Italian Translation for Dummies
 

We are off to Italy in five days, and I figure I best be able to say the following phrase:

Le mie scuse, non parlo italiano. Parlate inglese?

Could some of you Fodorites who speak Italian help me *pronounce* this phrase? Phonetically, if possible?

Thanks very much once again for all your help.

Any other Italian phrases or tips you think I might absolutely need, please post as a response!

Buona Notte

First of all I would just say:
SCUSATE NON PARLO ITALIANO. PARLATE INGLESE?
It would be more or less like this:
SKOO-SAH-TEH
NON PARLOH
EETA-LEE-ANOH
PAR-LAH-TEH
EENG-LEH-SEH?
Ok, I know that now at least a dozen other people will give you other versions, maybe they will help you understand better how to pronounce this, by giving you other advices and examples. But this is my "version"

The use of the second person plural ("parlate", for example) as a polite form is surely archaic or very, very southern Italian.

I say archaic because, as an expatriate Italian explained it to me, it was the Fascists who enforced the use of this form, as an alternative to the more elitist use of the third person singular as a polite form. (Still with me?)

The use of "lei" -- she, in English -- as a form of polite address to someone standing right in front of you derives from "sua eccellenza" -- your excellency would be the English counterpart.

Bottom line (finally), you should say: Mi scusi, non parlo italiano -- parla inglese? (or "parla inglese, lei?")

MEE SKOOzee, NON PARlo ee/tal/eeyA/no. PARla eenGLAYzay LAY

(I have not attempted to render properly the diphthong in "lei")

Other expressions:
Quant'e? or quanto costa? How much is it (KWANT/ay)

Dov'e? Where is....? (DOVEeh)

La ringrazio OR Grazie. Thank you/ thanks. (LA rinGRAZee-oh)

A che ora parte il treno per...what time does the train leave for.... (A KAY OHrah PARteh EEL TRAYno PAIR...)

All worn out by all these mixed caps and lower case. And my clavier -- I mean keyboard -- has just switched mysteriously to French characters so everything is coming out with accents aigus and accent graves. So I hope this helps. Must stop.

I totally agree with tedgale about the "parlate" I've never heard anyone say that in conversational Italian, and my Italian language course book for foreigners(from Italy) doesn't have the 2d person plural form of address in there either.

Keep it simple. Mi scusi, io non parlo italiano, lei parla italiano? is how I would say it, and contrary to what others may say, I would use the personal pronoun when speaking with strangers.

Ironically, the best vocab with pronunciations I have found is right here on Fodors--and it is free. Look on the home page under resources and learn about 50 key words and expressions and you will be fine.

if you're trying to tell someone you don't speak Italian, why are you worried that you speak it perfectly in Italian? a french business associate of mine once said he thought the weirdest thing Americans do is come up to total strangers and say in perfect french that they don't speak french and then ask if they speak english. why not ask it in english? if they speak english they'll know what your're saying. giving a greeting or a thank you in the local language makes sense. telling them you don't speak their language in their language doesn't make any sense at all.

you know, I couldn't agree more. The problem with stating "I don't speak--- in the local language is that it confuses people-they quite rightly think, well, if you can say that perfectly you surely do speak the language, and are just being modest! Then they'll proceed to speak to you as if you are a local, defeating the whole purpose of learning that particular phrase in the first place!

Let me point out my previous post:

I chose to use "scusate" and "parlate" (using the second plural person) because dwzemens had already a sentence where he had "parlate" and I actually did NOT intend "parlate" as the archaic version of "Lei" (I have never used it myself and I am native italian) but as if he was addressing to two people (second plural person, the simple "you" as in "I am sorry guys, I don't speak italian, do you (guys/girls) speak english?").

I do agree that there is the polite version which is "mi scusi, non parlo italiano - parla inglese?" if addressing to ONE person. So both versions can be used, depending to how many people you are talking to. My former one (scusate non parlo italiano, parlate inglese?) was intended when talking to two or more people, this latter one (given by tedgale) is the polite form and used for one person only.

Jocularly, to Battufolino:
Or you could get really, really formal with your multiple interlocutors and say "Mi scusino, parlano italiano loro?"

In fairness, though I was taught this form, I have only ever heard it from waiters to a couple or group -- "Mi commandino"/ "What may I bring you?"

Thanks to all - as usual, Fodors thought of my question already. Not only does the "resources" link on the home page describe the various phrases, it also pronounces them through your computers audio system. It's a miracle!

