CONTENTS 1. GETTING AROUND. Greetings and general phrases. Directions. Comment on the Aids to Listening. Asking for what you want. Foods. Price. Time. Numbers. Pronunciation of a, è, e, i, ò, o, u. 2. MEETING PEOPLE. Review of vowel sounds. Pro- nunciation of ny and ly sounds. Forms of address. Definite and indefinite articles. Gender. Number. 3. WHAT'S YOUR TRADE? Pronunciation of y and PART ART ONE UNIT 1 GETTING AROUND To the Group Leader: Each unit of this course is divided into six sections. It is suggested that the group spend not less You should look through all of the sections of the unit, reading the directions carefully, so that you will have THIS UNIT gives you the most immediate and necessary expressions that you will need in meeting people, asking your way, buying things, and counting. You will find that it is no easy matter to master all these words and phrases, but you will succeed if you really concentrate and follow instructions carefully. The amount of learning and memorizing required for this first unit is considerably greater than that of any later unit. The reason that you are given such a large dose at the start is that this unit is a kind of "language first aid," which gives you enough useful expressions to enable you to make your ordinary wants known and to carry on a simple conversation in Italian from the very start. All but a few of these words and phrases are selected from the phonograph records for the Italian Introductory Series. If you have worked with these records, the present unit will be a review for you and, in that case, you should be able to master the vocabulary of this unit without difficulty. In the list of Useful Words and Phrases which follows, the English equivalent of these words and phrases is given at the left of the page. Opposite is a simplified spelling of the Italian which will help you in getting the sounds. The Leader of the group will first read the English Equivalent and pause for the Guide to speak the Italian. Every member of the group then repeats after the Guide, imitating his pronunciation as closely as possible. The Guide will then say the Italian a second time and everybody will repeat after him as before. The Leader will then read the next English Equivalent, and the Guide and group will follow the procedure indicated. If no Guide is available, the phonograph records provided for the course should be used. When the group is ready, the Leader will begin playing the appropriate record and the group will repeat right after the Italian speaker during the silences in the record. The phonograph records can be used with profit even in cases in which a Guide is available. They can be heard between meetings of the group, whenever it is convenient for you; they furnish additional practice in hearing Italian; you may listen only to those portions which you have found difficult; and the records may be played as often as you wish. In case the speaker on the record has an Italian pronunciation different from that of your Guide, use the records only for listening and understanding and not for imitating. Whether you are working with a Guide or only with the phonograph records, you must repeat each Italian word and phrase in a loud, clear voice, trying at all times to imitate the pronunciation as closely as you can. Keep constantly in mind the meaning of the Italian you are about to hear. When you are hearing the Italian, keep your eyes on the simplified Italian spelling. This will help you catch on to the pronunciation. But whenever the written form seems to you to differ from the spoken sound, follow the spoken sound always. Learning to understand and pronounce a language is not really hard. Every one of us learned to do this as a child, and all over the world children learn to speak all kinds of languages without any trouble. The difficulty that an adult faces in learning a foreign language, as you are now learning Italian, is that the adult already has a set of habits for pronouncing his own language and this makes it harder for him to learn new ones than for a child who is starting from scratch. That is why it is so important that you should not be afraid of mimicking even when what you hear may sound strange to you. Don't be afraid to let yourself go. You will never learn to speak a language if you don't plunge right in as soon as you can. Never mind if you do make mistakes at first. You will in any case. But the important thing is for you to try to say the words and phrases. Imitate your Guide with the same spirit and en thusiasm that you use in mimicking a person whose speech sounds peculiar to you. You will find that if you do this your Guide will not think you are making fun of him; instead he will probably smile because what you have said sounds to him like Italian. In the first five units do not attempt under any circumstances to pronounce the Italian before you have heard it. You will only make trouble for yourself if you try to guess the pronunciation by "reading" the simplified spelling of the Italian. Always wait until the Guide or phonograph record is ready before you begin your first work with the words and phrases. If you are working with a Guide who does not understand English, use the hand signals described in the Introduction, to let the Guide know when you want him to read more slowly or to repeat. These same signals are given in the Guide's Manual for the Guide's information. The procedure to be followed is to listen to and then repeat the words and phrases with your book open. Listen and imitate carefully and always try to keep in mind the meaning of the Italian you are hearing and pronouncing. Remember that each phrase you say has a real meaning in Italian and hence you should always act as though you were really saying something to someone else. You will learn fastest if, when your book is open, you follow these steps: 1. Keep your eyes on the simplified spelling as you listen carefully to the Italian being spoken. 2. Repeat immediately what you have heard, imitating as closely as you can and saying it loudly and clearly. 3. Keep in mind the meaning of what you are saying, remembering that it conveys a real meaning, and look at the English Equivalent whenever you need to remind yourself of the meaning. Begin the words and phrases as soon as your Guide is ready or when the Leader of your group is ready to play the first phonograph record. To the Group Leader: Give the members of the group a chance to ask questions about the instructions. Make sure that everyone understands just what he is to do. Then have the students go through the list of Useful Words and Phrases once with books open, repeating in unison after the Guide. Following this first practice, read with the group the Comment on Aids to Listening on page 6. Make sure that everyone understands it. Now go through the list a second time, just as you did before. And finally, go through it a third time, but let the students take turns repeating individually after the Guide a sentence to a student. Indicate the order in which the repetitions are to go, who is first, who next, and so on. Never let a student say a phrase unless the Guide has said it immediately before him. Continue this individual repetition as long as the 50-minute period permits. Then, just before dismissing the group, read with them the paragraph headed Check Yourself on page 6. Here are some hints that will help make the work of the group more effective: 1. Insist that everyone speak up. Don't allow any mumbling! Each member of the group must be able to hear what is being said at all times. 2. Indicate to the Guide that he is to repeat whenever the pronunciation is bad and to keep on repeating until he gets a pronunciation that sounds like Italian. 3. Urge everyone to mimic to the limit every sound, every inflection, even the mannerisms of the Guide. 4. Keep the work moving. Don't let it drag at any time. See that everyone is listening, not only to the Guide, but to himself and to the others as they repeat after the Guide. 5. Go through all the work yourself. Repeat with the others and take your turn at the individual repetitions. Remember that you are a student, too. Speak right up with the rest of them. 1. Useful Words and Phrases (35 minutes) Here is a list of useful words and phrases which you will need in Italian. You should learn these by heart. |