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Introduction

Ciao e Benvenuti!

Hi and Welcome!

So…you are dying to finally learn Italian for this upcoming trip to the Belpaese, or—no, no—it is because you truly love opera and you absolutely need to understand Il Dongiovanni. Or actually, to be fully honest, it’s because of the beautiful brown eyes of that charming all-Italian woman you just met, or—in fact—because your nonna (grandmother) used to call you “Tesoro” and you now want to truly honor her memory and your roots. Or it is simply because you love art, and quality, and architecture; poetry and beauty; and by learning Italian you know you are going to get, in some real way, all that. Plus of course good food and even better wine!

Bene (well...), the good news is that you, with this book, are indeed going to be “making out in Italian” and all that comes with it. As far as the lady or the gentleman with the brown eyes and charming accent…well, that’s up to you…but this book will give you some useful tools.

ITALIAN IS EASY…AND YOU ALREADY KNOW IT

Indeed the good news is that speaking Italian—at least, speaking enough to make out—is not as difficult as you have imagined, and you already know more words in Italian than you might believe.

The first easy part about learning Italian is the pronunciation: Italian (unlike English!) is a phonetic language, which means that it’s spoken the way that it’s written. Letters are pronounced consistently; for each letter there is a corresponding sound.This means that spelling surprises are rare, and most important, that to say something in Italian is pretty straightforward.

The second easy part is that, if speaking a foreign language is about making yourself understood and understanding another person’s messages to you—in a word, communicating—Italian is the best bet. Why? Because in Italy you communicate not only with words and sentences (which you’ll learn here) but also with your whole body. In an Italian dialogue everything is involved, used, embraced: hands, gestures, facial expressions, sounds.And if you throw yourself into this lively way of communicating, Italians are going to be so fully attuned to you that they’ll undoubtedly understand you.

The third easy part is that many many Italian and English words are very similar, or sometimes even identical.That’s because they share a common source: Latin. When words have the same root and so are written or pronounced similarly in two languages they are called cognates, and here are some examples of cognates—the Italian you already know:

restaurant	ristorante
bank	banca
victory	vittoria
airport	aeroporto
ideal	ideale
air conditioning	l’aria condizionata

One warning: be mindful of the so-called “false friends,” words that look very similar in their Italian/English spellings but that actually have very different meanings. For example, parents and parenti (in Italian parenti means not “parents” but all kinds of family members: “relatives” in English). Or, morbid and morbido : morbido in Italian means “soft,” nothing to do with the English meaning of morbid.

Back to yet another side of the easy part—the non-cognates but universally known words: amore, pizza, buongiorno, sì, grazie, spaghetti, lasagna, pasta, pesto, vino, ciao…la dolce vita!

And if you still have any lingering concerns about how easy it will be for you to make out in Italian, just remember that Italian has—especially in recent years—acquired so many English words that the language will sound very familiar. In Italy you’ll see and hear “la privacy,” “il check-in,” “il computer,” “un week-end,” “sexy,” “un must,” “e-mail,” “hard-disk,” “OK,” and the list goes on.

A ROMANCE LANGUAGE, A “SEXY” LANGUAGE

Italian is a lingua romanza (a Romance language). Like other Romance languages (French, Spanish, Portuguese and Romanian) it derives from Latin, and from Latin it has inherited a series of specific grammar “rules” that makes it at a certain level more articulate and complex than English.

Italian is a very “sexy” language, in that it’s extremely focused on gender differences: in fact Italian nouns—all of them aside from the “neutral” ones—have a gender. They are either masculine or feminine, and as a consequence, any words that describe a noun, like adjectives and articles, must match its gender.

Gender also comes into play when making plurals, which of course you’ll need to do at some point while you’re getting along in Italian. Italian does not create the plurals of words by adding an “s” as English does. Instead, Italian changes the last letter of a noun or adjective to create the plural. In the end, all this gender-matching is one of the trickiest parts to learn and remember for foreigners.

Take it as social game—hmm, what’s the gender of intelligence?—and you’ll start to better understand all the “soft power” of women in Italy...of course intelligenza is feminine!

And there are so many other uniquely charming, rather than challenging, aspects of Italian: for example, Italian is a musical-sounding language which for centuries has made it very apt for opera or for very sentimental pop songs.This “genetic” musicality stems from among other things the fact that most Italian words end in a vowel sound, and this creates a very clear rhythm in the flow of a sentence. Speak, speak and you’ll find yourself almost singing….

