Learn to Speak Italian and Absorb a Old Culture

Pizza. Spaghetti. Lasagna. You may be familiar with these Italian words when cooking at home, getting take-away, or dining at a restaurant. But there is so much more to the Italian language. Learn to speak Italian and you will broaden your cultural horizons.

Language is much more than just words. Language defines people, history, and culture. So it is important and very helpful to know some basic facts about the language.

Italian Alphabet

When you learn to speak Italian, one of the first things you will probably notice is that there are fewer letters in the standard alphabet, relative to the English alphabet letter count. The Italian alphabet has only 21 letters.

1. There are 16 consonants.

2. There are five vowels:
• a
• e
• i
• o
• u

3. The following letters are only used in “foreign” words:

• j
• k
• w
• x
• y

You are Speaking Italian Everyday

You may not realize it, but you are speaking Italian in your daily life. Some common Italian words or derived words include:

• balcony (balcone)
• corridor (corridoio)
• mascara (maschera)
• orchestra
• pastel
• piano
• propaganda
• replica
• virtuoso

Italian in Action

If you ever studied music, you will recall that Italian is used to indicate the tempo (speed) the piece it to be played. Music students and musicians must know the meaning of allegro (fast), andante (walking), presto (quickly), and many more Italian words and phrases to play the piece correctly.

Italian Dialects

There are many regional and local dialects spoken in Italy, which can be very confusing, even for native Italians. When you learn to speak Italian, you will learn the proper form of the language, which will be understood by all natives, even though they may prefer to speak in their dialect.

Italian Culture

When you learn to speak Italian, you will be exposed to a very old culture which contributed a vast amount of knowledge and art to the world. You probably have heard the names Galileo, DaVinci, Michelangelo, and Marconi. They all contributed to the advancement of Italian and world culture and science.

Learning a new language takes a lot of practice. You must actually speak the words aloud to learn to pronounce them correctly and to become comfortable with the new words you are speaking. Communication is about properly speaking, reading, and writing a language. When you learn to speak Italian, you will need to master all three communication methods to succeed and fully benefit from your new skills in the language arts.

To start learning Italian, pack your bags, and grab the Rocket Italian Premium course here.