Norge, 11 - 17 August 2008

A very small survival guide to Veneto. Vol 5 - communication

Eveliis asks:
5. Is there any hope of communicating in English? What should I know in Italian for getting by?

It's possible, it just requires an occasional body-language conversation here and there. In the touristic places such as Rome and Florence you shouldn't have big problems. If you're in town X, however, try your luck with younger people who are more likely to understand you, even if they might not be able to respond. One good thing to be said is that the people who don't speak any English act it out as a shortcoming on their part as opposed to accusing you of not learning their language.

Many Italians will simply speak very loud and clear Italian at you, hoping to make you understand (you'll likely want to comment that you're not deaf or stupid, just foreign, but that will hardly help). They also usually understand complicated written English quite well even if they have never studied any (Latin heritage, lucky bastards!).

What comes to a short Italian course, the ones in the back of the Lonely Planets are usually enough. If you're a fan of full immersion language learning, get a phrasebook and just start talking, however wrong it might come out. It will be appreciated in any case.

If you're not ready to learn anything else, here is what you need to know and repeat many times:
Grazie! (thanks)
Grazie mille! (thousand thanks)

if you're ready for a little bit more, then:

Ciao / Salve (informal/formal, used both for hello and goodbye)
Buongiorno (good morning/day; used for hello, but also goodbye)
Buonasera (good evening; used for hello, but also goodbye)
Mi scusi... / scusa (excuse me; formal/informal)
Arrivederci! (goodbye)
Piacere! (nice to meet you)

Basically, if you say these and smile enough (especially you, Eveliis!), I'm sure you'll be fine.


Up next: What's not worth it? Like, the dirty canals of Venice, maybe...