People learn Italian for different reasons. Some of them choose to learn Italian because they are intrigued by Italian culture, history, art, etc. Others learn Italian for fun, because they want to travel to Italy, or even move to Italy.
Whatever your reason of learning Italian can be, if you’re just at the beginning of your learning adventure and you know English, just remember that there are many Italian words you already know…and I’m not talking only about ciao, pizza or cappuccino!
Let’s see some of these Italian words.
ART AND MUSIC
Many famous artists were Italian. Famous painters and sculptors such as Michelangelo, Raphael, Caravaggio, Leonardo da Vinci, Botticelli, Brunelleschi, Donatello, Canova were born in Italy.
Also some important composers were Italian such as Puccini, Verdi, Rossini, Vivaldi, and so on.
So, it’s not surprising that nowadays many Italian words related to art and music are used all around the world, also in English speaking countries.
Have you ever heard of terms like opera, soprano, ballerina, primadonna, diva, chiaroscuro?
Well, these are all Italian words that have entered the English language.
And just in case you have never heard these words before, let’s see the meaning of some of them.
Soprano: It indicates the highest singing voice. It refers only to females or to boy singers.
Primadonna: It’s the chief female singer in an opera.
Chiaroscuro: It’s an artistic technique that uses light and shade to model three-dimensional forms to get a dramatic effect.
FOOD
Italy is a country with an important food tradition and it’s also considered one of the countries where you can find the best food of all the world.
So, many Italian words related to food are now used in other languages too, especially in English.
Raise your hand if you have never heard at least one of these Italian words: pizza, pasta, tiramisù, spaghetti, cappuccino, espresso, mozzarella, pesto, parmigiano, gelato…
TECHNOLOGY
As you might know, Italy ins’t very known for technology but U.S.A do. As a result, many English terms related to new technologies have entered the Italian language without being translated into Italian.
So, in Italian you can hear people pronouncing words such as internet, wireless, mouse, computer, ebook, download, upload, router, file, browser, post, blog, notebook, password, login, email, etc.
YOU LOVE ITALIAN BUT ITALIANS LOVE ENGLISH
Even if some of them can’t actually speak it…
Italians have borrowed also many other English words. You might not be aware of it but pronouncing English words in Italy is considered by many people somehow cool.
So, even if we have Italian words that convey the same concept as the Eglish ones, there is a preference for using English words.
That’s why in some fields you can hear the word mission – when in Italian we have the word missione, why don’t you just say the Italian word…why? – fashion, leader, meeting, marketing, random, business, etc.
What about you? Are some Italian words used in your language too?
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