Customer Reviews

The Italian Language Today

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I have lived in Italy for many years and consider myself to be fluent in Italian. I teach Italian and am familiar with most of the textbooks available on the subject. I also have a good knowledge of French and Spanish. I know of only two grammar books of these Romance languages which I would classify as actual works of art. M. M. Ramsey's "A Textbook of Modern Spanish" (copyright 1894) and the Lepschys' "The Italian Language Today." This compact reference grammar of 250-odd pages contains a wonderfully concise and thorough explanation of the Italian language. With this book and a good dictionary, an intelligent and dedicated English-speaking adult can acquire not only confident fluency in Italian, but also eloquence. It is the only Italian grammar you will ever need, whether you are an utter beginner or a professional linguist.

All advanced students of Italian who wish to know more about Italian as it is truly used by Italians today must read the Lepschy's outstanding work. I find it particularly refreshing that they do not prescribe the way Italian "should" be spoken- rather they present the language as it is used by the educated, colloquial speaker today. E.g. grammar books for English speakers still for the most part prescribe the cumbersome (and noisome) use of "Loro" for the polite second person form- something which is hopelessly outdated unless one wants to come across as a stuffed shirt. For the scholar and lay person alike it is a must for the personal library.

This is indeed a comprehensive and authoritative work on Italian grammar; however, it is not for the casual learner. There are a lot of highly technical minutiae geared toward a reader with advanced education in language or linguistics. Be prepared to put in some serious concentration time to fully appreciate what is in here, otherwise, you may have to select and concentrate on only the parts you can handle. I do not think that this one is for beginners but it is well done.

This book is full of incorrect data:
1. The author claims that that there are only 5 vowels in Italian, which is not true, 5-vowel-system is dialectal, used only in some dialects like Romagnolo.

2. Furthermore, she says -''The Northern form'' has prestige- which is not true. The standard language is based on the Roman pronunciation of the Tuscan dialect (-lingua toscana in bocca romana-), and it is the accent used by Italian national TV (RAI). Northern accents are not representative of standard Italian, Northeners write incorrectly perchè, ventitrè (indicating their local open-vowel pronunciation) instead of standard spellings perché, ventitré (é indicates closed e).

3. When you learn English, you aim for standard pronunciation (RP in British English and General American for US English) you don't opt for dialectal or slangy accents like East Anglian, Brooklyn or Valley Girl / Surfers Dude English. The same should be done when trying to learn Italian. Watch RAI television, and listen to the singers from Rome and Tuscany, you'll have impeccable pronunciation then. And no, Milanese is NOT standard Italian accent, they pronounce open and closed vowel incorrectly, and don't even bother with le doppie (double consonants, they pronounce them as if they were spelled as single consonants).

4. For more information on Italian pronunciation google for CANIPA or Luciano Canepari, you'll get to a nice site to master your pronunciation.

This book is simply amazing, but the target audience for a book of this type would be students with a good grounding in Italian grammar - intermediate/advanced student. I don't think that simply having a good dictionary and this book is going to make you fluent. Language learning requires more than just your eyes - you need to engage your ear and your mouth too.

My main quarrel with this book is that it is written like a novel. It needs more examples that demonstrates the points that they are trying to make. Sometimes the authors gloss over certain aspects of grammar that could be expounded upon.

So what makes it amazing? The authors of this book touch on some advanced language topics that you'll not find anywhere else. Part I of the book will probably not be helpful to the casual learner and probably very few people will probably get any enjoyment out of it. Part 2 of the book is where the real 'meat' lies and is what makes this book so amazing. So if you're looking to sharpen your grammar skills and improve your understanding of Italian grammar, then study well Part 2 of this book. It is simply invaluable.

Hopefully this book will be updated with a third edition in the near future!