#18: My Italian Speech Impediment
Ciao Nonni!
I have a confession to make. I'm a little bit ashamed, but the reality is undeniable. The longer I spend here, and the more language I learn, the clearer it becomes. I have an Italian speech impediment.
I have spent 35 years of my life without ever having known this daily challenge, but I can't deny it any longer. I can't roll my R.
I've spent weeks practicing in private. My tongue just won't cooperate.
We invited a few of our new friends over on the weekend for drinks (so much fun!) and after quite a few wines that classic mood of confession descended upon us all. It was at this stage that I finally spoke the truth about my struggles.
While our guests were largely sympathetic to my plight, they were also very, very amused. After being forced to demonstrate said impediment, I was then given much advice. None of which helped. One of our friends explained by saying that Australians have a particularly lazy mouth. And the fact that I am from Queensland probably exacerbates the situation.
The thing is, I can kind of get away with it on most words. I just go for more of a guttural, French sound-ing R. Which seems to at least be understood by the locals, although probably not enjoyed. Where I really come a cropper is when there is a double R, or even worse, an R that follows a consonant. The latter has me avoiding actually saying out loud the name of one of my favourite restaurants here in Lucca. Which is a pity because I love to tell people about it. Osteria La Dritta.
Osteria is ok. I can get through it. Dritta, on the other hand. Mamma mia. I butcher it every time. Somehow I end up saying it Elmer Fudd-style. Dwitta. Awful!
My Italian teacher Sara often speaks about quirks in the Italian language. All of which seem to be driven by a collective desire to make the language more lovely. She often refers to a certain sound or phrase as being brutta (ugly). And the subsequent adjustment as being piu bella (more beautiful). I can only imagine how my R must upset her! At least I've got the O sorted though. That's the one she goes hardest on in the class - the prime offenders being the American students.
In other news, we are really getting into the festive spirit now. The main piazza in town even has an ice skating rink! It's like living in a Hallmark Christmas movie. Very different to the Australian experience of humidity, sunburn and barbecued everything.
I cracked and bought a full-sized panettone on the weekend. Raffy and Leo both have a small chunk each morning before school. They become more Italian by the day!
We are missing you so much here. I hope you're well!
