#Italian spelling alphabet driver#

There are only 21 letters in it, as follows (with pronunciations in parentheses): A (ah) I’ll get to the spelling alphabet in a moment, but first you need to know the Italian alphabet itself – and yes, it’s different than the English one. Which is why there is something called the Italian spelling alphabet, or Italian phonetic alphabet. “S as in Sam,” I say, followed by, “P as in Paula.” In Italian, though, “Sam” and “Paula” won’t cut it. My last name is such that I have to spell it out over the phone all the time at home. Once you’ve managed to convince the person on the other end of the line that you really, really need them to speak more slowly, the next hurdle is one you’re probably not prepared for: Spelling. Having said all of that, sometimes travelers in Italy – including me – find it necessary to get on the phone. Some of it is physical, since Italians speak with their entire bodies, but most of it is due to just how rapidly Italians talk. It’s not even that I rely on reading lips – I’m certainly not staring at the driver’s face when I’m in the back seat of the cab.

#Italian spelling alphabet driver#

I will happily start a conversation with my taxi driver just to keep the linguistic gears in my brain oiled, but I will do almost anything to avoid making or receiving a phone call in Italian.

The overwhelmingly positive responses always seem out of whack with my meager attempts at speaking Italian, but it sure is a confidence boost that keeps me coming back for more.Įxcept, that is, when it comes to talking on the phone. Getting a short – but coherent – sentence out to a taxi driver or shop keeper sometimes means getting praised as if you’ve just recited Dante from memory. One of the things I love most about traveling in Italy is how gracious Italians are when you fumble through a few words of their language. Alfabeta || creative commons photo by Martin Abegglen