Benefits of Learning Italian

ITALIAN

Benefits of Studying Italian for Australian High School Students

There are many good reasons for studying Italian. It is derived from Latin, and to a large extent, so is English. Knowledge of Italian actually improves one's understanding of English. In many respects Italian is very similar to English and is the easiest language for an English speaker to learn.

Many English words relate back to Italian. For example, the English word 'dormant' relates to the Italian 'dormire' (to sleep). Likewise 'feign' relates to 'fingere' (to pretend). Another example is 'renal' which relates to 'rene' (kidney). Students of Italian can often deduce the meaning of more complex English words, such as 'augment' - 'aumentare' is an Italian verb which means 'to increase'.

Italian is a phonetic language which means you write it as you say it. Italian is one of the romance languages and so is melodic as well as easy to pronounce. Best of all, studying Italian for the HSC results in credit points for many University Bachelor degrees!

Italy and Australia

Italians and Australians share a common love of independence and sport and tend to be very adaptive. Italian is the second most spoken language in Australia after English with over 850,000 persons claiming Italian ancestry. There are significant trade ties between Italy and Australia. Australia imports annually over $5,000,000,000 from Italy and exports over $1,500,000,000 to Italy. The mutual attraction of each country resulted in 660,000 Australians visiting Italy last year and an ever increasing number of young Italians visiting Australia, especially Cairns, Alice Springs, Sydney and Melbourne.

Special Attraction of Learning Italian

So many aspects of our daily lives in Australia have been influenced by Italian style or products. One thinks of fashion and designers such as Armani, Fendi, Gucci, Prada, Valentino and Versace and fragrances such as Bulgari. We all like to admire sports cars such as Alfa Romeo, Ferrari and Lamborghini. We take for granted the Italian penchant for coffee, mineral water, gelato and everyday dishes such as focaccia, panini, pasta, polenta and risotto. Our acceptance of wine is very largely a result of the Italian influence.

Knowledge of Italian is extremely useful for intending students of law and medicine. It is mandatory for students of music and opera. Italian is a most appropriate language for Catholic school students. After all, the official language of the Vatican City is Italian and the Pope is expected to communicate in Italian.

Finally, Italian is a fun language to learn and use; be it in Australia or overseas, especially in Italy! It is well worth considering the many benefits of studying this beautiful language.