Learn Sicilian / Mparamu lu sicilianu (English and Italian Edition)

This book and its second volume are the only works of its kind. It is concise yet comprehensive. Over 10 hours of supporting audio allow you to immerse yourself in the language and understand regional differences of the Sicilian. Combined with Kirk Bonner’s Introduction to Sicilian Grammar, group classes through Italian Charities of America, resources from Cademia Siciliana, Arthur Diele, and the dictionaries of Joesph Ballestri, this work provides a great foundation for learning and appreciating the oldest and most beautiful Romance language.I do recommend purchasing directly from Legas Books on the Arba Sicula website.

I ordered the book based on previous reviews and after only the first chapter I can tell this is going to be fun. One thing I like about the DVD is it starts where you left off without having to be prompted... like you just wandered into a classroom. Plus.the guy kind of speaks with attitude which makes it more fun.As a student of Romance languages, I studied Italian in Florence years ago and thought I spoke "the language" until I traveled south during spring break. Of course standard Italian has since become more pervasive due to radio/ internet but the dialects always left me curious and Sicilian is probably the most distinct of them all.I have since studied Spanish and Portuguese and would have to say that Sicilian is roughly to Italian what Portuguese is to Spanish. That is, you can tell that the Portuguese word was once pronounced like its Spanish equivalent but it got abbreviated or slurred over the centuries. Sicilian also abbreviates the article "una" to "na" like Portuguese. Also the word "unni" meaning "where" is similar to the Portuguese word "onde".Most words are the same as Italian but with a consonant or vowel dropped.All in all this was a worthwhile addition to my library of teach-yourself language books.

I'm only in the first chapter but the book itself is well organized. There isn't much out there for learning Sicilian in a methodical way. This seems to be the best out there based on the other books I've purchased.My only complaint is that the DVD doesn't work on my iMac. I assume it's because it is old technology (as noted by other reviewers) and only works on Media player which I assume is a Microsoft product.

I am very impressed with the way this book is organized. Over all, an incredibly thorough presentation of Sicilian. I wish other language texts followed the pacing and format of this one. The author strikes an innovative balance that most miss: starts basic but progresses quickly while providing enough vocab translation and grammar explanation; has a great balance of text, photos and space so it's not as stuffy as some overly text-heavy books; nor does it spend toooo much time on cheesy illustrations or too much preschool-type vocabulary as many others do (the dog is big. the cat is little, etc.). Glossy pages and color photos make it very readable and engaging, and the intermediate and very advanced texts in the mid and later portion of the book represent a very diverse selection-poetry, historical, geographical, etc. The exercises are useful w/o being too repetitive, and the CD-though a bit tiresome at times simply b/c it includes recitations of so many exercises and answers-is very helpful. Highly highly recommended.

I am taking an introductory Sicilian course that is using this textbook. Honestly, I wish I wouldn’t have paid for the course because this textbook is sufficient and great at explaining things! I love how you can use the CD and listen to the textbook as you go through it. So useful!

Very well done 👍

Audio CD was missing at first but after calling Amazon they immediately replaced it and sent it to me within 2 days! I love this book so far and starting to feel confident in speaking my grandmothers language! The audio cd seems to be able to only work on my computer/laptop due to different chapters to click on. ***Note*** when you are using the CD - you can't click on the sentence itself - just click left of the sentence. There is supposed to be a yellow arrow to click on next to the sentence you wish to hear, however with some computers it doesn't show as with others it does. So don't think it's broken!!!

This book gives explanation of pronunciation and complete proper course in learning the language. I am in the beginning chapters and pleasantly surprised on how comprehensive the book is.

Super Buch zum lernen

Wonderful guide for learning Sicilian !