- enjoyyouritalian
- 2 days ago
- 7 min read
The “What does it mean” trap
“What does this mean in English?” If I had a euro for every time I got asked this question in an Italian class, I could buy myself a luxury penthouse in Milano centro by now!
I get it, asking for translations can feel very helpful, but here is the truth: it’s not. It is a trap that your brain constantly tries to attract you into and, once you are in there, you become uncapable to speak Italian naturally. Yes, because “the translation box” will hold you back from speaking naturally.
You can also think of translation as a background program that keeps running in your brain. It has always been there, and it will always be, but this doesn’t mean you should spend your time looking at it and working around it. Here is why.
Why translating doesn’t work
No matter your level of Italian, when you translate from English, you are forced to stop every five seconds and say: "How do I say this?" Yes, because there is always going to be a word that your brain won't know how to translate. And out of all the sentence structures and vocabulary you learnt, your brain tries to make you pick the things you don't know how to say! Isn't this massively counter-productive and frustrating?
Maybe you don’t want to stumble and freeze, but you can’t help it because you don’t know how to talk spontaneously in Italian. You actually don’t have to know hundreds of words and structures to be spontaneous; it’s a skill you can learn on day one of your Italian learning journey and master by keeping practising. And you don’t have to be young either!
However, you cannot learn to speak more naturally unless you make a decision to minimise the “translation window” inside your brain and commit to focus on the Italian language alone: listen, watch, match Italian words to pictures (and not words!), pick-up on cultural traits, have a go speaking aloud, practice in context and guess!
When your brain is super busy translating, it doesn’t even have the energy to consider the way Italian is spoken, the sentence structures learnt, and the cultural traits deeply intertwined with the language. All this will be trashed to make space for "the translation non-sense”! Yes, because you impose the English language structures and way of speaking into the Italian language. This doesn’t work because Italian is a different language based on a different culture.
Common consequences
By insisting on translating from English, you will eventually sound like you are not making any sense at all in Italian. You will sound like someone who is "speaking Italian in English" and the locals won't be able to imagine what you're trying to say, because you are not talking the Italian way, which is what their brain is expecting to hear.
“If I say this wrong, would they still understand me?”. How many times I got asked this question! Sometimes, people can’t guess what you are trying to say if it sounds so different from what they are expecting to hear. Their brain will kind of panic and keep thinking that they have no idea, and they won’t be able to pay attention to the context’s clues and guess. So, in that case, they will not understand you.
This is not to say you must chase perfection when speaking in Italian, no! But you must learn the Italian way of speaking and build the skills to explain things in your own words whenever you don’t know or can’t remember a term. For example, if you are looking for an item in a shop where you can’t talk in English, you can’t use your phone, and you have a train to catch, you can easily fix it and save the day by explaining what you need the item for accompanied by a relevant gesture. This way, you will dramatically reduce the chance to be misunderstood or to fall in a tourist trap. But you can only achieve this by discarding “the translation non-sense” and practicing the Italian way of speaking over and over.
I know, I know, you want to visit the big cities where English can be used in case things get complicated. But what if you don’t happen to find a person that speak English well enough to help you in a specific situation? What if your phone is dead and you can’t find the information you need and you need it fast? What if you end up missing your train stop and getting fined (because you paid a ticket for a different section)? Then your three days in the city of your dreams may easily become your worst nightmare. Not to mention how exhausted you will feel!
Even if none of the above happens (and hopefully it doesn’t), you will be so focused on translating everything the whole time that you will miss out on engaging with the culture around you because you are looking at the Italian way of life through the "English lenses". You will miss out on connecting with locals at a supermarket checkout, or at a restaurant. How would it feels if you could naturally and confidently tell a waiter something that makes sense in Italian creating a little connection?
