Michellex2

I will be traveling to Sardinia and Rome for 12 days in September 2005. I'm planning on trying to learn a bit of Italian before then, but was wondering how common it is for Italians to speak some English. I'm guessing that Sardinia would tend to have a lower probablity of bilingual English/Italian speakers and that Rome would have more multi-language fluency in the tourist areas? I'm staying at a women's hostel in the Trastevere area. How much should I try to learn restarant Italian in order to decipher menus? Thanks for any input!

helenbreen

Michelle, I think you will find that English is widely spoken in hotels, shops, and restaurants in Rome. I always come back from Europe regretting my paucity of foreign language skills! Enjoy Rome.

hobbes

I do not think you will have a problem without Italian but like helen I always return from Italy regretting not knowing the language esp when the taxi driver, waiter, bartender, concierge all try to flirt with you...

Nutella

but hobbes, it's not a problem knowing only english. all italian guys attend mandatory flirting-with-tourist english training.
"okay class, repeat after me..."
"where are you from?"
"american?"
"where are you going?"
"i accompany you"

Traveler863

Michellex2,
Italian menus are not too hard, you'll pick out things that you know, most likely things like the type of pasta...however things you won't know is the manner in which it is prepared. I suggest you learn as much Italian as you can, you most likely won't really need it and can certainly get by on english, definitely in Rome and tourist areas of Sardinia but knowing some goes a long way. Enjoy your trip.

RufusTFirefly

As long as you're doing the normal tourist stuff, you'll be fine. The more you get off the beaten path, the fewer people you find who can speak some English--as one would expect.

sallyjane3

Even our menus were in English. The only person my daughter and I encountered who didn't speak English was a maintenance man at the airport and even he seemed apologetic about not understanding us. WE are the ones in HIS country and HE's apologetic. That's how nice eveyone was. Most did seem to enjoy when we were able to toss out something in their language(Even in our southern US accent!). We got smiles from "gracie," "prego," and "que bella." So, do learn a little but no worries. You'll LOVE your visit. BTW, get in line for Vatican City at least 30 minutes before it opens. Otherwise, the line can be daunting.

massagediva

I agree with the previous posters,but I have to add that as I've learned more Italian,my experiences in Italy have become much richer.I took a beginning Italian course this fall and my February trip was the best ever.Learn as much as you can!

ezlivin

Michellex2 is making a positive effort to learn the language of the country that she intends to visit. This will be useful, not only for understanding menus, but for other important usages that will only come up when she's there.

Regarding menus, do not expect menus to be written up in English like a previous responder stated. These are restaurants that cater to the tourists. Most restaurants in Rome do not have an English menu and these are the ones that, generally, serve food and wines that are more authenticate and better in quality than those with English-posted menus.

massagediva

ezlivin- I think you're incorrect about the menus. It's very rare,unless you're in a very small town,to find a menu in solely Italian.Almost every restaurant in Rome uses at least Italian and English on the menu.

ChevyChasen

you will get by fine with Permesso and vattene.

ezlivin

massagediva;
The good ones that we frequent in the Jewish Quarters serving traditional Roman food didn't ahve English menus and in one instance, I don't even remember being offered the menu - the waiter will recite what's avaialable for the day and will, upon our request,very slowly recite them over again.

Cacio e Pepe, near the Lepanto subway didn't seem to have a menu.

DonnieD

It is rude to assume that the person that you're talking to speaks English. You will get a short answer like Non parla inglese, or No Capisco.

Always start with Buon Giorno, or Mi Scusi, and a basic question/request in Italian.

I found that if you make an honest attempt to communicate in their language, the Italian people will appreciate your effort, and they will meet you at least half way, if they can. Lots of Italians speak basic English and embrace the opportunity to use it. If you just learn key words and phrases, it will take you a long way. Agree with massagedive, very enriching. My wife and I had fun with it by often chatting to each other in Italian throughout the trip. By doing this, we felt less like tourists.

Learn as much as you can: Restaurant ordering, Asking Directions, Polite Greetings, Buying tickets .... whatever you plan on doing. You won't regret your effort.

nytraveler

Even though most wait staff will speak a modicum of english - even in small, modest places - that won't be a lot of help with the menu. And few places have menus in english - and I would tend to avoid those.

It's actually quite easy in Italian vs other languages - because we use Italian names for so many foods (rigatoni with pesto doesn;t change does it?) But for the things that are not obvious your best bet is juat a simple menu reader.

We have a Berlitz book (tiny, pocket size) that has I think 14 different languages in it - but for restaurants only. It doesn't only translate chicken or beef (I mean anyone can remember those) it also lists the ones you won;t want to order - like bunny for me - and tells what goes into a lot of the more popular dishes). I think we got it at B&N - but it was some years ago.

Spygirl

"Always start with Buon Giorno, or Mi Scusi, and a basic question/request in Italian."

