Language Blunders in Italian

Laugh at yourself
Just last night I told the waiter "saporo buono" which means nothing in Italian. I meant to say "ha un buon sapore" meaning "It has a good flavor". Sigh! I was thinking sapore (the noun for flavor) could also be a verb so I tried to be clever and conjugate the word as a verb and ended up with nothing. He smiled and had the grace to overlook my blunder, and I think figured out what I was trying to say.

Thanks to all those Italians who give me grace for my poor language skills! 99% will smile and take the most favorable interpretation of what I am trying to say. The other one percent are stinkers -- every culture and country has them -- and we aren't going to talk about them!

Yesterday the repairman called me on my cell phone at work. He was fixing some of our furniture damaged in the move and wanted to set up a time to deliver it to the house. It is always harder to understand someone over the phone even though my knowledge of the Italian words for dates, time and calendars is decent.  I understood he wanted to come tomorrow at 9 in the morning. I said "sta bene" which means "you are good" (like your health) instead of "va bene" which means "that is fine" or "it's ok". Close but no cigar!

But he understood my intent and brought the furniture this morning as we agreed. His niece comes with him all the time to translate as she lived in NYC for many years and speaks English fluently. She asked Antonio this morning, "how did you speak to Jenny on the phone yesterday with no English?" and he shrugged and said "we understood each other". Bless him!

Knowing some Spanish can be good in some ways, and a disadvantage in others when it comes to learning Italian. Many of the words are very close so it is confusing to remember which is which. Since I spoke Spanish since I was a child, I tend to revert to the Spanish. Here are some examples:

Spanish: Como esta?
Italian: Come sta?
English: How are you?

Spanish: simpatico
Italian: simpatico
English: friendly, nice, charming (sympathetic but not like "to have sympathy" in the event of an accident or death)

An Italian friend told me that after he and his colleagues finished a stint of work in Wichita, they wanted to give their English language instructor a card by way of letting her know how much they appreciated and liked her. So they went to the store and found a "sympathy" card because she was simpatico. Ha!

Spanish: alguno

Italian: alcuno

English: some

Spanish: vidrio

Italian: vetro

English: glass

Spanish: bueno
Italian: buono
English: good

Spanish: bien
Italian: bene
English: fine, good, ok

Spanish: pan
Italian: pane
English: bread

Spanish: biblioteca

Italian: biblioteca

English: library

Spanish: libreria

Italian: libreria

English: bookstore

Spanish: lavar

Italian: lavare

English: to wash

So some of these things are very close. Then there are the words that are similar and the meanings that are different. For example,  in Spanish paper is papel. In Italian it is carta. But in Spanish carta is a letter, and Italian letter is lettera.

Ok, are you confused? Me too!

I throw in a Spanish word here and there when I don't know the Italian one. I can always hope it will work! My friend Rosa chides me. She says "Jenny, that is Spanish". Caught again!

For online language studies here are my recommendations to date:

For the tourist the Berlitz 5 minute Italian. It tells you all the basics you need to know and has a cd for the car.

Rosetta Stone used to be considered the premier online teaching program. It is still very good and toward the top of the list, however, it is better if you already have a second language and understand a bit how grammar in a foreign language works. It does not explicitly tell you different verb forms but expects you to pick it up through usage.

The newest one I am trying is Fluenz. It is now the highest rated online language program because of the multi-method teaching approach that addresses those who learn by reading, listening, and by hearing.

Nothing beats living in the culture and speaking with people constantly in your new language. It is painful at times, and can be frustrating, but will definitely get you their the fastest.

There are immersion programs for a weekend, week, or even month. Depending on how much time you have and how much money, these would be great.