rex

Okay, here is the context, more fully explained.

We (a family of six adults, and maybe eight) are contemplating a trip of about two weeks in June of 2008 - - probably mostly to Italy - - and ideally, with a week long villa stay _somewhere_ in Italy, and the rest a bit of moving around.

I had in mind that this would be a good way/good time to scratch my itch to go to Sicily; for what it's worth, I also considered Crete, but reading various posts left me with the impression that a week in Sicily will have a far greater abundance of things to do than a week in Crete (though visitors to either island would likely not get bored in any case, with just a week).

I speak a smattering of Italian, and I enjoy getting to use whatever language skills I can muster, wherever I travel. Our youngest daughter, age 24 took 4 years of high school Latin, followed by two years of college Italian (up through modest literature selections), and would really like to brush up on and practice her Italian (she is a high school English teacher); our oldest daughter also took two years of college Italian (after 4 years of HS French), but is not so "into" languages. The younger daughter has been to Italy twice, but both trips were before college, when she actually studied Italian. To round out the story, our middle daughter has a passing apathy towards Spanish (4 yrs in HS, and she lives in LA).

The question that came up over Thanksgiving family together time was: how much will Sicily be like a "whole 'nother country" for using and practicing Italian? The entry on Sicilian language in Wikipedia is SIXTEEN pages long! and leaves me more confused than enlightened - - it seems that few Sicilians are Sicilian monoglots... i.e., almost everyone we would encounter there could understand and reply in "standard" Italian, at some level or another.

Will we find it VERY difficult? a little bit? to understand them? and even when they speak "standard" Italian, (workers in the hospitality industry, for example), will there be a strong (and different?) accent they use which might readily rub off in any attempt to practice and cultivate skills in Italian speaking and listening comprehension?

Of course, language and its use are only one small part of selecting any destination. Did you like Sicily? - - whether you found the language aspect fascinating, frustrating or charming?

And as a corollary, since Sicilian has a strong "rub-off" effect on all of Calabria (Puglia? Basilicata?) are all these questions pertinent to touring in the southernmost parts of mainland Italy also?

Many thanks in advance for any and all replies.

Best wishes,

Rex

Zerlina

In six three-week visits in Sicily, I have yet to encounter anyone who did not speak "standard" Italian. Nor did I find the regional accent, if it was present at all, a hindrance to comprehension.

Sicily is uniquely fascinating. I doubt that there is another place on earth that reveals so many layers of culture and history: Phoenician, Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Arab, Norman, Swabian, Spanish.

quokka

I got along much better that I expected. The Sicilian dialects aren't easy to understand, but usually people notice quickly that they are talking to someone to whom this is a foreign language and speak more "standard".

GeoffHamer

I can get by in basic Italian - booking hotels, tickets, etc, making simple phone calls, etc. I have visited Sicily several times, staying in hotels in Messina, Milazzo, Lipari and Palermo, using trains, buses and ferries, and eating in various restaurants.
I cannot remember having any special language difficulties in Sicily, but people in hotels and restaurants will be used to speaking standard Italian. I'd imagine chatting to, say, farm labourers, might be more difficult, but that would apply anywhere in any country.

travel_buzzing

yes you can use your "standard italian" in sicily. i would be surprised if you were even confused by the accent, unless someone was talking completely in dialect, which wont be likely.

willit

Another agreement. I speak a little Italian, and had no more problems in Sicily than I would in Tuscany.

BigBlueMarble

I grasp of Italian is moderate/good and I was fine in Sicily. The only difficulty was talking to a man at a local market. I couldn't understand everything he was saying but I got the gist of it - enough to get by. He recommended a great seafood restaurant I wish I could find the business card for the place!

mamc

Definitely spend a week in Sicily. You will love it! I speak a little Italian and had no trouble at all understanding or being understood. Only one time were we presented with a challange and I don't think that was due to the Sicilian dialect but to my limitations.
We absolutely loved Sicily and, if the list of places to visit weren't so long, would go back in a minute.

gertie3751

I spent 2 weeks in Sicily travelling alone and by public transport. My basic Italian got me through without problems but there were few/no people I met who spoke English.
Sicily is really beautiful and culturally fascinating. This is the one place I wish I'd hired a car as it would have been much easier to see more. As it was I managed to see a lot in 2 weeks. I was there in October and the weather wasn't the best, a lot of rain.

TravMimi

My father being from Sicily spoke Sicilian, Italian and English. I speak English and Italian. When he would speak true Sicilian I understood next to nothing. I have spent a lot of time in Sicily and these days it's actually difficult to find true Sicilian speakers. They are mostly the elderly and in places way off the beaten path. I have traveled around Sicily with many non Italian speakers and they do fine. Most Sicilians speak enough english to aid a traveler and certainly in the tourist spots you'll have no trouble. Speaking some Italian is certainly a plus. Hope you have a wonderful trip and that you enjoy my favorite place on earth.

cynstalker

What if a single middle-aged woman were thinking of visiting Sicily for a month on her own, not speaking any Italian or Sicilian, and renting a villa - how do you suppose she would manage? Also - can anyone recommend a villa where they have stayed? (Sorry for the hi-jack Rex!)

TravMimi

It's not a matter of a hijack, because with what you plan language might become an issue. A single female traveler for a month in a villa is quite an undertaking. You might post the question on it's own. The advice you'll get will be very helpful.

gertie3751

If you are thinking of staying in a villa for a month alone with no Italian, I would say you are up for it! You will probably come back with a month's worth of useful Italian/Sicilian. Make sure you hire a car and don't go in October!
Sorry I can't help with villas, but somewhere very central might be the answer then you can get about. I personally did not like Taormina at all, overrun with tourists and cruise ships, overpriced and overrated.

travel_buzzing

>>how do you suppose she would manage>>

she would manage very well, with a keen ear and open mind.
after the first two weeks you would be able to talk about almost anything, making mistakes of course.
Italians/Sicilians are very hospitable and very patient teachers of their own language and it feels natural to pick it up.
people want to talk to you there and tell you about sicily.

LJ

Hi Rex...delighted to hear you are off to Sicily!

During our time in Italy, we went to Sicily with my mainland-Italian born B-I-L. He had relatives there in a small town outside Palermo. When they spoke to one another, they spoke a dialect that Michael could not understand, even though his childhood Italian was good enough for all our other Italian adventures over the three years. But when they spoke to us, we were just fine. So I suspect you and your daughters will get a chance to converse in all your variations on Italian skills.

Our villa (a Parker Company one) was just outside Siracusa. We loved Ortigia, Noto and the entire coastal area south of there. I agree that Taormina is 'resorty' and not in that authentic-Italian-families-on-holiday way that makes the Adriatic so interesting.

Have a great time.

kja

Last May, I spent about 2 weeks in Sicily, knowing only a few words of Italian (which I'm sure I mispronounced quite badly) - and I had no problems whatsoever. People were wonderfully patient and helpful, and we managed to communicate as necessary. And Sicily was absolutely wonderful - I feel incredibly fortunate to have spent some time there! During that same trip, I spent time in other parts of southern Italy - Naples and the Amalfi Coast, Matera, and bits of Puglia - and my experience in those wonderful locations was similar. I'm sure that being able to speak the language would have added to my experience, but being unable to speak or understand more than a few words or phrases was not an obstacle. Enjoy!

Dayle

Rex,

Thanks fop posting this! I've been wondering the exact same thing while planning my trip to Sicily.

Hope you're doing well! Already looking forward to the trip report.

rex

I agree with TravMimi, cyn... your "hi-jack" is either totally appropriate - - or no hi-jack at all.

bobthenavigator

Rex, I know you are a linguist and that may be a big factor to you. I am not one but here are 72 good reasons to spend time in Sicily, preferably in May.
You can also find my trip report here or at slowtrav.com---search under "Navigating in Sicily".
http://www.slowphotos.com/photo/show...y.php?cat=3828

rex

Thanks, Bob - - nice pix...

And I don't think that I qualify as even a novice "linguist" inasmuchas I have never taken even one course in linguistics. Still, it is true - - I do find a fascination in language(s).

What I might be called is a wanna-be polyglot.

Interestingly enough (to me at least) many linguistics majors are NOT polyglots. Some seem to be quite content with two, or maybe three languages.

This thread is proving quite convincing... that if the goal is to "go to where they speak Italian" - - then Sicily will scratch the itch just as well as (or maybe even better than) other places we have visited on mainland Italy.