Hi dw,

Don't forget to add "per favore" at the end.

I found that I was readily understood by just asking, "Parla inglese, per favore?".

(I don't pretend that this is correct Italian.)

I think earl 30 has a good point. I've been approached by foreign tourists here in Florida who say in perfect English, "excuse me, do you speak (Italian -- French -- whatever)?" When I say no, they walk away. I'm always left wondering if they could speak that much in such perfect English, don't you think I could have helped them with their problem or question?

I must admit I take the easy way out. I usually just say a couple of words so that they are aware I don't speak the language. Rather than attempt a full sentence perfectly spoken, I'm more likely to say "Parlez vous Anglais?" or "parla Inglese?" Or if I'm trying to make clear I don't speak their language after they've spoken to me in their native tongue, I'm likely to just say "Inglese, per favore?"

I wouldn't worry about phonetic correctness, dwzemens, as I think perfect language skills are likely to confuse them in what it is you're trying to do. Like maybe you can speak their language, but you just don't want to. At least that's the impression I get from foreigners here who approach me with perfect English then walk away when I say I don't speak their language.

Hi Patrick,

>..if they could speak that much in such perfect English, don't you think I could have helped them with their problem or question? <

Probably not.

My vocabulary in Finnish, Danish, Swedish, Dutch, German (it has diminished a lot), Italian, Spanish is pretty much limited to "Do you speak English?".

If someone were to try to help me in those languages it would be fruitless.

"..if they could speak that much in such perfect English, don't you think I could have helped them with their problem or question?

Probably not."

Gee, Ira, I'm not sure why you say that. In the reverse, I often ask in France if someone speaks English and even if they don't, we manage to find out how to get to the metro station, where the toilet is, which direction a certain landmark is, etc. I would think that when I'm stopped on the street here by a foreigner and they ask if I speak Italian and I say no, their next question was probably going to be "which direction to the beach" or "where is an ATM". Yea, I think I could have helped them with those issues without speaking their language. I doubt that they were looking for an intelligent discussion about world politics in their native tongue. The usual tourist question can be solved regardless of language barrier. Trust me, I speak no foreign languages and I amaze myself all the time how well we can do with non English speaking natives everywhere. (Although I could win a trophy for charades).

Hi Patrick,

>I often ask in France if someone speaks English and even if they don't, we manage to find out ... which direction a certain landmark is, etc.<

That's because you speak some French.

If all you knew were, "Parlez vous anglais, s'il vous plait" and "merci", the most helpful Francophone couldn't do much for you, could they?

No, Ira, you're really missing the point. I don't know French!

When I ask where the toilet is I say "toilet?". If I want to know where the metro is I simply say "metro?", and of course if I'm asking which direction to Notre Dame I simply say "Notre Dame?" -- maybe you call that speaking French, but I don't. If an Italian person wanted to find the beach here but found out I didn't speak any Italian, I bet he could find out from me where the beach is by simply saying "aqua?" or making a motion like swimming. See what I mean? And if looking for something like a restaurant, all he has to do is say the name of the restaurant (same in any language) and I could point him to it. But I basically find it insulting to ask me if I speak his language and when I say no to have him just walk away from me as if I were no use to him at all.

I see your point, Patrick.

I must agree with those who say it's pointless to have good language skills for only a couple of phrases. Once, after being tutored for a few months in German and commended on my accent, I went to Germany and told everyone who addressed me in German that I didn't speak it well, only a bit. They always kept speaking to me in German, even when I reverted to English. Although it's easier to understand much in German than, say, French, it does just confuse people to speak in a language you really don't know. Learn as much vocabulary as you can so you don't have to do charades, and learn also the polite phrases and a bit of grammar in case you must try to cobble together a phrase for someone with few language skills. Then, come home and laugh yourself silly about how funny you were trying to communicate!

I've found this phrase helpful:

Non parlo italiano molto bene, parla inglese?

non par-lo ee-tal-ee-ah-no mol-toh bay-nay, par-lah een-glay-say?

I don't speak Italian very well, do you speak English?

Sometimes I start the sentence with, "Mi dispiace..." mee dees-pee-ah-chay... (I'm sorry...)

The qualifier "very well" as in "non parlo italiano molto bene, parla inglese?" sounds to me like the slippery slope referred to by other posters.

You might well get the helpful response:
"Lo capisco ma parlo male. Facciamo cosi -- parla inglese pure lei, rispondero in italiano."