RSS feed for Beginners’ Italian: food and drink

Introduction

The Open University — Sun, 26 Jul 2015 23:00:00 GMT

In this free course you learn some basic vocabulary relating to food and drinks, greetings and introductions. You practise ordering drinks and snacks in an Italian café. You will also find out about customs to do with food and drink. Listening to Italian speakers in a variety of situations will enable you to practise initial listening skills.

This OpenLearn course provides a taster for studying other Italian short courses at The Open University’s Open Centre for Languages and Cultures.

Some activities in this course use an audio-recording tool. This may not work correctly in the Safari browser on Apple Mac computers. Please try another browser such as Google Chrome to run this.

Learning outcomes

The Open University — Sun, 26 Jul 2015 23:00:00 GMT

After studying this course, you should be able to:

take part in simple exchanges when buying drinks and snacks in an Italian café
understand some customs relating to Italian cafés
begin to use the indefinite article in Italian.

1 Learning the names of drinks in Italian

The Open University — Sun, 26 Jul 2015 23:00:00 GMT

In this section you find out what some common drinks and snacks are called in Italian, and hear a waiter taking an order from a group of customers.

Activity 1

Look at this list of drinks and match each drink with its corresponding picture, as in the example. Start with the ones you are already familiar with and try to guess the ones you don’t know.

Example 1 un cappuccino – h

Figure 1

Long description

1. un cappuccino

2. un’acqua minerale

3. una birra

4. un caffè

5. un succo di frutta

6. un bicchiere di vino bianco

7. un aperitivo

8. un tè

9. un bicchiere di vino rosso

Answer

1 – h; 2 – e; 3 – b; 4 – i; 5 – c; 6 – f; 7 – d; 8 – g; 9 – a

Activity 2

Now listen to the audio track and repeat aloud the names of the drinks you hear. Try to copy the pronunciation and intonation of the speaker as closely as possible.

Download this audio clip.Audio player: l195_b1_u1_aud001.mp3

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Transcript

Transcript

Listen and repeat these words for different drinks, trying to match the pronunciation and intonation of the speaker.

un succo di frutta

un’acqua minerale

una birra

un caffè

un cappuccino

un bicchiere di vino bianco

un aperitivo

un tè

un bicchiere di vino rosso

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Culture: Coffee drinking in Italy

You may find coffee-drinking traditions in Italy different from those in the UK or in your own culture. If you ask for un caffè, you will be served an espresso coffee. A caffè ristretto is an espresso which is even more concentrated than usual. An espresso with a tiny amount of milk is a macchiato, sometimes described as a macchiato caldo (if the milk is hot) or a macchiato freddo (if the milk is cold). You might like to try a caffè corretto, a coffee with a drop of a spirit or liqueur such as grappa in it. For Italians un cappuccino is a morning drink only, never taken after a meal. If you want a long coffee, you should ask for un caffè americano. Another milky but not so frothy coffee is un caffelatte, which is sometimes served in hotels at breakfast. Such is the importance of coffee in Italian life that some customers pay for two coffees, one to drink themselves and one paid for in advance as a charitable act for anyone in need who might drop in in the hope of a free coffee – the so-called caffè sospeso.

Figure 2

2 Italian pronunciation of c and ch

The Open University — Sun, 26 Jul 2015 23:00:00 GMT

This section will guide you in pronouncing some important food and drink words in the the right way.

Pronunciation: c, ci and ch

The letter c has a ‘soft’ sound before i or e. It is pronounced /tʃ/, as in the English word ‘church’:

cappuccino

The letter c has a hard sound before a, o or u. It is pronounced /k/, as in the English word ‘cat’:

caffè

The letter combination ch always has a hard sound. It is pronounced /k/, as in the English word ‘cat’:

bicchiere

Note that the same rule applies regardless whether the word is spelled with a single or a double c.

Activity 3

Now listen to each audio clip below and repeat, paying particular attention to the different ways in which the letter c is pronounced.. Record yourself and compare your recording to the original.

Figure 3

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Activity 4

A group of friends are ordering drinks from a waiter. Listen to the audio track and identify the drinks mentioned. Then write down the names of the drinks in Italian.

