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- Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
- Kategorie: Fremdsprachen
- Sprache: Englisch
- Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2012
The fun and easy way to take your Italian language skills to the next level
The tips, techniques, and information presented here give students, travelers, and businesspeople a primer on how to speak Italian. Complete with updates, a bonus CD, and the traditional For Dummies user-friendly format, this new edition of Italian For Dummies gives you reliable lessons, practice, and language learning techniques for speaking Italian with ease and confidence.
Featuring a revamped, user-friendly organization that builds on your knowledge and ability, Italian For Dummies offers expanded coverage of the necessary grammar, major verb tenses, and conjugations that beginners need to know. Plus, you'll get a fully updated and expanded audio CD that includes real-life conversations; a refreshed and expanded mini-dictionary; more useful exercises and practice opportunities; and more.
- Builds on your skills and ability as you learn
- Covers the grammar, verb tenses, and conjugations you need to know
- Includes a mini-dictionary
- Audio CD includes real-life conversations
If you're looking to reach a comfort level in conversational Italian, Italian For Dummies gets you comfortably speaking this Romantic language like a native.
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Italian For Dummies®, Enhanced Edition
by Teresa Picarazzi, Francesca Romana Onofri, and Karen Möller
Italian For Dummies®, Enhanced Edition
Published byJohn Wiley & Sons, Inc.111 River St.Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774
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Copyright © 2011 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, NJ
Published simultaneously in Canada
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ISBN: 978-1-118-00465-4; ISBN: 978-1-118-25876-7 (enhanced book); ISBN: 978-1-118-25937-5 (enhanced book)
Manufactured in the United States of America
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About the Authors
Teresa Picarazzi graduated with a BA from Skidmore College and an MA/PhD in Italian Literature from Rutgers University. For many years she taught Italian language, literature, and culture at several universities, including The University of Arizona, Wesleyan University, and Dartmouth College. She also directed the Italian language and study abroad programs at some of these. For the past six years, she has taught Italian at The Hopkins School in New Haven, Connecticut.
In her spare time, Teresa likes to cook and read. She lives in Fairfield, Connecticut, with her daughter, her husband, Toby the dog, and Mittens and Governor the cats. The family spends every summer in Ravenna, Italy.
After her university studies in linguistics and Spanish and English language and literature, Francesca Romana Onofri lived several years abroad to better her understanding of the cultures and languages of different countries. In Spain and Ireland she worked as an Italian and Spanish teacher, as well as a translator and interpreter at cultural events. In Germany she was responsible for communication and special events in a museum of modern art, but even then she never gave up on her passion for languages: She was an Italian coach and teacher at the Opera Studio of the Cologne Opera House, and did translations — especially in the art field. Back in Italy, Francesca has edited several Berlitz Italian books and is working as a translator of art books, as well as a cultural events organizer and educator.
Karen Möller is currently studying Italian and English linguistics, literature, and culture. Before entering academia, Karen worked in the field of public relations and wrote articles for all kinds of fashion magazines and newspapers. Recently she has had occasion to work with Berlitz Publishing on German-Italian projects, including verb, vocabulary, and grammar handbooks, and Italian exercise books.
Dedication
I would like to dedicate this book to my parents, Mary and Domenico.
—Teresa Picarazzi
Author’s Acknowledgments
I would like to thank my husband Giancarlo and daughter Emilia for their patience and support while I was working on this book, and my students, present and past, for their curiosity and love for all things Italian. I would also like to thank the people at Wiley for making this book come true: acquisitions editor Michael Lewis for contacting me; project editor Susan Hobbs for carefully guiding me step by step through the process, and technical editors Alicia Vitti and Christiana Thielmann for making me look at some aspects of Italian language and culture through a different lens.
—Teresa Picarazzi
Publisher’s Acknowledgments
We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments at http://dummies.custhelp.com. For other comments, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002.
Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:
Acquisitions, Editorial, and Vertical Websites
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Italian For Dummies®, Enhanced Edition
Visit www.dummies.com/cheatsheet/Italian to view this book's cheat sheet.
Table of Contents
This enhanced e-book offers multiple opportunities to click a play button to hear native speakers pronounce the Italian the right way. Taking advantage of these listen-and-repeat audio clips gets you a step closer to mastering the language.
For maximum benefit, use horizontal mode to view this e-book.
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Welcome to Italian For Dummies, Enhanced Edition (0:26)
Media at a Glance
Audio
Common Italian expressions (1:25)
The Italian alphabet (1:38)
Asking directions (1:46)
Chatting informally (3:12)
Formal introductions (1:00)
Informal introductions (1:25)
Days of the week (0:39)
Months of the year (1:03)
Talking about the weather (1:43)
Recipe ingredients (3:18)
Asking directions to the train station (1:29)
Taking the bus the wrong way (1:20)
Making a reservation (1:29)
Deciding what to order at a pizzeria (1:33)
Stopping for ice cream (1:54)
Trying on a skirt (3:18)
Trying on shoes (1:41)
Making a movie date (1:46)
A party invitation via telephone (1:59)
Phoning an old friend (1:26)
Making an appointment with a doctor (1:25)
Making a business call (1:31)
Discussing weekend activities (1:18)
Talking about sports (1:59)
Discussing hobbies (1:10)
Debating vacation locations (2:20)
Talking about time (0:53)
Changing dollars to euros (2:05)
Asking about train schedules (2:04)
Purchasing a train ticket (1:43)
Getting advice on taking the subway (1:45)
Phrases useful in a hotel (2:09)
Checking into a hotel (2:42)
Going to the doctor (1:00)
Reporting an accident to the police (1:11)
Using interrogative pronouns (3:17)
Introduction
As society becomes more global, knowing how to say at least a few words in other languages opens doors to communication. Carrying on a brief conversation in an immersion situation can enrich your experience. You may be planning a trip to Italy for business or pleasure. You may have friends and neighbors who speak other languages, or you may want to get in touch with your heritage by learning a little bit of the language that is spoken today in the place your ancestors came from.
Whatever your reason for wanting to learn some Italian, Italian For Dummies can help. Two experts at helping readers develop knowledge — Berlitz, experts in teaching foreign languages; and John Wiley & Sons, Inc., publishers of the best-selling For Dummies series — have teamed up to produce a book that gives you basic Italian language skills. We’re not promising fluency here, but basic communicative competency that will allow you to be understood. If you need to greet someone, purchase a ticket, or order off a menu in Italian, you need look no further than Italian For Dummies.
About This Book
This is not a class that you have to drag yourself to twice a week for a specified period of time. You can use Italian For Dummies however you want to, whether your goal is to learn some words and phrases to help you get around when you visit Italy, or you just want to be able to say “Hello, how are you?” to your Italian-speaking neighbor. Go through this book at your own pace, reading as much or as little at a time as you like. You don’t have to trudge through the chapters in order, either; just read the sections that interest you.
Note: If you’ve never taken Italian before, you may want to read the chapters in Part I before you tackle the later chapters.
Conventions Used in This Book
To make this book easy for you to navigate, we’ve set up a few conventions:
Italian terms are set in boldface to make them stand out.
Pronunciations are set in normal type with stressed syllables in italics. English translations are also set in italics.
Verb conjugations (lists that show you the forms of a verb) are given in tables in this order of six persons: “I,” “you” (singular, informal), “he/she/it/you” (formal), “we,” “you” (plural/informal), and “they/you” (plural, formal) form. Pronunciations follow in the second column. Following is an example using parlare (pahr-lah-reh) (to speak). The translations in the third column have all three forms, but for the sake of space, I only give you the first:
Language learning is a peculiar beast, so this book includes a few elements that other For Dummies books do not. Following are the new elements you’ll find:
Talkin’ the Talk dialogues: The best way to learn a language is to see and hear how it’s used in conversation, so we include dialogues throughout the book under the heading “Talkin’ the Talk.” Listen to and repeat these dialogues as often as you like. In both the CD and the text, they will help you approximate authentic pronunciation.
