Standing in the midst of the many food stands near my apartment, I can understand how the Tower of Babbel was named. Italian words fly past me and I try to grab some and understand what is being said.  But words do not exist by themselves.  Words are the building blocks of conversation which need the structure of grammar to put the words into context.  And it is the context, to me, that is the key to unlocking the understanding.

I can engage in a conversation with my friends or with the shopkeepers here as there is a context to what we are discussing.  We start by asking how are you, what have you been doing and then proceed from there.  In shopping, you ask for or about something and you expect the answer to be related to that.  But if you have to converse without a context then living the language becomes all the more challenging. Like when the checker at the supermercato asked me if I wanted the bollino.  I looked at him and said- I do dot know what a bollino is.  He waved me off. (I asked a friend that evening- it is a sticker for a game card that they give out- oh- I know what that is- we have them in the US.)  The next time he asked if I wanted one I was able to decline politely.

I find these scenarios peppered throughout my day and they are the ones that frustrate me the most. Recently walking in Lucca, I guess looking Italian in my all black and scarf jauntily tossed around my shoulders, a young Italian man stopped me and out spewed gibberish from his mouth.  I could tell he was asking a question and I thought he was asking about something or directions from his intonation but that was about it.  I asked him to repeat more slowly and realizing I was not a native he excused himself and walked on.  I know I had no context here to understand him as I was not familiar with Lucca.  I have been stopped in Bologna and have been able to answer as they have asked for streets or places that have a meaning for me.

When I decided I would like to live in Italy, I knew that developing language skills was essential if I wanted to be more than just a tourist.   Before my first trip to Italy I listened to basic Italian conversation lessons and found that the language was easy to speak as most of the letters are pronounced and the language has a lyrical sound to it as most words end in vowels

Italian may be easy to pronounce (well, that is before I had to say words like chiacchierare) but the structure of the language is quite complicated.  Unlike English, nouns have masculine and feminine appellations along with singular and plural counterparts.  And all the verb conjugations are based on who the speaker is: I speak, you speak, they speak etc and corresponding tenses- such as future and past- too many types of past – and soon my head was spinning again. Though there is an economy here in speaking the language- in Italian- I will go – is simply andrò- you know based on the conjugation and tense that it is first person, future.  But pronounce it wrong or use an incorrect conjugation and “I” easily becomes you,he or she!

But the context of the language can only come from the use of it in meaningful conversations and for this I decided to come to Italy to learn. After choosing to explore Bologna a few years ago,  I then looked for language classes. There are quite a few schools here but was not sure how comfortable I would feel in a school of young foreign students whom I was sure would learn at a more rapid pace than I and may not provide a common ground for conversation building.

In Ravenna with Andrea- 2013

I discovered Bologna Linqua and read favorable reviews by others who had attended classes here. These were mostly older people like myself and praised the owner/teacher Andrea Quarantotto for his style, warmth and sense of humor. I elected to take his course that was strictly conversational and traveled to the various cities in the Emilia-Romagna region.  I thought- “how great to see Modena, Ravenna, Parma and other places I wanted to visit with my own Italian tour guide in a sense”.  With my limited skills I usually was able to follow what he was saying but was quickly frustrated by my lack of ability to respond adequately.  He gave me the best advice ever- “don’t worry about your pronunciation or grammar- just get your thoughts out and then we will work on correcting it”.  As our conversations were based on the places visited, again I was supplied the supporting context for understanding.

One does not realize how many things we say in American English (because there is a difference between it and the British English taught in Europe) that are idioms or expressions that have developed over the years.  It is not just a matter of translating what you want to say from English to Italian- you have to think how Italians would understand what you are trying to communicate. I never realized how many expressions we use that really don’t make sense. For instance, I wanted to say that I ran out of paper- well I know this would make no sense if I translated it directly and had to think- OK what would make sense- and then went on to say that I did not have any paper left.  The same thing happened the other day when in a conversation with my friends I started to say- I wonder how that wound up there.  Another one of those expressions I stuttered to explain- and no wonder my Italian friends find English difficult.

And where in English, we may use the same word in different situations, context comes into play again. In English- we may walk to work, talk a walk at night, walk the dog or go for a walk to burn off those extra pounds!  But in Italian- based on the context, you use a different phrase for each type of these ambulations.

Italians are willing to use common words as new terms pop into our life so it is not unusual to see computer or email used.  But sometimes it is interesting to see how new words are created.  I noticed a section for “fumetti” in the bookstore and discovered it was for cartoons.  I looked up the word and fumetto (singular) means bubble.  Ah, the bubble over the person’s head in comics and hence the name for comics was created.

But it is only by using the language in daily context do you get into the rhythm of how words are used and phrases turned.  I am lucky to live in Bologna right now as I am challenged to use my Italian in my daily encounters.  When visiting places like Sorrento and Lucca that encounter hordes of tourists most of the people you encounter speak some English. And even though you may use your Italian they usually switch to English when they hear you speak or when you hesitate in the conversation.  I do not have that luxury here thankfully or I could be tempted to take the easy way out.  And when you meet other English speakers learning the language here, you quickly seek the comfort of your own language to express yourself. I am not sure if I will ever reach that point where Italian slides easily off my lips and not use my English to fill in the gaps, but I know that being immersed in the culture and being an active participant is the road that will lead to fluency.

Image- Impariamo L’italiano

And now as the weather turns colder and I could encounter snow when I travel to the various Christmas markets in the alpine regions, I have to gear myself up for buying a pair of boots.  But not just any boots of course! Looks like I have some practicing to do.

Note: This post became too long so stay tuned for Part II on Learning the lingua– about courses and online resources for learning any language.