Nice idea, but rather unrealistic, I think, as most travelers to Italy won't be able to do that, nor or they expected to do that. Michelle, you have the right idea to learn "a bit of Italian" before you go-but don't sweat it. I've been visiting this country off and on for more than 2 decades, and have studied Italian in Florence, and after returning last week from my latest trip to Venice quite frankly I see nothing but English on the increase (but certainly not everywhere).

You should have no problem with menus or going and doing anything in Rome without language fear, as it has, of course, been used to receiving the world's tourists for hundreds of years-and English is the lingua franca for communication.

As far as restaurants, there will either be English translations, or the waiter will translate individual items on the menu for you, but it will be helpful for you to learn the names of some foods, dishes that you like or may want to try-taking a phrase book that has the names of different foods will be helpful.

For the most part, those infamous Roman waiters are going to speak to you in English unless you sound like you've got a command of the language. That should not dissuade you from learning some Italian, however, as you will have such fun with learning even a bit of this lovely language, and even more fun trying it out, particularly on those "ragazzi cattivi" that Nutella so accurately describes!

RufusTFirefly

There are many restaurants in Rome and other major tourist destinations that do not have menus in any language other than Italian and do not have waiters who speak English. These restaurants are generally outside of the tourist areas--logically enough.

However, even in tourist areas, the English spoken in many restaurants is often limited--sufficient for most meal ordering purposes, but not much else. This shouldn't be surprising as it takes many years of study and practice to become fluent in a language.

I can cite many examples of this from our travels in Italy (and elsewhere). For example, the "sea vegetable" incident, in which the sea vegetable that the waiter said was in the sauce turned out to be clams. Fortunately, Mrs. Fly loves clams.

LoveItaly

Hi Michellex, whatever Italian you can learn before your trip will be wonderful.

But English will no doubt be spoken to anyone you need to talk to that caters to tourist.

About menus. I have been in many restaurants in Rome that do not have a menu in English. So do take a menu traslator along with you as NYTraveler suggested. I have the same book and it is very small and very helpful especially if one is tired and the brain isn't working properly.

About Sardinia. I stayed there a week once and found very few people that spoke English except for one man. But we were at a resort that did not normally have American's staying there. I found that due to the dialect that the Italian spoken on Sardinia (Sardegna in Italian) is very different then on the mainland. So if you feel completely confused about the spoken Italian there do not feel it is you. Basic words are the same (buon giorno etc.) but I found that even the menu's (all in Italian) used different words. But you will manage fine.

It sounds like you are going to have a wonderful trip. Enjoy planning for it!

DonnieD

It is certainly much easier for an english speaking traveller in Rome than it is for an Italian (only) speaking person visiting Washington DC.

Just a few related, amusing experiences from my trip to Italy in September:

1) After a long flight, I made my way from the airport to Roma Termini. I then needed a bus to Albergo del Senato. I was overwhelmed by the number of busses outside Termini. So I go to the "informazione" booth, and ask, in english, for the number of the bus that goes to the Pantheon. "Non parlo inglese, non parlo inglese" repeated the rather annoyed information booth worker. It was then that I realized that I wasn't in Kansas any more.

2) In Sorrento, looking for a SITA bus to Positano, I asked a bus driver, in my broken Italian, "Andate a Positano? " The bus driver got out of the bus, pointed to the sign, and started ranting, in Italian, which I couldn't keep up with, that the bus to Positano will have a sign that says Positano.

3) At Il Guaracino in Positano, the manager, an older woman, came to sit with my wife and I as we were concluding our dinner. She recognized my last name, which has an origin outside of Naples, and wanted to know why my Italian father didn't teach me to speak Italian in America. She lectured me, in a way my Italian grandmother would do, that I should be able to speak more than the tourists phrases like "buon giorno", "ciao", and "ti amo". We had a nice conversation about the importance of maintaining one's heritage and culture.

RufusTFirefly

Of course, there are other ways of communicating.

2 years ago, on the train from Wuerzburg to Bamberg, we were in a second class compartment with an older woman, Frau Gutschmidt. Mrs. Fly speaks no German beyond the few basic, necessary phrases that I taught her for the trip, and FRau Gutschmidt's English was even more limited than that.

I spent the time dozing and a watching the scenery go by, only dimly aware that Mrs. Fly and Frau Gutschmidt were attempting to speak to one another throughout the journey.

We pulled into Bamberg station and politely parted ways with the good Frau.

Mrs. Fly proceeded to tell me pretty much Frau Gutschmidt's life story, where she had been and where she was going on this trip, what her hobbies and interests were (they both are into art and handicrafts), children's names ages occupations, etc.

Apparently a combination of the few English and German words they had in common, plus a smattering of French words Mrs. Fly remembered from high school, sign language, drawings on paper, and ESP.

Surfergirl

Definitely a couple of key phrases, big smiles, and lots of sign language goes a long way. But, when you head into the Trastevere area, as we did last summer, and need to get something important from the pharmacy, it can become a comedy of errors that can leave everyone laughing. I had my 15 year old with me and had no idea what the word for "zit cream" was. Pointing at his face worked.