Learning Italian from the streets: Cosa ti piace di più mangiare?

---

OUR NEW NAME AND ADDRESS IS VIA OPTIMAE! {www.viaoptimae.com}

Didattichiamo! will slowly be phased out, so read this post on our new site and subscribe by email to receive our latest updates.

---

My favorite aspect of learning a new language is the opportunity to interact with new groups of people and learn about their culture and lives.  That's why I love the idea behind the Easy Languages series.  Originally developed as Easy German, its a series of free videos in which native speakers hit the streets and ask topic-based questions to people they meet.  Transcripts of the original dialogue as well as the English translation are included.  It's a great way to glean some insight about that particular culture as well as to hear how native speakers really speak and respond. 

In this first Easy Italian episode they take us to Matera, Italy and ask the question: 

Cosa ti piace di più mangiare?

(What is your favorite thing to eat?)

See how the people of Matera responded:

Did you notice how she asked questions in the informal "tu" form with some people, the formal "Lei" form with others, and the plural "Voi" for couples or groups of people?

Here are some of the questions asked in the video. (I've converted them all to the informal "tu" form) Try responding to them yourself (either on your own or in the comment section below.)

Cosa ti piace di più mangiare?

Cosa non deve mai mancare nel tuo frigo?

Sai cucinare?

Cosa sai cucinare meglio?

Qual'è il piatto che cucini peggio?

How do your food preferences compare to those expressed in the video?  Any similarities or differences?  Have you ever tried some of the dishes mentioned in the video?  If so, what did you think?

For additional grammar practice, try converting the above questions to the formal "Lei" or plural "Voi" forms. (Use the comment section below or email your answers for feedback.)

So far, I could only find this one Italian episode, but I'll keep you posted if I find any others.  If you're interested in other languages as well you can go to the Easy Languages site for Arabic, Malay, German, Spanish, French, and English.

Happy Studying!

-Alex

Fare domande- Asking questions in Italian

---

OUR NEW NAME AND ADDRESS IS VIA OPTIMAE! {www.viaoptimae.com}

Didattichiamo! will slowly be phased out, so read this post on our new site and subscribe by email to receive our latest updates.

---

There are two types of questions, "yes or no" questions and all others.  

In English, yes or no questions require the use of an auxiliary verb.  If the sentence doesn't already have an auxiliary, then do/does is added.

Mary eats ice cream. ->  Does Mary eat ice cream?

In English, you can also simply change your intonation, but this usually implies a bit of
incredulity to the statement.

Mary eats ice cream. -> Mary eats ice cream? (I thought she was lactose intolerant!)

In Italian, however, there is no auxiliary for questions, and a rising intonation at the end is the only difference between a statement and a question. 

Mary mangia il gelato. ->  Mary mangia il gelato?

You can still be incredulous, but this requires exaggerating the rising tone.

Mary mangia il gelato. ->  Mary mangia il gelato???


For all other questions, it is necessary to use one of the "question words."  In English, they are known as "the five w's" plus how and how much.  In Italian, they are:

WHO?              CHI?                   (as in the word "key")
WHAT?           CHE (COSA)?*  (keh koh-za)
WHEN?           QUANDO?         (kwan-doh)
WHERE?          DOVE?              (doh-vay)
WHY?             PERCHÉ?          (per (as in pear) -kay)
HOW?             COME?              (koh-may)
HOW MUCH?    QUANTO?         (kwan-toh)

*Che is literally what and che cosa is literally what thing. Both forms are pretty much interchangeable, but there are some instances where one sounds better than the other.


The pronunciation guides in parentheses above are very rough approximations based on English words.  To get a feel for the native pronunciation of each word, listen and repeat along with the following:

 {See this post on our new site to view the video.} 

Now that you're familiar with each word, let's listen to them in context.  

 {See this post on our new site to view the video.} 

Now, without referring to the translations, can you fill in the blanks for each sentence from the video?

____ vuole andare a Firenze?

  Who wants to go to Florence?

____ c'è da fare a Firenze?

 What is there to do in Florence?

____ possiamo andare? 

  When can we go?

_________ costa il biglietto?

How much does the ticket cost?

____ si trova il Palazzo Vecchio?

  Where is the Palazzo Vecchio located?

____ costa così tanto il biglietto aereo?

  Why does the plane ticket cost so much?

____ si dice "let's go" in italiano?

  How do you say "let's go" in Italian?

Familiarizing yourself with key words in context as spoken by native speakers is a great way to learn new vocabulary and make sure you are able to recognize it as it is spoken.  So be sure to check out rhinospike.com for downloadable audio versions of various texts (or request your own recording if you need something specific!)

A chi piace studiare l'italiano?

Who likes studying Italian?
(I hope you!)

Happy Studying!

-A

A special thanks to Enzo at rhinospike.com who provided the native-speaker audio for both videos!