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Beginner´s Guide to Learning Italian – Part 1

The Significance of Learning a Foreign Language

Why is it so important to learn a foreign language? The whole world speaks English, right? You are right the is a large number of people who speak English and are living in a foreign country, but not everyone in the whole world. There are several good and valid reasons for learning to speak another language.

Just for starters, Personal Development is one of the reasons. When you learn a new language you acquire a whole new outlook while reinforcing your own identity and self-confidence. Learning a foreign language can contribute to a stronger personality.

Then there are the Cultural Reasons for learning a foreign language. Cultures define themselves through languages. A foreign language will give you admission into another culture. You will have the ability to communicate and to exchange thoughts and ideas with people all over the world. Without the ability to communicate with them you may have never had the opportunity to know them.

Education is another good reason for learning a foreign language. Learning a foreign language allows you to see things differently than you would have otherwise. It has a positive effect on intellectual growth and allows for the enrichment and enhancement of mental development. Learning a foreign language when you are young is much more effective. It will help you to read and write in your own language. Evidence shows, like musical education, it can contribute to the growth of the individual intelligence.
Economic Reasons is the last reason for learning a foreign language. Living in a world, which is characterized by the international links and intercultural connections, language skills are crucial for business communications. With knowledge of foreign language, you will increase your job opportunities. In many careers, knowing a foreign language is a useful asset.

So why did you choose Italian? Maybe you fell in love with countryside on your first visit, or maybe you want to know the language before you make that first visit. Possibly you have family in Italy and you would like to be able to speak to them. Many Americans have family in Italy and to converse with their family members they must speak Italian. There are several reasons people choose to learn Italian. The reason is inconsequential. What matters most is that you are doing it.

You should probably also know that if you have children and would like for them to experience intellectual, it is much best for them to learn a foreign language during their younger years. Children who learn a second language while growing up have the ability to think in both languages. They will also have an easier time at reading and writing in school as well as the ability to process information differently than children taught only one language during their formative years. Your children will also have an better chance of learning several additional languages, even after they are grown. A child learning a second language during their early years will have a higher intellect than children who don’t. You will be doing your children a great service by allowing them to learn a foreign language while they are growing up.

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History of the Italian Language

The Italian language is a member of the Romance group of the Italic subfamily of the Indo-European family of languages. It is the predominately spoken language on the peninsula called Italy. However, you might be surprised to know that Italian is also spoken in southern Switzerland, San Marino, Sicily, northern Sardinia, and on the northeastern shore of the Adriatic Sea, as well as in North and South America.

Italian is the direct offspring of the Latin spoken by the Romans and forced by them on the peoples under their control. Italian preserves the closest resemblance to Latin than all the other Romance languages.

During the evolution period of the Italian language, several dialects sprang up. The assortment of these dialects and their individual claims by their native speakers as true Italian speech presented difficulty in the evolution of an accepted form of Italian, which would reflect the cultural unity of the peninsula of Italy.

Even the earliest popular documents, which were produced in the10th century, were written in a dialect of Italian. During the next three centuries Italian writers wrote in their native dialects, which resulted in the production of several competing regional schools of literature.

It was in the 14th century the Tuscan dialect became more predominate. This could be due to the central position of Tuscany in Italy as well as the aggressive commerce of the city of Florence. The Tuscan dialect deviated very little in the formation of words and the sound of words from the classical Latin. Because of this, it harmonized with the Italian traditions of the Latin culture the best. Most of all, Florentine culture formed the three literary artists who summarized Italian thought and the feeling of the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance the best. These artists were Dante, Petrarca, and Boccaccio.

The attempt of establish a unified norm for the Italian language occupied writers of all dialects. During the 15th and 16th centuries, the grammar specialists of the time tried putting their heads together to decide upon a norm for the pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary of the 14th century Tuscan, which was at the time the status of a central and classical Italian speech. Eventually this meeting of the minds, which could have ended with Italian being another dead language, was broadened to include the organic changes, which are inevitable in a living tongue.

In the dictionaries and the publications of the Accadcemia della Crusca, which was created in 1583 was accepted by Italians as the authority in Italian matters of language compromised between classical purism and living Tuscan usage were successfully achieved. During the 16th century, the most important literary event did not take place in Florence.

Pietro Bembo, a Venetian, set out in 1525 his proposals for a standardized language and style. His models were Petrarca and Boccaccio and as a result became the modern classic. Therefore, the language of Italian literature was and still is modeled after the Italian spoken in Florence in the 15th century.

Finally in the 19th century the language spoken by educated Tuscans spread and became the language of the new nation of Italy. In 1861, the unification of Italy had a dramatic effect on the political scene as well as the social, economical, and cultural transformation.

Because of mandatory schooling, the number of people with the ability to read increased and many Italians abandoned their native dialect in favor of the national language.

Italian Words Used in the English Language

Italian words have made their way into English over the course of many centuries, you will be happy to know that you already are using quite a bit of Italian. If you are a musician, you will be familiar with the terms such as bel canto, cello, mezzosoprano, pianoforte, and solo. Structural design has borrowed words like cupola, loggia, and stanza. Of course then there is Italian foods such as ravioli, mozzarella, lasagna, vermicelli, or porcini. During the course of some everyday lives the Italian words, such as paparazzi, graffiti, mafia, and ghetto are used every day. As you can see your vocabulary already consists of several Italian words.

Because of the growing influence of American culture through the media, this has become a two-way street. There are many English words, which have been adopted by the Italians. They even have a name for these words. It is called Itangliano, which translates into highly anglicized Italian. Some of these words are club, flirt, shopping, spray, and style. When visiting Italy, it may seem you hear more English spoken than Italian in the cities where tourism is heavy, such as Florence, Rome and Venice.

Politicians and academics have made a series of efforts to defend the Italian language against what is known as Italenglish or Itangliano. A campaign against English phrases and grammar was launched by the members of Parliament because of the stream into their culture and language, and threatening to kill off Italian. Just recently Italian officials vowed to simplify the manner in which the state communicates with its citizens by declaring war on officialese.

Misconceptions about Learning Italian

You may or may not have heard some of the misconceptions about learning Italian. It all boils down to how much you want to learn Italian or would you rather sit around and make excuses as to why you can’t. Learning Italian is not unlike going on a diet or start an exercise regime. You can dig in and get started, or you can come up with the excuses as to why you can’t do it. Many of these excuses can be very convincing, so if you want to learn Italian, don’t listen to the excuses.

One of the most common misconceptions is Italian is more difficult to learn than English. Actually research shows Italian is easier to learn than English. Ignoring the scientific facts, when you were a child learning English, you didn’t know whether it was easy or difficult. You really didn’t know any better, so you didn’t think about it. When learning Italian to help you through those frustrating periods, you will need to remember that everyone was a beginner at some time in their life. Also it might help you to remember that making mistakes is how one learns how to do it right.

You may think you will not be able to roll your r’s, but the fact is many Italians can not roll their r’s either. In Italy what is known as the “soft r” is in many cases a result of a regional accent or dialect. It is also traditionally associated with the speech of the upper class. The Italians from the north of Italy, close to the French border, are famous for this type of speech variation because of the influence of the French language on the local dialect.

If you want to learn to roll your r’s you should try placing your tongue on the roof of your mouth, close to the front and trill your tongue. If that doesn’t work, then pretend you are revving up a car motor or repeat the following English words a several times; ladder, or butter. You might also remember that Rrrrrruffles have rrrrrridges from the TV commercial.

You may believe there aren’t any schools close to your home. In this day and time of the Internet a school being close at hand is no longer necessary. You can take courses online, listen to an Italian audio course, or even find an Italian pen pal. There are many ways you can learn Italian and the Internet can help you. Some of the online courses are free and you study on your own time. You are not set to a ridge schedule.

If you believe you will never use Italian, you might want to rethink. There are many ways for you to utilize your Italian. In many cases opportunities will present themselves once you have learned some Italian. If all else fails, learn Italian and then write a book, or a letter to your Italian pen pal.

Thinking you are too old to learn Italian is just silly. You are never too old to learn something new. There is no age limit on learning Italian. If you live to be 100 years old you could learn Italian as long as you have the willingness and the commitment to the time it will take to learn Italian. Age does not count in this scenario.

If you close nit group of friends do not speak Italian, there are ways around that. No you don’t have to make them learn just so you will have someone to converse and practice your Italian with. Instead you can contact the Italian department at your local college, or call the Italian American organization. They often sponsor wine tasting and other events where participants can meet and mingle to practice Italian. You can even join your local Italian Language Meetup group. There website is Meetup.com. They organize the Italian Language Meetup as a free gathering at a local venue for anyone interested in learning, practicing, or teaching Italian.

If you feel you time is limited, there are ten ways to speak Italian quickly, which we will cover in this e-book. The fastest way to learn Italian is in a total immersion course. By spending two weeks at a language school in Italy you will learn Italian more effectively than in a full year in high school or college. It will cost you less than a vacation. The mornings are usually devoted to the classes, but in the afternoon you are at leisure to visit the churches, museums, and other sites.

