Do Italians sell themselves short?
One interesting thing I’ve found about Italians is that they speak less English than their western European neighbours (e.g. Switzerland, Austria, Germany). I’m not sure why there isn’t as much focus on English as in other countries, but it may be because Italy, like Spain, already has multiple dialects within the fairly small country (click on the image to see the full size).
Whatever the reason, and they are often a bit self-deprecating about their abilities (even though I really have had no trouble understanding them). I met one guy (an Italian rapper, no less) who spoke self-proclaimed ‘Macaroni English’, which is apparently quite basic English with a very Italian flair. I think he was being too hard on himself, but I loved the phrase nonetheless.
I think Italians often don’t give themselves enough credit for their language skills. What do you think?
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Paolo said,
July 7, 2010 @ 2:20 am
I am Italian and I don’t think dialects have any influence on our ability to speak English. The majority of Italians under 50 only speak standard Italian anyway and older generations who might still speak dialect at home probably only studied French, rather than English, at school.The main problem, I believe, is with our education system, with very traditional syllabuses focusing on literature and grammar and classes being taught in Italian, especially by older teachers who often have a limited grasp of the spoken language (most of them have degrees in English Literature and might know everything about obscure Victorian poetry but ignore the basics of colloquial English - my own teacher had never been to an English-speaking country and her pronunciation was appalling). The scenario is gradually changing, thanks to teachers who have spent time abroad and above all the Internet and satellite television that provide instant access to “real” English material.
Paolo said,
July 7, 2010 @ 2:27 am
BTW, I forgot to add that macaroni English is a literal translation of inglese maccheronico which in turn is based on latino maccheronico, similar to the English expression pig Latin.
Wendy said,
July 7, 2010 @ 3:37 am
Hi Paolo,
Thanks for your comments. When I visited Italy for the first time, in 2003, I remember being struck by how few people I met who spoke any English at all, even people in their early 20s who I would have expected to know at least a little (I even know a little Italian!). On my latest visit, it seemed to have changed, although I may have been speaking to more people who had spent a bit of time outside Italy (UK, USA, etc).
Thanks for clearing up the meaning of macaroni English as well! I tried to look up a definition, but I mostly got pasta recipes.