Teach Yourself Beginner s Italian

teach yourself\nbeginner's italian\n\ngoal\neveryday communication\n\ncategory\nlanguage\n\ncontent\n• cover all the basics\n• go at a steady pace\n• build your confidence to speak\n\nbe where you want to be with teach yourself\n\npack contents\n• 240-page coursebook\n• 2 x 60-minute CDs Italians respond well when foreigners – however imperfectly – speak Italian to them, and will often go out of their way to assist and communicate. A basic knowledge of the language will not only help you feel at ease in the host country but also make your stay there easier and more rewarding by saving time and avoiding unnecessary complications. An acquaintance of mine, visiting Italy with no knowledge of Italian, was directed by a helpful passer-by to an imposing building, guarded by armed uniformed police, when he had asked (or thought he had asked) for the nearest public toilets! Recounting this when back home no doubt provided amusement but it must surely be more satisfying to have a better understanding and control of the situation.\n\nThe purpose of this book is to enable you to achieve basic two-way understanding with Italians in uncomplicated practical everyday situations. Remember that being able to communicate in any language requires confidence and this can most easily be obtained through practice. Take every opportunity to listen to and, more importantly, to speak your new-found Italian. Do not be put off by any mistakes you may make; if you have spoken and understood the response then you have achieved communication and that is the name of the game! This book is a first step which when mastered will provide a foundation on which, should you wish, a deeper knowledge and understanding of the Italian language and culture can be built. This course is divided into two parts, each of which has ten units: Part One deals with what are termed language functions, that is each unit covers particular principles of the language that are common to many different situations. It is important that you tackle the first ten units thoroughly and in the order in which they are presented. Practise them until they become second nature and only then proceed to Part Two of the book. The units in Part Two expand on and better illustrate the points made in Part One in addition to introducing further topics. These units may be studied in whatever sequence you prefer.\n\nMaking the most of the course\nThe following rules of thumb are intended to make the language learning process as effective and rewarding as possible.\n\n• The best way to achieve good results in the shortest time is to treat language-learning as a serious hobby/project. Devote a certain minimum amount of time, say thirty minutes, to it every day. Regular study is the secret.\n• Should you feel at times that you are not progressing as well as you would wish, have patience with yourself: one’s learning rate is variable. There will be 'good days' and 'not so good days'. Always wait until you are confident of the material covered so far before moving on to the next stage.\n• In this respect learning a language is like learning to drive: reading and learning the driving manual is certainly important but without practising the driving skills you cannot learn to control a car. talk to yourself out loud (warn the family first!), repeating vocabulary and sentences and imagining the various situations you encounter in the book. It would be of great benefit to learn with a friend so that you can act as a sounding board for each other. If you have a friend who knows some Italian talk to him or her.\nIf you have the recording which accompanies this book, record your voice and compare your pronunciation with that on the recording. Ask yourself, and practise saying, the names of things in Italian.\nTrain your ear to respond to the sound of the language by listening to Italian as much as possible: in the car, while working indoors or in the garden.\nMake sure that the book is always to hand so that you can refresh your memory about anything you find you are unsure of.\nInclude plenty of periods of revision in your learning programme to ensure that what you have learnt becomes firmly implanted in your memory.\nIf you follow these guidelines and remember that it does not matter if you make a few mistakes in getting the message across, then you will be a successful student.\nSymbols\nIndicates that a recording accompanies this section.\nInformation about life and customs in Italy.\nA few words about the recording\nAlthough this book can successfully be used on its own, the purchase of the recording will enhance both your pronunciation and your comprehension abilities as well as giving you the opportunity for aural revision.\nWhile you are working with Units 1-10 of the book start by listening to the recording and try to understand what is being said. Go over each dialogue bit by bit with the assistance of the Key words and phrases until you are confident that you understand every word; make full use of the pause and replay buttons on your CD/cassette player.\nIn Units 11-20 you are advised to listen to the recording first. Try to get the gist of what is being said and only then use the book to complete your understanding. Pronunciation guide\nItalian is always pronounced as it is spelt. Once you have learnt the following rules relating to how the letters and vowels sound you will find the pronunciation of every new word quite straightforward.\nIt should be noted that, with very few exceptions, all true Italian words end in a vowel and that all vowels must be pronounced - including an e when it occurs at the end of a word. The Italian alphabet has only 21 letters: k, w, x and y are used only in foreign words. J is nowadays confined to a few place names (e.g. Jesolo) and surnames (e.g. Tajoli).