Italian All-in-One For Dummies (83 page)

Bianca:
Ci sono treni diretti per Perugia?

chee
soh
-noh
treh
-nee dee-
reht
-tee pehr peh-
rooh
-jah?

Are there direct trains to Perugia?

Agent:
No, deve prendere un treno per Terni.

noh,
deh
-veh
prehn
-deh-reh oohn
treh
-noh pehr
tehr
-nee.

No, you have to take a train to Terni.

Bianca:
E poi devo cambiare?

eh pohy
deh
-voh kahm-
byah
-reh?

And then do I have to change [trains]?

Agent:
Sì, prende un locale per Perugia.

see,
prehn
-deh oohn loh-
kah
-leh pehr peh-
rooh
-jah.

Yes, you take a local (slow) train for Perugia.

Bianca:
A che ora parte il prossimo treno?

ah keh
oh
-rah
pahr
-teh eel
prohs
-see-moh
treh
-noh?

What time does the next train leave?

Agent:
Alle diciotto e arriva a Terni alle diciannove.

ahl
-leh dee-
choht
-toh eh ahr-
ree
-vah ah
tehr
-nee
ahl
-leh
dee
-chahn-
noh
-veh.

At 18 hours (6 p.m.). It arrives in Terni at 19 hours (7 p.m.).

Bianca:
E per Perugia?

eh pehr peh-
rooh
-jah?

And to Perugia?

Agent:
C'è subito la coincidenza.

cheh
sooh
-bee-toh lah koh-een-chee-
dehn
-tsah.

There is an immediate connection.

 

Going by bus or tram

To get from point A to point B without a car, you most likely walk or take
l'autobus
(
lou
-toh-boohs) (
the
bus
),
il tram
(eel trahm) (
the
tram; the streetcar
), or
la metropolitana
(lah meh-troh-poh-lee-
tah
-nah) (
the subway
) in bigger cities.

Some Italian cities have streetcars, or trams, and most have buses. Little buses are called
il pulmino
(eel poohl-
mee
-noh). Big buses that take you from one city to another are called
il pullman
(eel
poohl
-mahn) or
la corriera
(lah kohr-
ryeh
-rah). There are subways in Milan, Rome, Catania, and Naples.

You can buy bus or tram tickets in Italian bars,
dal giornalaio
(dahl johr-nah-
lah
-yoh) (
at a newspaper stand
), or
dal tabaccaio
(dahl tah-bahk-
kah
-yoh) (
at a tobacco shop
).
Tabaccai
are little shops where you can purchase cigarettes, stamps, newspapers, and so on. You can find them on virtually every street corner in Italy; they're recognizable by either a black-and-white sign or a blue-and-white sign with a big T on it.

Talkin' the Talk

Tom, a Canadian tourist, wants to visit a cathedral downtown. He asks about the bus, but a woman advises him to take the subway because it takes less time. (Track 26)

Tom:
Scusi, quale autobus va al Duomo?

skooh
-zee,
kwah
-leh
ou
-toh-boos vah ahl
dwoh
-moh?

Excuse me, which bus goes to the Cathedral?

Woman:
Perché non prende la metropolitana?

pehr-
keh
nohn
prehn
-deh lah meh-troh-poh-lee-
tah
-nah?

Why don't you take the subway?

Tom:
È meglio?

eh
meh
-lyoh?

Is it better?

Woman:
Sì, ci mette cinque minuti!

see, chee
meht
-teh
cheen
-kweh mee-
nooh
-tee!

Yes, it takes five minutes!

Tom:
Dov'è la fermata della metropolitana?

doh-
veh
lah fehr-
mah
-tah
dehl
-lah meh-troh-poh-lee-
tah
-nah?

Where is the subway station?

Woman:
Dietro l'angolo.

dyeh
-troh
lahn
-goh-loh.

Around the corner.

On the subway, Tom asks the young woman sitting next to him where he should get off. Note that he uses
tu,
the informal form of
you,
now.

Tom:
Scusa, sai qual è la fermata per il Duomo?

skooh
-zah, sahy kwahl
eh
lah fehr-
mah
-tah pehr eel
dwoh
-moh?

Excuse me, do you know which is the stop for the Cathedral?

Woman:
La prossima fermata.

lah
pros
-see-mah fehr-
mah
-tah.

The next stop.

Tom:
Grazie!

grah
-tsyeh!

Thanks!

Woman:
Prego.

preh
-goh.

You're welcome.

 

Reading maps and schedules

You don't need to know much about reading maps except for the little bit of vocabulary written on them. Reading a schedule can be more difficult for travelers because the schedules are usually written only in Italian. You frequently find the following words on schedules:

l'orario
(loh-
rah
-ryoh) (
the timetable
)

partenze
(pahr-
tehn
-tseh) (
departures
)

arrivi
(ahr-
ree
-vee) (
arrivals
)

giorni feriali
(
johr
-nee feh-
ryah
-lee) (
weekdays
)

giorni festivi
(
johr
-nee feh-
stee
-vee) (
Sundays and holidays
)

il binario
(eel bee-
nah
-ryoh) (
the track; the platform
)