Path to Learning Italian

Italian is a romance language and to me and many others, it is the best sounding language in the world! I am studying Spanish now and I love the language for its usefulness and it sounds great to my ear as well. Italian, however, almost sings when it is spoken. I love this about the language, but I also loved learning it because I am of Italian heritage. In fact my background is only half Italian. The other half, my mom’s side, is Latvian. This only seems evident when I run into other Baltic people. Most people seem to think I look Italian. What do you think?

I grew up speaking English at home and learned only a couple of words from my nonni (grandparents) who spoke broken English. Some of the words were dialect (Marchegiano), but nothing really stuck. By the time I was in university all I really knew was “vieni ca”, “Sei matto?” and “Mangia!” and I could only understand these words when they were being yelled. Italians are not quiet people and my family was certainly no exception. I loved spending time with my nonni though because I loved the culture. I just couldn’t pick up the language no matter how loud they were yelling.

When I was 21 and had just finished another year of university I took a trip with my family to Le Marche to see where they were from and to meet the relatives. Le Marche is a little known region of Italy and I like it that way. It remains less affected by the globalization that goes on everywhere else. My trip there was a great experience and I quickly embraced everything Italy had to offer. I stayed in a smaller town very close to the Adriatic. It was small enough to be distinctly Italian, but not so small that everyone knew each other. I stayed just outside of a place called Porto San Giorgio and spent most of my time at the beach or around the bars and cafes of the seaside town. I couldn’t communicate with the locals, but I was so wishing I could. It is extremely frustrating when language is a barrier. Upon my return home I decided I was going to learn Italian and immediately registered for the Italian program at the University of Toronto. I then proceeded to surround myself with more Italian friends and acquaintances. Up until that point almost all of my friends were of Irish or British heritage. I had too immerse myself with Italianisms. That meant everything from gestures to intonations to learning how to play gettone (foosball). I started drinking a lot of espresso (not that there is no "x" in the word) and learned how to make the sauce. I eve had an Italian girlfriend who could cook!

My courses started with some pretty basic stuff. We learned greeting and conjugation all the while adding to our vocabulary. It was only 1 hour of class three days a week, but there was always homework and there were always quizes so we were motivated to learn. After all, I did decide to major in the language so my marks became a bit more important. I actually worked hard at school for a change and in 2 years I developed a good understanding of the language. I had the grammar rules down and a decent vocabulary, but when I spoke to my family (nooni, uncle etc.) I had a hard time understanding and it took to long to think about what I had to say. I learned some technical stuff, but nothing practical. It all changed that summer.

Before the school year ended I signed up for a U of T program which enabled me to take my 3rd year Italian course in Siena, Italy. It was an incredible experience and I am very glad I did it. The school offered several courses there and I took a language course I needed. The accommodations were in the dorms of the University of Siena and the class was held on their campus. The Canadians mixed with the locals and we spoke Italian every day. The best part of the experience was that I eventually learned to think in Italian. I started understanding things quicker and I could reply a lot quicker. I no longer saw the English words when I spoke, but rather the Italian directly. Now this didn't happen overnight, but it was pretty quick. Being immersed in the language really did make a huge difference.

Going to Siena, which is an astoundingly beautiful city, was a big turning point in my learning. It really did make a huge difference being immersed in a course. It was a big reason I actually came to Argentina in order to learn Spanish (I also came to drink great wine and eat great steaks). I was fortunate enough to be able to take the time off and have my job held back home so I did it. Turned out to be a great decision for many reasons. I love Italy, but Argentina is the chapter of my life I'm working on now and Spanish is my new Italian. I'm following a similar path, but this time my initial lessons were online instead of at a university and my Siena is Buenos Aires.