Download this audio clip.Audio player: l195_b1_u1_aud002.mp3

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Transcript

Listen to a group of friends ordering drinks from a waitress and try to identify what drinks they are ordering.

Cameriera

Buongiorno. Prego.

Paolo

Vorrei una birra.

Anna

Per me, un caffè.

Tommaso

Un bicchiere di vino bianco.

Marisa

Un tè.

Filippo

Un succo di frutta.

Cameriera

Va bene. Una birra, un caffè, un bicchiere di vino bianco, un tè e un succo di frutta. Ecco.

Paolo

Grazie.

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Answer

The drinks mentioned are: una birra, un caffè, un bicchiere di vino bianco, un tè and un succo di frutta.

Culture: Per favore, grazie, prego

The expression per favore (‘please’) is used much less often than ‘please’ is in English. It is not considered impolite to omit per favore when asking for something.

On the other hand, grazie (‘thank you’) is used often.

It is customary to respond to grazie by saying prego. This means ‘not at all / you’re welcome / don’t mention it’ (the literal meaning is ‘I beg you’) but is used more routinely than these equivalent English expressions.

Later you will come across several other meanings of prego, which vary according to the context, such as ‘Can I help you?’, ‘Come in’, ‘Do sit down’ and ‘After you’.

3 Ordering and paying

The Open University — Sun, 26 Jul 2015 23:00:00 GMT

In this activity you learn and practise the language needed to place an order in a café and you will find out more about il bar.

Activity 5

Maria and Piera have met for breakfast in a café. Listen to the audio track and try to work out what they are ordering. They seem to be placing their order twice. Do you know why that is?

Download this audio clip.Audio player: l195_b1_u1_aud003.mp3

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Transcript

Transcript

Listen to Maria and Piera ordering drinks in a café and try to work out what they are ordering and why they seem to be ordering twice.

Cassiere Desidera?

Maria Vorrei un cappuccino e una brioche.

Piera E per me un caffè e una pasta.

Cassiere Quattro euro.

Maria Ecco.

Cassiere Ecco lo scontrino.

Maria Grazie.

Maria Scusi!

Barista Mi dica.

Maria Vorrei un cappuccino e una brioche.

Barista E per Lei?

Piera Per me un caffè e una pasta.

Barista Allora, un cappuccino, un caffè, una brioche e una pasta.

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Answer

The two friends are having a cappuccino (un cappuccino), a brioche (una brioche), a coffee (un caffè) and a cake or pastry (una pasta). They pay at the till first and then go to the counter with the receipt and repeat their order.

Culture: Paying for drinks and snacks

In many bars and cafés, particularly in train stations, airports or more upmarket bars in cities, you go to the cash desk (la cassa) first and say what you want. You pay and are given a receipt (uno scontrino), which you then give to the person serving, repeating your order. In fact there is often a sign (un cartello) telling you to go the cash desk first, pay the cashier (il cassiere / la cassiera) and get a till receipt. The sign might say something like Si prega di fare lo scontrino alla cassa (‘Please obtain a receipt [first] from the till’) or simply Si prega di pagare alla cassa (‘Please pay [first] at the till’).

It is also worth remembering that in most cafés in Italian towns there are two sets of prices, both of which, by law, should be clearly displayed: the price you pay standing at the counter (al banco) and the price you pay sitting down at a table (al tavolo). In smaller towns or rural areas, there is usually only one set of prices and you can sit either inside or outside without paying extra.

Figure 11 Uno scontrino	Figure 12 Un cartello

Activity 6

The following expressions were used by the speakers in the previous dialogue. Match each expression to its English equivalent, as in the example, and then listen to the audio track again and see if you can hear them.

