Italian
Che cos’hanno in comune una piccola panetteria nel distretto di Charlottenburg a Berlino, dei professori di linguistica dell’Istituto Jozef Stefan in Slovenia, degli ingegneri ricercatori al Politecnico di Cracovia e la stazione ferroviaria Oriente a Lisbona? Tutti hanno ricevuto dall’Unione europea finanziamenti attinti dal suo bilancio.
Above: Italian from the European Union website
Italian is the language of the 58 million residents of Italy, and the Italian “microstates” of San Marino and Vatican City. Italian is also one of the official languages of Switzerland. There are many people who speak Italian as a second language in Libya, Albania, France, Somalia, and Eritrea.
Italian is a Romance language, so it will be easy for you learn if you already know Latin, French, Spanish, Portuguese, or Romanian.
For example, below are a handful of Italian words that will be familiar to anyone with a good command of Spanish.
primavera (spring)
dolce (sweet)
libro (book)
frase (sentence)
classe (class)
Overall, Italian is slightly more difficult than Spanish, but definitely easier than Portuguese, Latin, or French. Most native English-speakers are unfamiliar with the Italian accent; but this can be easily remedied by listening to audio recordings.
Moderately Useful
If you simply have the vague goal of learning any European language, then either French or German would probably be a better starting point. The Italian language doesn’t much clout beyond the borders of Italy.
That having been said, Italy itself offers plenty of motivations for learning the language. There are more business opportunities to be found in Italy than most people realize. For example, there are all those Italian companies in the automotive industry: Pirelli, Maserati, Ferrari, Fiat, Lancia, and Alpha Romeo. Italy also has a respectable presence in the machine tool industry. And everyone knows about Italian wine and fashion.
For a European vacation, it’s hard to beat Italy. Italy is one of the world’s top tourist destinations, and the country offers something for everyone. There are beaches for those who like to relax in the sun, and Roman ruins for history buffs to explore.
In the English-speaking world, Italian is the fourth most commonly studied European language, ranking behind Spanish, French, and German. You will therefore have no problem finding learning materials. (I would recommend starting with the Ultimate Italian course by Living Language. )
A few Italian Phrases:
Buongiorno
Good morning
Come si chiama lei?
What is your name?
Il piacere è mio.
The pleasure is mine.
Buona sera
Good evening
Arrivederci
Goodbye
