My language choice for 2010 is…

I was really torn about which language to focus on this year. The two I was most interested in were Italian and Polish. Italian, because it’s really the link between all other so-called romance languages; and Polish because I live in Chicago, where there are more Polish people than anywhere else in the world, outside of Warsaw. Also among consideration were Ukrainian, Lithuanian, and French.

Among the considerations for my first official one-year challenge are the following:

For 2010, I have chosen to learn Italian. By the end of this year, I expect to be capable of understanding and participating in casual conversation in Italian.

The reason for the choice

First, I’ve already layed a little ground work, having done some basic study in recent months, so I have a little bit of a jump start. Also, the similarities to Spanish and French should make it easy for me to acquire new vocabulary.

And my second reason is… opera! I’ve always wanted to know what those people were saying when they’re singing. Already, I’ve examined the lyrics to Con Te Partiro, by Andrea Bocelli and found that I understood a lot of what was going on in there. I’d love to be able to simply hear the song and understand it. Or Figaro…

And third: who doesn’t want to understand all that stuff in The Godfather? or Sopranos? That’s just cool.

It’s not going to be easy, but I’ve got 11 months to do it, and a little bit of a head start. So here’s hoping for a little buona fortuna.

So I’ve chosen my language, but that’s only half of the goal. Next I will define the other half…

Get my ebook and learn Italian in one year or less!
  • MaiseRandom

    Okay, you've convinced me. I was rooting for Polish but you've made some very good points so VIVA ITALIANO!!! Haha :)

  • cristinag

    Italian is a great language. Should be simple for you since you already know Spanish. Next should be Portuguese! I'd be happy with knowing more than swear words in Spanish and how to say Thanks and I farted in German. :)

  • http://www.randem.net/ Randy

    I tried Portuguese a few years ago but couldn't find any learning materials. It was hard to learn anything more than “Bom dia. Onde fica o restaurante?”. Now, just a few years later, I find books and CDs everywhere I look… I may give it a go. But I really wanted to do Polish, so I'm pretty sure that'll be my choice for next year. Besides, we can't do only the romance languages… I've got to give the Slavic languages their representation on here!

    You're right about the similarities with Spanish. Already, I find that I can understand most of what I hear and read just based on my prior fluency in Spanish. But it's still going to be a lot of work learning to speak and write understandably — and grammatically correct — in Italian. I can't expect Italians to put up with my Spanish! :)

  • http://www.italienischassoonaspossible.com Steffen

    Hey Randy.
    I just read one of your coments on the Irish Benny's webpage and I must say I am thrilled to see your site. I am just about to explore it but it seems to me that for this year we actually have the same goal: Italian! In your case “in one year”, in my case “as soon as possible” (what is just my way of saying: “in about 3-12 months…who knows…”). So i made sure I bookmarked your site. It will be very interesting to follow your progress while trying to make my own probably with partly totally different methods:).
    You seem to know some German, so have a look at my (less professional) blog about my Italian studies if you want to. :)

  • http://www.fluenteveryyear.com/ Randy

    Toll! I'm adding your RSS to my Google Reader and I'll keep up with your progress. My German isn't as good as I'd like it to be, but this will be an excellent way for me to get more practice with that, while following along with your Italian studies. Danke, und viel Glück!

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