Example: 1 – f

1 Desidera?	(a) For me
2 Vorrei	(b) How can I help?
3 Per me	(c) For you
4 Scusi!	(d) Here you are!
5 Mi dica	(e) Excuse me!
6 Per Lei	(f) What would you like?
7 Allora	(g) I would like
8 Ecco!	(h) So …

Answer

1 – (f); 2 – (g); 3 – (a); 4 – (e); 5 – (b); 6 – (c); 7 – (h), 8 - (d)

Language: Ordering drinks

In an Italian bar, the person serving – or the cassiere if you have to pay first – will ask you what you want in one of the following ways:

Desidera? What would you like? (literally: You want?)
Mi dica. How can I help? (literally: Tell me.)
E per Lei? (And) for you?

To say what you would like, use:

Vorrei… I would like …
(E) per me… (And) for me …

If you need to attract the waiter’s or barman’s attention, you say:

Scusi! Excuse me!

When the person serving sums up the order to check that they have got it right, they usually begin with:

Allora… So …

When they are serving your order, they are likely to say:

Ecco! Here you are!

As a beginner, it is useful to learn common expressions like these as set phrases rather than trying to work out what each word means.

3.1 Practising ordering and paying

The Open University — Sun, 26 Jul 2015 23:00:00 GMT

Activity 7

Listen to the audio track and repeat the expressions. Try to match the pronunciation and intonation of the speaker as closely as possible.

Desidera?

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Mi dica.

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E per Lei?

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Vorrei…

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Per me…

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Scusi!

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Allora…

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Ecco!

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Activity 8

Now see if you can use the expressions you’ve just learned. Complete the dialogue using the following words. The first one has been done for you as an example.

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Activity 9

Now you can order some drinks yourself. Listen to the audio track and answer the questions following the prompts in English, as in the example below.

Download this audio clip.Audio player: l195_b1_u1_aud004.mp3

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Transcript

Now you will be placing some orders yourself. Listen to the questions and follow the prompts, as in the example.

Esempio

You hear:

Buongiorno. Desidera?

(A coffee.)

You say:

Un caffè.

Your turn now.

1 Che cosa prendi?

(For me, a beer.)

Per me una birra.

2 Tu cosa prendi, Antonella?

(An ice cream.)

Un gelato.

3 Carlo. Per te?

(A glass of red wine.)

Un bicchiere di vino rosso.

4 Buongiorno. Desidera?

(A mineral water.)

Un’acqua minerale.

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Example

You hear: Buongiorno. Desidera?

(A coffee.)

You say: Un caffè.

You hear: Un caffè.

Culture: Al bar

Il bar is a very important part of Italian life. There are an estimated 121,000 in Italy, usually open from early morning until late evening. The bar is more like a café than an English bar, a place where one can drop in for un caffè during the working day (the so-called pausa caffè) and have a chat with friends and colleagues. Customers often share opinions on a variety of subjects ranging from politics and football, to work, gossip, cinema and fashion.

The Italian bar is probably at its busiest first thing in the morning, when people grab a coffee and a cornetto (‘croissant’) at the counter. It is busy again at lunchtime when those not going home for lunch eat a sandwich or a snack. Finally, in the early evening (at the end of the working day) people drop in for an aperitivo before dinner. Some people might also come and have a drink or an ice cream later in the evening.

Most bars, however basic, have small tables on the pavement outside where you can sit and watch the world go by and smoke if you want. As in other EU countries, smoking is not permitted inside the bar but is common practice at tables outside.

Another role played by the bar is that of a corner shop. Most of them will sell you milk if you run out. The bar-gelateria will sell you ice cream by the litre to take home for a special occasion, while at the bar-pasticceria you can buy trays of pasticcini (‘little cakes’) or dolci such as tiramisù to take to friends’ homes if you are invited for a meal.

4 Gender of nouns

The Open University — Sun, 26 Jul 2015 23:00:00 GMT

In this section you will learn about the gender of nouns and the forms of the Italian equivalent of English ‘a/an’.

In the previous section you heard people ordering una birra and un bicchiere di vino bianco, among other drinks. In Italian the word for beer (birra) is feminine, while the word for glass (bicchiere) is masculine. Read the following explanation to find out about Italian nouns and their grammatical gender.

Language: Nouns and their gender

All Italian nouns have a gender: they are either masculine or feminine.

Knowing the gender of nouns is important since it determines the form of the article (‘a’ and ‘the’ in English) that you use with them and the form of the adjectives that describe them.