Words to Know blackboards: Identifying key words and phrases is also important in language learning, so we collect the important words in a chapter (or section within a chapter) in a chalkboard, with the heading “Words to Know.”
Fun & Games activities: You can use the Fun & Games activities to reinforce some chapter concepts you’ve learned. These word games are fun ways to gauge your progress.
Also note that because each language has its own ways of expressing ideas, the English translations that we provide for the Italian terms may not be exactly literal. We want you to know the gist of what’s being said. For example, the phrase Mi dica(mee dee-kah)can be translated literally as the formal imperative “Tell me,” but the phrase really means “(How) Can I help you?”
Foolish Assumptions
To write this book, we had to make some assumptions about who you are and what you want from a book called Italian For Dummies. These are the assumptions we made:
You know no Italian — or if you took it back in school, you don’t remember much.
You’re not looking for a book that will make you fluent in Italian; you just want to know some words, phrases, and sentence constructions so that you can communicate basic information in Italian.
You don’t want to have to memorize long lists of vocabulary words or a bunch of boring grammar rules.
You want to have fun and learn a little bit of Italian at the same time.
If these statements apply to you, you’ve found the right book!
How This Book Is Organized
This book is divided by topic into parts, and then into chapters. The following sections tell you what types of information you can find in each part.
Part I: Getting Started
This part lets you get your feet wet by giving you some Italian basics: how to pronounce your ABCs, numbers, words, and so on. We even boost your confidence by reintroducing you to some Italian words that you probably already know. Finally, we outline the basics of Italian grammar that you may need to know when you work through later chapters in the book.
Part II: Italian in Action
In this part, you begin learning and using Italian. Instead of focusing on grammar points as many language textbooks do, this part focuses on everyday situations, such as shopping, dining, going out, asking for directions, and being home.
Part III: Italian on the Go
This part gives you the tools you need to take your Italian on the road, whether it’s planning a trip or excursion, navigating public transportation, finding a room, or handling an emergency.
Part IV: The Part of Tens
If you’re looking for small, easily digestible pieces of information about Italian, this part is for you. Here, you can find ten ways to learn Italian quickly, ten useful Italian expressions to know, ten things never to say in Italian, and more.
Part V: Appendixes
This part of the book includes important information that you can use for reference. We include verb tables, which show you how to conjugate regular and irregular verbs. We give you a mini-dictionary in both Italian-to-English and English-to-Italian formats. If you encounter an Italian word that you don’t understand, or you need to say something in Italian, you can look it up here. You can also find the answers to the Fun and Games sections here.
Icons Used in This Book
You may be looking for particular information while reading this book. To make certain types of information easier for you to find, we’ve placed the following icons in the left-hand margins throughout the book:
This icon highlights tips that can make learning Italian easier.
To ensure that you don’t forget important information, this icon serves as a reminder, like a string tied around your finger.
Languages are full of quirks that may trip you up if you’re not prepared for them. This icon points to discussions of these weird grammar rules.
If you’re looking for information and advice about culture and travel, look for these icons.
Where to Go from Here
Learning a language is all about jumping in and giving it a try (no matter how bad your pronunciation is at first). So make the leap! Start at the beginning, pick a chapter that interests you, or listen to a few dialogues. Skip over the parts that distract you and take you away from Italian (such as the pronunciation spellings and translations after you’ve been through them once): The more you think in Italian, the more natural it will come to you. Before long, you’ll be able to respond, “Sì!” when people ask, “Parla italiano?”
Part I
Getting Started
In this part . . .
Ciao! See? You already understand some Italian, although you may think we’re saying good-bye before we even say hello. The truth is that ciao mean both “hello” and “goodbye.”
