Learning Italian?
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When you want to learn Italian… THINK POSITIVE!
Forget about differences, think of similarities! There are literally thousands of English and Italian words that are virtually identical. Be adventurous, exploit those similarities, they are real gifts to English speaking students who want to learn Italian.
It must be no surprise to most of you readers that a great proportion of English and Italian words have the same origin, namely Latin.
In fact, though English is described by some inaccurate linguist as a purely Germanic language, we know for sure that only about 29% of it has Germanic origin, 15% comes from various other sources, and a walloping 56% of English words ultimately derive from the Latin root!
So much for a Germanic language!
In fact, considering that Italian and English virtually evolved from the same language, it would help your subconscious learning process to think of them as… dialects of Latin.
OK then, if this is so, what can we do to help you learn, remember, translate and speak Italian better and faster?
Well, I am going to facilitate your task by pointing to the many similarities that exist between Italian and English, caused obviously by common linguistic origins. I will also give you relevant basic patterns and linguistic markers that make those similarities evident, so that you will be able, most of the times, to come up with the right Italian word or with the right translation.
Remember: when you look for likeness and learn to associate two items because of their similarity, you are forming the base for a strong and active memory, and at the same time building a sound vocabulary. But be adventurous, exploit those similarities: they are real gifts to English speaking people who are learning Italian.
Just for a start:
Many Italian words look very much like English words and have either the same or a similar meaning.
These words are called Parole simili in Italian and Cognates in English. They have fairly minimal differences in spelling so that they are easily recognisable:
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necessario |
necessary |
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idea |
idea |
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intelligente |
intelligent |
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studente |
student |
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cinema |
cinema |
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importante |
important |
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monumento |
monument |
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persona |
person |
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professore |
professor |
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possibile |
possible |
And now, how about some patterns?
Have a good look at the English words endings, because that will help you "guess" how that word will be written in Italian. For example:
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-tà  -ty
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-zione
-tion |
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qualità |
quality |
condizione |
condition |
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quantità |
quantity |
attenzione |
attention |
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città |
city |
nazione |
nation |
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università |
university |
inflazione |
inflation |
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abilità |
ability |
abbreviazione |
abbreviation |
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autorità |
authority |
promozione |
promotion |
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-za
-ce |
-oso
-ous |
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pazienza |
patience |
geloso |
jealous |
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apparenza |
appearance |
famoso |
famous |
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esistenza |
existence |
generoso |
generous |
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indifferenza |
indifference |
nervoso |
nervous |
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conferenza |
conference |
delizioso |
delicious |
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I will give you now some adjectives — all of them cognates of English adjectives — which can be used to describe either a male or a female (they do not change their form in the singular when used with female or male nouns):
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difficile |
intelligente |
orribile |
sensibile |
eccellente |
intellettuale |
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ottimista |
indifferente |
egoista |
terribile |
popolare |
sentimentale |
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elegante |
interessante |
realista |
entusiasta |
materialista |
progressista |
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naturale |
responsabile |
idealista |
The following adjectives on the other hand - though also cognates of English adjectives - change form when used in the singular according to the gender of the noun they qualify: using —o ending when masculine and —a ending with feminine nouns:
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aggressivo/a |
geloso/a |
nervoso/a |
sincero/a |
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delizioso/a |
generoso/a |
onesto/a |
timido/a |
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famoso/a |
impulsivo/a |
romantico/a |
A little word of caution: some Italian words (luckily not many) which look like English words, have different meanings. These are the falsi amici or false cognates:
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parente |
relative |
(not parent) |
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libreria |
bookshop |
(not library) |