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Why study Italian?

http://www.elib.org/ilm/study-italian.htm

Formed eight centuries ago, Italian language has in fact affirmed itself over the years as a language of culture and as such, has ample development possibilities open to it today. Even as a functional language in the world of business, Italian is gaining ground in many areas of the world, as part of the process of international expansion that our economy is undergoing.

Italian language is one of the languages from which almost everybody knows at least one word (mostly about food or music). It quickly identifies a culture full of life and color. Isn't Italian food famous for its pizzas, spaghettis, and macaroni? Isn't Italian opera famous by its tenors and sopranos? And we shouldn't forget both the sublime literature and the striking Italian film industry which has left us sentences as well known as "la dolce vita" and other adventures. Italian is the language of a vibrating culture.

Over 60 percent of the world's art treasures are found in Italy , according to UNESCO (the cultural and educational agency of the United Nations).

A knowledge of Italian is important for people in business, the arts, technology and many professions. It is also useful for high school and college students planning careers in art history, music, linguistics, education and international relations.

http://faculty.virginia.edu/italianresource/why.html

• Italian is the fourth foreign language most spoken in U.S. homes, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. It is also spoken in Switzerland , parts of Africa, the Balkans, and the island of Malta .
• Italy is one of the top five economies in the world, ahead of Great Britain , Russia , and China . It is also a leading member of the G7 group of the wealthiest democracies in the world.
• An estimated 7,500 American companies do business with Italy and more than 1,000 U.S. firms have offices in Italy , including IBM, General Electric, Motorola, Citibank, and Pricewaterhouse Coopers.
• Italy is a world leader in machine tool manufacturing, with advanced technologies in robotics, electromechanical machinery, shipbuilding, space engineering, construction machinery, and transportation equipment. Many of these firms have offices in the United States .
• Italy 's economy is changing: state-owned companies are becoming privatized, opening up the Italian market to American companies and professions in aerospace, transportation, insurance, finance, shipping, telecommunications, and other commerce.

• With the Italian market opening, American companies like AT&T and IBM will be establishing ties with Italian companies in the areas of cable TV, international cellular telephone systems, the Internet and more, and will need employees who speak Italian and English.
• In 1996, only 170,000 households in Italy were connected to the Internet, compared to 25 million in the U.S. American companies expanding in Italy have a great demand for software designers, systems engineers, technical support, marketers and managers who speak Italian and English.
• Italy is a world leader in the culinary arts, interior design, fashion, graphic design, furniture design, etc. Those planning careers in such fields greatly benefit from knowing Italian.
• Italy has long been a magnet for the tourism industry: In 1996, 55 million people visited Italy . It is predicted that in the Jubilee Year 2000, Rome alone will host over 30 million visitors.
• Young Americans who want to become physicians, dentists, and veterinarians, but who cannot afford the tuition at American schools, can study at Italian universities for a fraction of the cost. Their degrees are valid in the U.S.
• Art historians need Italian. According to UNESCO (the cultural and educational agency of the United Nations), over 60 percent of the world's art treasures are found in Italy .

http://www.rdg.ac.uk/AcaDepts/li/new/courses/why%20study%20italian.htm

ver the centuries, Italy has produced some of the most remarkable cultural works in the western canon, from the Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri to Michelangelo's frescoes in the Sistine Chapel, from The Prince of Niccolò Machiavelli to the neo-realist films of Vittorio De Sica, and from Baldassarre Castiglione's The Courtier to the post-modernist novels of Italo Calvino.  Historically, too, Italy has always been of great importance. In the Middle Ages cities such as Florence and Venice were among the richest and most powerful of Europe; it was Italy that produced the Renaissance, the culture and values of which have provided the foundations of much of western life in the last five hundred years; in the nineteenth century it provided one of the most exciting and inspiring examples of movement of national unification, while in the twentieth century it gave rise to the political system known as fascism.  Today Italy is one of the world's leading industrial democracies. It is the seventh largest global market for British exports,  and the UK is the third largest supplier to Italy after Germany and France . In the UK today Italy has, arguably, a higher cultural profile than any other European country: from football to fashion, food and film. The aim of 'Italian Studies' as an academic subject is to provide an introduction to the very rich and varied culture and history of Italy since the Middle Ages, and to explore this history and culture using a variety of disciplines and methodologies across a broad range of subjects. These subjects include literature, cinema, linguistics, political thought, dialectology, and political, economic and social history. Knowledge of the Italian language, both written and spoken, is seen as an indispensable tool for access to, and an understanding of, Italian culture, and the teaching of Italian is accordingly a core element in 'Italian Studies'.

http://languages.arts.unsw.edu.au/italian/italianwhystudy.html

When we think of Italy we think of Culture: Classical and Christian and contemporary chic. Christianity and Classical culture, revived and reworked during the Italian Renaissance, are crucial to the development of Western Civilisation, on which so much of our present culture is based. Italian historians, philosophers, economists and political scientists, musicians, artists, architects and cinematographers have contributed significantly to European thought.

The indispensable key to Italian Culture is the Italian language. Italian at university includes both elements. To university students language and culture are more easily accessible in the form of written texts, although Australian students of Italy can also benefit from radio and TV broadcasts by SBS and Australian-ltalian electronic media.

The largest contingent of migrants to Australia , after those coming from the British Isles , were the Italians. The descendants of those migrants are often found among our students. They may wish to regain contact with the culture of their grandparents, or to learn the standard language if the non-English language spoken in their family is an Italian dialect. They do not necessarily find Italian 'easier' than students coming from a non-Italian background.

You may also consider choosing Italian in the light of future travel and study plans, or of other subjects you may be interested in. A knowledge of Italian is relevant to the study of European political and social history. It is almost indispensable to those studying Music, Architecture or Fine Arts. It is an important tool for research in Religious Studies. No one with a serious interest in English, French or German literature can afford to ignore Italian literary history. Many people engaged in cross-cultural communication (medical practitioners, lawyers, social workers) find a knowledge of Italian language and culture helpful in their work.