language translator for italy

I too suggest a little book--the back of our frommer's Italy book had a great mini dictionary and we bought a small one that fit in my bag. In Venice and Lucca, most shopkeepers, museum guawould allow us to try some Italian. In both Venice and Lucca, wait staff rds, and restaurant workers spoke a good deal of English but kindly came over to translate and explain the menu. Very friendly and helpful. Hotel staff had excellent English. In Florence, all workers we met had excellent English and all menus had an English section. If I tried to use some Italian, the waiters pretended they did not understand. I was slightly disappointed in that but it is a major city. Most train stations had everything in English and we were able to ask if we didn't understand.

All that said, you should be fine with a mini book.

I always think it is gracious to learn some of the language of the country you are visiting rather than assuming that everyone speaks English (I also think you get better service and treated better if you at least try, but that's subjective). That said, my attempts at Italian almost always got a reply in English, so no one was mistaking me for anything but a tourist. Anything automated - ATMs (bancomats), automated ticket kiosks at train stations, etc. - had an English language option as well.

Depends on whether you stay to the tourists areas or go off the beaten path. I generally found that most people spoke some English. My terrible Italian (about 15 words) and hand gestures/pointing took care of everything else.

You won't need a translator if you're willing to be flexible. You may want to take a small pocket-sized phrase book with you to look up those essential phrases..."Where's the bathroom?" "Where is an ATM?" etc.

I would make an effort to learn some phrases to be accomodating. I work in Florida and I get so frustrated when Hispanic people do not make any effort to speak English and expect me to know Spanish. I plan on being prepared when I go to Italy out of courtesy.

I agree with the consensus. In Rome and Venice you'll be able to communicate using basic English - no slang, minimal use of contractions and speak slowly, separating your words.

But do learn how to say "grazie" for thank you (it's 3 syllables) and "salve" for hello.

ATM is "bancomat"

Now you're good to go. ^_^

Thomas said, "...my attempts at Italian almost always got a reply in English."

A couple of years ago when we visited Lyon, France, 2 weeks into our trip I was absolutely desperate for an egg for breakfast, so at 7 a.m. I skipped the usual hotel offering of cold bread and butter with jelly and found a nearby bar open.

In my most perfect French, with not a single hand gesture, I proudly and successfully ordered a ham and cheese omelet and café noir (black coffee). The waitress immediately came back with (in English), "You want a large coffee?"

In that instant she shot me down as an American tourist (only Americans order a LARGE coffee in France). I'm sure I made her day when I responded yes to her offer of a large coffee.

Oh well, the the omelet was great and I still felt good for having a complete interaction with a local while using NO English!

Small victories.

Most people in Italy speak very good English or enough to get by. Buy yourself a phrase book and learn some Italian. Once they know that you're American, they usually have no problem speaking. Have fun and don't worry about a language barrier!!

We bought a Lingo translator for our trip, and it was helpful, but not essential. It can translate into and between 5 languages -- English, French, Italian, Spanish and German. Very easy to use and if you buy from an internet site it cousts about $55 with shipping. We used antonline.com and were very happy with the device.

I second mark. I think you aren't going to have any problems in restautrants, hotels. When I was in Roma last year, I only find one guy who didn't speak English. I asked quiet a few people if they spoke English because I had a few questions about trains.

In the two big cities you mentioned, most people a tourist will interact with speak passable english. That said, ask yourself whether someone from Italy pulling off Interstate 20 would be better received in Watkinsville if they spoke not a word of english, or had a stock of 50 words or so and tried to do simple transactions in english. Do you think there'd be a difference in how they are treated? Take a moment to picture the 2 scenarios.

Same in Italy. The good news is you're just 30 days away from this survival level of italian. Get the Pimsleur level 1 course (2 sets of 15 lessons, 30 minutes each) from your local library. Its all audio based, you simply listen and reply. Most people need to do each lesson twice. At the end you'll know polite greetings, be able to order a glass of wine or meal, say you'd like to buy something, ask simple directions, and more. All quite painlessly.

sherry, as someone else mentioned, just about anyone that interacts with tourists will have some proficiency in English. I wouldn't bother with electronic language translators, as they're a bit cumbersome. For example, while a Translator can present a question in perfect Italian, will you be able to understand the reply?

As Mike suggested, using something like the Pimsleur method (or others) would be far more effective. I used Pimsleur prior to my last trip, and although there were a few occasions when I had trouble, it worked really well for the most part.

There's no "fooling the locals" though. I found that even if I asked for directions in what I thought was "good" Italian, often they would reply in English. However, when they did reply in Italian it was usually too fast and I went into "brain lock" (definitely more study is needed!).

Happy travels!