Learn about formal Italian
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Intro |
|---|
| Michael: What is formal Italian? |
| Ofelia: And when is it used? |
| Michael: At ItalianPod101.com, we hear these questions often. Imagine the following situation. Giuseppe Mancini, a high-school student, meets the mom of his neighbor friend, Karen Lee. He asks, |
| "Mrs. Lee, how are you?" |
| Giuseppe Mancini: Signora Lee, come sta? |
| Dialogue |
| Giuseppe Mancini: Signora Lee, come sta? |
| Karen Lee: Bene, grazie. Tu come stai? |
| Michael: Once more with the English translation. |
| Giuseppe Mancini: Signora Lee, come sta? |
| Michael: "Mrs. Lee, how are you?" |
| Karen Lee: Bene, grazie. Tu come stai? |
| Michael: "Fine, thanks. How are you?" |
Lesson focus |
| Michael: You probably have noticed that when asking the question, "How are you?" Giuseppe and Karen used a different verb to address each other. |
| [Recall 1] |
| Michael: Let's take a closer look. |
| Do you remember how Giuseppe says "Mrs. Lee, how are you?" |
| (pause 4 seconds) |
| Ofelia as Giuseppe Mancini: Signora Lee, come sta? |
| Michael: Here, "How are you?" is |
| Ofelia: Come sta? |
| Michael: where the verb is conjugated in the third person singular to match the implied pronoun |
| Ofelia: lei |
| Michael: which literally means "she," but it's used to address anyone in a polite way, like in the case of a young boy, as Giuseppe, addressing an adult. |
| This is because, in the past, people of higher social status were often NOT addressed directly, but rather by such expressions as "your lordship," or "your excellency," whose grammar gender is feminine. |
| Think about "your honor," in the English language. These "titles" pair with "is," as in "your excellency is," or "your honor is." The same holds true for Italian. These titles pair with the feminine third person singular |
| Ofelia: lei |
| [Recall 2] |
| Michael: Now, let's take a look at our second sentence. |
| Do you remember how Karen answers "Fine, thanks. How are you?" |
| (pause 4 seconds) |
| Ofelia as Karen Lee: Bene, grazie. Tu come stai? |
| Michael: Here, "How are you?" is |
| Ofelia: Tu come stai? |
| Michael: where the verb is conjugated in the second person singular to match the pronoun |
| Ofelia: tu |
| Michael: meaning "you." This is because Karen is addressing Giuseppe, who is much younger, so she doesn't need to address him politely. |
| [SUMMARY] |
| Michael: Let's summarize what we have learned so far. The informal way to say "you" is |
| Ofelia: tu, |
| Michael: and its formal counterpart is |
| Ofelia: lei |
| Michael: Now, let's consider some examples. Our first example is |
| Ofelia: Grazie, sei gentile. [SLOW] Grazie, sei gentile. |
| Michael: "Thank you, you are kind." This uses the informal personal pronoun, |
| Ofelia: tu. |
| Michael: You could say this, for example, to your friend. The formal version of the same sentence is |
| Ofelia: Grazie, è gentile. [SLOW] Grazie, è gentile. |
| Michael: which also means "Thank you, you are kind," but uses the formal pronoun, |
| Ofelia: lei. |
| Michael: As you might have noticed, in both cases, the pronoun was implied. This is a typical feature of the Italian language, where the verbs are conjugated differently according to the subject they refer to. That's why it's important to understand the formality level differences. Let's see two more examples: |
| Ofelia: Scusa, come ti chiami? [SLOW] Scusa, come ti chiami? |
| Michael: This means "Excuse me, what's your name?" This sentence implies the pronoun |
| Ofelia: tu |
| Michael: You could ask this to someone who is or looks younger than you or someone who is apparently younger than about 25 years old. Let's now look at the formal version of the same sentence: |
| Ofelia: Scusi, come si chiama? [SLOW] Scusi, come si chiama? |
| Michael: You could ask this to someone you don't know well and who is apparently older than about 25 years old. |
| In other words, if someone looks older than about 25 years old and you don't know them well, generally you should use formal Italian. This is just a rule of thumb, and there might be exceptional situations. For example, if a young person covers a senior role, it might be better to address them politely. Likewise, you might meet someone that addresses you formally even if you're 21 years old. |
| Expansion |
| Michael: Let's review. Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then, repeat after the native speaker focusing on pronunciation. |
| Do you remember how Giuseppe says "Mrs. Lee, how are you?" |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Ofelia as Giuseppe Mancini: Signora Lee, come sta? |
| Michael: Listen again and repeat. |
| Ofelia as Giuseppe Mancini: Signora Lee, come sta? |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Ofelia as Giuseppe Mancini: Signora Lee, come sta? |
| Michael: And do you remember how Karen says "Fine, thanks. How are you?" |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Ofelia as Karen Lee: Bene, grazie. Tu come stai? |
| Michael: Listen again and repeat. |
| Ofelia as Karen Lee: Bene, grazie. Tu come stai? |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Ofelia as Karen Lee: Bene, grazie. Tu come stai? |
| Cultural Insight/Expansion (Optional) |
| Michael: Now, one last insider hint. Usually, Italians tend to be friendly and informal, so they often avoid formal speech even from the first meeting, especially among young people. However, if you are unsure which one to use, opt for the formal speech with the pronoun |
| Ofelia: lei. |
| Michael: This is because it's more polite. If the other person finds it too formal, they will usually suggest switching to informal speech with the pronoun |
| Ofelia: tu. |
| Michael: When someone wants to switch levels, they'd usually use the phrase |
| Ofelia: dare del tu |
| Michael: which means something like: "to be on first-name terms." For example, they might say: |
| Ofelia: Diamoci del tu! |
| Michale: meaning "Let's be more friendly!" or "Let's talk informally!" |
Outro |
| Michael: Now you know the difference between formal and casual speech in Italian. Do you have any more questions? We're here to answer them! |
| Ofelia: A presto! |
| Michael: See you soon! |
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