You can make it happen
If your goal is to speak the Italian way so that locals can understand you and you will be able to naturally connect with them without having to feel exhausted and frustrated the whole time, you are going to need much more than words and random phrases. You will need to get an understanding of how Italians express themselves leaving your English out of the picture -as we said- and practice putting words together for a specific purpose. This means you must learn what type of conversation you are getting yourself into, so that you can make it easy for yourself and the person you are talking to. Remember: the final goal of any type of interaction you have must be to clearly understand each other, minimising misunderstandings and, as a consequence, tourist traps and bad outcomes that can easily ruin your dream holiday.
This is why, for example, you should never attempt making jokes in a language you are only learning. The sense of humour is something quite complex based on specific cultural traits so, if you are not too familiar with it and you haven’t absorbed it by spending time with other natives or watching tons of TV series in the Italian original language, you will only risk to sound like somebody who is trying to make fun of Italians.
Going back to the specific purpose of a conversation, ask yourself: “Am I asking for information?”, “Am I ordering/buying something?”, “Am I answering to a “yes or no question”?, “Am I indicating a preference for an item?” This way, it will be easier to understand “what to say” because most scenarios have at least one Italian typical sentence structure that works in a specific context. Let’s say you wish to order something at a café. After you greet the person working there (e.g. by sayng "Salve"), simply mention the item you wish to order: “Un cappuccino, grazie”. Yes, ordering can (and should) be this simple! If you understand each other right away, everybody is happy. No misunderstandings, no drama! It’s called effective communication.
So how do you set yourself for successful conversations that get you what you need while being kind and creating connections with locals? How do you master effective communication and live your life dream? You can do it by putting yourself in real-life situations like the one described above. You can do it by practicing talking aloud in a group while putting aside thoughts like “I sound silly”, “I’m not pronouncing this correctly”, “What am I saying?”.
To effectively break the barrier between your brain's insecurities and effective communication, it’s essential to commit to a mindset shift where you focus on the Italian alone in a safe space, where there are no real consequences because you are practicing real-life scenarios created for the purpose of practising. This way, when you go to Italy for real, you will be able to say “I have practiced explaining a chemist that I need this. I can do it again!”. And surprisingly, you will!
The mindset shift: from translation to purpose
Actively train your brain to focus on the things it needs to create simple, effective conversations that will get you what you need. So instead of asking: “What does this mean in English?”, start asking: “What is this Italian phrase going to do?” and “What sort of outcome does this create? Is it playful? Casual? Formal?”. Also ask yourself: “What would an Italian person typically say or do when someone uses this phrase with them in such context?”
This is what your brain needs to focus on and learn so that it sets free from “the translation prison” and finally puts “the translation program” where it belongs: in the background. Only then your brain will finally have enough energy to focus on the Italian way of speaking and the conversation purpose, and it will finally stop presenting you impossible English sentences that won’t make sense in Italian demanding you to translate them! Instead, your brain will finally start presenting you appropriate Italian structures that create the outcome you need in a specific context, and you’ll start making sense and talking with purpose!
Learn real Italian through real-life situations
If you are picturing yourself shifting your mindset, speaking Italian naturally, and connecting with people, you are ready for roleplays that set you "in the scene” allowing you to practice in a safe, consequence-free environment with other Italian enthusiasts. You will be practising hearing your Italian voice and getting used to it without judging yourself; you will learn to look at "the scene" and pick up on the cultural traits; you will eventually start using structures you practiced and absorbed spontaneously, leaving the English out.
You will practice being in contexts such as restaurants, hotels, shops… and you will not just practice the “classic phrases” that you might already know, no! You will play the role of a customer as well as the service provider (e.g. a waiter) so that you deeply understand the purpose of a conversation from different points of view. You will become more efficient at placing an order if you understand what can confuse a waiter VS what a clear, misunderstanding-free request sounds like. In the roleplays, you will also experience unexpected situations that can happen in real life, so that you can learn how to simply and successfully handle them and get on with your life. You will have tons of fun in the meanwhile because there will always be a fun twist in each roleplay!
Click here to learn more about my upcoming “Italian thru Roleplays” course:
