Main differences between Italian and English
Italian is the modern version of Latin, while English is a mixture of the languages of the people who thought to invade Britain - mostly Germanic but not only. The language structures are quite different, but the greatest difference between Italian and English comes from the people who are speaking it. Latin and Saxon temperaments are quite opposite of each other and nowhere can that be seen better than in the language differences.
Here are some major differences between Italian and English:
- Italians speak a lot. Even more than the fact that they speak a lot, Italians use many words and have the tendency to describe the same things in many ways (for example Rome is not just Rome, it is the Italian capital, the former Roman Empire capital, the city on the Tiber etc.). What this means is that in and English speaking country one might actually understand basic parts of a conversation with a limited vocabulary, in Italy that might become a big issue.
- As part of the Italian personality, as much is said through gestures and non-verbal communication as it is through actual words. Try to watch an Italian TV Show for examples. While this not necessarily a language issue, you will never be able to speak perfect Italian if you are not able to create the Italian atmosphere gesticulating and emphasizing your words with your body.
- The tendency to use many words and to speak uninterruptedly for a long period of time is something that often becomes obvious in Italian texts - they do not include short sentences, the periods can be missing almost entirely in a paragraph and adjectives and adverbs are present in massive quantities.
- Like most languages - except English - Italian presents noun gender, noun declination and verb conjugation. These have to be studied thoroughly for a correct speech. Due to the fact that the form of the verb indicates the subject, there are times when the subject does not exist in the Italian sentence (example: l'ha fatto literally means "[he] did it" - the subject is understood but not mentioned).
Why learn Italian?
Italian is the language of many cultural expressions - texts and songs that cannot be fully understood without knowing the language. Opera is almost entirely sung in Italian. And Italian texts when translating into English lose a lot due to the English more concise writing style, which translators are trying to convey. One cannot truly understand Italian culture without knowing Italian.
Other relevant reasons include:
- Italian is considered to be the most romantic language in the world and it is among the most beautiful.
- Italian, like learning Latin, could open the door to studying the ancient language and its many writings.
Italian is the modern version of Latin, while English is a mixture of the languages of the people who thought to invade Britain - mostly Germanic but not only. The language structures are quite different, but the greatest difference between Italian and English comes from the people who are speaking it. Latin and Saxon temperaments are quite opposite of each other and nowhere can that be seen better than in the language differences.
Here are some major differences between Italian and English:
- Italians speak a lot. Even more than the fact that they speak a lot, Italians use many words and have the tendency to describe the same things in many ways (for example Rome is not just Rome, it is the Italian capital, the former Roman Empire capital, the city on the Tiber etc.). What this means is that in and English speaking country one might actually understand basic parts of a conversation with a limited vocabulary, in Italy that might become a big issue.
- As part of the Italian personality, as much is said through gestures and non-verbal communication as it is through actual words. Try to watch an Italian TV Show for examples. While this not necessarily a language issue, you will never be able to speak perfect Italian if you are not able to create the Italian atmosphere gesticulating and emphasizing your words with your body.
- The tendency to use many words and to speak uninterruptedly for a long period of time is something that often becomes obvious in Italian texts - they do not include short sentences, the periods can be missing almost entirely in a paragraph and adjectives and adverbs are present in massive quantities.
- Like most languages - except English - Italian presents noun gender, noun declination and verb conjugation. These have to be studied thoroughly for a correct speech. Due to the fact that the form of the verb indicates the subject, there are times when the subject does not exist in the Italian sentence (example: l'ha fatto literally means "[he] did it" - the subject is understood but not mentioned).
Why learn Italian?
Italian is the language of many cultural expressions - texts and songs that cannot be fully understood without knowing the language. Opera is almost entirely sung in Italian. And Italian texts when translating into English lose a lot due to the English more concise writing style, which translators are trying to convey. One cannot truly understand Italian culture without knowing Italian.
Other relevant reasons include:
- Italian is considered to be the most romantic language in the world and it is among the most beautiful.
- Italian, like learning Latin, could open the door to studying the ancient language and its many writings.
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