Vocabolario I (Vocabulary 1)

Don Aldo sent a list of English phrases that interested him along with their likely Italian equivalents as collected from online translators and other sources. As is often the case, some of the results are a little off, but all in all it was an exemplary effort. Now, before I dive into Don Aldo's list, here are a few points about pronouncing Italian words more or less correctly.

1. If you know the vowels a, e, i, o, and u in Spanish, you know them in Italian (ah, eh, ee, oh, and ooh). Note that I'm making no attempt at using IPA notation.
2. With few exceptions, the strongest accent is on the penultimate (next to last) syllable of the word.
3. To the best of my recollection, the letter 'h' only exists in standard Italian words preceded by a 'c' and followed by a vowel; it affects how the syllable containing the 'c' is pronounced (similar to, but not exactly like Spanish):
• ca = ka, while cha = chah (like in cha-cha)
• ce = cheh (like Che Guevara), while che = kay
• ci = chee, while chi = key
• co = ko, while cho = choh (like in poncho)
• cu = ku (right now I cannot think of any Italian word that contains chu)
4. Double consonants are important to pronunciation and thereby to meaning; syllables naturally split between consonant pairs:
• The word pena (PEH-nah) means pain; penna (PEN-nah) means pen or feather.
• The word capello (ka-PEL-lo) means (a) hair; cappello (kap-PEL-lo) means hat.
• Note that you don't actually pronounce the two consonants separately, you just start the pronunciation at the end of the lead syllable and finish it off at the beginning of the trailing one.

Now on to Don Aldo's list:

• Don’t shoot - Non sparate. Good; the verb tense is second person plural imperative, totally correct in general, like when you don't know how many people are shooting at you. If you're fairly certain that there's only one, non sparare (second person singular imperative) is grammatically precise.
• I’m a friend - Sono un'amico. Good; you can speed up this utterance (especially during a firefight where fractions of a second count) by shortening it to son'amico.
• Take me to your leader - Portami dal tuo capo. Okay, even if it reminds me of a movie about invaders from Mars. Two curiosities here:
• The word portami (POR-ta-me) isn't breaking the 'penultimate syllable' rule because it's really a combination of the conjugated verb porta (portare: to take or carry) and the direct object mi (me).
• The preposition da in all its forms (including dai, dalla, and dalle) usually means 'from' but sometimes means 'to' - I cannot begin to explain it; I've actually forgotten exactly how to get this right at least 90% of the time; but when I hear it, I go, "Oh, yeah!"
• When do we eat? -  Quando si mangia? Good; there are different ways to ask the same question, but this more self-effacing form is probably best, especially if you're asking the cook (who might spit in the spaghetti if he thinks you're being impatient).
• Where are the toilets? - Dove sono i servizi igienici? Definitely 'officer-speak'. Among the hoi polloi you're more likely to hear Dov'è il cesso?
• This is wonderful! - Questo è meraviglioso! This is wonderful (heheh).
• Where is the enemy? - Dov'è il nemico? No problem here either.
• Commence firing! - Iniziare di cottura! This made me smile; English can be fun. This would work inside a ceramic or glass studio where objects of art are about to be baked in a furnace. I believe that a simple (Aprire il) Fuoco! works for this.
• Cease firing! - Cessate il fuoco! Survey says...Yes.
• Advance - Avanzare. This verb accurately describes the act of moving forward or advancing; the direct command is Avanti!
• Retreat - Ritirarsi. Another accurate verb but I'm not sure of the command form - more study needed.
• Cover me! - Coprimi! At first glance this seems okay, however I have some doubts - it could mean merely, "Hey, camerata. Pull my blanket up a bit for me. Thanks!" Wouldn't that be embarrassing? I really need to find an English-Italian Military Dictionary.
• Take the building - Prendere l'edificio. Major doubts on this one - I think there's an idiomatic issue here.
• Well done! - Ben fatto. Fine.
• Kill the Germans - Uccidete i Tedeschi. This works, however a more common battlefield cry might be something more impersonal like, Morte ai Tedeschi!
• Surrender - Arrendersi. Again, an accurate infinitive verb form but the command to surrender would be Arrendetevi!
• Very good - Molto buono. A good choice. Depending on the circumstance Molto bene and Molto bravo are also appropriate; explaining the differences between these three could possibly consume an entire blog post. BTW, bravo is a false friend; it doesn't mean "brave."