Italian for Beginners: Lesson 1 - Una nuova avventura

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spk_0 Benvenuti amici!

spk_0 Welcome to our language theatre!

spk_0 Come on in, my friends!

spk_0 Take a seat!

spk_0 Make yourself comfortable and get ready for a uniquely enthralling experience.

spk_0 My name is Luigi and I'll be here to walk you through this exciting journey.

spk_0 You may be asking yourself, what sort of journey is he talking about?

spk_0 Well, my friends, you're about to enjoy a charming theatrical performance and while doing

spk_0 so, you will learn to understand and eventually speak Italian.

spk_0 As the play unfolds, you'll get a chance to see first hand how the language works.

spk_0 Plus, you will discover captivating nuances of Italian culture and experience the

spk_0 thrill of a theatrical performance in the language you are learning.

spk_0 Now, let's take a step back and devote a few words to the format of the show.

spk_0 An Italian teacher, Sylvia, is about to meet Conor, her new student.

spk_0 Conor does not speak Italian.

spk_0 He only knows a couple words he learned as a kid from his maternal grandparents who, as

spk_0 we'll see, are both very proud of their Sicilian heritage.

spk_0 Conor is really keen to start learning Italian.

spk_0 Why?

spk_0 Well, he has a special dream he wants to accomplish.

spk_0 The curtain is up now.

spk_0 Act 1 is about to begin.

spk_0 Here, Sylvia and Conor sit in a cozy room sipping coffee.

spk_0 Many colorful books are lined up on a wooden bookcase and, ep of Italy, hands from the wall.

spk_0 Looks like a language school.

spk_0 Well, let's see what happens.

spk_0 Ciao, Conor.

spk_0 I'm glad to meet you.

spk_0 Benvenuto.

spk_0 Welcome to the course.

spk_0 Ciao, Sylvia.

spk_0 Thank you.

spk_0 Piacere.

spk_0 But before I speak to you more about the course, tell me why you want to learn Italian.

spk_0 Well, because I think the Italian language is so beautiful.

spk_0 See, a vero.

spk_0 It's true.

spk_0 Any other reason?

spk_0 I also love the Italian culture very much.

spk_0 Benissimo.

spk_0 Do you know any words in Italian, Conor?

spk_0 Well, I know the words, buongiorno, buon assiera.

spk_0 Ciao.

spk_0 It's a good start.

spk_0 Any other words?

spk_0 Parole?

spk_0 Yes.

spk_0 Let me think.

spk_0 Pasta.

spk_0 Pizza.

spk_0 Bella.

spk_0 And ragazza.

spk_0 Very good.

spk_0 Molto bene.

spk_0 Those are very helpful words.

spk_0 My mother's parents were Italian.

spk_0 You know, I often heard those words.

spk_0 My grandparents' home, you know, when I was a kid.

spk_0 Very interesting.

spk_0 Well, Conor, I promise you that if you study well by the end of our 22 lesson course, you

spk_0 should be able to understand and speak Italian.

spk_0 Seriously?

spk_0 No doubt about it.

spk_0 Well, are you ready to start?

spk_0 All right.

spk_0 Fantastico.

spk_0 Mama mia, I like your enthusiasm.

spk_0 Come in,

spk_0 Let's now explore the verb essere, which corresponds to the English verb to be.

spk_0 Essere, like to be in English, is an irregular verb whose conjugation follows a special pattern.

spk_0 In English, we say, I am, you are, he is, she is, and so on.

spk_0 You stop using the word B once you start conjugating verbs.

spk_0 The same thing happens in Italian with essere, which is also an irregular verb.

spk_0 Let's now conjugate essere in the present tense of the indicative mood.

spk_0 I am you are, you say, he is, you are, you are, you are, you are, you are, you may have

spk_0 noticed, I said you are twice, but gave you two different Italian translations, namely

spk_0 to say and voiciete.

spk_0 See, I did notice that.

spk_0 Well, in Italian there is a polite form for you.

spk_0 We say, lei instead of two informal speech, whereas we use two among friends, people of the

spk_0 same age and two others as children.

spk_0 So should I use two or lei when speaking to you?

spk_0 Two is fine, and thank you for asking, Conor, you are Molto Gentile.

spk_0 Gentile, Molto?

spk_0 Molto Gentile means very kind.

spk_0 You will need to expand your vocabulary, Conor.

spk_0 I will be introducing more words as we go on.

spk_0 This is exciting.

spk_0 I like it.

spk_0 Bene, I'm glad you like my plan.

spk_0 Why don't we start by pairing essere with the words you already know?

spk_0 If you don't know how to say something in Italian, just say it in English.

spk_0 Let me go first.

spk_0 I am a professor of Italian.

spk_0 Ok, let me try.

spk_0 I am Conor.

spk_0 I am American.

spk_0 Ah, Conor.

spk_0 I am American.

spk_0 With an O.

spk_0 Oh, I see.

spk_0 That reminds me of an old song that when Tuvo fa l'americano.

spk_0 So great.

spk_0 A me ricano is the correct word.

spk_0 Now I know it.

spk_0 Try something with Tusei.

spk_0 Tusei a girl.

spk_0 Ragazza.

spk_0 Molto bene.

spk_0 Tusei Molto Gentile.

spk_0 Io sono Molto Gentile.

spk_0 Tusei funny.

spk_0 Tusei simpatica.

spk_0 Grazie Conor.

spk_0 Sei uno studente.

spk_0 What?

spk_0 I'm sorry.

spk_0 You said sei uno studente.

spk_0 I didn't hear you saying tu, but I guess you're referring to me.

spk_0 Am I right?

spk_0 You are right and I'm actually very happy you noticed that.

spk_0 In Italian, personal pronouns are optional.

spk_0 I can say sono silvia, because sono already indicates that I am the subject of the sentence.

spk_0 So remember, only use a personal pronoun such as Io, for example, when you really want to

spk_0 emphasize the subject performing the action.

spk_0 So I can say sono Conor, sono Americano, and sono Gentile.

spk_0 Correct.

spk_0 Now let's try to use lui-é.

spk_0 He is, and lei-é.

spk_0 She is.

spk_0 Lei è bella.

spk_0 Lei è romantic.

spk_0 Lui è happy.

spk_0 Lei è romantica.

spk_0 Lui è felice.

spk_0 Romantica.

spk_0 Felice.

spk_0 It sounds so poetic.

spk_0 Well, dear Conor, molto bene so far.

spk_0 I'm very happy with our first lesson.

spk_0 Let's get an espresso and come back to practice.

spk_0 Noisiamo voi siete, and l'oro sono.

spk_0 Ciao Conor.

spk_0 Ciao, I'm not leaving.

spk_0 I just got here.

spk_0 I know you are not leaving Conor.

spk_0 I'm sure that you did not forget that we have an important lesson today.

spk_0 We need to practice noisiamo voi siete e l'oro sono.

spk_0 Si, then I don't understand.

spk_0 I thought you usually say ciao when you're leaving a place.

spk_0 I see why you are a little confused, Conor.

spk_0 In italiano, ciao is a friendly and informal way to address people,

spk_0 which you can use both when you see someone and want to say hello to them,

spk_0 and as a way of saying goodbye when you leave a place.

spk_0 Really?

spk_0 Do you know anything about the history of the word ciao?

spk_0 No, I don't think I do.

spk_0 Ciao comes from the Venetian word ciao,

spk_0 schiavo in italiano, slave in English.

spk_0 Slave? Really?

spk_0 Well, once upon a time people would employ the expression ciao vostro,

spk_0 which means your slave or I am your slave as a form of greeting.

spk_0 Something like a match or service?

spk_0 That's right.

spk_0 Over time, this greeting lost its submissive connotations,

spk_0 becoming a general expression of goodwill.

spk_0 It eventually was compressed into the word ciao and spread outside Venice,

spk_0 all over Italy and abroad, all over the world.

spk_0 That's fascinating, Silvia.

spk_0 I've been dreaming about Venice for a long time.

spk_0 So if I say noi siamo schiavi, what does it mean?

spk_0 We are slaves?

spk_0 Exactly, but let's see some other words and practice some examples using noi voi loro.

spk_0 noi siamo noi siamo silvia and conno.

spk_0 Mamma mia, I was just about to tell you something new and you read my mind.

spk_0 Well, to stay on the topic of noi siamo silvia e conno,

spk_0 let me tell you how you can convey this same concept in another way.

spk_0 noi ci chiamiamo silvia e conno.

spk_0 This is getting complicated.

spk_0 It is not complicated, don't worry.

