The Standard Deviants - Parla Italiano (Learning Italian - The Basics)

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Summary: YOu know now what it is the true meaning of Italian
Review: Being from the nationality of Italian, one may get a chuckle out of this film. Even those who aren't from the decent may find this video amusing. It is a well constructed film the whole family will enjoy.

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Summary: Just Awesome.
Review: I loved these tapes. It really broke Italian down for me and made it seem so easy! I honestly recommend them a great study tool.

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Summary: It Got Me Started
Review: It is very simple, but if you are just starting, as I was, simple can be a good thing. It's unlikely this DVD alone will have you speaking Italian, but it will give you a foundation. It explains the rules for pronouncing words as they are spelled, and offers a small starter vocabulary and some grammar. I used it as part of a larger program that included a variety of books and tapes. It is not as detailed as the second DVD in the series, and you probably skip this one go to the second one if you have already started with other materials. Still, I enjoyed it.

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Summary: Back to work on this, kids ...
Review: It's simple and painless, but not perfection. In fact, as another reviewer noted, it often sounds as if no experienced Italian speaker was around for the final edit. The Deviants cast read the prompter well, but there are inconsistencies in pronunciation that might confuse a novice - and this really is beginner's level. I studied Italian with a native-speaking Italian tutor, and am a Spanish speaker, so I warn newbies that consistency is really important, and it's lacking here. With no expert was on hand to fix the mistakes, or catch simple nuances that are missing, you might learn a few things you have to unlearn later. Many of the company have no command of the language at all - it's funny to hear a guy say he speaks "only Italian" with a heavy American accent. To sum up, not a waste of time, but hardly a gem.

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Summary: Not worth the money
Review: Learning a language is difficult enought without all the "cute" comments and bits in this DVD. You can learn as much, for a lot less money, from an Italian phrase book.

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Summary: Not worth the money
Review: Learning a language is difficult enought without all the "cute" comments and bits in this DVD. You can learn as much, for a lot less money, from an Italian phrase book.

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Summary: Major flaw
Review: The instruction of pronunciation is wrong, especially with single vs double consonants. The instances that comes to my mind are r/rr and z/zz. With the r/rr, they pronounce "caro" and "carro" the same way, with the trilled sound. In reality "carro" has the trill whereas "caro" does not. The "r" in "caro" is pronounced more like the "dd" in the English word "ladder".

The other single/double consonants also taught incorrectly are "z/zz". A single "z" in Italian has a "d" sound in front of it, like in "ad zone". The "zz" is taught to sound the same as the single "z" when in reality it has a "ts" sounds like in "hits" or "ritz".

Even though I'm from an Italian-American family, I know minimal Italian but enough to know how letters are pronounced. Personally, I wouldn't waste my money with this DVD.

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Summary: Not worth the money
Review: Well organized, entertaining and chock full of useful pointers in learning Italian. I recommend this to all new students of Italian.

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Summary: Standard Deviants is a Delight
Review: Well organized, entertaining and chock full of useful pointers in learning Italian. I recommend this to all new students of Italian.

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Summary: Speak Italian like an American
Review: While watching this DVD, I have discovered several inconsistencies (and I haven't even finished it yet). I was hoping to learn Italian in an entertaining way, and to learn to speak it like a native (with correct pronunciation and emphasis). They got it half right. The DVD effectively uses visuals, repetition, and dialogue to make learning some basic Italian easy and memorable. But in the first three lessons I have already found a multitude of examples of words or letters that were pronounced in at least two different ways each, which is sloppy, to say the least. The problem for a new student is knowing which is the CORRECT pronunciation (and, YES, there IS a correct pronunciation). I will have to rely on OTHER sources to teach me which is the correct pronunciation. I wonder how much else they got wrong? Ultimately, there are some valuable tidbits of information on this DVD, but don't expect to sound like anything but an American speaking Italian.