\nIf you have the recording, listen to it and repeat aloud each sound and the Italian words given in the examples.\nThe English sounds given below as a guide are those used in standard Southern English.\nVowels\nas a in bath casa, artista\nhas two sounds:\nas e in well bello, vento\nas e in they verde, penna\nias i in machine lira, pizza\nhas two sounds:\nas o in not posta, opera\nas o in fort totale, somma\nas u in rule turista, luna\nConsonants\nhas two sounds:\nbefore e or i, c has two sounds:\nas ch in chilly cena, ciao\nbefore h, a, o, or u, as ch in chemist chiave, cosa, scusi\nhas two sounds:\nbefore e or i, g has two sounds:\nas g in gentle gentile, giardino\nbefore h, a, o, or u, as g in garden gondola, spaghetti h is never pronounced. When it follows c or g, it gives them a hard sound (see letters c and g above).\nr is always rolled as in Scottish English carne, raro\nhas two sounds:\nas in set sicuro, si\nas se in rose rosa, musica\nhas two sounds:\nas ts in pets grazie, stazione\nas tz in tzar zero, zona\nDouble consonants\nThese are pronounced as the single consonant but with a slightly longer sound. See if you can produce/hear the difference:\npala, palla; dona, donna; soma, somma; papa, pappa; caro, carro\nCombined letters\nas ch in architect chiave\nas g in get spaghetti\nas lli in brilliant gigli\nas ni in onion bagno, signora\nas qu in quality quando, quadro\nhas two sounds:\nwhen followed by e or i, as sh in shoe scialle, scena\nwhen followed by h, a, o, or u, as sk in sky scuola, scolaro\nStress\nAs you know, many words consist of two or more syllables joined together, for example bi-cy-cle. When you pronounce a word you put stress on, that is, you emphasize, a particular syllable of the word. Bi-cy-cle, for instance, is stressed on the first syllable and sounds very odd if the stress is wrongly placed.\nGetting the stress in the right place is an important aspect of making yourself understood in a foreign language, but is is relatively easy in Italian, as most Italian words are stressed on the syllable before last, as in bi-ci-clet-ta. When the stress falls on the last syllable an accent is placed above it: città, qualità.\n\nSometimes the stress is on the third or even the fourth syllable from the end and as there is no fixed rule for these words, you will have to memorize them. In this book a dot below the stressed syllable is used to help you with such words, e.g. Napoli.\n\nSome advice on mastering pronunciation\nIf you have difficulty in pronouncing a word try to relax as much as possible (particularly the facial muscles) and divide it into syllables: cameriere waiter will become ca-me-rie-re.\nHowever, it is not important that you should acquire perfect pronunciation immediately. The aim, as previously mentioned, is to be understood. Here are a number of techniques for learning pronunciation:\n\n1 Listen carefully to the recording and to native speakers or teachers. If possible repeat the dialogues out loud pretending that you are a native speaker of Italian.\n2 Record your voice and compare your pronunciation with examples spoken by native Italians.\n3 If possible, ask native speakers to listen to your pronunciation and tell you how to improve it. If in great difficulty with a particular sound, ask a native speaker how it is formed. Watch how they shape it and then practise it in front of a mirror.\n4 Make a list of words that give you pronunciation problems and practise them.\n5 Practice the sounds on their own and then use them progressively in words, sentences and tongue-twisters such as tre tigri contro tre tigri (three tigers versus three tigers). pronunciation guide\n\nITALIA\n\nValle D'Aosta\nAosta\nAlto Adige\nBolzano\nTrentino\nTrento\nLombardia\nMilano\nEmilia-Romagna\nBologna\nFirenze\nPisa\nToscana\nPerugia\nMarche\nAncona\nLazio\nRoma\nUmbria\nL'Aquila\nAbruzzi\nMolise\nCampobasso\nNapoli\nIschia\nCapri\nBasilicata\nCalabria\nCatanzaro\nPuglia\nBari\nSardegna\nCagliari\nSicilia\nPalermo\nIsole Egadi\nIsole Lipari\nIsole Eolie\nIsole Pelagie 01\ncome sta?\nhow are you?\n\nIn this unit you will learn\nhow to\n• say 'hello' and 'goodbye'\n• exchange greetings\n• say 'please' and 'thank you'\n• ask people to speak more slowly\n• make a simple apology Before you start\nRead the Introduction and How the course works on pages vi–xii. This gives you some useful advice on how to make the most of the course.\nDifferent people have different ways of learning: some need to know rules for everything, others like to feel their way intuitively. In this unit you will be able to find out what works best for you.\nIf you have the recording that goes with this book make sure you have your CD/cassette player next to you so that you’ll be able to listen to the correct pronunciation of the new words. If you don’t have the recording, the Pronunciation guide on pages ix–viii will help you.\n\nActivity\nCan you think of any Italian words such as the words for ‘hello’ and ‘thank you’? If you can, say them out loud, and then look at the section Key words and phrases overleaf to check the answers.\n\nKey words and phrases\nIf you have the recording, look at the section A few words about the recording on page viii to find out how to listen to the key words and dialogues.\n\nbuongiorno good morning/good day/good afternoon\nbuonasera good evening/good afternoon\nbuonanotte good night\narrivederci goodbye/see you soon\narrivederla goodbye/see you soon\nciao hello/hi/so long/cheerio\nsignore Sir/gentleman/lord\nsignor Mr\nuomo man\ndonna woman\nsignorina Miss/young lady/young woman