Mark Twain’s ‘Italian Without a Master’

Language is the focus in Mark Twain’s hilarious story of trying to understanding a foreign tongue.

Mark Twain in Turin, Italy. Public Domain

Mark Twain contemplates the great adventure that language can take us on in his short story, “Italian Without a Master.” Already a master of English, Twain humorously tries to interpret Italian. His attempted interpretations show how enjoyable language can be and the importance of using it properly.

While staying in an Italian villa near Florence, Twain entertains himself with Italian wordplay. With locals who only know Italian, he uses this barrier as a means of studying another language.

Parler L'Italiano (Speak Italian)

He begins by explaining how he uses an Italian word or two randomly throughout the day. After gathering words or phrases from the morning paper, he surprises the locals by uttering words that he has never looked up in a dictionary.