Can't roll my "r"s

I can't roll them to save my life either. Someone once told me he finally got the knack of it after studying for 3 years at a university! So it IS possible to learn with practice, but I wouldn't worry too much about it. You'll have a funny-sounding accent no matter what, but in most of your daily interactions, they'll be able to understand you if your pronunciation is somewhere in the ballpark. And even in cases where the word with a rolled 'r' means something different than an un-rolled 'r' (pero / perro in Spanish comes to mind), they can sort it out based on context. I found that the most difficult things when speaking Italian were 1) remembering the words in the first place and 2) deciphering what the other person said. Unrolled 'r's didn't even register, so you'll be fine. :)

Liz is right. They'll be able to understand you just fine, assuming you're using the right words, of course. It's what THEY say that can be hard to figure out. :-) And in case you didn't know, the way to ask an Italian speaker to slow down is to say "Piano piano". Seriously. I didn't believe my first Italian instructor when she taught us this, but it's true. :-) And if you want them to repeat what they said, say "Puo' ripetere?". The most likely scenario, though, is that they will switch to English. Happy travels.

I get that quite a bit. If they don't understand then I just say it slowly and they say "AHHH" and then repeat the word rolling the r for me to demonstrate the correct way of pronouncing it.

While Ispeak italian reasonably well, no "r" rolling for me either. Some day it will click... Anyway, italians always know what I'm saying to them, so keep practicing to build your vocabulary and you'll be fine. Remember, in many cases, once you start speaking, they'll realize that their English is better than your Italian, and they'll make the switch. Buon Viaggio!

Grazie for all the encouragement. I'm sure you are right, that me understanding will be a much bigger problem than the "r" rolling.
If I do manage to ask a question in Italian, then what? I hope they do switch to English!

My Italian teacher tells me, "You're gong to have an accent. Just give up on being perfect. Listen to me. I have a strong accent. It doesn't go away. Just relax and speak."
That being said, my German teacher told us in high school that, if we couldn't roll the r's, to say them as if a d follows them. That simulates a "roll," although it will still be accented.

Regarding the switching to English question - a lot depends on where you're going. In Rome or Florence, they would generally switch to English even if I kept speaking in Italian. In Sicily, however, although most people spoke some English, we usually ended up staying in or switching back to Italian. If you want to try to get the conversation switched to English, then "parla inglese?" If the answer is no, you'll have to either find someone else to ask or muddle through using basic Italian, pointing, hand gestures, writing, etc. whatever it takes. I find it's much easier to read Italian than hear it, so if you're having trouble you could ask 'lo scrive, per favore?' Most normal tourist-related interactions are going to center around a few specific words, so focus on those. Biglietto (ticket) and dov'e (where?) are useful. Sedia and gatto, not so much. Also, if you can nail down numbers - both listening and speaking, you'll be in pretty good shape.

Elane, I did call Italy just Friday to make some reservations (for the Colosseum.) Anyway, although I just started learning Italian in January, I found I understood more "heard" Italian that I thought. In fact, I probably couldn't have pulled those words out of my brain, but I could translate them as they were spoken to me. So, never fear; you'll probably surprise yourself!

My Italian instructor (who is from Rome) JUST told us last night that the rolling r is a "soft rolliing r"; it's not as pronounced/exaggerated as in Spanish. And my friend from Verona told me I was "speaking perfectly" when I complained to him that my rolling r's sounded like d's.
So... Don't worry about it! The locals will be thrilled that you are at least trying!

@ Bob, You've provided an excellent description of some of the differences between English and Italian speech patterns! I've been studying Italian for several years, and noticed many of the same things (especially with the more "animated "speech style" of Italians). I have access to a couple of Italian TV stations, and the differences are quite apparent. I've also had the same problem as described in an earlier reply, with a rolled single "R" sounding like a "D". I can somewhat manage to get past this now when I work at it, and don't revert to being "lazy". The "double R" seems a bit easier. I try to use Italian as much as possible when I'm travelling, but I'm often somewhat self-conscious about my abilities. If the "locals" prefer to practice their English, I usually take the easiest path and continue in English. Cheers!

I wouldn't worry about the rs. After years of studying Italian, I can finally roll my rs a little bit, but even before that I was usually understood if I emphasized the r sound even if I couldn't roll it. I think the most important thing about being understood when one tries to speak Italian is making sure that vowels are pronounced correctly.

Revolto!

Rrrrrrrrrrevolto!

Elane, Many languages (and accents, such as British) use a different tongue position than American English. This makes it easier to make certain sounds such as rolled "r's". When Americans use their tongue to create a consonant sound the tongue hits towards the middle of the mouth, away from the teeth. (Try it. Say "foot" but stop just as your tongue hits the roof of you mouth. Notice where the contact is made.) Many other languages (including Italian) involve moving the tip of the tongue forward in the mouth - much closer to the back of the teeth, even touching the back of the teeth at times. If you concentrate on your tongue position (but not so much that you sound like Marlon Brando), you'll find the rolled "r's" come much easier. Italians also move their lips and open their mouths more (in Europe, Americans are known for having "lazy mouths". In fact, that's how they teach speaking with an American accent). When speaking Italian focus on "exaggerating" your mouth and lip movements or having an "active mouth". Let your jaw drop more and move your cheeks more when pronouncing vowels. Let your lips stick out a bit (like a small pucker) when you saying "p" words like "piu" or "posso". It'll feel very strange at first, but your pronunciation will improve once you get used to it. Keeping all this in mind: relax, have fun with it, let out your inner Italian (hand gestures included), and practice, practice, practice!

Thanks for all your suggestions and encouragement. Bob, you gave me some things to work on.
I'm sure I'm not the only one having the same problems.

I've heard the difference between Spanish and Italian described this way: "Spanish is about the consonants and Italian is about the vowels." This is especially true since in Italian it's the vowels that show whether a word is plural or singular and that often indicate the conjugation of a verb. That's also why Spanish can sound like a machine gun - they're hitting the consonants. And I think it's why Italian is more musical, since it's hard to be musical with consonants. Anyway, that's my observation. Interesting discussion.

I also cannot roll my Rs and have trouble with R pronunciation in French and German as well as Italian. But people will know what you mean even if you don't pronounce it correctly. If you pay attention to the way that non-native English speakers speak English, you'll hear that they make mistakes that no native English speaker would make but you understand them anyway (i.e. "I say you that..." instead of "I tell you that...").