Why Study Italian?
Ever wonder why we should study Italian? Some of the top 10 reasons to learn Italian include the ability to read La Divina Commedia as Dante wrote it, as well as conversing with your Italian-born grandparents. Then, of course, Italy and the Italian language are perceived as beautiful, fun, and sexy.
There's another reason, though, and it's pertinent to everyone, not just Italian-Americans or Italophiles: The Italian language is an integral part of a culture and heritage that has made innumerable contributions to the world at large and has enriched all peoples, regardless of their nationality, religion, or political beliefs. As Matilda Raffa Cuomo and Margaret I. Cuomo, M.D., point out, over many centuries there have been countless memorable achievements in the arts, music, education, literature, fashion, science, and cuisine by Italians.
Comments
I love the question. I only wish they taught it in the school, with many references to Latin. I teach piano, and the kids all love learning the Italian words and phrases. They always ask why we need to learn Italian, and I always say: They invented the method for writing music. If it weren’t for the Italians, we wouldn’t know how ancient music sounded, so of course, we have to learn Italian. When I remind them that they already speak Italian, they become surprised and then they realize that pizza, spaghetti and espresso and cappuccino and zucchini are all Italian words, too.
Your students may be interested in this article:
The Origin of Musical Notation
http://italian.about.com/library/weekly/aa092700a.htm
There are audio files, too, for many of the common words used in musical notation.
Gioiella, that’s a great point. There are so many words the average person uses that are Italian in origin (the same thing holds true for the French language). I’m a piano as well and can remember learning words like “Veloce”, “Pianissimo” long before I studied Italian in school.
See the message thread on the forums that discusses this very topic: Italian words in the English language