Day 2 - I Don't Speak Italian

So we've got our alphabet down, we're ready for our trip right!?

Well, not quite.  The alphabet might mean we can pronounce things (not even kinda), but we need some essential phrases to let people know we don't speak Italian yet.

As I mentioned yesterday, there are a lot of videos on YouTube for this stuff.  A Google Search for "Italian for travel," showed this video in the results:

I've listened through the first half or so and I think it will be good for adding some common phrases as a baseline.  Having said that, I don't think learning everything here in one day is reasonable for anyone who is not studying Italian full time.

Let's pull some phrases out that will at least let our Italian hosts know we have no idea what the heck we are saying.

Phrase 001. "I don't speak Italian" - non parlo italiano

As an American who took Spanish in High School, one of the few phrases I remember and still hear occasionally is no habla Espanol (pretend there is the ~ above the 'n'), or "I don't speak Spanish."  I have a feeling non parlo Italiano represents the least I could learn before visiting.

A great follow up when making conversation in Italy would be:

Phrase 002. "Do you speak English?" - parla inglese? 

It is a common American sentiment that any country we visit will have someone there who speaks English and you can get by.  So, if you only make it to Day 2, these two phrases should help establish your arrogance ignorance.

One thing to note about these two phrases is that the verb changes its ending.  Anyone familiar with any of the other romance languages will know this is a way they denote a verb's role in a sentence.  I have not looked for a break down of how to conjugate these verbs, but there will be future posts on Grammar.

For now, let's work on memorizing these two phrases and we'll continue through more of these tomorrow.  As more phrases are introduced, I will try to use them throughout the day, either to myself, or a willing participant/unwilling occupant of the room I am in.

Review:

Phrase 001. "I don't speak Italian" - non parlo italiano
Phrase 002. "Do you speak English?" - parla inglese?