Italian Language

Over 85 million people speak Italian. Apart from being the national language of Italy, Italian is also co-official language of San Marino, Switzerland, Slovenia, and Vatican City. It is also among the quite frequent spoken languages in Argentina and the United States.

Facts about the Italian language:

• The electricity connection! : The standard unit of measuring electricity (Voltage to be precise), Volt actually comes from Italy. Alessandro Volta discovered electricity and the SI unit was chosen as Volt n order to honor him.
• First known written Italian text! : The first known written text in the Italian language is considered to be the Placita Cassini, which was a legal document of a land dispute between the Southern Italian Monasteries.
• Italian is the official language of classical music: If you’ve ever seen a classical music score, you’ve probably come across terms like crescendo (get louder), staccato (detached), and forte (loud), all of which come from Italian. This is because musical notation was invented in Italy during the Renaissance, and thus became the standard language used in classical music.
• Italy is home to a number of world-renowned fashion houses, including Armani, Gucci, Benetton, Versace, and Prada.

Produce language fairly understood to the native speakers in some limited contexts. Be able to get general ideas from short texts. Engage in conversations giving more details about themselves, their lives, and about their surroundings.

Gain some familiarity with the linguistic situation in the world; of the chosen language; Formal versus spoken language. Be able to write short passages on familiar topics related to their daily routines.