Italy Language

Italian is the official language of Italy, and if you plan to get anywhere in the country—physically or otherwise—you should brush up on the language before your trip. While the tourism-driven economy of urban areas has instilled locals with some English familiarity—ranging from knowledge of a few words to complete fluency—the likelihood of meeting an English-speaking Italian drops drastically the farther you travel from heavily touristed areas. In the south, on the islands, and in small towns to the north, tourists with no knowledge of Italian may have to rely entirely on hand gestures, a tactic that is naturally vulnerable to awkward misunderstandings. Be aware that spoken dialects vary greatly between different regions. To get in good with the locals wherever you may be, memorize a few Italian phrases to break the ice, and make sure to end any conversation with a polite, “Grazie” (GRAHT-see-yeh).

Pronunciation

There are seven vowel sounds in standard Italian. A, i, and u each have one pronunciation. E and o each have two slightly different pronunciations, one open and one closed, depending on the vowel&rsquo ...more

Grammar

Italian nouns fall into two genders, masculine and feminine. The singular masculine ending is usually o, as in duomo, and the feminine is usually a, as in donna. Words ending in an o in the singular usually ...more