It's been some time since I thought about taking up Italian. Back then, I was still a beginner in Portuguese and it wasn't advisable to add a new language — especially a language that was so similar to Portuguese. But now, I feel confident enough to start learning Italian without worrying too much about confusing it with the other romance languages I already know.
As a first approach to Italian, I've watched the three pronunciation videos by Gabriel Wyner from Fluent Forever. To me, they're a good starting point because Gabriel uses the IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) to explain the sounds of the language. He also shows the place of articulation.
Here are the YouTube links:
As a second resource, I've started using my dad's book from 1983. Today, I read about the phonology and finished the first chapter. The text for that chapter is also transcribed in the IPA and had a grammar section on plurals.
So let's see when I'll be able to write my first post in Italian!
I tried learning Italian once because my friend wanted a study buddy. I mean, I definitely didn't have a strong enough reason to learn Italian in the first place, but after around a month, I gave up because the words just did not make click with me hahaha! I was also learning Spanish and French at around that time so overall, I just felt like it was a bad idea. I think that the language sounds so beautiful, but seeing it written makes my brain hurt!
Good luck with your Italian studies! I love seeing people start to learn new languages and I hope to read about your experiences in German, English, Portuguese or French!
Hi Emily,
thanks for sharing your own experiences with learning Italian! Currently, the only language I'm actively learning is European Portuguese. Reading my fifth book, I feel confident enough to add a new language. Spanish and French are in sort of a stand-by mode. So far, I really enjoy making quick progress, so let's see if I'll make it past the invisible line when the progress speed starts to decline 😅
Nice, Linda! The Fluent Forever app was the first ressource I used to learn Italian and I really enjoyed it. I wish they also had Catalan as a language to chose from, because it helped me so much to get started with Italian. I used the App for anout two months to get used to the Italian version of words I already "knew" from other langues. What I liked most about the app is that you can add a sentence to every word you learn and that the app reads out the sentence so you can get used to the sound of the language in whole sentences from day one.
If you're looking for more listening comprehension I can recommend "Learn Italian with Lucrezia". All of the videos are in Italian with subtitles, there are grammar videos but also vlogs in Italian. Another YouTube channel I really enjoy is "Podcast Italiano". The videos are also with subtitles, but most of then are a bit more advances. However, Davide recently published one for absolute beginners. I mentioned this channel because I think you might really enjoy some of the videos, as they explain in detail the reason behind certain features of the Italian language.
I'm really looking forward to your first post in Italian. Let's see who is first, you or Eduard 😁
Linda! Molto bene! 👍🤌 That's a great decision! Apparently Caro not only "convinced" me to start (seriously) with it, but you as well.
Speaking of the devil: Caro, hetz mich nicht! Ich werde auf Italienisch schreiben, sobald mir danach ist! Ich hab's ehrlich gesagt nicht so eilig mit dem Schreiben, denn ich habe gerade erst mit der Grammatik angefangen, und ich möchte den Lernfortschritt auch genießen.
Back to Linda: As I mentioned already yesterday in my Markdown post, I just bought this wonderful grammar book https://shop.hueber.de/de/reihen-und-lehrwerke/grosse-lerngrammatik/gro-e-lerngrammatik-italienisch.html from Hueber, and I'm baffled by how comprehensive and yet comprehensible it is. It's quite readable :). (I'd be careful learning Italian from such an old book as yours, to be honest). Yesterday I listened to this podcast: https://www.raiplayradio.it/audio/2015/10/Einstein-e-la-matematica-48c1625b-45a5-4b19-a47d-fce45a846fdc.html, and Robin's tip https://www.raiplay.it/programmi/ilprovinciale is also very interesting (this is something I keep for moments where I can really focus and enjoy the pictures/content, but it does look quite nice).
I don't know how you, Linda, learn at best, but I'd recommend trying the same technique I used: Reading a book like https://www.adelphi.it/libro/9788845929250 or something that interests you and is not too complex from the language usage, just to (fast and effectively) build your vocabulary. You speak like thousand romance languages, so you definitely have (like me, with only one or two under my belt) a huge advantage point. You're very likely already by now able to consume and enjoy quite advanced material (compared to beginners), so I'd definitely make use of that, even if it's just to enjoy the language and the experience.
@Eduard: I thought a bit of competition might be motivating, doesn't seem to work though. Take all the time you need :)
@Eduard: ich find das alte Buch hat ziemlichen Flair. Hab das gleiche für Portugiesisch (auch von Papa). Mir ist bewusst, dass nicht alles darin noch 100 % aktuell ist, aber ich find's sehr interessant, wie das damals geschrieben wurde. Ich werde es vermutlich eh nicht zu Ende lesen (wie das portugiesische).
Alles klar. Das verstehe ich. Dann scheint die Liebe für die romanischen Sprachen in der Familie zu liegen. In meiner bin ich der einzige Sprachennarr, glaube ich.
Haha ja, wobei Papa nie wirklich Italienisch gelernt hat. Er hat irgendwie nur das Buch gekauft ^^