Nouns ending in -o are usually masculine:

un aperitivo an aperitif
uno spuntino a snack

Nouns ending in -a are usually feminine:

una birra a beer
un’aranciata an orangeade

Nouns ending in -e are not so easy: some are masculine and some are feminine. Where they relate to people, it is easy to guess their gender:

un padre a father (masculine)
una madre a mother (feminine)

In other cases you simply have to learn the gender of each noun rather than follow a rule. For example, liquore (‘liqueur’) is masculine but lezione (‘lesson’) is feminine.

Most words imported into Italian from other languages are masculine:

un caffè a coffee
un tè a tea
un toast a toasted sandwich

As for any rule, there are exceptions which you will meet later. If in doubt, a dictionary will tell you the gender of each word.

Activity 10

Look at the following words and try to work out which ones are masculine and which ones are feminine, using the information above.

un cappuccino – una cioccolata – un’aranciata – un succo – una spremuta – un aperitivo – una birra – un amaro – uno spuntino – una pizza – un cornetto – una brioche – uno scontrino – un’acqua minerale – una pasta – uno spumante

[una spremuta a freshly squeezed juice]

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Answer

The masculine words are:

un cappuccino, un succo, un aperitivo, un amaro, uno spuntino, un cornetto, uno scontrino, uno spumante.

The feminine words are:

una cioccolata, un’aranciata, una spremuta, una birra, una pizza, una brioche, un’acqua minerale, una pasta.

Culture: Amaro and spumante

Amaro (literally ‘bitter’) is a type of liqueur usually made with herbs, which is commonly drunk after dinner as a digestif. It has a strong flavour and a syrupy consistency not unlike cough medicine but may have an alcohol content as high as 40%. Amaro is commercially produced in every Italian region, for example Amaro Averna in Sicily and Amaro Montenegro in Emilia Romagna, just to name but two. Many of the recipes for it originated in monasteries.

Amaro is typically drunk neat but can also be drunk on ice.

Spumante is a sparkling wine. Sparkling wines are made throughout Italy but the best-known are probably Asti from Piedmont, Lambrusco from Emilia Romagna and Prosecco from Veneto.

5 The indefinite article in Italian

The Open University — Sun, 26 Jul 2015 23:00:00 GMT

You'll need to know how to say 'a' (or 'an') in Italian.

Language: Indefinite article un/uno/una/un’

The Italian equivalent of English ‘a’ or ‘an’ (the indefinite article) is either un, uno, una or un’. The form depends on whether the noun it relates to is masculine or feminine and whether the noun starts with a vowel (a, e, i, o, u) or a consonant.

Masculine nouns

Use un with most masculine nouns:

un bicchiere a glass
un aperitivo an aperitif

Use uno before a masculine noun beginning with s + consonant (for example sc-, sp-):

uno scontrino a receipt
uno spuntino a snack

Use uno before a masculine noun beginning with gn, pn, ps, x, z, or with i or y followed by another vowel:

uno zio an uncle
uno yogurt a yogurt

Feminine nouns

Use una with a feminine noun beginning with a consonant:

una birra a beer
una pizza a pizza

Use un’ before a feminine noun beginning with a vowel:

un'aranciata an orangeade
un’acqua minerale a mineral water

Activity 11

From following the explanation above, add the appropriate indefinite article un, uno, una or un’ to each of the following words.

Example: un gelato

___ acqua minerale	___ succo di frutta
___ vino bianco	___ amaro
___ scontrino	___ bar
___ pasta	___ acqua gassata
___ espresso	___ succo di mela
___ spumante	___ aranciata
___ pizza	___ cornetto

Answer

un’acqua minerale	un succo di frutta
un vino bianco	un amaro
uno scontrino	un bar
una pasta	un’acqua gassata
un espresso	un succo di mela
uno spumante	un’aranciata
una pizza	un cornetto

6 Famous cafés

The Open University — Sun, 26 Jul 2015 23:00:00 GMT

In this activity you are going to be introduced to some historic Italian coffee houses.

Activity 12

Listen to the audio track and write down the town in which each caffè is located.

