By making the decision to learn a second language like Italian, whether that is at home or at school, you are investing in your future and making sure that your CV is as impressive as it can be!
Learning Italian includes finding out about the country itself as well as its rich culture and all that goes with it. In this article, you’re about to find out why Italy attracts so many visitors to its boot-shaped shores every year.
When you decide to study Italian, a whole world of famous art, cuisine, cinema, and history is available for you to explore. Of course, you can do this from the comfort of an Italian language course, whether that’s from home or your classroom, or you could take a trip to Italy and immerse in the culture while you fall in love with the many inspiring cities and all they have to offer. All you need to study Italian by language immersion is some conversational skills to get you started.
If you’re an absolute beginner, one of the best routes to get started is to learn Italian online which is how you will orientate yourself with the language. After that, finding a private Italian tutor, or school that offers an Italian language course in your city are good options for progressing.
The key common denominator to learning Italian is finding the right type of tutor to suit you. So whether your needs are to learn to speak Italian for business or just conversationally, there are options for everyone. What is important is that you acquire enough language skills and vocabulary through your Italian language course to meet your needs and set you up for speaking fluently and confidently in time.
A website like Superprof can help you discover tutors to help you learn Italian online or in person. Searching for tutors this way is surprisingly easy and you would be surprised to learn just how easy it is to study Italian regardless of where in the world you may be!
Before you get started, you may be interested in this brief history of Italian.
A Brief History of the Italian Language
Whatever your reasons for wanting to learn to speak Italian, do you know where the language comes from?
Italian is the first language of over 61 million people, but it has not always been part of Italian culture as we know it today. Modern Italian was formerly a vernacular language, spoken only within a few communities. Making sense of the linguistic evolution takes us back to the time of the Roman Empire when the language of Latin was at its peak.
When you learn to speak Italian, you will not be required to learn Latin, which is no longer in use. Having said this, your Italian language course will introduce you to two types of Latin.
Sermo Vulgaris or Vulgar Latin was spoken by the people, while classical Latin was reserved for literature and Science.
The fall of the Roman Empire caused Vulgar Latin to separate into various dialects.
In 1861 Italy unified and chose one dialect as the official language.
Tuscany, the country’s central region and economic and cultural hub had the dialect that triumphed as the official language.
Why Italian is a Language of Love
Both Italian and French are considered romantic languages, but even the French agree that Italian emerges as the winner.
Italian words are immensely rich which means that you have a greater choice when trying to find the right term for your loved one!
From the outset, you will find that learning Italian is incredibly appealing because of its beauty and expressive pronunciation.
Charmingly rich in culture, the sunny language of the Mediterranean can help you to learn Italian online just through the melodic vowels and sensual pronunciation that goes with its romantic sound.
But the romance doesn’t end there.
Italy is also the setting for the most famed love story of all time: Romeo and Juliet.
Shakespeare’s tale tells the story of two love struck teenagers from Verona who attempt to keep their forbidden love a secret from their families who are enemies.
The tragedy remains a symbol of love for everyone all over the world, not unlike the city of Venice.
As the capital of love, Venice is the perfect city to celebrate a popular honeymoon destination.
In fact, besides Venice, Italy is full of romantic destinations like Siena, Pisa, Turin, and Florence. Why not consider one of these cities as an option to learn to speak Italian by immersion with your romantic partner?
Italian Pronunciation and Intonation
If you speak other romance languages like Spanish, French, or Portuguese, making good progress when you study Italian is a bit easier.
The Italian alphabet is similar to the ones used for other romance languages. This makes it easy to recognise words with Latin roots, however achieving the right pronunciation when learning Italian can be trickier.
But why is this the case? When you learn to speak Italian as a beginner it can take some practice to know where to place the accents on the words that you are pronouncing.
Native English speakers tend to emphasise major words in each sentence even when they are speaking a foreign language.
Making use of the tonic accent (or stress) is an important part of speaking Italian.
When you study Italian it will not take you long to work out that his accent is a typical feature of most words. To explain it plainly, the idea is to stress the penultimate syllable. In other words, always apply more stress at the end of each word.
In some cases, it is not the penultimate, but rather the final syllable which is accentuated, and the clue to know how to do this is usually indicated in the spelling of the word in question. An example of this that you will likely encounter as study Italian is the word papa.
Just to really challenge you, when accentuation is required on the antepenultimate syllable, it is not indicated. This means that you have to rely on your memory for these intonations.
Accentuation is also vital for maintaining a sound level of comprehension. Amazingly, perfecting intonation can be achieved when you learn Italian online.
Intonation should be an important aspect for anyone who wants to learn to speak Italian because emphasising the wrong syllable can actually change the meaning of the word.
For instance, saying papà (which means dad) without stressing the last syllable can become papa, which means pope!
Another challenge when you learn Italian online or study Italian in person is learning how to roll your ‘r’s correctly!
As native English speakers, we tend to make this sound with our lips, however, to correctly pronounce the Italian ‘r’ you need to train your tongue to be able to roll!
When you learn to speak Italian, it is advisable to practice this sound as much as possible. It’s not enough to just do it a few hours a week when you learn Italian online!
This is an exercise that you could practice as you are getting ready for work or during your work-commute.
It may seem silly and pointless at first, but you can be assured that the more you practice, the more natural it will begin to sound.
Speak Italian to Share Your Love for the Italian Culture
Has the appeal of the Italian language caused you to fall in love with Italy’s culture?
Are you considering signing up for an Italian language course in a group or are you more suited to one-on-one tutoring?
When you learn to speak Italian, you embark on a journey to discover a whole new culture!
As the country of origin for Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci, Italy is famed throughout the world for its artistic competency.
As the European hub of all art, it is also no surprise that Italy led the Renaissance which spread throughout Europe. The world of architecture, sculpting, and painting was transformed as artists took inspiration from talented Italians.
Whether you choose to migrate or take a work or holiday trip to Italy, you will have no trouble identifying traces of the country’s history of art, even in its most modern cities.
The wonderful hints that that is reminiscent of years gone by will really give you an idea of how Italy has changed over the centuries.
As you study Italian, you’ll notice that the value that Italian culture places on fashion is only rivalled by the French Parisians. Design houses like Versace, Gucci, and Giorgio continue to inspire the rest of the fashion industry all over the world.
Of huge importance to Italian culture is the country’s famous cuisine which could easily be the driving force for the desire to learn Italian.
So whether it’s historical art, delicious cuisine, or wonderful musical heritage, learning Italian includes the many beautiful aspects of both the language itself and its rich culture.
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