Why Learn Italian
Italy is the eighth largest economy in the world, slightly behind France and the UK, of the same size as Russia and still much larger than India.
Its beauty and charm sometimes overshadow its economic dimension: Italy is not only a cultural superpower, but also a major global manufacturer. An estimated 7,500 American companies do business with Italy and more than 1,000 U.S. firms have offices in Italy, including Chrysler, IBM, General Electric, Motorola, Citibank. Many Italian firms have offices in the U.S. The takeover of Chrysler by Fiat might have brought this to people’s attention.
From US Embassy and Consulate in Italy: For American companies, the Italian market, among Europe’s largest, is attractive in numerous sectors and is an important element of any comprehensive export strategy in Europe. At Mission Italy, the U.S. Commercial Service, the U.S. Office of Agricultural Affairs, the U.S. Office of Defense Cooperation and the Economic Section work to promote the export of U.S. goods, services and technology in today’s global marketplace.
Doing Business in Italy
Italian is also a wise choice for those interested in careers in renewable energy, which accounts for over a quarter of all energy produced in Italy. In the last 15 years Italy has experienced a boom in wind, photovoltaic and concentrated solar power industries, along with innovation in green building standards. The recent surge in renewable R&D and investment in Italy is remarkable: total electricity produced from solar PV quintupled in 2011 compared to the previous year and it still growing.
Also, Italy is now part of the “100 Billion Trade Surplus Club”: Italy joins China, Germany, Japan and South Korea as one of five G-20 countries that have a structural manufacturing surplus. Of this surplus, a full EUR 100 billion in 2023 (more than 80% of the total) derived from machinery and equipment, electrical goods, non-automotive transport equipment, metal products, and rubber and plastic articles.
These booming export industries absolutely need English speakers with good Italian skills to continue globalizing their book of business.
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Relevance
Italy is a hugely relevant country politically, economically, and culturally. It is the eighth-largest economy in the world, the eighth-largest exporter, the sixth-largest producer of industrial groups, the second-largest manufacturer in Europe, and the world’s fifth most popular tourist destination. It is also a founding and key member of the European Union, the Eurozone, the OECD, and the G7. Careers Knowing Italian is a vital skill in countless career fields, given the relevance of Italian businesses to the global economy. Italy is a world leader in the culinary arts, interior design, fashion, graphic design, auto manufacturing, furniture design, machine tool manufacturing, robotics, electromechanical machinery, shipbuilding, space engineering, construction machinery, and transportation equipment. It is the world’s largest wine producer and third-largest market for luxury goods. An estimated 7,500 American companies do business with Italy, and more than 1,000 U.S. firms have offices in the country—including IBM, General Electric, Motorola, Citibank, and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Likewise, many Italian firms have offices in the United States, including iconic brands like Barilla, Bulgari, Campari, Jacuzzi, Ferrero Nutella, Pirelli, Olivetti, Lavazza, and Prada, just to name a few. Italian is also a highly valued language in the fields of diplomacy and trade, and the U.S. Government is always seeking qualified applicants with Italian language skills. More Careers Italian is the gateway to one of the world’s most beautiful cultures. According to UNESCO, over 60 percent of the world’s art treasures are found in Italy; after all, some of the most famous Western artists, from Giotto to Michelangelo, were Italian. Italian literature also boasts some of the world’s most famous writers and thinkers—from Dante, Boccaccio, Petrarch, and Machiavelli, to Verga, Svevo, Pirandello, Gramsci, and others! Since Roman times, Italy has exported its literature and culture to other parts of Europe and beyond, in the areas of Latin literature, Romanitas, humanism, opera, film, science, political thought, fashion, design, and cuisine. Knowing Italian lets you fully immerse yourself in its culture, while getting to know and appreciate its nuances unfiltered. Travel Italy is a perennial tourist favorite, ranking as the world’s fifth most popular destination and drawing close to 50 million visitors for its art, cuisine, history, fashion, and culture. While anybody can enjoy Italy without knowing the language, speaking Italian allows visitors to truly experience the essence of Italian locales. Ease While no language can be uniformly labeled “easy,” Italian is widely considered to be among the easier languages for English speakers to master. The Foreign Service Institute—which ranks languages into five levels of ease in learning, with 5 being the most difficult—puts Italian in category 1. Beauty OK, maybe it’s not among the most important reasons to learn the language, but it doesn’t hurt that Italian is unarguably one of the most beautiful languages on the planet. Va bene? |
It’s no surprise that more and more people are starting to learn Italian, in fact data claims that it is actually the 4th most studied language in the world!
