Assuming nothing goes wrong, I’m going to be visiting there in June, and while I’d like to be fluent, that’s not going to happen.
However, I hope I could be not completely incompetent. So, what’s the best way for me to do that in the next 4 months?
(If it is a factor, I’m competent in Spanish, not fluent, but not lost, either.)
Well, according to Mr. X, Spanish and Italian are the same, so no problem.
Spanish and Italian are pretty similar, so someone reasonably competent in Spanish could expect to pick up Italian faster than, say, someone fluent in German. Unfortunately, they’re close enough that if you start to think in Spanish while you’re learning Italian, you’re likely to start speaking Spitalian (Or Itanish, I suppose.)
I bought a “learn by CD” program for my computer called Learn By Immersion. Two CDs each of Spanish, Italian, German and French. I got it at Best Buy, so it shouldn’t be too hard to find, and I’m pretty sure it was about $30-$40.
I found the Spanish to be too basic for me (I’m also competent, but not fluent) and it was pretty easy to pick up most of the Italian. Certainly I picked up enough to be able to carry on the simplest of conversations. The German and French continue to elude me completely.
Also, immersion is a good way to learn. I’m pretty damn competent in Italian (not quite fluent yet), and my email address and AIM sn are in my profile.
Quite excellent! I’ve been studying Italian since September 2001 and I think I’m just about fluent now. I’ve done a couple of things to help the move along the learning process. One, I’ve been chatting up native speakers. Two, I’ve been watching a lot of Italian films. (See? I told you a couple.) I think I’ve fared pretty well. Of course, the people I’ve been speaking with know I’m just a lousy American still grappling with a new language which may have had some effect on the way they’ve spoken to me. And the Italian films have had subtitles which made keeping up just a little easier. So I’m not quite sure if I’m as good as I think I am. We’ll see how I do when I go to Italy next year. Also, I’ve been trying to get into Italian pop music, but damn it, I just can’t listen to Claudio Baglioni!
Just to inspire you:
I studied in Italy for 6 weeks, and new NO Italian before visiting. I had 2 years of Spanish but could still only say “hola” or “el gato es mi amigo”. Once I landed in Italay I could barely get to my hotel, I just handed the taxi driver a sheet of paper with the address!
I took Italian 1 while there for ~2 hours a day 4 or 5 days a week, and learned basic phrases like “where is” & “I would like” and the essential nouns (bus ticket, bathroom…). By the 4th week I could navigate Rome solo! It was so much fun, and it is completely possible for you to learn the basics before June. And the Italians will respect you more for trying - I really hated overhearing other Americans while I there not even try to speak Italian. On top of that, when I returned I spoke Italian to my grandparents and they were so proud!
Good luck!
I am fluent in Spanish.
What confused me were the c’s.
They are pronounced totally different in Italian.
Also, there are words that are more ‘french’ in Italian.
Manga (eat) as an example.
However, the most important things are similar:
Quando? (when)
Dov’e? (where)
Questo (this)
Quello (?) -that
Quanto cuesta? How much does it cost?