These first four chapters introduce you to the basics of the Italian language: Chapter 1 gets you going with pronunciation, Chapter 2 helps you with basic Italian grammar. You learn how to say “hello” and “goodbye” as well as how to introduce yourself and others in Chapter 3. And you learn how to tell time, put dates in your calendar, and ask for phone numbers in Chapter 4. So andiamo! (ah-dyah-moh) (Let’s go!)
Chapter 1
Saying It Like It Is
In This Chapter
Taking note of the little Italian you know
Looking at popular expressions and cognates
Learning basic Italian pronunciation
Using gestures
You probably know that Italian is a Romance language, which means that Italian, just like Spanish, French, Portuguese, and some other languages, is a “child” of Latin. There was a time when Latin was the official language in a large part of Europe because the Romans ruled so much of the area. Before the Romans came, people spoke their own languages, and the mixture of these original tongues with Latin produced many of the languages and dialects still in use today.
If you know one of these Romance languages you can often understand bits of another one of them. But just as members of the same family can look very similar but have totally different personalities, so it is with these languages. People in different areas speak in very different ways due to historical or social reasons, and even though Italian is the official language, Italy has a rich variety of dialects. Some dialects are so far from Italian that people from different regions cannot understand each other.
Despite the number of different accents and dialects, you will be happy to discover that everybody understands the Italian you speak and you understand theirs. (Italians don’t usually speak in their dialect with people outside their region.)
You Already Know Some Italian!
Although Italians are very proud of their language, they have allowed some English words to enter it. They talk, for example, about gadgets, jogging, feeling and shock; they often use the word okay; and since computers have entered their lives, they say “cliccare sul mouse” (kleek-kah-reh soohl mouse) (to click the mouse). Finally, there’s lo zapping (loh zap-ping), which means switching TV channels with the remote. These are only a few of the flood of English words that have entered the Italian language.
In the same way, many Italian words are known in English-speaking countries. Can you think of some?
How about . . .
pizza (peet-tsah)
pasta (pahs-tah)
spaghetti (spah-geht-tee)
tortellini (tohr-tehl-lee-nee)
mozzarella (moht-tsah-rehl-lah)
espresso (ehs-prehs-soh)
cappuccino (kahp-pooh-chee-noh)
panino (pah-nee-noh): For one sandwich: for two or more, the word is panini (pah-nee-nee)
biscotti (bees-koht-tee) (cookies): One cookie is a biscotto (bees-koht-toh)
tiramisù (tee-rah-mee-sooh)
Incidentally, did you know that tiramisù literally means “pull me up”? This refers to the fact that this sweet is made with strong Italian espresso.
You may have heard words from areas other than the kitchen, such as the following:
amore (ah-moh-reh): This is the word “love” that so many Italian songs tell about.
avanti (ah-vahn-tee): You use this word as “come in!” and also “come on!” or “get a move on!”
bambino (bahm-bee-noh): This is a male child. The female equivalent is bambina (bahm-bee-nah).
bravo! (brah-voh): You can properly say this word only to one man. To a woman, you must say “brava!” (brah-vah), and to a group of people, you say “bravi!” (brah-vee) unless the group is composed only of women, in which case you say “brave!” (brah-veh).
ciao! (chou): Ciao means “hello” and “goodbye.”
scusi (skooh-zee): This word stands for “excuse me” and “sorry” and is addressed to persons you don’t know or to whom you speak formally. You say “scusa” (scooh-zah) to people you know and to children.
You’ve heard at least some of these words, haven’t you? This is just a little taste of all the various words and expressions you’ll get to know in this book.
Cognates
In addition to the words that have crept into the language directly, Italian and English have many cognates. A cognate is a word in one language that has the same origin as a word in another one and may sound similar. You can get an immediate picture of what cognates are from the following examples:
aeroporto (ah-eh-roh-pohr-toh) (airport)
attenzione (aht-tehn-tsyoh-neh) (attention)
comunicazione (koh-mooh-nee-kah-tsyoh-neh) (communication)
importante (eem-pohr-tahn-teh) (important)
incredibile (een-kreh-dee-bee-leh) (incredible)
You understand much more Italian than you think you do. Italian and English are full of cognates. To demonstrate, read this little story with some Italian words and see how easy it is for you to understand.