A word about dialects. Italian derives originally from Latin but specifically from the dialects that over the centuries arose from it: Italian is an evolution of what was judged to be the “best” dialect (“lingua volgare”)—the Florentine that was spoken and written in the 13th and 14th century.

However, still today, many many different dialects are spoken in different areas of the peninsula.You are not going to recognize the differences initially, although you might notice the diverse accents. Just be aware that if suddenly one day, while in Italy, you find yourself not understanding Italian anymore, you are probably just listening to someone speaking a dialect.

ITALIAN GREETINGS: FORMAL AND INFORMAL

In Italy the ways of greeting someone are several, and they’re clearly defined in their use according to the occasions, and the level of familiarity or formality.

Ciao and Salve are the equivalents of Hi and Hello. Salve means literally “salute” (good health). These two greetings are used informally, with a cheerful, friendly sense. They are common expressions among family and friends, but also with less intimate acquaintances with whom there is a good chemistry and you want to show it.

Buongiorno (Good morning), Buonasera (Good evening) are good greetings for strangers, acquaintances and whomever you want to treat with a certain degree of cordial formality.

A presto means “See you soon” and it is also widely used.

Arrivederci is a wonderful little “farewell” Italian word, meaning literally “See each other again.” It’s a way of parting that assumes you will see each other again and probably soon. It is cheerful and does not have any of the dramatic tone of addio.

Addio is the Italian “Farewell” meant as…maybe we won’t see each other again. Everything is uncertain with the word addio. It was the expression used by the emigrants to say goodbye to their families when they were leaving the “Bella Italia” to go to America, the land of opportunity.

When it comes to the non -verbal greetings to others, there are interesting peculiarities about the Italian way. First of all, when two friends, not necessarily even close friends, meet they kiss each other on the cheeks: one light kiss on each cheek, not on just one cheek as Americans do. Italians also hug each other but less strongly and with less patting than the American norm.

The handshake exchanged among acquaintances, or colleagues, or dignitaries is also different: Italians shake hands lightly and with only one short up-down movement.

FORMAL AND INFORMAL CONVERSATIONS… “PUOI DARMI DEL TU”

This is one of the most distinct differences between English and Italian. While English always uses the pronoun “you” when addressing another person or persons, in Italy there is a very specific differentiation depending on your level of intimacy with the person you are talking to and the level of respect you want to show.

The informal way to address people is with the pronoun tu, which is used with family, friends, pets, always among students, young people, and often colleagues. The formal way to address people is instead with the pronoun Lei, which is used with persons you’ve just met, acquaintances, your boss, strangers, dignitaries, and store clerks.

The difficult part of this differentiation for non-natives is not the concept by itself—easy to grasp—but the fact that the other parts of your sentence, like verb forms, possessives, and so on, have to agree in their conjugation with the tu or the Lei.And Italian verbs’ conjugations can be, with all their irregular forms, pretty complicated.

In this book, devoted to the goal of “making out in Italian” in an everyday, clear and direct way, we have chosen to use the informal approach.The sentences provided, aside from very few exceptions, use the informal tu.

Be assured: Italians will understand you perfectly and they will probably volunteer—you being a foreigner—the following sentence: “Puoi darmi del tu.” (You can use the “tu” with me.)

On your side you can politely ask:“Posso darle del tu?” (Can I use the “tu”?)

ASKING QUESTIONS

To pose questions, Italians do not have any equivalent of the “do/does” sort of word arrangement used in English.They simply use the tone of their voice, along with gestures and facial expressions.The context of the sentence will tell you very clearly if a sentence is declarative or interrogative.

Hai parenti in America.	(You have relatives in America.)
Hai parenti in America?	(Do you have relatives in America?)

Sei felice!	(You are happy.)
Sei felice?	(Are you happy?)

ALPHABET AND PRONUNCIATION: SOME TRICKS AND TIPS

The Italian alphabet consists of 21 letters plus another 5 letters present only in foreign words. These are the Italian letters:

a b c d e f g h i l m n o p q r s t u v z

These are the foreign ones: j k w x y

Italian pronunciation is pretty easy compared with English, since Italian is spoken the way it is written, but there are some rules.

