Why
Study Italian?
Knowledge
of Italian is important for people in business, the arts,
technology and many professions. It also is useful for
high school and college students planning careers in art
history, music, linguistics, education and international
relations.
- Students
preparing for the SATs who have studied Italian tend
to score higher on vocabulary and grammar. The reason
is simple: Italian developed from Latin and an estimated
60 percent of the English vocabulary also comes from
Latin.
- Italian
is the fourth foreign language most spoken in U.S.
homes, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. It also
is spoken in Switzerland, parts of Africa, the Balkans,
and the island of Malta.
- Italy
is one of the top five economies in the world among
Great Britain, Russia and China and is 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,
City Bank and Price Waterhouse.
- Italy
is a world leader in machine tool manufacturing, with
advanced technologies in robotics, electro mechanical
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 professionals 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 US.
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.
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