Facts about the Italian language – why you should learn it!
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, as a second language in Malta, Slovenia and Croatia, by minorities in Albania, Crimea, Eritrea, France, Libya, Monaco, Montenegro, Romania and Somalia and by expatriate communities in Europe, in the Americas and in Australia. Many speakers are native bilinguals of both standardised Italian and other regional languages.
According to the Bologna statistics of the European Union, Italian is spoken as a native language by 59 million people in the EU mainly in Italy, and as a second language by 14 million. Including the Italian speakers in non-EU European countries (such as Switzerland and Albania) and on other continents, the total number of speakers is around 85 million.
In Switzerland, Italian is one of three official languages; it is studied and learned in all the confederation schools and spoken, as a native language, in the Swiss cantons of Ticino and Graubünden and by the Italian immigrants that are present in large numbers in German- and French-speaking cantons. It is also the official language of San Marino, as well as the primary language of the Vatican City.
Italian is descended from Latin. Among the Romance languages, Italian is the closest to Latin in terms of vocabulary.
10 Reasons to Learn Italian
- Italian is recognised as one of the most beautiful spoken languages on the planet
- Italian has the highest number of words for describing food!
- Studying Italian increases your appreciation of other people and their cultures.
- Knowing Italian will improve your vocabulary in English.
- Learning a new language, like Italian, develops your critical and creative thinking skills.
- Italy is one of the top economies in the world, so many international companies will appreciate your linguistic know-how.
- Understand and be able to speak the language of love.
- Italian is the language of culture, opening the door to art, music, dance, fashion, cuisine, and cinema.
- Italian is the language of many great literary masterpieces.
- It’ll increase your career prospects. Adding the ability to speak a second language to your resume will send you right to the top of the candidates list.
— Source: Wikipedia, thelocal.it and American Association of Teachers of French