All Things Italy discussion
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Learn Italian
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message 1:
by
David
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Dec 06, 2012 07:51AM
Would you like to be able to speak and read Italian? This is the place!
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Let's start with something simple: learn the alphabet. In Italian, what you see is what you read, so if you learn how to pronounce every single letter (and a few groups of letters, that have a sound of their own) you'll be able to pronounce everything. Here's a youtube video to start with. Next weekend I'll post some original material
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpWvB6...
Roberta wrote: "Let's start with something simple: learn the alphabet. In Italian, what you see is what you read, so if you learn how to pronounce every single letter (and a few groups of letters, that have a soun..."Grazie Roberta!
Marianne wrote: "Roberta: Nice video :)Sicilian is a whole other language ;)
MGP"
Actually, this guy should be Sicilian. Italian is the national language, but anyone speaks it with an accent, depending from their county of origin. Then you have local dialects, and some of them are a whole different language. Sicilian, Neapolitan and other southern dialects are strong, independent idioms: I live between Milan and Turin, and I will not understand them.
Tip: watch the Simpsons in Italian. They have been dubbed with italian accents
Groundkeeper Willy: Sardinia
Carl: Veneto
Lovejoy: Calabria
Fat Tony: Sicily
Chief Wiggum: Napoli
The Simpsons speak a standard italian
So, is there anyone interested in some tutoring?
What would tutoring imply?By the way, the Simpsons guy sounds nothing like actual people from Sardinia, it's waaay sterotypical :)
Apropos of dialects, some linguists recognize Sardinian as an actual language, that evolved separately from Latin - although it's very hard to speak of it as one language, I understand nothing of the dialects from some other parts of Sardinia, especially the deep-in-the-mountains kind of idioms :P
Claire wrote: "What would tutoring imply?By the way, the Simpsons guy sounds nothing like actual people from Sardinia, it's waaay sterotypical :)
Apropos of dialects, some linguists recognize Sardinian as an ac..."
I don't know, it depends on the group members. I could provide videos, web pages, documents, or even make our own. We can start our own class here (I used to teach Italian, I loved it).
Or this page can become a place where member can post questions about the language and the other Italians and I will provide some tailored answers.
PS: of course the Simpsons are stereotyped, but at least a foreigner can immediately grasp the different geographical "tones".
Oh I know about the Simpsons, just wanted to point it out if someone is interested to know there's a difference in real life ;)I myself couldn't tell if the other accents are believable or not to people who are actually from those parts of Italy.
Anyway I'd love to help in some way, I'm not a teacher of any sort but I'd like to give a hand to people who want to learn Italian. Answering questions seems like a good idea. Also I think it could be helpful to set up threads where we can just chat and users can interact with native speakers who can correct their mistakes.
Can't forget the 'sign language'! One that I found rather helpful is the sign of il ladro...the thief. Watch out for those gypsies!
I remember in Italy the word 'Prego' seemed to have multiple uses.ps. When can we read the 'Commedia'?!
Did they also use it to name a spaghetti sauce? lol
It has been 15 years since I lived there and almost 7 years since I've gone back to visit, but I still say 'andiamo' with the hand gestures. My whole family knows it now. It's sort of our sign to leave a situation or a party or meeting when we don't want to be there any more. We 'sign' each other 'let's go' and don't have to be obvious about it. Works rather well!
Roberta wrote: "Let's start with something simple: learn the alphabet. In Italian, what you see is what you read, so if you learn how to pronounce every single letter (and a few groups of letters, that have a soun..."It would be cool if you could write a review in Italian and English!
Roberta wrote: "I like that. Choose a title"How about your favorite book?
Ciao! :) come sta? Mi chiamo Apollonia. Piacere did conoscerla :)
Ciao a tutti :)Mi chiamo Sabrine :D e il mio ragazzo é italiano.
- so I would love to pratice italian :)
Ciao Sabrine e ciao a tutto. Anche io. Sto provando a imparare italiano. Vorrei parlare o scrivere italiano.
Ciao Eddie, Sabrine, ed Apollonia (ed a tutti)! Non parlo tanto Italiano, perche non c'e una persona con qui io possa parlare vicino a me. Ma vorrei imparare di piu. Ho imparato un po quando ho studiato in Italia, pero mi spaglio tanto. C'e qualche italiano(a) o anche una persona brava parlare la linga, mi potesse insegnare?Come si fa l'accento?
Ciao Heather,I have an Italian friend who is looking for someone to practice her English and, in exchange, help with Italian. She is in Italy and would be using Skype for this conversation exchange. Contact me if you are interested.
Hallo, i'm Italian. Me too, I would Like to Help someone with italian and in exchange practice my English via Skype or email.
Buona sera a tutti!Sono inglese ma mi piace parlare, leggere e scrivere in italiano. Sono molto contenta di essere qui. Vedo l'ora di praticare il mio italiano.
A presto!
Celia
Music seems to help with vocabulary, especially after finding an artist you really like. Eros Ramazzotti has helped tremendously in retention!
I learned Italian by memorizing operas. Now I speak like in from 1786.
Ciao Io sono italiana se volete scrivetemi per fare pratica con il vostro italiano e magari mi potrete aiutare con il mio inglese !
Is anyone able to help me with my Italian homework? I'm taking Italian for tourists and I'm a hopless mess. I don't understand the formal and informal differences.Like, I have answers and I need to write quesions. One answer is 24 anni and I know the question is Quanti anni ha? But I don't know if that is formal or informal.
hi Kathryn, Quanti anni ha (lei)? is formal - it's like asking someone how old someone else is when you want to know how old they are- it's like asking How old is he/she? when you mean How old are you? Quanti annu hai(tu)? is informal - it means How old are you? In a nutshell, when you speak to someone and use the verb in the second person singular (tu) it's informal. When you need to be formal you speak to the person but use the verb in the third person singular, with the subject 'lei'. Another example is Da dove vieni(tu)? where do you come from? - informal, or Da dove viene (lei)? formal. Hopethis helps and good luck with your studies
those are really great ways to learn. I previously was able to learn italian on skype free at http://preply.com/en/italian-by-skype but now it's got fee. So it's great that there are people willing to exchange learning. I'm not yet a "native-like" english speaker but I can teach what I know.
I have been living in Italy for 35 years, and am a professional translator from Italian, as well as a writer. I am married to an Italian and Italian is the language I use most every day. Everyone has their own way of learning a language, but I found that the very best way was to read as much and as varied as possible. The easiest writer I found was Natalia GinzburgLe voci della sera -- she was very influenced by English writers, and her style and syntax are very simple, unlike most other modern and contemporary writers, and uses only a little slang. Newspapers or magazines are not a good choice, as they are too intellectual, often, and use a cultural jargon not always easy to follow.
Ciao a tutti! Sono Alex. Ho visuto per un po a Roma però è da tanto tempo che non parlo italiano. Mi farebbe piacere parlare con tutti voi. A prestissimo!
