{"id":3177,"date":"2012-04-27T08:00:21","date_gmt":"2012-04-27T13:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.studyabroad101.com\/?p=3177"},"modified":"2012-04-27T08:00:21","modified_gmt":"2012-04-27T13:00:21","slug":"learning-dialect-fails-learning-slang-prevails","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.studyabroad101.com\/blog\/2012\/04\/learning-dialect-fails-learning-slang-prevails\/","title":{"rendered":"When Learning the Dialect Fails, Learning the Slang Prevails!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Signage<\/a><\/p>\n

photo credit:
\nhithro<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n

Submitted by Global Ambassador, Caitlin, in Sorrento , Italy<\/em><\/p>\n

My \u2018Italian Communication Survival Test\u2019 began right before the third leg of my journey to Italy,when I landed in Rome\u2019s main airport. Like many tests, this one left me especially exhausted,confidence-less, and in fear of my final grade.
\nMy flight arrived over a half an hour late into Rome Fiumicino airport, and I only had about fifteen minutes to go through security, check-in with Alitalia, and get to my gate. The airport was not busy, and the tram only had two stops, so one would think that I would find my way just fine. However, knowing that I had very little room for error, I was in panic mode, and we all know that the worst thing to do is to panic. I successfully got through security, and even managed to ask the security guard where I was supposed to go (in Italian), but I must have misunderstood him in my state of disarray. I took a left turn instead of going straight, and ended up on the tram back to where I started. I had to go through security yet again, and of course it was the same exact people working the security line as before. I asked the samesecurity guard where to go, this time, trying not to panic so that I could actually hear what he was saying.<\/p>\n

Watching the clock, I knew I had less than ten minutes to get to my gate, so I ran as fast as I could, asking directions along the way. By the fate of one Roman Emperor\u2019s powerful thumb, I found my gate and was freed from the clenching grip of stress and fear. At my gate,I had to wait in a long line, sweaty, tired, and with stretched out jeans from all the travelling. Meanwhile, I was surrounded by all Italians, dressed in shiny puffer coats, fashionable leatherboots, and with designer suitcases, amidst their strong scented designer perfumes and cologne. I was the Barbarian in the midst of an all-Roman empire, which only made waiting in line seem like centuries. When it became my turn to give the emperor, or Alitalia man, my ticket, I realized I forgot to check-in! He even told me to run to get my ticket because the bus going to the plane was about to leave! It is never reassuring when someone tells you to run. But I ran, luggage in hand, feeling as if I was the young, underdog gladiator running with my silver sword, praying to survive my first battle in the Coliseum. I asked the Alitalia official for my ticket\u2014allin Italian, mind you\u2014and I even told her that I was running late\u2014which was pointless becausetime is not money in Italy. She, going at the same speed as if I had an hour to wait, finally gave me my ticket, and I immediately sprinted (not even exaggerating, I was literally rivaling my former track team-mates) to my gate to get on the bus that brought me to the Alitalia plane. I made it! I was no longer the gladiator. I was the emperor\u2026Marcus Aurelius II, if you will.<\/p>\n

\"Italian<\/a><\/p>\n

photo credit:
\nbeautyredefined<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n

Although my relief skyrocketed when I successfully made it on the plane in time, I was still standing in puddles of fear. I kept thinking of how out of place I felt upon arrival in Italy, and began to wonder if I would ever be able to practice my Italian, or if the people would just mark me as an American and only speak English to me. I sympathized with the Barbarians of Ancient\u00a0Rome, who got their nickname \u201cbarbarian\u201d because the foreign language they spoke sounded like that of baby talk, or \u201cbar bar bar.\u201d Thankfully, this fear dissipated when I landed in Naples Airport, and was greeted by the driver, Tony, who brought me to my home-stay. During our car ride, I spoke to Tony only in Italian. He encouraged me the whole entire ride to speak only in Italian, and told me something that changed my whole entire point of view. He was Virgil, the wise and intelligent guide, and I was Dante, the fearful and na\u00efve student. He advised me, telling me that I cannot be afraid to make mistakes when speaking the language, because mistakes are inevitable and are actually useful tools to learn. \u201cWhen you make mistakes,\u201dhe said, \u201cpeople will most often correct you, and that is when you learn.\u201d \u201cEventually,\u201d he continued, \u201cyou pick up on the mistakes yourself and begin to self-correct\u2026and this is the road to fluency\u201d\u2014or for Dante fans, this is the road to lingual \u2018Paradise\u2019. I felt even more at ease when he talked about his own fears when trying to speak English. He told me that he, too, fears making mistakes when speaking a foreign language, but in order to improve, this is a fear that one has to overcome. This little inspiration was everything I needed to build my confidence, and speaking Italian the rest of the ride only made concrete the fact that I would learn as much Italian as I could during this semester, and the more mistakes, the better.
\n\u2026
\nIt is already the middle of April, and looking back, I am proud to say that I have spoken Italian in many diverse situations, often making mistakes, but more importantly, learning from them. I quickly discovered that knowing some Italian helps, but only gets me so far in the region of Naples where I am studying. When the people of this region are not speaking in the incomprehensible Neapolitan dialect, they are speaking Italian with a Neapolitan accent. It is difficult to explain, but instead of the symphonious sounding phrases that resemble poetry tipping off the tongue, Neapolitan is colorful, loud, vibrant, and full of the phonetic \u201csh\u201d sound.<\/p>\n