There are numerous reasons why Italian is the perfect language to learn, and here we try to convince you to pursue the path of its discovery.
A way to get out of your comfort zone. Learning Italian is also a great way to get out of your comfort zone and try something new. Indeed, many of our students proudly claim that they begin to see a new side to themselves, becoming more expressive, open and carefree as they learn to communicate like Italians.
It is a powerful way to push you outside of your comfort zone, as you will be able to talk to a whole new group of people and share with them a whole new culture. It will be easy to find something that interests you as you learn, whether it is watching famous italian films, reading Italian newspapers or listening to Italian music.
As you learn about the congiuntivo, imperfetto and passato prossimo, you might even understand a bit more about how your own language works and functions or even see your own vocabulary improve! Italian is the language that has stayed the most closely linked to Latin, the language from which so many others have borrowed words and phrases. This means that as you develop your own Italian dictionary, you may find yourself learning words in your own language at the same time or just find the process of learning the language easier.
By learning Italian, you have the real opportunity to see yourself developing, as you go from learning your first words to having your first conversation to reading your first Italian book, and at the end, the sense of achievement will be like nothing else. You will finally find yourself able to grasp a different culture and to compare it with your native one.
It’s no surprise that more and more people are starting to learn Italian, in fact data claims that it is actually the 4th most studied language in the world!
There are numerous reasons why Italian is the perfect language to learn, and here we try to convince you to pursue the path of its discovery.
A way to get out of your comfort zone. Learning Italian is also a great way to get out of your comfort zone and try something new. Indeed, many of our students proudly claim that they begin to see a new side to themselves, becoming more expressive, open and carefree as they learn to communicate like Italians.
It is a powerful way to push you outside of your comfort zone, as you will be able to talk to a whole new group of people and share with them a whole new culture. It will be easy to find something that interests you as you learn, whether it is watching famous italian films, reading Italian newspapers or listening to Italian music.
As you learn about the congiuntivo, imperfetto and passato prossimo, you might even understand a bit more about how your own language works and functions or even see your own vocabulary improve! Italian is the language that has stayed the most closely linked to Latin, the language from which so many others have borrowed words and phrases. This means that as you develop your own Italian dictionary, you may find yourself learning words in your own language at the same time or just find the process of learning the language easier.
By learning Italian, you have the real opportunity to see yourself developing, as you go from learning your first words to having your first conversation to reading your first Italian book, and at the end, the sense of achievement will be like nothing else. You will finally find yourself able to grasp a different culture and to compare it with your native one.
For professional reasons. For certain professional sectors in which Italian companies are world leaders, the Italian language takes on a different utility, and its study also becomes something useful for professional growth and career development.
For sectors such as fashion, design, haute cuisine, fine arts & culture, food & beverage productions and distribution, football, the luxury car industry and engines in general… Or even for the Vatican career, and to become foreign language teachers in Italy, Italian is the leading language.
There speaking the language can open up a number of doors and it can make you more attractive to employers. Brands and businesses like Fiat, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Armani, Dolce and Gabbana, Versace, often look for employees who are able to speak Italian.
Lastly, speaking Italian is not only beneficial if you want to work for one of these famous Italian business branches, but is also useful to get any job. Nowadays, business is happening on a far more global and international scale with companies from all over the world working together and communicating with each other in a range of different languages. As a result, employers are now searching for potential employees who speak and understand more than one language, and in fact, people who can speak Italian or other languages often find themselves in better paid and more high powered jobs.
For sectors such as fashion, design, haute cuisine, fine arts & culture, food & beverage productions and distribution, football, the luxury car industry and engines in general… Or even for the Vatican career, and to become foreign language teachers in Italy, Italian is the leading language.
There speaking the language can open up a number of doors and it can make you more attractive to employers. Brands and businesses like Fiat, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Armani, Dolce and Gabbana, Versace, often look for employees who are able to speak Italian.
Lastly, speaking Italian is not only beneficial if you want to work for one of these famous Italian business branches, but is also useful to get any job. Nowadays, business is happening on a far more global and international scale with companies from all over the world working together and communicating with each other in a range of different languages. As a result, employers are now searching for potential employees who speak and understand more than one language, and in fact, people who can speak Italian or other languages often find themselves in better paid and more high powered jobs.