Consonants, and Combinations

Here some “tricky” pronunciations to keep in mind:

C	When it is before the vowels i and e, it has to be pronounced like the “ch” in ch ur ch. Examples: città (city), circo (circus), centro (center). But otherwise, it has a sound like “k” (as in “c ard”). Examples: casa (home), conto (bill).
G	Must be pronounced like the “j” in “j elly” when it is before the vowels i and e. Example: giardino (garden). But otherwise, it is pronounced like the “g” of “g ate.” Examples: galleria (gallery), gara (contest).
GL	This is a bit unfamiliar at first for many foreigners who don’t have this sound in their own language, but it’s not difficult. The gl present in Italian words like “meglio” (better) is pronounced in a similar way to the “lli” in the English word “mi lli on.”
H	The h in Italian is always silent, no aspiration, not a sound, just a mute presence…think of the pronunciation of “h” in “Ah.”
QU	Pronounced as in “qu ick.”
SC	When it is before the vowels i and e, it is pronounced as “sh.” Example:“scena” (scene). But otherwise, it has a sound like the “sk” in “sk eleton.” Example: brusco (rude / brisk).
R	This is a tough one. Italian rolls the r powerfully, as in rrrrr. Just do your best.

The “double” risk

Every Italian consonant—except the h —can be doubled. It is very important to stress the double when you speak, since otherwise the sense of the word can be altered: sette means seven, while sete means thirst. Americans should be particularly attentive when doubling the tt to not make a “d” sound. Pronounce both t ’s using the softness of the “t” in the English word “table.”

Vowels

Of the five vowels, three—a, i, u —are always pronounced in the same way. Two—e, o —can be pronounced with either a short or a long sound.

“ah” as in “father”.

A	Example:casa(house)
I	“ee” as in “mar i ne”. Example: vino (wine)
U	“oo” as in “r u de”. Example: luna (moon)
E	Long sound “ay”, as in “l a te”. Example: sete (thirst) Short sound “eh”, as in “l e ss”. Example: bello (beautiful)
O	Long sound “oh”, as in “m o st”. Example: sole (sun) Short sound “o”, as in “c o st”. Example: modo (way)

Also, vowels in Italian are always clearly pronounced, never “skipped” like the silent vowels that exist at the end of many English words. Thus, the word sole (sun) is pronounced “SOH-lay”. Contrast that to the English word for the bottom of a shoe!

Where to Put the Stress

Most words in Italian are pronounced with the stress on the next-to-last syllable.Think about how the word parola is said, for instance: pah-ROH-lah.

There are some words that are stressed on their last syllable, instead.Those always have an accent mark written on their final vowel, so if you are reading a word, it will be easy for you to notice and you’ll know to pronounce it correctly, as in Così così (so-so), pronounced koh-ZEE koh-ZEE.

There are some words that have their stresses on irregular syllables; you will learn these as you go.And remember, even if you stress a word on the wrong syllable, Italians will still understand you.

One more note about accent marks: sometimes an accent mark is used on a word of just one syllable. Many times this happens when there are two words that sound alike but have different meanings, like la (the) and là (there).

AVOIDABLE LITTLE MISTAKES

If you want to make a great impression on your new Italian friends, pronounce the following words correctly; these are usually mispronounced by English speakers.

Pinot Grigio : Always avoid pronouncing the i that comes after the g in the combinations “gia,” “gio,” “giu.” The famous Italian wine Pinot Grigio should be pronounced GREE-jyoh (not gree-jee-oh); same thing for the name Giovanni (jyoh-VAHN-nee).

Bruschetta : The “sch” should not be pronounced as “sh.” Avoid the common American mispronunciation of this word; say “sk” for the correct pronunciation, broo-SKEHT-tah.

Prosciutto : In this case, the “sciu” must sound like “shoo”: proh-SHOOT-toh. Do not say proh-skee-oo-toh!

Spaghetti : Please, please, please: the double “tt” has a doubled sound, even though it’s soft, so say both t ’s. And avoid like the plague the “d” sound of spah-geh-dee.

A simplified phonetic transcription system is used throughout the book to help remind you of the correct Italian pronunciations. Read as if it were English, and your “imitated” Italian will be close enough to make out.

And now, buona fortuna (good luck) to you. Or better,“In bocca al lupo” (“in the mouth of the wolf”), which is an Italian proverb wishing the very best to someone who’s launched toward a new enterprise.

You will be pleasantly surprised: learning to “make out in Italian” will be a truly unforgettable journey toward your own dolce vita.