There are many foreign languages to learn but if you are considering Italian, great! Italian is the descendent of Latin but is considered to have much simpler grammar than its ancestor. Additionally, Italian is used by over 60 million people so you will have plenty of people to practice with.
Reasons for learning Italian range from preparing for a trip to Italy to retiring on the Italian coast. Many others learn Italian because their ancestors came from Italy or because they want an advantage in applying for jobs. No matter what your reason may be for learning Italian, learning a new language is a very rewarding process.
One factor that may help speed up your studies of Italian is if you already have knowledge of another romance language like Spanish or French. Linguists consider these languages to be very similar and if you know one, you will find that you already know much of the vocabulary and grammar.
For English speakers, Italian is often remarked to have a “pleasing” sound to it, most likely due to its great use of vowels and especially its use of vowels at the end of words. Unfortunately, this stress of vowels also means that listening to Italian seems like an incomprehensible stream to most English-speaking Italian language learners just beginning their studies.
Some differences in Italian from English include the fact that there are two genders for nouns: masculine and feminine. It will be necessary to learn which gender a noun is everytime you learn a new noun. You will also find that Italian verbs conjugate quite differently based on the subject.
Word order, however, is quite similar between Italian and English. Both languages are subject-verb-object languages and because the syntax is similar, it will be very easy for you to start putting together your own sentences in Italian even as a learner.
Italian is a popular language to study so there is no shortage of materials to use for learning Italian. You can choose from computer software programs to traditional style classroom classes. Depending on your ultimate goals, you will want to find the tool that makes most sense for you.
Before you begin learning Italian, you should remember to sit down and make a serious commitment to learning the language. It can be a tough process but if you stick to it, you will be greatly rewarded. On the other hand, don’t just simply do grammar exercises and read textbooks, you should also enjoy yourself in Italian, too! Watch an Italian film or buy an Italian language CD. You will find that these activities can be some of the most rewarding when learning Italian.
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