Download this audio clip.Audio player: l195_b1_u1_aud005.mp3

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Transcript

Transcript

Here is some information about some historic Italian coffee houses.

In Italia ci sono molti caffè storici. Sono eleganti e raffinati, e offrono varie specialità. Il Caffè Fiorio è a Torino. Le sue specialità sono il gelato in estate e la cioccolata calda in inverno. A Napoli c’è il Caffè Gambrinus, famoso per le sfogliatelle e i babà. È anche molto conosciuto il Caffè Florian di Venezia, dove servono il tipico liquore al caffè. Un caffè storico molto importante di Roma è il Caffè Greco, rinomato per la focaccia di polenta. Il Caffè San Marco, invece, è a Trieste. Serve gli aperitivi con gli spuntini salati.

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Answer

1. Caffè Fiorio: Torino (Turin)

2. Caffè Gambrinus: Napoli (Naples)

3. Caffè Florian: Venezia (Venice)

4. Caffè Greco: Roma (Rome)

5. Caffè San Marco: Trieste (Trieste)

Skills: Listening to longer extracts

Listening to longer authentic recordings is a good way of building up your listening skills, but you shouldn’t worry if you only catch some of the words or only get a very general idea of what is being talked about. The context or instructions will help you form an idea of what to expect and, depending on the purpose of the exercise, it may be enough to listen for the gist, or you may want to focus on understanding specific information. Remember that you can do this without understanding every word; even when you listen to something in your own language you will find that you rarely hear every word, unless you are really concentrating on the message.

Here are two items of vocabulary used in the activity below.

Figure 13 Una sfogliatella	Figure 14 Un babà

Activity 13

Listen to the audio track again and match each café with its speciality (la specialità).

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Transcript

Transcript

Here is some information about some historic Italian coffee houses.

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Culture: Historic Italian coffee houses

The history of the Gran Caffè in Italy goes back to the introduction of coffee into Europe in the early seventeenth century. The first European coffee houses were established in Venice, a centre of trade between Italy and the East. The coffee houses were a meeting place for intellectuals and artists, and often became cultural landmarks. A few famous examples are the Gran Caffè Gambrinus in Naples (1860), favoured by Oscar Wilde, Ernest Hemingway and Jean-Paul Sartre, the Florian in Venice (1720), frequented by Giacomo Casanova and Charles Dickens, the Caffè Pedrocchi in Padua (1831), the Caffè degli Specchi in Trieste (1839), the Caffè Greco in Rome (1760), haunt of Richard Wagner and Orson Welles, and the Caffè Fiorio in Turin (1780), whose customers included Cavour and Nietzsche.

Figure 15	Figure 16
Figure 17	Figure 18

Conclusion

The Open University — Sun, 26 Jul 2015 23:00:00 GMT

We hope you have enjoyed this course. You have learned about the importance of coffee drinking – and il bar! – in Italian life and have been introduced to some famous Italian cafes. You have also learned how to ask for a coffee in Italian and how to say per favore and grazie. We hope you’ll now take every opportunity to use the language you’ve learned and to explore some Italian cafés for yourself, in Italy or where you live.

This OpenLearn course provides a taster for studying other Italian short courses at The Open University’s Open Centre for Languages and Cultures.

Take the next step

The Open University — Sun, 26 Jul 2015 23:00:00 GMT

If you enjoyed this course, why not explore the subject further with our paid-for short course, Beginners Italian 1: primi passi?

Find out more about Beginners Italian 1: primi passi

Acknowledgements

The Open University — Sun, 26 Jul 2015 23:00:00 GMT

Except for third party materials and otherwise stated in the acknowledgements section, this content is made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 Licence.

The material acknowledged below is Proprietary and used under licence (not subject to Creative Commons Licence). Grateful acknowledgement is made to the following sources for permission to reproduce material in this course:

Images

Figure 15 Caffè Fiorio © Stijn Nieuwendijk, cleared under Creative Commons License Deed Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Every effort has been made to contact copyright owners. If any have been inadvertently overlooked, the publishers will be pleased to make the necessary arrangements at the first opportunity.

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