Have you ever wished you could speak Italian? Have you dreamed of chatting with a friendly shop owner in Rome, taking a cooking course in Florence or quietly listening to the musings of a Venetian gondolier, spoken in his native tongue? Perhaps you’re an ethnic Italian who has grown up elsewhere and has been thinking about researching the history of your family. Maybe you’re connected to an Italian expatriate community and would like to be able to communicate better with native speakers. Many students of the language simply want access to the depth and breadth of Italian literature, theatre and music.
If you’d like to pick up a second language but are not sure which one to focus on, learning to speak Italian is a fine choice. Knowing the language will make it possible to communicate freely with the native speakers that you come into contact with in your family, your social life and your business dealings. It is also the language of music and art, and it will give you access to a deeper and richer understanding of Western culture.
As Latin’s direct descendant, the modern language of Rome is the most typical Romance language. Once you learn to speak it, it will be much easier to learn French, Spanish or Portuguese, and you may find that you can already communicate with native speakers of those languages to some extent.
Those who can speak Italian also have an advantage when they are confronted with medical and scientific terminology, musical notation and all of the naming and classification systems that are still based on Latin. Knowing Italian makes it easier to communicate with professionals in a number of different fields and to understand many types of specialized concepts and systems.
Italy is a country of almost indescribable beauty and culture. Having the ability to speak the language will open up Italy to you in a way that you could never experience as a non-speaker.
Imagine confidently breaking away from the beaten path and exploring the countryside by car, or even by bus. You could stop in a picturesque town and chat with residents at the local trattoria. You might take shelter from a storm at a small guest-house and spend the evening talking with the proprietors over wonderful local wine and cheese.
Think about how exciting it would be to explore the real, living neighborhoods of Italy’s ancient cities rather than being confined to pre-packaged tourist areas. You will be able to shop and eat where the natives do without worrying about your ability to communicate.
Be a visitor rather than a tourist. Become a more sophisticated musician or music lover. Connect with your heritage.
You can learn to speak Italian online easily and inexpensively at Babbel.com. The fully interactive courses will help you to understand, read, write and speak Italian. Each lesson only takes about 10 minutes and includes a speech recognition feature to help you improve your pronunciation. Because all your progress is saved in the cloud, you can learn on your computer, tablet and smartphone and easily pick up where you left off; fit language learning to your pace and your schedule. Babbel.com makes learning to speak a new language a pleasure rather than a chore.