If you are certain native Italians will never understand you, you might want to know that the more effort you put into it, the chances are good they will be able to manage to understand what you are saying. One of the most important aspects of learning Italian is building your self-esteem. The more you try to express yourself, the quicker you will learn the language.

If you are only planning a short visit to Italy, then you will need to know the Italian survival phrases, such as “Where is the bathroom?” Then of course there are some of the more mundane aspects of Italian, like making heads or tails from the Italian menu in order to order your dinner, lunch, etc.

If you are one of those that needs a textbook to read to learn Italian, that is not a problem. If you can find a bookstore chances are you will be able to find the textbook you need. If you need workbooks to complete, you may have to sign up for a course. There are many ways to learn Italian and they all work. However, the shotgun approach is recommended to avoid becoming bored or frustrated.

Learning to Speak Italian Quickly

We live in an age of instant messaging and microwave pizzas. We even have language instructors promising you will learn a language in just one weekend. I am not sure about learning a language in a weekend, but here are some tips, which will help you learn Italian quickly.

The first suggestion is to go to Italy. Submerse yourself in the language. You will be forced to speak only in Italian. You will learn Italian quickly and have the opportunity to see the paintings of Raffaello and the Roman ruins while you are learning. However, some of us do not have the time to spend in Italy to learn the language. So we will move on to some of the other suggestions.

You could find Italian-speaking people in your town or neighborhood, so you can practice your Italian. There are several cities around the country that have Italian cultural institutes, which have language exchange programs. If you are unable to locate such a place, you might be able to find an Italian conversation group. Many times Italian conversation groups are sponsored by bookstores or sometimes the Italian American societies.

One of the most important skills of learning a language is learning to understand the language when someone else is speaking it. In these days and times several cable companies broadcast Italian programming for about an hour every day. This may just be news from the state television channel. There are also several radio stations accessible from the Internet such as Radio Marte.

You could go out and rent an Italian movie without the subtitles or dubbing. This is a great way to learn Italian. You will have the opportunity to hear Italian spoken by many different actors, which will give your ears the training they need at the same time.

You can always check out the library. There you should be able to find Italian novels, travel guides and books which will describe Italy. These books will help you improve your learning experience. The parallel-text version, which has Italian and English side by side, will be found in some of the Italian classics, such as La Divina Commedia, also known as The Divine Comedy.

If you buy yourself a music CD in Italian, you might yourself humming along. While you are at it read the Liner Notes found in the case of the CD. Many times the lyrics to the songs are in them, and then you can try singing along.

You want learning Italian to be fun, so you can play some of your favorite games in Italian. Work an Italian crossword puzzle or if you are really feeling gutsy, try your hand at Italian scrabble. In order to prevent you from loosing interest and getting frustrated make learning Italian fun!
Use post-it-notes. Take a pad of post-it-notes, write the Italian word for the items you look at everyday in your house, and post the sticky note on it. By saying the name of the item out loud every time you see the item, soon it will be automatic. You will find yourself looking at the item and automatically thinking the word in Italian. Plus it is a great way to increase your vocabulary.

As you learn Italian you will find a phrase which will be your favorite, such as “thank you” in Italian, which is “mille grazie”. You will find yourself using this phrase every time someone does you a favor. So every time you learn a new essential phrase you are broadening your word power. Listen to the Italian word of the day. Try using it in a sentence, and soon you will be speaking like a native Italian.

You can get one-on-one instruction or take a group class. The routine and the structure will help you develop a base for advancing quickly in the language. La Bella Lingua is a school which offers a program, which is designed to make learning Italian fun and easy. They have a special hands-on class you might want to try.

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Total Concentration – The Best Way to Learn Italian

The quickest and the most successful way to learn Italian is the total-immersion or concentration method. This includes traveling to Italy for an long vacation, studying in one of the many language schools located all over Italy, and conversing only in Italian. Many programs include a component which improves the cultural exchange. You will literally eat, breathe, and dream in Italian.

Because many of us do not have the opportunity to spend weeks or months in Italy to learn the language, while touring the ruins, sipping an espresso, or meandering through the museums, there are other ways to learn Italian without leaving your hometown.

Actually you have taken a very important step toward learning Italian when you decided to read this book. The most important part of learning Italian is to start studying. Any method you choose will work whether you decide to read an Italian textbook, take a course in Italian at a university or a local language school, do exercises in an Italian workbook, listening to a tape or CD, or even just talking to a native Italian speaker.

It is a good habit to spend some time every day reading, writing, speaking and listening to Italian. This will help you in becoming accustomed to the language. Your confidence will build one baby step at a time, your accent will become less apparent, your vocabulary will increase and you’ll be communicating in Italian before you know it. You might even start speaking Italian with your hands.

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