Author Topic: Who's Been to Italy? Or Speaks Italian?  (Read 512 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Offline Super Colin Blow

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 587
  • Location: Ye Olde Province of Maryland
Who's Been to Italy? Or Speaks Italian?
« on: February 10, 2022, 04:24:27 am »
I was in Italy in 1994. Anyone else been there? I had a swell time, even though it was a tour group from our high school.

(I am thinking of learning Italian so I can go back and wander around on my own. Any of you speak Italian?)
WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter


Offline Michael Hardner

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 12461
Re: Who's Been to Italy? Or Speaks Italian?
« Reply #1 on: February 10, 2022, 06:31:27 am »
Yes but over forty years ago.

Another magnificent European country that thinks it's the centre of the universe.
Funny Funny x 2 View List

Offline Super Colin Blow

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 587
  • Location: Ye Olde Province of Maryland
Re: Who's Been to Italy? Or Speaks Italian?
« Reply #2 on: February 10, 2022, 07:27:48 am »
Yes, I've noticed that about many people from western European countries.

I went 28 years ago. Still kicking myself for not saving some of the banknotes. Oh well....

I am trying to learn Italian now in case I ever get the money to go back. The Vatican Museum alone was amazing. Heck, it was a great trip all around especially for a high school kid.

I understand that Italy is one of the European Union states with less fluent English speakers than, say, Netherlands or Denmark (where just about everyone speaks English). That's good for me, because I do not want to spend all this time learning a language of a country in which its citizens prefer to speak to me in English rather than me having to learn their language. What would be the point, eh? So in other words, a native English speaker with fluency, or quasi-fluency, in Italian would be more in demand than one who went through the trouble to learn Dutch or Swedish for example.
WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH
Like Like x 1 View List

Offline Black Dog

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 9069
  • Location: Deathbridge
Re: Who's Been to Italy? Or Speaks Italian?
« Reply #3 on: February 10, 2022, 09:24:47 am »
We went in 2017 for around three weeks (which turned out to be a touch too long). Venice, Florence and drove around around Tuscany. Best trip ever, food was incredible, art and scenery second to none. Would definitely go back.
Like Like x 1 View List

Offline Squidward von Squidderson

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 5630
Re: Who's Been to Italy? Or Speaks Italian?
« Reply #4 on: February 10, 2022, 06:51:51 pm »
I’ve never been to Italy…. I think I would include it if I am to go back to Southern Europe.  I’ll likely spend some time in Scandinavia and Great Britain first though. 

Quote
The Vatican Museum alone was amazing.

I can’t see myself supporting anything to do with the Catholic Church….  The organization hierarchy hiding child molestors….  I dunno…. It would be like going to a German war museum that was still hosted by actual Nazis.

My friend got kicked out of the Vatican for not dressing modestly enough…. 😲
Dumb Dumb x 1 View List

Offline Super Colin Blow

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 587
  • Location: Ye Olde Province of Maryland
Re: Who's Been to Italy? Or Speaks Italian?
« Reply #5 on: February 10, 2022, 08:58:47 pm »
That's hilarious!

The forum was neat, and so was Pompeii. I want to try Herculaneum next time I'm there, supposedly it is better preserved than Pompeii because it got hit with the pyroclastic flow (hot mud).

Whether you like the Catholic Church or not, you have to admit, those are some kickass-looking churches in Italy. (By the way, since you don't like the Catholic Church, go to youtube and check out "Pope Fights". It's hilarious.) But there's plenty to do that doesn't involve monetarily supporting the Church of Wome. I mean Rome.

The down side to Italy: careful not to get hit by a Vespa.

As far as my Italian learning: I just barely started, and it seems quite similar to French. Should be a cake walk. I never met a language I didn't like. And I love how the Italians use their hands when they talk, especially when swearing.
WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH
Agree Agree x 2 View List

Offline Squidward von Squidderson

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 5630
Re: Who's Been to Italy? Or Speaks Italian?
« Reply #6 on: February 10, 2022, 09:44:05 pm »
It’s a very dedicated traveller who will learn the language before they go! 

Do you find other languages easy to learn? 
Dumb Dumb x 1 View List

Offline Super Colin Blow

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 587
  • Location: Ye Olde Province of Maryland
Re: Who's Been to Italy? Or Speaks Italian?
« Reply #7 on: February 11, 2022, 06:35:45 am »
Not too difficult. It's never "easy" per se, but I have studied 5 languages and did reasonably well in all of them.  High school: 1 year of Japanese and 4 of French. College: 2 semesters each of German, Spanish, then Arabic. I enjoy doing it. It's such an amazing feeling when you can finally understand sentences and so forth; just as I felt when I was a wee lad and could read a book by myself for the first time. It's like reliving that experience.

If I had been wiser I would have stuck to one foreign language, two at the most, and studied them until I was totally fluent. These days I can only speak English. Might have remembered these languages better if had stuck with just one for a longer amount of time.
WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH
Winner Winner x 1 View List

Offline Super Colin Blow

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 587
  • Location: Ye Olde Province of Maryland
Re: Who's Been to Italy? Or Speaks Italian?
« Reply #8 on: February 14, 2022, 01:08:51 pm »
Have any of you tried Babbel before? I have used Rosetta Stone but it has its limits...
WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH

Offline Michael Hardner

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 12461
Re: Who's Been to Italy? Or Speaks Italian?
« Reply #9 on: February 15, 2022, 07:26:32 am »
Have any of you tried Babbel before? I have used Rosetta Stone but it has its limits...

I'm intrigued by it: please report back as these are things I will engage in in my retirement...

Offline Super Colin Blow

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 587
  • Location: Ye Olde Province of Maryland
Re: Who's Been to Italy? Or Speaks Italian?
« Reply #10 on: February 15, 2022, 07:42:49 am »
I'm intrigued by it: please report back as these are things I will engage in in my retirement...

Roger that.

It costs money to get the full version for a year, however. But it is far less expensive than Rosetta Stone.
WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH
Like Like x 1 View List

Offline Super Colin Blow

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 587
  • Location: Ye Olde Province of Maryland
Re: Who's Been to Italy? Or Speaks Italian?
« Reply #11 on: February 25, 2022, 12:25:59 pm »
I'm intrigued by it: please report back as these are things I will engage in in my retirement...

By the by, I have started using Babbel. So far it's simple stuff like greetings, yes and no. A little too easy. But I'll let you know after I have completed a few more sections. Hopefully it doesn't get too hard all at once.
« Last Edit: February 25, 2022, 12:30:29 pm by SuperColinBlow »
WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH

Offline Super Colin Blow

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 587
  • Location: Ye Olde Province of Maryland
Re: Who's Been to Italy? Or Speaks Italian?
« Reply #12 on: March 12, 2022, 10:06:11 pm »
I'm intrigued by it: please report back as these are things I will engage in in my retirement...

Hi, babbel is OK for now;I would however recommend buying a used textbook from somewhere, and the program and the book will supplement each other.

It was specifically Italian you wanted to learn? Or any other language(s)?
« Last Edit: March 13, 2022, 04:49:07 am by SuperColinBlow »
WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH