Any advice for someone trying to learn Italian?

Show all answers

Cosimo â™¥ à¤®à¤°à¥€à¤¯

Not being able to roll your "r" won't really make much difference (on its own) to how well people can understand you, so from a communication point of view it doesn't matter overmuch. If you had other pronunciation problems as well, they might start to add up and make an impact though.

From an aesthetic point of view if for no other reason, it is well worth trying to get the "r" right. And I find that correct pronunciation does make a significant difference to how well you are perceived. Here are some tips.

1. Do not round or protrude your lips as most English people do for the "r" in English.

2. Don't try to move your tongue - just hold it nice and relaxed just behind the teeth ridge (as if you were about to say "z" but levaing a tiny gap between tonguetip and teeth ridge) and produce a strong airstream. The turbulence of the airstream will make your tongue vibrate so it can pass out, and there you have your rolled "r". It works on the same principle as the vibrating "p" that children produce when they pout, but you're doing it with your tongue instead of your lips (and remember to keep them spread).

3. Try this exercise. Say "thorough". Repeat it quickly many times and then start leaving out the first "o".

4. Practise for several minutes every day.

Don't stress about it though: many Italians can't do rolled 'r' either - they do something called r-moscia which sounds like the French 'r'.

antosimolele

Hi!

I think the better way to learn a foreign language is going abroad. Talk, talk and practise with people of the place...
I learned a lot of English during my stay in Ireland(2 weeks).

If u want I can also help you, my msn e-mail is: tinotina2006@hotmail.it .
KEEP IN TOUCH =O)

bepfun92

look, people understand some english if u r in trouble, and anyway people understand italian spoken with "anglo-saxon R", we know it's difficult for english speakers... don't stop to try to pronounce it in the right way, but don't have shame to talk wrongly.
the only thing, if u go in Rome, there people talk not standard-italian, but a very strange "dialetto", quit different from the standard-italian.... there u ll have more problems and u may understand really nothing of what people tell to u. no problems in north or tuscany... :) anyway, good luck
(if u dont have understood well, send me an email with ur questions at bepfun92@yahoo.it, i'm italian and if u have other questions or similar, ask with no problem!)

Robertina

You have gotten many excellent responses to your question. I have heard many good things about the Rosetta Stone program. However, since you have plenty of time, why not enroll in an Italian course at your local community college. Also, if you can listen to as much Italian as you can. TV shows, radio etc.

If you can there is a variety of podcasts that you can listen to.

http://www.impariamo.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2549
Other sites
http://impariamo.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=14609

Learning and listening to the language.
http://www.impariamo.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1416

Please come join the impariamo community. There are many friendly and helpful people.
http://www.impariamo.com/forum
Roby

CiaoBella

you are going to love it here in rome! people will be able to understand you if you can't roll your Rs - just keep on practicing and using your CDs. obviously try to learn as much as you can. a lot of people speak english over here so don't worry about the language barrier. you'll be able to get your point across somehow haha. HAVE FUN!!!

banana

never mind for your R... it's just funny, but we will get what you say!!!

just practice, practice and practice... i suggest you should make an italian friend and speak to him/her... cds are sometimes useless...

dinodino

Kudos for taking the effort! -- I got by in Rome on my own for a week with just an elementary book with audio cassette that I listened to in the car to and from work before I went and the Rough Guide Phrase book.

A lot of people in Rome speak English and often asked me to speak English! But they appreciate the effort. You can get by with the basics

I don't think rolling your r's will be a big deal...I can do that pretty well from six years of speaking Spanish. A lot of it is being uninhibited about it -- it can feel "over the top" to English speakers. Pretend you are Charo.

scooterguyct@sbcglobal.net

I was in Italy in '04 & '05 speak a little Italian. I had no problem at all most of the people spoke some english. They were very helpful...

shatnerpossum

Most Italians speak some English, so you shouldn't have trouble. But remember, the Italians are the "rednecks of Europe" (And I mean that nicely!) and many speak English poorly. Or not at all. But if you speak the language, or at least a little of it, the Italians will respect you much more for your effort. If you have ever learned Spanish, they are very similar languages. Don't worry, you'll do fine! Enjoy your stay in Roma! Try to visit Firenzia if you have time!

Alexa

they'll probably be able to understand what your saying
but you should try and learn to pronoun it right just so it doesn't get confused as being something else

tolinrome

Don't even worry about rolling your R's, they'll understand you fine.

I learned Italian in my 30's and didn't even know a word of it until I started learning it, so I can give you first hand advice.

I've tried every possible way to learn the language, school lessons, all kinds of books, memorizing index cards, CD's, DVD's, etc..

And the best way to really learn is to start with an audio CD in which you hear students learning it and you have to repeat the words/sentence back and the best for me was Michel Thomas
http://www.michelthomas.com/ His CD's really helped me above the others to get a good foundation of the language. You may find others that will work for you better but he has a simple straight forward way of doing it.

I moved to Italy cold turkey and married an Italian and of course being around the language all day did help but it will never really help you unless you learn to speak, thats why need to use an audio CD/DVD. If your using a book after 15 minutes your gonna get bored trying to remember verb structures and you wont know how to pronounce the words correctly.
You must HEAR the words pronounced correctly then you have to REPEAT them. Just like when we learned English as a baby - we heard the word then we repeated it.

Italian is more complex than English especially grammatically, its a very old language and it's root is Latin so there's a lot to it, but you can do it if you are determined to learn it.

Books will help you get a basic beginning - I bought Italian for Dummies and Complete Idiots guide to learning Italian and it did help as a reference and some structure but believe me you gotta get some CD or DVD traing program. I also tried Rosetta Stone which was pretty good but I still preferred Michel Thomas personally.

Also listen to an Italian radio station over the internet - that will help you get a "feel" for the language.

If you need any more advice let me know.

Puoi Farlo!!!
Ciao!

AgidÃ²

awww don't worry about it...the lil pause u'll do trying to pronounce the R will let us know it's an R (loadsa ppl can't pronounce it the way we do...and btw u pronounce it way better than the french as an english speaking).....we will understand u,don't worry.....i guess the CDs aren't somehow helpful,but staying here will be much different....
tc and ask any other question about it,i'm from rome...so whatever u may need.....i'm here
tc

Cassidy

If you have the spare cash pick up rosetta stone italian they teach you by letting you hear the words you're trying to learn.

Rocco's Girl

I was in Italy a few weeks ago and I got by on very elementary Italian. Most of the people, especially the vendors and tour guides, speak English so they will help you out if you get stuck. Don't worry so much about the rolling r thing and just do your best. I'm sure they'll appreciate the effort.

Enter Your Message or Comment

User Name:
User Email:
Post a comment: