Ciao! Week 3 of my Italian Learning Journey has just passed us and we are making some great progress.
I have not skipped a day of training yet (maintaining very good habits), and slowly things are making more sense.
Watch along and learn:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pHG9sM_PHs
[drop_cap]The 3 biggest things I learned this week were:[/drop_cap] 1. Create silly stories around what you want to remember. The sillier the better. (explained below).
This was best learned from Tansel Ali's book: "How to Learn (Almost) Anything In 48 Hours". The books is a great resource to learn more about why we do certain thing
Learning 1 Practical Example:
| Italian Word | English Word | Memory Triggered by |
| Scammia | Monkey | The monkey scams the tourists and steals their money |
| Topo | Mouse | The mouse runs on top of the counter before I SQUISH it with my big blundstone boots |
| Orso | Bear | The size of that bear is bloody orsome |
| Leone | Lion | My Aunty, Leone, lost her hearing recently but is still an amazing woman. She is brave, like a lion. |
| Toro | Bull | I am a Toro (taurus) start sign, which is a bull! |
| Cane | Dog | Brune |
| Gatto | Cat | I have a book about Mick Gatto on my shelf that my red and white cat constantly climbs on |
| Uccello | Bird | Both the cellos and birds make beautiful noises. |
| Cavalla | Horse | In Age of Empires you grow your cavalla (cavalry) which includes horses to dominate the opposition. |
| Pesce | Fish | Instead of seeing fish as pesce (pesky/annoying) animals, I now see them as delicious pieces of meat |
| Delfino | Dolphin | All dolphins from Delaware have pink fins....they call them delfino's. |
Learning 2: Know your verbs
In Italian, you must be aware of the different verbs that are used.
| Italian Verb | English Translation | Memory Triggered by |
| Voi Siete | You Are (plural) | You are all sitting in John Voits Seats |
| Noi Siamo | We Are | "No, we are, Sumo wrestlers" |
| Io Sono | I am | I am so alone (have to work hard for this one in between the characters!) |
| Tu Sei | You Are | To say that is VERY rude. You are very rude. |
| Loro Sono | They Are | I haven't created one for this. I remembered 'loro' because it's so different to the rest of them in my mind! |
| Lei E | Feminine language | Lei on the bed and take your clothes off....! The female obliged willingly. |
| Lou E | Masculine language | "Lou" was my first male dog...he was a good dog. |
Learning 3: Recalling Gender from Previous Week
I know we covered this last week, but it's good to recap. Let's take a quick look:
| Italian Last Letter + (word) | Singular or Plural | Masculine or Feminine | English Translation |
| I (Ragazzi) | Plural +Masculine | Boys |
| O (Ragazzo) | Singular + Masculine | Boy |
| E (Ragazze) | Plural +Feminine | Girls |
| A (Ragazza) | Singular +Feminine | Girl |
| I (Alti) | Plural +Masculine | Tall Boys |
| O (Alto) | Singular + Masculine | Tall Boy |
| E (Alte) | Plural +Feminine | Tall Girls |
| A (Alta) | Singular +Feminine | Tall Girl |
Bonus Material: I was also asked to practice some sentences so I will review here. Review and Recall are important parts of language learning. The (m) or (f) after indicates gender, (s) or (pl) indicates singular or plural.
Italian: L'uomo E alto e diverso English: The man is tall and different (m) (s)
Italian: Lei ragazza E bella e alte English: The girl is beautiful and short (f) (s)
Italian: Loro sono bruni e alti English: They are dark haired and tall (m) (pl)
Italian: Noi siamo studente English: We are students (m) (pl)
Italian: Tu sei bella e bionda English: You are beautiful and blonde (f) (s)
Italian: Voi siete brune e intellingte English: You are dark haired and intelligent (f) (pl)
Italian: Voi seite alti e bruni English: You are all tall and blonde (m) (pl)
Italian: Loro sono gentile e intellegente English: They are kind and intellegent (f) (pl)
Hopefully you are enjoying the series and of course if you have any questions, please let me know: hayden(at) haydenwilson.com.au