You should learn Italian

by Tiffany
(Sunnyvale, CA, USA)

I really enjoy learning and speaking and hearing Italian. As Romance languages go, it is definitely my favorite. I learned Spanish in High School, but switched to Italian during college. I found that my background in Spanish helped me most of the time, although it also got confusing a couple of times. Many people seem to find it harder when they have a background in Spanish.

Italian was fairly easy for me, because it's largely phonetic and therefore easy to spell. I really enjoy how the syllables of Italian roll off the tongue!

I found Italian conventions charming and enjoyed the dichotomy of passion and pessimism. While Italian probably won't serve you all that well anywhere but Italy and Italian restaurants, Italy itself is its own reward. I used to look at the menus in Italian restaurants as incomprehensible and unpronounceable, but now that I have the trick of it, it all makes a lot of sense.

Along with the language, Italian culture is interesting. Just learning about the names of the different foods, and courses give insight into the way Italian life is lived. I was taught by a native speaker, with a passion for teaching people about her home country. It certainly made learning the language easier and that much more fun. She gave us the words and the flavors of Italian living.

Just by learning Italian, I have also greatly improved my English grammar. Something about learning the grammar that is non-native made it possible to see the reasons why language is structured as it is. I would recommend learning Italian to anyone.