Introduction to Italian

Satellite image of Italy.

Italian is a Romance language from western Europe that is spoken primarily in Italy and Switzerland. The vocabulary and grammar are very similar to Spanish, French, and Portuguese. It is spoken by approximately 70-80 million people as a native language and is the twentieth most-spoken language in the world. There are several dialects of Italian, primarily in Italy, including Sicilian, Sardinian, Venetian, and Swiss.

Marmore's Falls in Umbria.

Before you begin, bear in mind that learning a language requires a lot of repetition. You’re not expected to read this page once and understand everything on it; read everything, memorize it, and try to make a part of your being. Also, remember that memorizing translations is never the best way to learn a language; un cane isn't just the words "a dog", it's your grandma's weinerdog or your brother's German shepherd. Also, if you already speak a Romance language try to see the similarities between it and Italian. You will be surprised by how similar they are.

Lessons

• Lezione Uno: Common Phrases
• Lezione Due: The Italian Alphabet
• Lezione Tre: Some Simple Words
• Lezione Quattro: Nouns and Articles
• Lezione Cinque: Verbs
• Lezione Sei: Preposition Contractions
• Lezione Sette: Adjectives
• Lezione Otto: C’ è, Ci Sono, and Ecco
• Lezione Nove: The Second Conjugation (-ere)
• Lezione Dieci: Some New Nouns
• Essame Uno: The First Test