Tripping Over My Tongue

This entry was started weeks ago and should have been posted long before now, but since I'm sitting here in Heathrow and have no Florentine adventures to report on just yet, I thought I'd get this up there in the meantime... the first real Italian chapter will follow soon!

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Back in early July, Melanie and I bought the Italian version of Rosetta Stone, Levels 1 & 2. The idea is that I will use it in preparation for my big adventure then pass it along to her, she will use it and shortly thereafter we will be able to converse in fluent Italian. This could be fun out on the town in Boston, surely.

I started my lessons shortly after I got it and have done only a few here and there. Not nearly enough. Let me first say that this program is extensive, I’ve spent at least 10 hours and have gotten through the first of four lessons in Level 1. I haven’t even opened Level 2 yet. Then there’s the audio companion which you can download to your iPod to reinforce what you’ve learned when you’re away from your computer.

Here is a sample of what I’ve learned so far:
• Buon giorno!
• Arriverderci!
• la bambina mangia (the girl is eating?)
• la donna cucina (the woman is cooking?)
• le cane e nero (the dog is black)

The idea with the program is that you don’t learn by translating, you learn by hearing, seeing and speaking in the same way that a child picks up their native language. So I don’t really know what anything in the program means, I am merely guessing.

The most unique part, though, is that the program comes with a headset/microphone which gives you the opportunity to speak and therefore learn pronunciation. You are rewarded with a lovely “brrrring!” sound when you are correct, and punished with a sad little “beep” when your American accent is interfering.

At the beginning I thought “Wow! This is easy!” I was cruising along, getting from section to section fairly quickly. I would speak the word and hear the cheerful “brrring!” and would then be allowed to move on to the next frame. I soon learned that words like “donna” and “bambino” and “latte” aren’t all that difficult.

I’m guessing I’m at maybe 3-year old level at this point but suddenly I’m hearing the sad “beep” an alarming amount of the time. I try patiently a couple of times to speak the word exactly as my computer instructor tells me but it is soon followed by “beep.” I slow down and imitate the computer voice’s exact inflection… “beep.” I push the microphone closer to my mouth thinking it must not hear me… “beep.” I deepen my voice to make it sound more like the man on the computer… “beep.” I am then ready to rip the earphones off my head and throw them out the window.

I readily admit that my Italian accent is far from perfect, but can’t this thing cut me a break? I feel fairly sure that if I were saying these words to a native Italian they would probably understand me. Perhaps I’ll have to find one as soon as I get there to test out this theory… stay tuned.