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Just came back Saturday from Italy. We went to Firenze (Florence), Venetzia (Vencie) and Tuscany. Rarely had a person that could not speak English. We did use our limited Italian greetings and tried where possible to communicate in their tongue. It is only polite to try and do so. We went to London first for 2 nights to get over jetlag and then on to Italy for 12 days.
Have fun! KP |
You'll get by the same as the millions of other non-Italian speaking tourists who go to Italy every year.
;-) Not that everyone speaks English, but really what all are you going to be talking about to strangers anyway? |
We just returned from Rome, Venice, and Tuscany. You can certainly get by with no Italian at all, particularly in Rome and Venice. However, I took an Italian for Travelers course, 10 hours over 5 nights, at a local community college before we left, and consider it some of the best money I spent. It gave me loads more confidence while we were there, and it covered some useful topics like tipping, how to read a train ticket, some cultural differences, local culinary specialties, etc. And, it was just fun to spend a few evenings comparing notes and sharing enthusiasm with a group of other people preparing to visit Italy, too. Whatever you decide, definitely go. We had an amazing, incredible, fabulous, memorable time!
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<i>Italian for Travelers course, 10 hours over 5 nights</i>
Gosh, that sound perfect! I like to know a little more than just the "hello goodbye please thank you" phrases. I learned French several years ago and have been torn between whether to continue working on my French or start in on Italian (I chose French). But, before going to Italy, I learned a few phrases about the train, shopping, hotel, restaurants, etc. It wasn't hard and it just makes travelling more fun. \ Here's a basic list that also has sound so you can hear the pronunciation: http://tinyurl.com/ydq29d Joelst: Spend a little time, too, learning how Italian meals are structured (thus the menus as well). Here are some places to start: http://tinyurl.com/ygejug http://tinyurl.com/ymqakh |
There are many tourists from other non-Italian-speaking countries who visit Italy and enjoy it without difficulty. Your husband might be surprised at how well he gets along knowing (supposedly)absolutely no Italian yet recognizing many written words, signs, etc., thanks to exposure in the media, and so forth.
He won't need to know any Italian to recognize "pizza" for example. Good luck with the "convincing" arguments and if all else fails do the "intimidation" number on him: tell him you'll go without him (and act like you mean it). |
We lived in Rome 17 years ago and spoke no Italian. Just go and enjoy. Remember to try a few words that you can learn online. Italians are warm and friendly. They understand what you are saying just very shy about their use of our language.
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About 1/4 of Italy's people speak English to some degree--per 2006 survey. Of course, this would likely be more concentrated in areas serving large numbers of non-Italian tourists.
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We've been to Europe MANY times and speak only English. NEVER had a problem communicating and look forward to going MANY more times.
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About 40% of Germans; 26% of Frenchindividuals; 75% of the Dutch; 25% of Spaniards; 23% of Poles; 74% of Swedes; 50% of Belgians; 48% of Austrians; 21% of Czechs.
There is quite a lot of variance. |
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