I was once walking down a sidewalk in Milan and had someone pull up in a car, roll down the window, and ask me something that took them maybe ten seconds to explain. I managed something along the lines of “Scusi, non parlo italiano” and they graciously waved and went on their way. That is effectively my limit when it comes to Italian.
I can use a lot of gestures when talking, so that makes me at least poor, right? I jest. Seriously though, if you know Spanish, you should be able to roughly figure out what is going on reading Italian.
@KNmeh7 That’s true. Spanish and even French will help you as they (mostly) have the same Latin root words. The pronunciation is definitely different; I think Italian is the most fun! French will definitely mess you up – and I’m pretty sure I mess-up everything I try to say in French. But it will still help you understand words.
I’d recommend at least learning basic numbers and phrases if you will be traveling outside of tourist areas. I highly recommend getting to smaller towns but unlike tourist centers like Rome, people in the smaller towns will often not speak much English at all, but I found they were willing to try to work with you at whatever level you tried to communicate, if you came in with a good attitude and not the proverbial “ugly American” stereotype.
I was once walking down a sidewalk in Milan and had someone pull up in a car, roll down the window, and ask me something that took them maybe ten seconds to explain. I managed something along the lines of “Scusi, non parlo italiano” and they graciously waved and went on their way. That is effectively my limit when it comes to Italian.
I can use a lot of gestures when talking, so that makes me at least poor, right? I jest. Seriously though, if you know Spanish, you should be able to roughly figure out what is going on reading Italian.
@KNmeh7 That’s true. Spanish and even French will help you as they (mostly) have the same Latin root words. The pronunciation is definitely different; I think Italian is the most fun! French will definitely mess you up – and I’m pretty sure I mess-up everything I try to say in French. But it will still help you understand words.
I’d recommend at least learning basic numbers and phrases if you will be traveling outside of tourist areas. I highly recommend getting to smaller towns but unlike tourist centers like Rome, people in the smaller towns will often not speak much English at all, but I found they were willing to try to work with you at whatever level you tried to communicate, if you came in with a good attitude and not the proverbial “ugly American” stereotype.