Whilst I was looking for some stuff about the relocation relocation stuff (see recent post for the fullish very strange and upsetting story) I stumbled across the following wonderful stuff. There is a condition called "Foreign Accent Syndrome" when people have some sort of incident that leaves them with a full-on foreign accent, including one lady who is Scottish and now speaks with an Italian accent. Marvellous.
http://video.au.msn.com/watch/video/foreign-accent-syndrome/xfx1pf3
http://news2.onlinenigeria.com/world/international/112902-scottish-grandmother-debbie-mccann-suffers-stroke-wakes-up-italian-accent.html
Speaking of accents, here is a great instruction on how to ham up an Italian accent. Maybe if I can speak English with an Italian accent I will be able to speak Ihttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTt8XQCiBgY&feature=related
Actually I have become very used to understanding Italians speak English which wasn't so easy at first. Certainly the level of English spoken is nowhere near as good as in France, Germany or Switzerland, and you become very used to hearing it with an accent, and now I can understand it well, whereas when I first moved here I found it hard to understand. Also, with people that I work with who are used to Italian being spoken badly by Americans, English or other foreigners, it is very easy to communicate in two languages, dipping in and out of English and Italian when it seems right. However, when you try to take that approach with the general population with people who cannot or who are not used to speaking English it is very difficult, some of them really do not get my accent frustratingly, and I am told that I have a good accent - well, actually I am told that I have a good Tuscan accent, and certainly use some Tuscan region dialect phrases, deliberately.
There are some key aspects, a lot of them focusing on the pronunciation of the letter "c", per esempio - Coca Cola becomes "coha hola" in a slightly Florentine accent. "Babo" is used a lot for father and although it exists in "Babo Natale" - "Father Christmas" it is not widely used elsewhere. Swear words make an area stand out - "Maremma" - an area of Tuscany that is now very nice, but used to be a malaria-infested swampy place is used as a polite curse, and of course adding in other words to bring out "Maremma Maialla" sounds and feels right. In a similar vein, "Madonnina Zanzarina" hits the spot!
Of course, Eddie Izzard gets it spot on about the Italians
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PmuHWPZSkY&feature=related
But naturally the Pythons have it the best
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3iAqxNpQ-A&feature=related and interestingly threw in some north-south divide banter to spice it up a little.
However, this comedy sketch is the most spot-on that I have seen for Italian accents, speaking English and doing the hand gestures, and the most annoying thing - Italians clapping in a plane when it lands. Grrr. Awesome.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sD-44Cx1Iaw
And this video also covers the same point and a lot of other strange Italian habits, particularly:
Driving, Parking, Politics, Bureaucracy, Buses, queueing, and many others - very true and well worth a watch!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKC4XGGlnRI&feature=related
But probably the most notably different thing about the language is the "feel" and the hand gestures. You cannot just speak words and expect to be understood, especially with a dodgy english accent. It's not just about rolling your Rs but about really attaching yourself to the language. Without the feel and the swagger and the love of the language, a lot of touching and gesturing, and overemotionalising everything you will simply not be understood. Equally, you don't need to speak much Italian - if you can gesture and emote then the words are of secondary importance. Drama and melodrama are perfetto!
Some great instructions for hand gestures here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9AZB64fH3Q&feature=related
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