Italian Language

Wanna get right to the good stuff?
Check out my favorite Italian swear words!

talking

Why would you want to learn Italian?
When I first started learning the Italian language, Italians would ask, “Why would you want to do that?” On some level, Italians understand that their language - as beautiful and poetic as it might be - isn’t exactly essential in today’s world. While it’s spoken by about 62 million people worldwide, the only country for which it is the main language is Italy itself. If you think about it, the Italians weren’t exactly great colonizers - so they didn’t end up with territories in far-away lands whose inhabitants they converted to speaking Italian. The result is a language which doesn’t prove very useful beyond the borders of its home country.

To be fair, there is a portion of Switzerland for which Italian is the official language (not surprisingly, it’s the portion which borders Italy), and there are other countries which are close to Italy where you might also find Italian being spoken in some form. But unlike Spanish or English, which you’ll find forms of in several different parts of the world, Italian is a bit like an island. All this is to say that if you want to learn a little bit of the language before you visit Italy, be prepared to have Italians ask, “Why would you want to do that?”

Italian Pronunciation is Straightforward
Italian is, as I call it, something of a WYSIWYG language - “what you see is what you get.” Once you learn the basic pronunciation rules, you can be confident when guessing at new words because nearly everything is pronounced just as you think it might be. Italian vowels are clipped while consonants are given more weight - double consonants even more so. While there’s no tonality to the language, Italian is incredibly musical. Many of the exceptions to the rules were made because something just sounded better a different way. You will still find regional dialects throughout the country - some of which sound almost nothing like Italian - but the official language of Italy, the one you’ll find in newspapers and being taught in schools, is the Italian of Dante, who is considered the father of the Italaian language.

Depending on where your travel in Italy takes you, you are likely to find lots of people who speak English and are eager to practice with you. This is especially true of younger generations and of bigger, more touristy, cities. If you get off the beaten path, however, or want to communicate at all with older generations, speaking a little Italian will not only be a polite thing to do - it’ll be absolutely necessary.

Be Polite: Learn the Basics Before You Go
My advice to you is to take a beginner’s Italian class - most towns have a community college which offers adult education non-credit classes - or get a good self-study book and some CDs. Learn the terms of basic politeness, and a few conversation starters if you’re feeling adventurous. And above all, don’t be afraid to try out what you’ve learned - the Italians are, by and large, extremely forgiving with their language. They’ll encourage you when you’re on the right track and politely redirect you when you’re not. Again, they understand that their language isn’t on the top of everyone’s list of languages to learn, so they always seem pleased when someone makes the effort.

Recommended Italian Self-Study Guides

Italian: A Self-Teaching Guide, by Edoardo Lebano
Italian the Easy Way, by Marcel Danesi
Italian Without the Fuss, by Living Language (comes with audio CD)

Recommended Phrase Books to Bring Along

Rick Steves’ Italian Phrasebook, by Rick Steves
The Hungry Traveler: Italy, by Pat Mozersky

A Few Polite Words to Master

Hello - before noon, “buongiorno” (bwahn-JOUR-no); after noon, “buona sera” (bwahn-ah SEHR-ah); at night, “buona notte” (bwahn-ah NO-tay)
Thank You - grazie (GRAH-tsee-ay)
Please - per favore (pear fah-VOH-ray), or per piacere (pear pee-ah-CHAIR-ay)
May I? - Posso? (POH-soh)
How much? - Quanto costa? (QWAHN-toh COST-ah)

For fun, don’t miss my growing collection of Italian idiomatic expressions, too!