There are numerous reasons why Italian is the perfect language to learn, and here we try to convince you to pursue the path of its discovery.
The first reason, of course, is its country of origin: Italy is one of the most beautiful and historically rich countries in the world, it is the country with the most UNESCO world heritage sites in the world!
Everyone dreams about travelling to cities like Florence, Rome and Venice, and their fame is indeed well deserved. Italy in general is an extremely varied country because of its past, made up of divisions and internal borders. From north to south, from the seaside resorts to the extraordinary mountain landscapes, you can find stunning surprises just a few kilometres away from each other.
But we think that there is only one, true way to get into the atmosphere of those incredible cities and towns, and it is by speaking a bit of the local language, to be able to communicate with the locals and immerse yourself in the places that they know and love.
It seems obvious, but Italian is the main, effective means to discover the beauty of Italy, still a traditional and mysterious country.
Knowing the language, or even just the basics, you can make a start on opening a gap into its mystery.
A holiday in Italy will become far more interesting because every recommendation from the locals can become a new point on your itinerary, a discovery off the usual touristic routes.
2. Admiring, tasting, listening to Italian cultural heritage
Italian is probably the language most linked to the world of art and culture. You can find Italian influence in all major areas of life and culture: from painting arts to architecture, from literature to music, from design to food and wine…
Italy has always been the cradle (today we could say the “incubator”) of an amazing creativity, a great passion for life and for its aesthetic celebration: the majestic beauty of ancient Rome and the Florence of Dante, Michelangelo and Raffaello; the peculiarities of landscapes shaped by centuries of collective work, which have brought the goodness of Italian cuisine and wine, the birth of opera and classical music, the art in the production of design objects and artistic crafts.
Knowing the language is essential to understand many aspects of the passionate Italian lifestyle. Streets all over the world are filled with Italian Restaurants with Italian names, but only if you learn Italian will you understand the “character” of what you are eating: you might be surprised to find out what some of the names mean. When you eat farfalle, you’re eating butterflies, or that spaghetti arrabbiata literally means angry spaghetti.
You will notice that all the classical pizza names, all the words related to coffee-making are still expressed in Italian all over the world; all the specialised language used in classical music (“soprano”, “violoncello”, “adagio”, “concerto”…) is still Italian, because in all these fields, Italian has been the language that shaped their words.
3. The beauty of the language itself
The peculiarity of the Italian language lies in its musicality, its melodic and gentle being. Throughout the world, Italian is renowned as one of the most loved languages there is.
Several authors in history have celebrated it:
Italian is also much easier to learn than other languages. While it may be difficult at first to get your head around the nitty gritty of the subjunctive or imperfect, you will soon find yourself picking up new words and phrases.
The sound of the language really helps words to stay in your head and the fact that it has stayed closer to Latin than other languages means that a lot of words are similar, or have the same roots as in other languages. So while you may not be able to speak it immediately, you should be able to understand at least some of what an Italian is talking to you about!
4. A way to get out of your comfort zone
Learning Italian is also a great way to get out of your comfort zone and try something new. Indeed, many of our students proudly claim that they begin to see a new side to themselves, becoming more expressive, open and carefree as they learn to communicate like Italians.
It is a powerful way to push you outside of your comfort zone, as you will be able to talk to a whole new group of people and share with them a whole new culture. It will be easy to find something that interests you as you learn, whether it is watching famous italian films, reading Italian newspapers or listening to Italian music.
As you learn about the congiuntivo, imperfetto and passato prossimo, you might even understand a bit more about how your own language works and functions or even see your own vocabulary improve! Italian is the language that has stayed the most closely linked to Latin, the language from which so many others have borrowed words and phrases. This means that as you develop your own Italian dictionary, you may find yourself learning words in your own language at the same time or just find the process of learning the language easier.
By learning Italian, you have the real opportunity to see yourself developing, as you go from learning your first words to having your first conversation to reading your first Italian book, and at the end, the sense of achievement will be like nothing else. You will finally find yourself able to grasp a different culture and to compare it with your native one.
5. For professional reasons
For certain professional sectors in which Italian companies are world leaders, the Italian language takes on a different utility, and its study also becomes something useful for professional growth and career development.
For sectors such as fashion, design, haute cuisine, fine arts & culture, food & beverage productions and distribution, football, the luxury car industry and engines in general… Or even for the Vatican career, and to become foreign language teachers in Italy, Italian is the leading language.
There speaking the language can open up a number of doors and it can make you more attractive to employers. Brands and businesses like Fiat, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Armani, Dolce and Gabbana, Versace, often look for employees who are able to speak Italian.
Lastly, speaking Italian is not only beneficial if you want to work for one of these famous Italian business branches, but is also useful to get any job. Nowadays, business is happening on a far more global and international scale with companies from all over the world working together and communicating with each other in a range of different languages. As a result, employers are now searching for potential employees who speak and understand more than one language, and in fact, people who can speak Italian or other languages often find themselves in better paid and more high powered jobs.