Stereotypes: can they help?

campeonato-beach-match-ball-vector_21-6583680I’ve been listening to Italians speak to each other for the last couple of days and I love the ups and downs of the language that are the result of putting the stress on specific syllables in the word.In fact, if you don’t put the stress on the correct part of the word, some people may not understand you at all, even if you do get the actual word right.Most of the time, the stress is on the second to last syllable of the word, even with long words, e.g. cappuccino, panino.There’s also a lot of ‘r’ rolling, which may be hard for some people to get used to.It may be especially difficult for speakers of some Asian languages, which don’t really have ‘r’ sounds in the first place.

I think the best way to make yourself understood is to try to sound as much like a stereotypical Italian as possible.You may think it’s silly, or even offensive, but if you spend some time listening to Italians speak to each other, you will see that they are as expressive as they appear in films and on TV.It may mean making your voice go up and down more often than you’re used to, and speaking with your hands (Italians do this a lot), but it will help.Let your voice and hands go a little, and see if you can pronounce this beautiful language like an enthusiastic native!