Posted: 5/17/2002 5:02:47 PM EDT
| I want to learn a second language but due to my work schedule I can't really go to a proper school. I picked up an Italian language lesson set at B&N yesterday. I got the set that was developed by the Foreign Service Institute used by the US Govt. It has 15 cds and a book. I'm in the process of ripping the cds to mp3 right now so I can upload them to my iPod. I have lots of free time at work so I can go through the audio files there. |
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Italian is one of the easiest languages to learn! Probably even easier than Spanish! Plus you have the advantage that Italian people actually love it when you try to speak to them in Italian (unlike other nationalities which shall remain nameless). My daughter's babysitter was Sicilian and she learned a whole lot of Italian, which she has retained over the years. You can also make conversation with Spanish-only speakers if you know Italian. It's just similar enough to permit a bit of conversation. It sound sexy. It's very similar to Latin. You can be understood in some parts of Africa. OK, OK, the [u]dirtier[/u] parts of Africa, such as Ethiopia and Libya. You've got a wide range of Italian language movies you can rent which are not all bad. Think [i][b]Mondo Cane[/b][/i] and [i][b]La Dolce Vita![/b][/i] Eric The(Ciao!)Hun[>]:)] |
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Italian is easily translated from english. You will master the language in short order. For instance... ...proper names ending with a silent 'e,' yet pronounced by a consonant sound, such as 'l,' is treated with the suffix, 'io.' Thus, 'bunghole' becomes 'bungholio.' |
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Quoted: I want to learn a second language but due to my work schedule I can't really go to a proper school. I picked up an Italian language lesson set at B&N yesterday. I got the set that was developed by the Foreign Service Institute used by the US Govt. It has 15 cds and a book. I'm in the process of ripping the cds to mp3 right now so I can upload them to my iPod. I have lots of free time at work so I can go through the audio files there. What's the actual title of the set you got? Do you know if they make one for Latin? I've wanted to learn it for some time but I can't justify the time and expense for a formal course. I guess Italian is pretty close, maybe I'll do that instead if it's all I can find [:D] Let us know how it works out. |
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[b]Se imparo parlare italiano, posso visitare il Berettas![/b] "If I learn to speak Italian, I can visit the Berettas!" Someone posted this translator a while back. I just used it. [url]http://www.systranbox.com/systran/box?id=Spanish-en[/url] It does more than Spanish. ...eh, 'ow do yoou zay, "BITCHIN'" ? |
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I think that your learning may plateau without the help of a native speaker. Try, if you can, to get a tutor to meet with once/week. I guess that you are most interested in speaking, and conversation is, IMHO, the only real way to develop your skills. [:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)][:)] Also, good job with B&N. Nothing like supporting the local book stores! |
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Quoted: I want to learn a second language but due to my work schedule I can't really go to a proper school. I picked up an Italian language lesson set at B&N yesterday. I got the set that was developed by the Foreign Service Institute used by the US Govt. It has 15 cds and a book. I'm in the process of ripping the cds to mp3 right now so I can upload them to my iPod. I have lots of free time at work so I can go through the audio files there. Parlo poco l'italiano. = "I don't speak Italian." If you have a wife or lover, you can say: Ti voglio bene. = "I love you." CAPISCE? |
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Quoted: Parlo poco l'italiano. = "I don't speak Italian." Um, actually, that's "I speak a little Italian." Non parlo Italiano, ninente! Perche sono un schervelato. = I don't speak Italian, none! Because I am a scatterbrain. [:D] But seriously, Italian is a nice language. Easy to learn, once you understand how to conjugate romance verbs, it tends to be more grammatically "regular" than Spanish. It flows easily off the tongue, and does not require wearing a beret, forgoing personal hygiene, or having a major attitude like SOME romance languages ...[}:D] |
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Italian is a great language. Hell, you can buy an opera, read the libretto, and not knowing Italian you can pick up a lot of it from the context alone. And it's a beautiful language. If you want something really cool, try Greek. You can swear at virtually anyone you see on the street, and odds are they will have no idea what you're saying. Agamesu malaka! |
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Bah, don't bother with that mexican language! You should do what I think I'll be looking into soon, Dutch. It will get you far in Northern Europe, which is really where you need to be if your going to Europe. Of course each country has their own little spin on the Dutch language, but the differences don't seem to be overwhelming. |
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Quoted: I got the set that was developed by the Foreign Service Institute used by the US Govt. It has 15 cds and a book. I got the same set for Spanish. My opinion was, what a waste of money. I don't think they're good for leaning a language in a casual manner on your own. Of course, YMMV. |
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The Sicilian woman who babysat my daughter while I was in school in Baton Rouge told me that she learned English by watching soap operas on t.v. She said that the emotions were so obvious that even if you didn't have a good vocabulary you 'knew' what the husband was saying to the wife that he caught in bed with the neighbor! Plus the soap opera's language is in the everyday vernacular of the street, so it's easy to pick up slang and idioms. I tried it with Spanish soap operas and it does appear pretty easy to imagine what the actors [u]must[/u] be saying! Eric The(Amarato)Hun[>]:)] |