spk_0 Chiamarsi can be translated as my name is.

spk_0 Let me conjugate this verb for you.

spk_0 Io mi chiamo, my name is tutti chiami,

spk_0 your name is lui lei si chiamo noi ci chiamiamo,

spk_0 voi vi chiamate loro si chiamano.

spk_0 So I can either say io mi chiamo conno or io sono conno.

spk_0 Exactly, and remember that the Italian language often drops the personal pronoun.

spk_0 So when you want to know somebody's name, you can use chiamarsi.

spk_0 It's simple, for instance, I can ask you come ti chiami,

spk_0 which can be translated in English as what is your name?

spk_0 Now, try to answer my question.

spk_0 Mi chiamo conno come ti chiami mi chiamo silvia come si chiamano mamma e papa.

spk_0 I know that.

spk_0 Si chiamano, Germanna e Sean.

spk_0 Molto bene, very good.

spk_0 Sono molto felice,

spk_0 con il primo gramo al mio primo conno.

spk_0 So amai silvia,

spk_0 I can't wait to learn more.

spk_0 Music

spk_0 Back and ready.

spk_0 Mamma mia, you scared me.

spk_0 I didn't hear you coming in.

spk_0 Silvia, this is funny.

spk_0 I heard my grandfather Giovanni saying mamma mia,

spk_0 millions of times.

spk_0 I bet you did.

spk_0 It is an extremely common Italian expression, both in Italy and around the world.

spk_0 He would say to my grandmother mamma mia, carmella, la pasta,

spk_0 and then he would do something with his hand, like blowing a kiss with his fingers,

spk_0 ma.

spk_0 He surely loved my grandmother's pasta, which was really good, I have to tell you.

spk_0 How many stories like this do you have?

spk_0 Well, I could write a book about these two.

spk_0 Real soulmates.

spk_0 I can't wait for you to tell me all about them in Italian.

spk_0 Mamma mia, I wish.

spk_0 You'll see, as you learn some of the most common Italian expressions,

spk_0 not only will you make fast progress,

spk_0 but you will also sound like a real Italian.

spk_0 Io sono italiano.

spk_0 That is what I would like to say without an accent.

spk_0 You know, having an accent is not a problem and can even be multi-romantic.

spk_0 Mamma mia, a ragazza in Italia, my vespa.

spk_0 It sounds like music to my ears.

spk_0 Music?

spk_0 It's so great to hear you say that, Cornor.

spk_0 By the way, speaking of music, Silvia,

spk_0 do you know that song by Abba called Mamma mia?

spk_0 Mamma mia, it was a hit back then and still is.

spk_0 Actually, this is the perfect example of a commonly used expression

spk_0 spread into other cultures.

spk_0 And so widely did this one spread all over the world

spk_0 that it became the chorus for one of the most popular songs of all time.

spk_0 That's true, but does Mamma mia have anything to do with the word mother?

spk_0 What does it mean, really?

spk_0 Well, literally the expression means my mother,

spk_0 but we never use it like that.

spk_0 In fact, to say my mother, we say mia mamma,

spk_0 switching the two words.

spk_0 I got it.

spk_0 Mamma mia is very often used to express a surprise.

spk_0 For instance, I said that when you walked into the room earlier

spk_0 and I wasn't expecting you.

spk_0 It can be translated in English as,

spk_0 oh my, or my goodness.

spk_0 Mamma mia, now I understand very well what you're talking about.

spk_0 Cornor, say uno student molto bravo.

spk_0 You are a very good student.

spk_0 You are a very good professor.

spk_0 Time to say goodbye, Cornor.

spk_0 Arrivederci.

spk_0 Ciao Silvia, grazie.

spk_0 That's it, my friends.

spk_0 I'm Ichimie.

spk_0 We've come to the end of the first installment of our show.

spk_0 I hope you are as enthusiastic about learning Italian as our new friend Cornor.

spk_0 Now take my advice and study the lesson available on our website.

spk_0 Then, listen to the grammar and expression dialogues.

spk_0 Oh, I almost forgot.

spk_0 Make some time to perform our grammar and pronunciation exercises.

spk_0 Well, the curtain is down.

spk_0 The intermission begins.

spk_0 I will see you soon in at 2.

spk_0 Bye for now.

spk_0 Arrivederci.

Italian for Beginners: Lesson 1 - Una nuova avventura

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