Where in Italy

feargale

If you had some Italian and wanted to improve it in Italy which part of Italy would you visit for a holiday? Cities would be too cosmopolitan. The ideal would probably be a resort near some quiet villages that one might daytrip to. The problem is that so many parts of italy speak way out dialects that are practically languages in their own right. So, what's the answer? Thanks.

The Corinthian

How big would a city have to be before it's too 'cosmopolitan'? Rome or Milan? Florence? Genoa or Pisa?

Dialects are probably strongest in the far north and south, with the central regions being more 'standard'. Even then, you will find regional vocabulary, phonology and idiosyncrasies anywhere you go - in Sicily all your p's will become b's, in Trento buongiorno will become buondi, in Florence piccolo will become piccino.

So, I'd pick somewhere in central Italy, but not too rural.

Irish Stones

The Corinthian wrote: »

How big would a city have to be before it's too 'cosmopolitan'? Rome or Milan? Florence? Genoa or Pisa?

Dialects are probably strongest in the far north and south, with the central regions being more 'standard'. Even then, you will find regional vocabulary, phonology and idiosyncrasies anywhere you go - in Sicily all your p's will become b's, in Trento buongiorno will become buondi, in Florence piccolo will become piccino.

So, I'd pick somewhere in central Italy, but not too rural.

In my opinion, the central regions are the worst to learn some Italian. In Tuscany, for instance, especially around Florence, all the C's are mute, they sound like H's, so the word "casa" (house, home) sounds like "hasa", the T's are pronounced tike the "Th's" in English (as in "think"), and generally all the population of that region sound hard to understand when they speak.
Our Prime Minister is from Florence, he speaks on the TV's nearly everyday, I have to admit that not always I understand what he says.
I have friends in Livorno (Leghorn) and I can assure you that when they call me on the phone it's a hell of a job to listen and understand what they are saying!
Rome is a nightmare, they tend to double most of the consonants of the words, especially the b's, and to a northern ear they speak very badly and fuzzy. The word "rubare" (to steal) becomes "rubbare".
Umbria is another central region and their accent isn't much better, though this depends on the area where you are within that region.
The further south you go, the worse it gets.

To answer Feargale, in my opinion the northern regions have a clearer accent, except the northeastern regions where they have a funny accent and they sound like they were drunk

The Corinthian

Irish Stones wrote: »

In my opinion, the central regions are the worst to learn some Italian. In Tuscany, for instance, especially around Florence, all the C's are mute, they sound like H's, so the word "casa" (house, home) sounds like "hasa", the T's are pronounced tike the "Th's" in English (as in "think"), and generally all the population of that region sound hard to understand when they speak.

Depends on what the OP is looking for. Pronunciation or grammar/vocabulary?

If the OP is more interested in language than pronunciation, then central Italy tends to be better, on account that Italian is spoken. After all, standard Italian is based on the Tuscan dialect and Rome has through RAI, over almost a century, has also influenced the language.

Meanwhile you can learn your Italian somewhere like Lombardy or the Veneto, perhaps your pronunciation may well be clearer. Problem is half of the words you'll end up learning are not actually Italian as the influence of non-standard dialects is much stronger.

Irish Stones

The Corinthian wrote: »

After all, standard Italian is based on the Tuscan dialect and Rome has through RAI, over almost a century, has also influenced the language.

The language spoken by RAI, especially in its early days, has almost nothing to di with the language used in Rome.
All TV speakers (well, 99% of them) have a clear way of speaking regardless their origins. So they could be from Veneto or from Sicily and still you could not tell it.
The vocabulary is influenced by the many dialects, so you may hear some words in Milan that a Neapolitan could not understand, or a word from Florence that in Turin nobody knows.
Two examples:
In Milan the "schiscetta" is a common term that almost nodoby understand outside that regional area. It's the mess kit used to carry the meals when someone's outside home.
In Tuscany the "mesticheria" is a shop that I had to google to find what it was, and it's the shop that sells paints, some tools and sometimes houseware. It's not a dialect word, it's written on the shop sign!
When it comes to vocabulary it's hard to say what is standard.
Italy is long and narrow, the language changes rapidly while you move across the country

navigator

I'd suggest Liguria (north west of Italy, on the sea). Generally clear enough and 'standard' italian, and also a beautiful region for a holiday.

Irish Stones

navigator wrote: »

I'd suggest Liguria (north west of Italy, on the sea). Generally clear enough and 'standard' italian, and also a beautiful region for a holiday.

I was thinking of Liguria this morning, you wrote it.

feargale

Thanks everybody.
I went to Emilia-Romagna ( Bologna, Ravenna, Rimini, San Marino etc. ) and was astonished at how easy communication was. I say this as somebody who has occasionally tuned into RAI and could hardly understand a word. They spoke rapidfire on RAI.

Irish Stones

feargale wrote: »

Thanks everybody.
I went to Emilia-Romagna ( Bologna, Ravenna, Rimini, San Marino etc. ) and was astonished at how easy communication was. I say this as somebody who has occasionally tuned into RAI and could hardly understand a word. They spoke rapidfire on RAI.

The area where you went is known for its funny accent and where all G's (IPA /ʤ/ ) sound like Z's.
On RAI they probably speak fast, especially on live news report, or when they broadcast silly entertainment shows. Italian-made movies suffer from the heavy regional accents of the actors, mainly Roman and southern accents.
If you have the chance, try northwest next time.
Anyway, I hope you had a great time over there