Italian Translation
Is Italian a popular language to learn?
Growing appeal
There are currently more than 2 million students of Italian in 115 different countries around the world, making it the fourth most studied language. The accessibility of language learning apps, as well as access to films on entertainment services such as Netflix, have no doubt contributed to its growing popularity.
Food and drink
Italians are known for their love and appreciation of good food. Taking an Italian cooking course, ideally in Italy, is a popular past time of many. It is no surprise that Italian food has universal appeal and can be found in many locations outside of Italy. Whether you are looking for a pizza, a plate of spaghetti or a drink of Tuscan wine, you need not go far.
Art and design
Milan, which is home to a host of luxurious shops and the exquisite Galleria Vittoria Emmanuele, is one of the fashion capitals of the world. Italian fashion houses such as Prada, Versace, Miu Miu, Armani and Max Mara attract millions of customers worldwide. If you are looking to drive in style, opt for a Ferrari or Lamborghini.
History
Italian history is perhaps most famous for the Roman Empire, which lasted approximately 1,500 years. Contributors to engineering, architecture, government and military, Roman concepts and strategies are still in use today. Visiting Italy’s capital, Rome, you will discover some impressive relics of Italy’s rich past.
How easy is Italian?
The subjunctive
The subjunctive, or il congiuntivo as it is known in Italian, presents difficulties even for native speakers. Being able to use the tense correctly is a sign of intelligence. Using it incorrectly, however, risks appearing inarticulate and ignorant. Italian translators must therefore know all the rules for the Italian subjunctive to ensure that any material in the language is grammatically accurate.
Prepositions and articles
Did you know that in Italian there are six possible ways of saying the word ‘the’? There are also a large number of prepositions which are used in a variety of different contexts. Occasionally, rules can help you remember which word to use, but there are some cases where there is no particular rule and instead the only choice is to memorise the structure.
Similarities with other languages and Italian translation
Gramatically, Italian is deemed to be similar to French. Like French, it uses both ‘to be’ and ‘to have’ as auxiliary verbs to form different tenses. Other similarities include past participle and adjectival agreement. Italian is also considered very similar to Spanish, particularly regarding vocabulary and pronunciation, which is important to know when considering translation services.