Flash!cards

The week has been low-key as far as Italian adventures go.  However, Dinosaur and I are really trying to make a push toward studying more Italian (he's reviewing flashcards as I type this),which made me think of a few points.

Did you know that people who speak other languages say animal noises differently than we do in English?  I had a good laugh comparing English and Italian animal noises with some Italian friends who work at the hotel where we stayed when we first got here.  I wish I could remember more of them, but for instance - What sound does a dog make?  You're probably thinking, "bow wow," or "bark," or some sort of barking/growling/yipping noise.  In Italian, take the "wow" off of "bow wow" and add another "bow."  Pronounced like a tree bough.  "Bow bow!"  You're saying it out loud, aren't you??  Heehee, animal noises are fun in all languages!

Last week when I entered the produce shop, Mama Produce was sitting with a friend.  I greeted them, then Mama Produce offered a long string of pleasantries, and I answered something that may or may not have made sense.  I told the friend that I'm American and speak very little Italian, but that I'm learning.  Mama Produce was very sweet and quick to defend me, and I'm pretty sure that she said that though I don't speak very well, I understand well.  Which is absolutely, laughable, not the case.  For every sentence that I know how to say, I can readily understand one or two words when spoken to me.  I think Mama Produce is deceived just because I smile and nod so much around her.  She's so cheerful! - I can't help the bright expression plastered on my bobbing head when she talks to me.  "Lei capisce bene" my foot.  Very sweet of her to defend me though.  Such a nice woman.

I've been chatting to Bella more often on Facebook.  She writes in English and I try to write what I can in Italian.  I usually have Google Translate open in the next tab, but I try really hard to think of the Italian on my own before I look it up.  The problem is, Bella would never correct me.  Just as I don't correct her.  It would be an incredibly tedious and unpleasant conversation if we corrected each other after every entry.  So that's not an ideal way to practice, but at least it gets me thinking about Italian.  And she had a really great idea recently.

Bella said that singing along to American music helps her learn English.  She suggested that I listen to Italian music.  Most of the radio stations here play American music, but I managed to find a pop station that's about 50/50.  I concentrate super hard on what the DJ's are saying, but I only manage to make out a word here and there.  But songs are different.  Most are slower than you would talk, so I can pick up so much more.  And by learning a song, even if I don't know exactly what the lyrics mean, my ear gets used to hearing how Italian words go together.

This hadn't occurred to me before I came over to Italy, but when we speak, we anticipate quite a bit.  When you ask someone, "How do I open this?" you've already subconsciously primed your brain to anticipate the answer.  Your brain knows the answer isn't going to be "lipstick" "lima casserole" or "in a tree stand," so it's not perked for those answers.  But when I ask that same question in Italian, I have no idea what to expect for an answer.  Imagine the anticipation if every time you asked a question, you had to be ready to mentally sift through ever possible phrase that you know, never knowing where in your brain the matching phrase, if it's even there, will be.  So that's why songs are handy.  The tune helps me put together words in a sentence the way they're supposed to be, the way I'll hear them when Italians speak to me.  At first, I'm just memorizing the sounds of words, but once they're in my head, they're stuck there.  Then I look up the meaning, and boom - another phrase in the arsenal.

Dinosaur is so diligent.  He's still flash-carding away.  I guess I'd better join him so he doesn't have all the intercultural conversational fun.  A presto!  (ahem - see you soon!)