Italian/Introduction
Introduction / Introduzione edit
Why learn Italian? - Perché imparare l'italiano? edit
Italian is the official language of Italy, San Marino and the Ticino and Grigioni cantons of Switzerland. It is the second official language in Vatican City, after Latin, and in some small areas of Istria in Slovenia, Croatia, Argentina and Brazil with an Italian minority.
Italian is spoken or understood also by some people in Libya, Eritrea, Somalia and Ethiopia. It is the first language of 65 million people and the second or third language of an additional 14 million people around the world. Italian is important in the field of culture, art, Opera and singing as it is the original language of some musical expressions.
Italian is taught in many schools around the world. In parts of Canada, Italian is, after French, the second most taught language. In the United States and the United Kingdom, Italian ranks fourth. Throughout the world, Italian is the fifth most taught non-native language, after English, French, Spanish and German. It is also somehow mutually intelligible with Spanish and, to a lesser extent, Portugues and French, so it can give a broader understanding of Romance languages.