\"SORRENTO:<\/a><\/p>\n

photo credit:
\nSowersPics<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n

When I go to the Italian \u2018bar\u2019 during the day, or at night to watch a soccer match, all that I hear is Neapolitan dialect. Even at my internship, everyone speaks Neapolitan among one another,and I often am lost in translation. Being around the language for a few months now, I actually feel as if I am getting a Neapolitan accent! That is why I have most recently turned my study focus from Italian language to just plain slang! I never realized, but slang is often more usefulin most situations than the actual formal language! Here\u2019s some slang and idioms to get you started:
\n1). In bocca al lupo- Good Luck (Literally means \u201cin the mouth of the wolf\u201d and can also beequated with the American saying \u201cbreak a leg!\u201d)<\/p>\n

2). Essere nelle nuvole- to daydream (literally translated as \u201cto be in the clouds\u201d)<\/p>\n

3). Beccare qualcuno- pronounced as BEH-CAH-REH KHWAL-KUNO and means \u201c to hit onsomeone\/pick someone up\u201d (beccare literally means to peck, haha!)<\/p>\n

4). Sentire le farfalle nello stomaco- is the equivalent to the saying in English \u201dto feel butterfliesin the stomach\u201d<\/p>\n

5). Che palle!- It can be used to say \u201cHow boring!”, or can express boredom or annoyance ingeneral (literally means something quite different…so you may not want to say this in frontof the teacher, because it can come off a bit strong!). It is however used frequently amongfriends, often describing a boring class at school! Oh, and the most enjoying part of hearing thisterm is the hand gesture that goes along with it\u2026which you can find everywhere on YouTube.<\/p>\n

6). Ci vediamo dopo- pronounced CHEE VEH-DEE-AH-MOH DOH-POH and means \u201cSee youlater.\u201d You can also say \u201cci vediamo\u201d or \u201ca dopo\u201d which both mean basically the same thing.<\/p>\n

7). Sono pazzo\/a di te- It means \u201cI\u2019m crazy about you\u201d (How romantic, right?!). If you arefemale, you\u2019d say \u201cSono pazza di te\u201d to someone, and if you are male, you\u2019d say \u201cSono pazzo dite.\u201d<\/p>\n

8). Vattene!- \u201cGet Lost!\u201d (Can be used jokingly…or not so jokingly).<\/p>\n

9). Su! Dai!- \u201cCome on!\u201d and is pronounced phonetically as: SUE! DYE!<\/p>\n

10). Che schifo!- \u201cYuck\/That\u2019s Disgusting!\u201d I have heard this most frequently out of any of theother expressions. It is usually the little girl that lives upstairs that uses it to express her hatred of peas when she has to eat them for dinner!
\nAnd to put it all together in my own mini Ital-English mini-drama:<\/p>\n

Sono nelle nuvole. Sono pazza di te. When I see you, sento le farfalle nello mio stomaco.You said you liked me. You even told me you liked the poem I wrote for you. But I saw youbeccando (hitting on) another girl. Seriously?! Che schifo! Vattene! Ci vediamo never!
\nAs you can see, some things are universal!
\n(note: this mini-drama is completely made up :P)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

photo credit: hithro Submitted by Global Ambassador, Caitlin, in Sorrento , Italy My \u2018Italian Communication Survival Test\u2019 began right before the third leg of my journey to Italy,when I landed in Rome\u2019s main airport. Like many tests, this one left me especially exhausted,confidence-less, and in fear of my final grade. My flight arrived over a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_ppma_block_editor_authors":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[40,171],"ppma_author":[682],"class_list":["post-3177","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-global-ambassador","tag-airports","tag-language","author-pwpadmin"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t