Italian for Travelers: Phrasebook, Dictionary

by Fodor's Travel Publications Inc. and Fodor's

Book Overview

From the Most Respected Names in Travel AND Language Instruction In every travel situation, from arrival to departure, Fodor's Italian for Travelers makes it easy to speak and understand Italian, even... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0679034110
• ISBN13: 9780679034117
• Release Date: April 1997
• Publisher: Fodor's Travel Publications
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 4.0" x 6.0"

Customer Reviews

great book

the book is great. I wish I would have bought it years ago. The only defect is that it fell apart. The glue that was used is no good.

Great little helper!

I used this book extensively when I spent three months in Sicily. It's small enough to carry everywhere, easy to read and understand. It was helpful to me on many occasions. I highly recommend it.

The Italian language teacher says...

It's hard to find that "perfect" Italian book or audio CD to recommend to students, because I often run into these two situations: 1) the book is too in-depth and too focused on grammar; 2) the book is too superficial and more of a phrase-book for travelers, therefore not sufficient. SO, what I usually do is use a combination of books, including audio CDs, this being one of them. It has some useful information on the culture, as well as practical expressions for the brave traveler. However, my recommendation is to take a basic course before traveling to Italy, because even knowing a few simple sentences can get you a long way. Also, in a group setting you'll be able to ask specific questions and to practice with others. I'm sure that if you check with your local community college, there are some short continuing education courses for foreign languages. Non dimenticare! Don't forget: the trick in learning a language is repetition, so any audio CD that gets you to repeat the words over and over again, is great practice. The more you repeat, the more you'll remember! It's like learning a song: you can't sing a song you've heard only 1 time, but if you hear it over and over, you'll be able to sing all the lyrics!! So, keep up the good work! [..]

Travel with ease

I bought the "Italian for Dummies" and this dictionary together. They complemented each other well. If you are planning on doing some traveling for a short period of time, this is more than enough for you. Even those who want to start studying seriously will benefit greatly.However, I should warn you that in both Rome and Venice, while on vacation, usually I would try to speak Italian only to be responded to in fluent English. You definitely do not need to know Italian in Venice. It you are only going to the tourist spots, you might not need it much. It's cheap, pocket-sized, and comprehensive. If you are planning to spend some real time in Italy, it may save your life and/or sanity on more than one occasion.

Learn easy phrases

I thought this book was great. It was very easy to use and is organized very well. I used this book while on vacation, and I was able to find the phrases I needed fast. It has a great grammar section, too. It's divided into many sections like, dining, finding your way, shopping, etc.. Great little book!