It seems impossibile (eem-pohs-see-bee-leh) to him that he is now at the aeroporto (ah-eh-roh-pohr-toh) in Rome. He always wanted to come to this città (cheet-tah). When he goes out on the street, he first calls a taxi (tah-ksee). He opens his bag to see if he has the medicina (meh-dee-chee-nah) that the dottore (doht-toh-reh) gave him. Going through this terribile traffico (tehr-ree-bee-leh trahf-fee-koh), he passes a cattedrale (kaht-teh-drah-leh), some sculture (skoohl-tooh-reh), and many palazzi (pah-laht-tsee). He knows that this is going to be a fantastico (fahn-tahs-tee-koh) journey.
Popular expressions
Every language has expressions that you use so often that they almost become routine. For example, when you give something to somebody and he or she says, “Thank you,” you automatically reply, “You’re welcome!” This type of popular expression is an inseparable part of every language. When you know these expressions and how to use them, you’re on the way to really speaking Italian.
The following are some of the most common popular expressions in Italian:
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Common Italian expressions (1:25)
Accidenti! (ahch-chee-dehn-tee) (Wow!/Darn it!)
Andiamo! (ahn-dyah-moh) (Let’s go!)
Che c’è? (keh cheh) (What’s up?)
D’accordo? D’accordo! (dahk-kohr-doh) (Agreed? Agreed!)
E chi se ne importa? (eh kee seh neh eem-pohr-tah) (Who cares?)
È lo stesso. (eh loh stehs-soh) (It’s all the same; It doesn’t matter.)
Fantastico! (fahn-tahs-tee-koh) (Fantastic!)
Non fa niente. (nohn fah nee-ehn-teh) (Don’t worry about it. It doesn’t matter.) You say “Non fa niente” when someone apologizes to you for something.
Non c’è di che. (nohn cheh dee keh) (You’re welcome.)
Permesso? (pehr-mehs-soh) (May I pass/come in?) Italians use this expression every time they cross a threshold entering a house or when passing through a crowd.
Stupendo! (stooh-pehn-doh) (Wonderful!; Fabulous!)
Va bene! (vah beh-neh) (Okay!)
Mouthing Off: Basic Pronunciation
Italian provides many opportunities for your tongue to do acrobatics. This is really fun, because the language offers you some new sounds. In this section, I give you some basic pronunciation hints that are important both for surfing through this book and for good articulation when you speak Italian. First, I’d like to make a deal with you. Next to the Italian words throughout this book you find the pronunciation in parentheses. In the following sections, I give you some helpful hints about how to read these pronunciations — that is, how to pronounce the Italian words. The deal is that you and I have to agree on which letters refer to which sounds. You have to follow this code all through this book.
In the pronunciations, I separate the syllables with a hyphen, like this: casa (kah-zah) (house). Furthermore, I italicize the stressed syllable, which means that you put the stress of the word on the italicized syllable. (See the section “Stressing Words Properly,” later in this chapter, for more information about stresses.) If you learn the correct pronunciation in this chapter, starting with the alphabet, you may even forego the pronunciation spelling provided, and read it like a real Italian.
The Alphabet
What better way is there to start speaking a language than to familiarize yourself with its alphabet! Table 1-1 shows you all the letters as well as how each sounds. It’s essential to learn how to pronounce the Italian alphabet so that you’ll be able to pronounce all of the new words you will be learning. In the long run, this will help you be understood when you communicate in Italian. Note that there are only 21 letters in the Italian alphabet: missing are j, k, w, x, and y (which have crept into some Italian words now used in Italy).
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The Italian alphabet (1:38)
Vowels
