jrchapma

I've been pouring over this forum, thinking about planning trip in October that would include driving around Tuscany/Umbria (places I have jotted down while doing research include San Gim, Siena, Lucca, Assisi, Volterra, Orvieto, Montepulciano).

Before I get too excited about touring Tuscany, I better find out if knowing Italian is necessary for visiting these areas. I know a few key phrases (hello, do you speak English, etc.) and that really helped with my prior trip to "the big three". And I have put some "learning Italian" CDs on hold at the library, but don't feel at all confident in my ability to master the Italian language before we leave. So, how much Italian do I need to know to get along in Tuscany? Should I hold off on Tuscany until I have a better handle on the language? Thanks all for your input.

bowserjoe

I'm an infrequent visitor to this forum but I check it when planning a trip and try to reciprocate.Saw your msg and have a smile on my face thinking of the places you've mentioned.Language is not a problem at all, really! Iknew the same phrases and everything was fine - not fine, wonderful.Language should not be a factor AT ALL. I can't express that enough. You've got a trip of tremendous beauty, history and warmth ahead of you. Enjoy.

jrchapma

bowserjoe - thank you so much for responding. I was getting so excited with all the research and then started to think, maybe I'm getting ahead of myself - maybe I'm not an experienced enough traveler to handle the countryside. I appreciate your reassurance. If you have time, I'd love to hear about your travels in the area. From your post, it sounds like you've been and really enjoyed the trip.

nytraveler

We have visited Perugia, Assisi, Sieni, San Gimigano etc with very limited Italian and have not had aby trouble at all. And coping with a foreign language is half the fun - try ordering a double-dip cone with two different flavors when you don't know not only the names of the flavors but exactly what they are. I ended up with limone (easy) and kiwi (I have no idea of the name in Italian) but any gelato is great.

cmt

It is impossible for language to "Not be a factor at all," and bowserjoe can't possibly mean that literally!!!!

Of course language matters very much, and of course Italian is the language of the area, so that means Italian matters. The better you know the language, the richer your experience will be because you will be able to talk with a much wider range of people, including, e.g., elderly farmers and shepherd and young children. Many locals will admire you for learning the language or feel feel proud and touched that you bothered to learn it. You'll understand things that you overhear or read and you'll understand humor and will be able to talk to people in their own language about things that are more complicated than where the bathroom or the museum or the train station is or what to order for lunch or how to get another bath towel. Knowing the language even a little will add to your enjoyment, knowing more than a little will add even more, and knowing it much better will give you even more practical advantages and opportunities to learn and fun.

Nevertheless, for practical purposes you can survive quite well in Tuscany with just English, because there are so many English speaking visitors and the area is properous enough that educated and multilingual people haven't all had to leave their hometowns to make a living.

Patrick

I've spent a couple of weeks in Tuscany over the years, not to mention Puglia, Sardinia, and Sicily, places where you'd expect Italian to be more necessary. I still only barely say "thank you, please, good morning, good evening, and bottle of red wine" half decently. Those are the most important phrases. I've never had a problem.

cmt

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...mp;tid=1011767

jd_dallas

We took our first trip to Tuscany last March, and our lack of Italian was not a problem. We found that many Italians spoke English, at least enough to communicate (particularly at hotels, restaurants, and museums), and we were able to communicate more than enough to get by. The people were extremely friendly and helpful. However, we also decided to take an Italian conversation class, because people were much more animated when they are speaking Italian. We'll probably keep taking classes until we go back, or longer.

rex

Set a goal you can reach. Use index (flash) cards. You have eight months. 300-500 words will serve you fantastically. 10-15 words per week. Today would be a good day to start.

You'll feel so much more confident if you make sure you SAY IT OUT LOUD when you practice. No mumbling under your breath; no "saying it in your head". You need to get over hearing how (bad you think) you sound.

You'll do great, and you will add so much to your trip.

Auguri,

Rex

jrchapma

I'm so happy to have this forum as a tool for planning travel. You've all given me good advice and now I know that I will survive without being completely fluent in Italian. I'm going to try and learn as much as I can, especially because I want to visit Italy again and again. This will be my second trip and I already have a basic idea of where I want to go for my third and fourth.

rex - love the idea of flash cards! That would be a great way to pass time on the elliptical machine every morning.

nancyhol

I just got a computer program (it supposedly also works on Palm and Pocket PC) that has flash cards on your computer screen. Got it on Amazon.com.

It is called "Before You Know It" and includes Spanish, French, Italian and German.

I am planning on taking my laptop with me to Spain and Italy - thought I would practice on that long flight over.

elsiejune

If you want an easy, inexpensive way to learn Italian, try logging on to www.bbc.co.uk/languages/italian. This is a great site and has wonderful audio, which makes a huge difference in comprehension. It's always a plus to have some knowledge of the language, so take the plunge and enjoy!

1flygal

elsiejune, thanks for that link. I have been taking a class in Italian and I listen to tapes in my car. Having a place online to go with help also. I must admit, I doubt if I will be understood. I know the word keep forgetting how to pronounce it.

jrchapma

Wow elsiejune! What a great link! I like that you can read and listen to the words.

PamSF

We took 12 weeks of Italian before going and frankly, didn't use that much.
There was a great deal of English spoken in the touristed towns. Where we did run into trouble was asking for directions. I said "Dove?" and the kind souls would fire back in rapid Italian just exactly where it was we should be heading!

annabelle2

I agree with Rex's flashcard idea (this has always helped me with vocabulary and phrases) and his great advice to say it outloud. It's Italian! It's fun!

One thing that helped me: I have never studied Italian, so I was confused about some pronunciation differences from Spanish, which I do study. Specifically, the different pronunciations of the letter "C" (think ciao, Chianti, prosciutto, for example) were a little confusing for me. So before my last trip, I learned a few basic "rules" (I asked an Italian professor at the University where I work, but any of the above-mentioned sources from other posters would probably help you) and then chose a few key words (see above examples) that I already knew the pronunciation of to help me remember the right "c". In Italy, I often asked for directions and while I am sure I massacred the language terribly, at least I think I pronounced "centro" (to find the city center) as an Italian word, not a Spanish word. I found the Italians, in general, responded kindly to my attempts at their beautiful language and this added to the fun of my trip.

That said, you can most likely get along without knowing any Italian, but using those greetings and phrases you have already learned will go a long way to show the locals that you are making an effort to know their culture -- and isn't that the main reason we all travel!

Ciao!

Patrick

I guess what I don't get about the flash card idea is how do you know you are pronouncing it right if there's no one there? I can read a whole lot more Italian than I can speak. I'm just very uncomfortable with the proper pronuciation. I know of no way to be sure unless you have a "teacher" who really knows the correct pronunciation, or a tape system with proper pronunciation. In other words you can practice saying "Grassi" till you're blue in the face, but you'll still be wrong.

rex

I do, indeed, recommend using SOMEthing audio, whether CD or tape or internet. Italian is so purely phonetic that I think a person can learn to sight-read in a single afternoon (especially if you have studied another Romance language). Other than c, ch, gh, g, gl, and gn - - it all seems awfully straightforward.

Flash cards are about vocabulary building. Getting a few dozen words pitch-perfect pronunciation correct doesn't seem as important as learning a vocabulary of 500 words.