How to Speak Italian

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  • This page contains advice on how to speak Italian. Italian is spoken by over 180 million people worldwide, and has many regional variations. This page, however, aims to teach you a standard or neutral form of Italian.

  • Speaking Italian: Before You Begin

    1. First look at why you're learning Italian and how much time you have. Learning a new language can be a big time commitment, so consider how much time you can spend learning Italian.
    2. If you're going to Italy for a vacation, a few key phrases that you study phonetically for ten minutes a day may suffice.
    3. Knowing how to say just a few words will help you communicate, and understand what others are saying to you.
    4. To speak, read, or write on a higher level, lessons with audio and written elements are necessary.
    5. To get the best return on these lessons, studying regularly is important.
    6. No matter what your level of Italian is, take advantage of any chance you get to practice your Italian, however the occasion arises.
    7. Speaking (and understanding what is said to you) may be hard at first, but it will get easier with every word.

  • Italian Pronunciation Tips

    1. Indo-European Languages Italian Pronunciation Guide
      Figure 2: Indo-European Languages Italian Pronunciation Guide
      The first step to learning how to speak Italian is knowing how to pronounce the words. Once you know how to pronounce the vowels and certain consonants, you can say any word.
    2. Indo-European Languages has a list of how to pronounce vowels and consonants here.
    3. About.com includes practice words in its pages on how to pronounce Italian Vowels, Consonants, Double Consonants, and also General Word Pronunciation.
    4. The "r" in words is always trilled.
    5. Italians stress the second to last syllable in words, even if the word only has two syllables. So "Signore" would be pronounced "Seen-YORE-ay", and "Scusi" would be pronounced "SKOO-see".
    6. For a fun, 10 minute video on pronunciation, go here.

  • Basic Italian Phrases

    1. Visit the BBC's page of essential phrases.
      BBC Quick Fix Italian Phrases
      Figure 3: BBC Quick Fix Italian Phrases
    2. Listen to the phrases being spoken as you read along.
    3. Download the MP3s to listen to whenever you can.
    4. Practice saying the phrases yourself.
    5. Record yourself so you hear how you sound.
    6. Print pages out to take with you!

  • Sample Italian Phrases MP3s

  • Introductory Italian Lessons

    1. Go to BBC's Italian Steps, a great introductory 24 step course on Italian.
    2. Listen to the online dialogues.
    3. Watch the dialogue once with the text in English.
    4. Watch again with the text in Italian.
      Italian Steps Lesson 1
      Figure 5: Italian Steps Lesson 1
    5. Test your comprehension with the exercise Guess the Words.
    6. If you've understood the vocabulary, go to Build Sentences.
    7. Complete your half of a dialogue, both speaking and writing, at Speak and Write.

  • Intermediate Italian Lessons

    1. The BBC offers lessons and transcripts about their 20-part TV series, Italianissimo.
    2. Click on one of the topics listed on the page.
    3. Study the Key Language for the topic.
      Italianissimo Key Language Lesson
      Figure 6: Italianissimo Key Language Lesson
    4. Click on the words in dark green for detailed grammar explanations.
    5. Watch or listen to the clip of the conversation for the topic.
    6. Read the transcript of the conversation in Italian.
    7. Read the English translation of the transcript.
    8. Listen to the conversation again, and see how much you can understand.

  • Intermediate Sample Italian Phrases MP3s

  • Corso di Lingua

    1. RAI International Online offers an advanced course on Italian called Corso di Lingua.
    2. On the first page, choose the language you want the course taught in - choose Italian if you're really advanced!
    3. Corso di Lingua Page 1
      Figure 7: Corso di Lingua Page 1
    4. On the next page, choose the style you want the information presented - either with cartoon drawings or real life pictures.
      Corso di Lingua Page 2
      Figure 8: Corso di Lingua Page 2
    5. Then choose the curriculum, either "Situations", "Linguistic Function", or "Storytelling".
      Corso di Lingua Page 3
      Figure 9: Corso di Lingua Page 3
    6. On the next page, click the blue "play" symbol on the top right corner of each box to start each lesson.
      Corso di Lingua Page 4
      Figure 10: Corso di Lingua Page 4
    7. Once on a lesson, click the icons on the top left toolbar in order to listen, read, and study the phrases and words presented.
      Corso di Lingua Lesson 1
      Figure 11: Corso di Lingua Lesson 1
    8. Finally, click the upper left pencil icon in order to practice writing and constructing phrases on your own!

  • BBC's Italian Journey

    1. The BBC also offers advanced level transcripts of an Italian travel documentary, called Italy Inside Out.
    2. Select an episode transcript to focus on.
    3. Download both the Italian and English versions of this transcript.
      BBC's Italian Journey
      Figure 12: BBC's Italian Journey
    4. Read the Italian version of first.
    5. Then read the English version, and see how much you understood.
    6. Study the phrases and sentence construction.
    7. Select another transcript, and repeat!

  • Italian Hand Gestures

    1. Italians are known for using hand gestures while speaking, so if you really want speak like a true Italian, you'll need to learn some basic Italian hand gestures!
    2. About.com has a lot of great drawings depicting common hand gestures.
      About.com's Italian Hand Gestures Guide
      Figure 13: About.com's Italian Hand Gestures Guide
    3. For a brief visual demonstration, check out this video.

  • BBC Cool Italian Lessons

    1. Once you've mastered some basic phrases, learning Italian slang phrases can be a lot of fun.
    2. Check out the BBC's Cool Italian page.
      BBC's Cool Italian Argument Lesson
      Figure 14: BBC's Cool Italian Argument Lesson
    3. Listen to the Cool Italian phrases (check out an "argument" BBC MP3 here).
    4. Print out a transcript of the expressions, as you can here for the argument.
    5. Practice saying the Cool phrases yourself - and don't forget those hand gestures!
    6. Tape yourself to hear how Italian you sound!

  • Italian Podcasts

    1. Podcasts like LearnItalianPod are another great resource.
    2. This podcast is free to listen to.
    3. Play each installment of the podcast either on the main page, or download and save it to your desktop.
    4. Listen to every podcast until you feel you've understood what's going on.
    5. If you want to do more advanced lessons, or read transcripts, then you must subscribe to this podcast for a small fee.

  • Resources for Studying Italian

    1. While studying Italian, it is extremely useful to always reference the:
    2. Indo-European Language's Italian page has a wide range of lessons and vocabulary lists, from beginning to advanced. Without audio files, however, it's best used in addition to other lessons.

  • More Tips for Studying Italian

      • Check out Mahalo's Guide to the Italian language.
    1. Read Italian magazines and newspapers, like La Repubblica. This will help you practice your comprehension skills, as well as giving you a window into life in Italy.
      RAI's Home Page
      Figure 15: RAI's Home Page
    2. Also check out RAI, a great website that provides live streams of many Italian radio and tv shows.
    3. Check out your local university to see if they offer Italian classes, or if there is a professor or student who can tutor you.
    4. Create or buy flash cards to test yourself. Have pictures or English words on one side, and Italian words on the other. Flash cards are an excellent way to study Italian on the go.
    5. Rent movies in Italian. Turn off the subtitles, or try to understand what they are saying before you look at the subtitles.
    6. Listen to Italian music; try to understand the lyrics.
    7. Go see an Italian opera; see how much you can understand without looking at the subtitles.
    8. Visit Italian restaurants or delis where you live; if there are Italian speakers on staff, practice your Italian!

  • Mahalo Daily's The Godfather Italian Language Series

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