Italian: Beautiful, Fun, and Sexy

In "A Defense of European Languages," Stephen Brockmann argues that American universities should not increase funding for Chinese (and other Asian languages) at the expense of European languages. In his words, "...enhancing language education in the United States should not be conceived of as a zero sum game."

Brockman believes that: "...the United States needs to radically expand education in foreign languages and cultures for the globalized world..." and offers four reasons for studying the key European languages, including the fact that: "If we do not commit ourselves to the study and teaching of these [European intellectual] traditions, we are leaving our students ill-equipped to understand them, and therefore ill-equipped to understand how today’s world has been shaped at its very core."

Another reason for studying foreign languages, according to Brockman, "...is that, quite simply, foreign languages are a lot of fun. Over the last decade and a half there has been one formerly less-studied European language that has grown considerably: Italian. Why? Is it because of Italy’s pragmatic political and economic significance? Probably not—although Italy’s economy is hardly to be sneered at from a global perspective. Is it because of Italy’s cultural significance as part of the European core? Possibly...but even more, I suspect, it is because Italy and the Italian language are perceived as beautiful, fun, and sexy. And why not? I can’t see anything wrong with that."

So there you have it. To the top 10 reasons to study Italian, add bellezza, divertimento, and of course, sesso.