Another Dolomites question -- Italian or German phrasebook?
 

Everything I've been reading about the Dolomites says that many of the villages are still upset that Italy "annexed" the Dolomiti region during World War I. Mr. and Mrs. Go's photos show signs in Italian and German. Bobthenav's too.

So, would it be more polite to use general phrases in German (good morning, please, thank you) if most of the residents there are of German descent and still pissed off about the Italians, or is it OK to speak in (butchered) Italian? How about menus? I learned how to say "I am a vegetarian" in Italian -- should I do the same in German? I'm sure there's English but I always try to be polite when I travel to other countries. Or should I just not worry and go with the Dolomiti flow?

Thanks everyone!

Hi,

The Dolomites are pretty much bilingual. Either German or Italian will do fine. I speak German rather well (no Italian at all) and have no problems getting by in this area. Menu's, signs, etc. are all in both in German and Italian. We've gone to a number of restaurants that had English menu's, but we noticed that not all do. I'd say you can get by with English and a little German and/or Italian.

Paul

If you really want to get it right (which you can't, honestly, if you don't already speak Italian and German), bring both. I speak both German and Italian and found myself inordinately confused throughout almost every day in the area the few times I was there. If I spoke Italian, they responded in German, and vice versa. You can tell at restaurants which they prefer because the menu will be in the preferred language.

I finally decided to speak French to them, rather than the fractured three-language sentences I was coming up with after several days in the area: "Entschuldigen Sie, bitte, ha una camera per quattro pour ce soir?" Made me nuts. I also kept sending postcards from Italy with Swiss stamps and trying to pay for things with the wrong currency.

You're not going to make enough headway with any language to solve this issue, so just stick with English and you'll be fine.

Bolzano and Brissanone are mostly Italian-language.
In an area north of Cortina people speak Ladin (the 3rd language of that area), a Romance language. So they will most commonly resort to Italian for conversations with foreigners.
The "rest", around 80-90 pct of South Tyrol is German-speaking, with small pockets where its distribution is less than average, e.g. Val Gardena.
So,if you stay outside Bolzano/Brissanone, the chances that your counterpart speaks German are roughly 8 out of 10.
But no one will regard a foreigner speaking Italian as "not polite".

Hi Hikr - You're right - there's still a lot of resentment about Italian annexation of this region in some parts, especially among the older generation.

Some areas are German (- e.g Val Pusteria, Kastelruth/ Castelrotto ...); some are Ladin (- Val Gardena, Val Badia, Val di Fassa ...)
The German speakers can be extremely touchy in some areas.

In places towns like Bolzano, some bars/restaurants are German, others are Italian. You will know from the name.

I once made the mistake of ordering 'un cappuccino, per favore' instead of 'cafe mit schlag' in 'the wrong' bar in Bolzano :(.
As an Italian-speaker I was ignored completely.

Unless you know the linguistic geography of the area your safest bet is always English first to avoid any offence. When they respond, you will know which phrase book to use - if any :)

Steve

Sorry, but don't take an anecdotal incident as proof for general behavior. You could have been "ignored" because the waiter had forgotten your order. Or for whatever reason.

Anyway, you never say "Cafe mit Schlag" when you want a cappuccino. The former means "coffee with a topping of whipped cream", while the latter never gets translated into German. Same with Latte Macchiato or Espresso. Always use the Italian word (when in German-speaking territories).

'You could have been "ignored" because the waiter had forgotten your order. Or for whatever reason.'

I was ignored because I used Italian in a German-speaking bar.

I don't present this as proof for general behaviour. But it happens too often to be a coincidence with Italian-speaking visitors to Sud Tirol. Trust me - I know.

Steve

Hmm.. might be a Bozen thing.. not very friendly.
I usually hop over the "border" to Innichen or Toblach.. and even that area being 100pct German-speaking South Tyrol, you hear the waitresses switch back and forth from German to Italian without any ado.
Bring your visitors to Monaco next time. Tutti love to parla Italiano - even if they know just ten words :-)

Oy. We're staying in Ortisei. (At Garni Villa Park, on Steve_james recommendation). I'm not going to fret about it. I'll just say "Hi" and smile politely and see what language I get in return.

I remember visiting St. Paul-de-Vence in Provence, in '98 or '99 and stopping in a little store and saying "hello" in French and I got so much better response/service than the loud American guy speaking English.

Well, travel's an adventure, right?

Your hotel even got a tri-lingual website (German/Italian/English).
I would use the language you are most comfortable in (which, I presume, is English), and let them do their job to accomodate you properly.
If they are professionals, they will know enough English to communicate what is necessary.
Since their website has German as the first language, I would assume that this will also be their common/first language in the hotel. So, in that case, you will not be staying in Ortisei but in St. Ulrich (don't make me translate it into phonetics.. it's somewhat like Sanct (the a as in market) Oolrich (ch as in Scottish "loch") ;-)
But I hope you won't start taking German lessons now LOL

>Ortisei
Sankt Ulrich, the home of Luis Trenker, a famous if not the most famous "alpine movie" director and actor. His black and white movies are the best ever done in that genre.

Hi Hikr - The owners of Villa Park are Ladini - but they are tri-lingual (- like the majority in Val Gardena). Daughter Carmen also speaks very good English - so you'll have no worries there.

Hope you enjoy this lovely area as much as I do :) Happy hiking!

Steve