By: Benedict Smythe
Submitted: 2008-10-11 20:23:29 | Word Count: 563
Italian is a very passionate sounding language. It is considered as one of the most romantic languages in the whole world. It has certain qualities that make it so flowery and makes people who speak it very animated. This is one reason why it is always linked with feelings of love and romance.
Love is in the Italian Air
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You might be wondering what made Italian a language of love. Let us trace some reasons behind this claim:
The primary reason behind this is the Italian culture. The country has a very colorful history which may condition our thinking that indeed it is a romantic language.
The culture of love is in the air. You can smell Italian passion and visualize romantic imagery all over. Look at the devotion to great architectures and artworks that can be traced back to the olden times. The works of the great Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael display the passion of the Italian soul. The details of the David, La Giocanda, The Pieta, and the Monalisa say it all.
The connection of the Italian culture to the Catholic faith shows the purity of love as seen in Jesus, Virgin Mary, and all the other saints depicted in sculptures and paintings. The architecture of the different churches and basilicas all over Italy also makes the language synonymous to love.
Have you seen an opera? It is an Italian contribution which also conveys a lot of love and passion. The notes of the opera bring the audience to a different level of appreciation. They do experience pure emotion and sensation while listening to the performance.
The biggest reason, among all reasons, why Italian is a language of love is the country itself. Italy is a very wonderful place. The atmosphere is really romantic with views of rustic sceneries, the sea, the hills, the country side—everything spells love. Whether they know Italian or not, a lot of honeymooners pack their bags and go to Italy to spend time together and strengthen their bonds.
Some Basic Facts about the Italian Language
Now that you know that Italian is a lingo of love, it will be better if you know some details about the language, here are some of them:
Italian has a very distinct stress and traces its roots to the dead language of Latin. It uses most of the Latin alphabets in majority of its words. Unlike our usual ABC, the Italian alphabet doesn’t have J, K, W, X, and Y. J sounds like I in the Italian words like Bojano (Bo ya no), Joppolo(Iopolo), and Jesi(Iesi).
The Italian alphabet today consists of 21 letters. The letters also have their Italian equivalents like gi for j; s,ss, or cs for x; c or ch for k; u or v for w; and i for y.
Accent is also very important when speaking the Italian language. Notice the acute accents you have on the vowel E in perche. Grave accents are also used in A, I, O, and U having the stress on the final vowel of the word like in gioventi (youth)
When reading words like hai, hanno or ha, the H is often silent. Furthermore, the word Zanzara or mosquito is pronounced with z being read as dz or dzan’ dzara.
Italian as you can see is beyond pasta, pesto, pizza, and the Ferrari.
