How to speak Italian when you cant

I know very little Italian, but I've chatted to one taxi driver from Cagliari airport to the centre of Rome (a forty minute drive) and to another from Naples airport to the city centre. Neither spoke more than ten words of English. How? I was able to do this because of two things.

Firstly, I know maybe two hundred words of Italian. Secondly, and more importantly, when you visit a foreign country people are generally pleased when you talk to them in their language, however imperfectly and respond positively. A tourist talking in Italian stands out as different, not just another tourist, as most tourists don't make this effort. The fact that you can't understand a lot of what is said doesn't matter. Did I understand most of what either driver said to me ? Of course not. But that didn't matter.

We were still having an entertaining conversation. I haven't learnt any Italian grammar. I'm not trying to speak correctly . Now you could call this lazy, but I live in Europe where you can hear and speak any number of languages. So my aim is just to communicate at a very basic level when I visit a country, to make an effort, to show appreciation of the language and culture.

If you are not formally learning the language and instead aim to communicate in the widest possible sense, it is possible to pick specific areas and learn words and phrases that you have a good chance of using. So what have I learnt ? Not much is the answer. Basic expressions. Yes, no, please, thank you, I don't understand, I'm lost. Numbers.

A few phrases used to show appreciation e.g. Italy is a beautiful country. A few conversational phrases. Where are you from ? My name is .

A few adjectives such as big, small, hot, cold which are always useful. I've also learned expressions I will need in obvious situations. E.g. When I visit Italy, I travel by boat, metro, bus and taxi and so I now know the key words and expressions to buy tickets, ask directions and so on. I don't want to have to eat in tourist restaurants and so have learnt basic words for ordering food.

For example, one of the best meals I ate in Italy was near Vatican City in a local restaurant with no English spoken. The language you pick depends on what you will be doing and how much time you have to memorize it. If for example, you intend to do a lot of shopping, why not learn the appropriate vocabulary? E.

g. How much does it cost?, or it is expensive , but remember to pick the phrases that you see yourself using. If you decide to learn a little Italian, every time you visit Italy and practice what you have learnt, you will be astonished at how much more you acquire.

For example, I will always remember the Italian word chaotic, because as we were driving through the Naples traffic, the driver kept pointing at the traffic, smiling and saying "caotico" and "traffico". Now, there were all sorts of words in between which I didn't know, but that didn't hide the meaning of what he was saying to me. Many people don't have the time to reach a high standard in another language, but if before you leave for Italy you learn a few words and a few expressions, not only will you be showing your appreciation for a beautiful language, but you will enjoy your visit to this fascinating country even more. Before you set off, visit www.linguata.

com or www.downloadalanguage.com for more articles and language learning software. .

By: F. M. Jones