I have an Italian personality.
In Italian, I am fairly certain I come across as an dumb, ill mannered snob...!
I say dumb because when you learn a second language, even after four years of University grammar, the biggest component you lack is vocabulary. This is because vocabulary is built on actually being in situations or conversations. You can read textbooks and see the same word over and over but it will never stick until you have to use it. Therefore I lack the expanse of vocabulary that I have in English. And as a lover of the power of language, I feel especially dumb when not knowing the word for something. In English, I'm a thesaurus. In Italian, I find myself pointing and saying quella cosa lì (that thing there), come si chiama (what's it called), and questo qui (this here) alot.
Secondly, I definitely seem as if I have no manners in Italian. Not always, but sometimes. This is primarily due to the fact that Italian has formal and informal verb conjugations and certain words or expressions as well. We do not have this in English so it has been difficult being aware of this and using the right form to address the right people. I used to address anyone I did not know with Lei, the formal version of you, as this is what is taught in school. Then I realized I would get weird looks from people my own age and stopped. Now I'm in the predicament of having to be a quick judge of how old someone is and how traditional before I open my mouth which leads me to my next point...
I am a snob in Italian. Since I have to think even a second or two longer to process a comment or formulate what I want to say, I seem snobbish, almost as if I don't want to converse. And don't get me started on not laughing at jokes. If there is a joke based on word play or accents, a non native Italian speaker will have a tough time getting it and like in my case, probably be forced to do the fake laugh or the blank stare. I tend to the fake laugh more so than anything and Massi likes to make fun of me for it. Jasmine laughing = zero comprehension.
In Italian, I am fairly certain I come across as an dumb, ill mannered snob...!
I say dumb because when you learn a second language, even after four years of University grammar, the biggest component you lack is vocabulary. This is because vocabulary is built on actually being in situations or conversations. You can read textbooks and see the same word over and over but it will never stick until you have to use it. Therefore I lack the expanse of vocabulary that I have in English. And as a lover of the power of language, I feel especially dumb when not knowing the word for something. In English, I'm a thesaurus. In Italian, I find myself pointing and saying quella cosa lì (that thing there), come si chiama (what's it called), and questo qui (this here) alot.
Secondly, I definitely seem as if I have no manners in Italian. Not always, but sometimes. This is primarily due to the fact that Italian has formal and informal verb conjugations and certain words or expressions as well. We do not have this in English so it has been difficult being aware of this and using the right form to address the right people. I used to address anyone I did not know with Lei, the formal version of you, as this is what is taught in school. Then I realized I would get weird looks from people my own age and stopped. Now I'm in the predicament of having to be a quick judge of how old someone is and how traditional before I open my mouth which leads me to my next point...
I am a snob in Italian. Since I have to think even a second or two longer to process a comment or formulate what I want to say, I seem snobbish, almost as if I don't want to converse. And don't get me started on not laughing at jokes. If there is a joke based on word play or accents, a non native Italian speaker will have a tough time getting it and like in my case, probably be forced to do the fake laugh or the blank stare. I tend to the fake laugh more so than anything and Massi likes to make fun of me for it. Jasmine laughing = zero comprehension.
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