Hanging out with a couple of Italian friends, I stopped channel-flipping at a Romanian news broadcast on the international feed because I at first thought it Italian. I speak some Italian and could recognize some words. Italian friend #1, from Puglia, said he could understand what the broadcaster was saying. Italian friend #2, from Abruzzo, at first said he understood nothing. After pressing him on this, because even I could understand occasional phrases, he watched more intently. After a few minutes, something clicked and he was able to give a running translation. He said it almost resembled an Italian dialect -- the occasional word that he didn't know but easily understandable from context.
Slashdot Mirror
Hanging out with a couple of Italian friends, I stopped channel-flipping at a Romanian news broadcast on the international feed because I at first thought it Italian. I speak some Italian and could recognize some words. Italian friend #1, from Puglia, said he could understand what the broadcaster was saying. Italian friend #2, from Abruzzo, at first said he understood nothing. After pressing him on this, because even I could understand occasional phrases, he watched more intently. After a few minutes, something clicked and he was able to give a running translation. He said it almost resembled an Italian dialect -- the occasional word that he didn't know but easily understandable from context.