through pod-casts on your Ipod?  I think this is the coolest.  And I am totally signing up!!
7. Call your cable company and ask to get the Italian channel as an add on to your package.  This way you can practice, translate and hear Italian...anytime you wish!
8. Do you have a Google page?  You can add this gadget to it...another Audio Word a Day.
9. Or, you could live the true dream and go to school in Italia!!

So tell me, what languages do you know?  Which ones would you like to learn?  What are your secrets for mastering a new language?

Italiano Imparante

Loosely translated...Learning Italian.  We had taken some classes in 2004, right before our trip to Italy.  You know, just to learn a little bit to travel with.  Typical stuff, like "I would like a coffee.", "We have a reservation", or the ever popular "Can I live here, with you for the rest of my life and can you find me work?"  We learned the months, telling time, how to count, pronunciation.  Basic Italian.  Very basic.

But, we are loosing it.  Well, yes our minds, of course, but I meant the Italian language.  Anyone who takes a language will tell you that unless you practice it, often, your chances of retaining it are slim.  And so, we have no Italian speaking friends or family.  Little by little we forget.

So, I started perusing continuing education classes in our area.  Low and behold, we found a class that was beginning in a week.  Ahh, perfeto!!  And the best part is, it is an ongoing program..so we can keep going.  Italian I thru Italian V.  10 weeks each.  We are it in for the long haul.

Monday night was our first class.  Italian I.  And lets just say, it is not your basic, fun, just for kicks and giggles class.  It is like a college course.  Gulp.  *hard swallow*  I haven't been in a college class for, well, um, lets see, the better part of 20 years.  I am scared.  I buy notebooks, I bring pens.  I hope there is no final exam.

Our teacher is adorable.  She is about 70, short wavy gray hair, glasses and about 4' 2".  She is from Sicily and has taught Italian here for about 40 years.  She gave us a fascinating little lesson on the history of the Italian language and dialects.  Then we got down to the nitty gritty.  Let me just show you some of things we learned and what I have to look forward too...

• As far as pronunciation, in Italian you say what you see.   Already easier than French.
• The Italian alphabet only has 21 letters.  They don't use j, k, w, x, y.  Even better, less letters to memorize.
• In Italian, nouns are both masculine and feminine.  Huh, words with a gender?  Basically, if it ends in e or o, it is masculine.  If a word ends in a, it is feminine.  Generally.  Uh, but there are always exceptions. We don't have this in English.  A word just is what it is, there are no body parts involved, no sexuality, no sexual tension.  Oh, that's right, Italian is a romance language.
   
• The stress on the word happens in the 2nd syllable, counted from the end of the word to the beginning.  Like in Italia...e-taaal-ya.  You carry the vowel a little longer.  But..not all the time.  Take Medici.  You would think it would be meh-deee-chee.  Nope, it is mehhh-di-chee.  Stress on the 1st syllable.  We asked our teacher how you would know.  She shrugs her shoulders in true Italian fashion and said " You won't know, till you hear it spoken and you remember it".  Great. Clear as mud.
• We learned that there are not a lot of character or accents marks in Italian.  The accent mark in Italian is usually misrepresented by an accent grave (è ), but it is truly more like a half moon sign above the letter (ĕ). The text books are lying to us- not a good sign.   
• Last, but not least, we learned how to construct a sentence.  I give you my first written sentence in Italian...

Compro il vino, il pane e la farina per la famiglia di Maria.   Which translates to I am buying wine, bread and flour for Maria's family. 

Fascinating, I know. 

We already have homework for next week.  I have my own goal.  How to say 'Oh My God, what have I gotten myself into?'...in Italian.