The question of why the Moldovan language is similar to Italian can be answered succinctly like this. It belongs to the Romance group of languages, more precisely the Balkan-Romance subgroup.
Roman province
During the rule of the ancient Romans, the territory of modern Moldavia and Romania was called Dacia Romana. This happened before our era in 101-106 under the Roman emperor Trojan. The Roman province ceases to exist in 271. For more than three centuries, the Dacian and Roman languages were mixed. Agree that during this period the Romanization of the local population occurred. It is quite natural that, as a result, there has been an increase in Romanian. Of course, not without the influence of the Slavic language of the neighbors. However, the Romanian language still developed on the basis of the spoken Latin common at that time.
Moreover, many veterans military service The Roman state remained to live on the lands of Romania (Moldova). Some became close to representatives of the Dacian people. Thus, over time, an imperceptible Latinization of the population occurred.
As you know, the Italian language was also formed on the basis of Ancient Romanesque.
Similar words in Moldovan (Romanian) and Italian
Moldavian and Romanian languages
Modern scientific linguists have come to the conclusion that “Romanian” and “Moldavian” are different names for the same language. The languages of the neighboring countries are virtually identical. It’s just that in “Romanian” there are a little more words borrowed from Western countries, and in “Moldavian” the main borrowings come from the Russian language. At one time, even in Romania they intensively fought against Slavic borrowings in their vocabulary and tried to replace them with their own. Therefore, in Moldova there are several more “Russianisms”.
This is why the Moldovan language is similar to Italian. This helps Moldovans and Romanians to quickly master spoken Italian. Naturally, they will not be able to immediately understand Italians, but it will take significantly less time for immigrants from Romania and Moldova to master the Italian language.
Perhaps everyone in the modern world will agree that learning a foreign language is necessary and useful thing. Foreign languages not only broaden your horizons, but also change your way of thinking. Only a small percentage of Americans and Brits speak a language other than their native one, and so we don't think it's worth trying to learn anything new.
However, this is absolutely not true. Any language, be it the most difficult one, such as Japanese or Chinese, can be learned in one intensive summer course. Do you want to experience other cultures? We present to you the 10 easiest foreign languages to learn.
Spanish is a beautiful foreign language to learn
Spanish is one of the main languages in the world. If world languages were schoolchildren, then Spanish would be the popular child that other children want to communicate with. Most of Central and South America speaks Spanish, as well as Equatorial Guinea in Africa and, in fact, Spain. In other words, studying Spanish, you discover a considerable part of the world.
So why is Spanish easy for us? In Spanish, many words are of Latin origin, and the grammar is quite simple. Although there are some differences that can make our heads spin, for example, we would say "the car is red" instead of "the red car". You can also practice it easily. People living in the United States have access to Spanish-language television, making it easier for them to improve their vocabulary.
Portuguese
Compared to other colonial powers, Portugal did not leave much of a legacy (sorry, Macau and Angola). However, its influence spread to one of the largest countries in the Americas. Brazil occupies about half of South America in area and has a population of about 200 million.
Similar to schoolchildren, Portuguese is Spanish's shy but friendly cousin. The Portuguese language is closely related to Spanish, with all the advantages that it can have. The downside is that knowing Spanish makes learning Portuguese more difficult. This is because the two languages are filled with "false friends", words that sound identical but have very different meanings. So in perfect Spanish you can order at a restaurant, while in Portuguese you can suggest a dirty evening with the waiter's wife.
French
We'll tell you a secret. If the language belongs to the Romance group, then it will be easy for you to learn. French is the hottest, most sophisticated girl in school or the cute guy who knows he's the coolest guy in class. This language was once perhaps the most important on Earth. Although those days are gone, he still plays a big role. Do you want to travel to Morocco, Algeria, Congo, Belgium, Switzerland or Haiti? Learn French. Do you want to impress your girlfriend (your young man)? Learn French. We are not sure how much clearer it is possible to express this. Knowing French is really cool.
French includes many Latin words. It also has a strong connection with the English language. In 1066 William the Conqueror made a medieval French om the ruling classes of England at that time. In total, more than 10,000 words in the English language are borrowed from French.
Italian
Italy never had the global influence of its cousins. Today, learning Italian greatly narrows the geography of your travels. Luckily, Italy is one of the most historically important and beautiful countries on Earth.
Italy is the reason why you can learn Spanish, Portuguese and French with such ease. It was the Romans who spread Latin to these countries, leaving their mark everywhere from modern Britain, to Libya, to Syria, to Germany. Spanish is essentially a descendant of "Vulgar Latin", the language spoken by the "grunts" and soldiers of the Empire. This means that there are many similarities between these two modern languages, especially noticeable if you happen to recognize Argentine Spanish, which has a rhythm better suited to the streets of Naples than the sidewalks of Madrid.
Perhaps the greatest benefit of learning Italian is the amazing amount of culture you will be exposed to - from Dante's Divine Comedy and the films of Federico Fellini to a variety of world masterpieces.
Swedish
Let's move away from the sunny climates of southern Europe. Sweden is the exact opposite southern countries. A cold, snowy country in the bleak reaches of northern Europe, it is as far from our previous languages as icy slopes and hot beaches are from each other. However, there are still similarities. If you look closely, English has not only Latin roots, but also Germanic ones. The Swedish language, in turn, is a striking example of the Germanic group.
German and Swedish have similar grammar, which means that learning Swedish is essentially about memorizing a lot of vocabulary. As a bonus, the verbs barely change. Thus, while an Englishman will say: “I speak English, he speaks English,” a Swede will say: “I speak Swedish, he speaks Swedish.”
So what are the benefits of learning Swedish? Not much if you're hoping to travel the world. Swedish is spoken by only 10 million people, and almost all of them live in Sweden.
Norwegian
Norwegian is the closest language to what we call a "Viking language". This in itself should be reason enough to study it. But if you're put off by manly beards or fearsome horned helmets, there's at least one mitigating factor. Norwegian is easy to learn for native English speakers.
Norwegian is another Germanic language that has absorbed all the advantages of Swedish, being much simpler. The grammar is close to English language, while verbs are easy to learn (there are slight variations depending on context). Again, there are many closely related words and the rhythm and accent are quite similar. In a wide-ranging study carried out at the turn of the 21st century, the Federal Government declared Norwegian one of the most simple languages for study by Americans.
Exists reverse side all of this. Norway has a population of 6 million people, approximately 95% of whom speak excellent English. The language is taught at all levels school education. The chances of meeting a Norwegian who doesn't speak English are about the same as meeting an American who speaks Norwegian fluently.
Esperanto
Esperanto is the most widely spoken artificial language in the world. Yes, even Klingon and Elvish are less popular. It was invented in 1887 by L. Zamenhof, with the goal of making the language so simple that learning it would seem like “just a game.”
To do this, he took various pieces from many European languages, mixed them all together, simplified them, and called the whole thing a language. The result is a language that sounds oddly familiar, as if you've encountered it before. Watch the video of how they speak Esperanto. Most likely, you will be able to recognize its components.
Esperanto is spoken by about 2 million people, and experts estimate that up to 1,000 families consider it their “native language.” For comparison, this number is significantly greater than the number of speakers of the current Cornish language.
Afrikaans
Language spoken by the descendants of Dutch farmers in South Africa and Namibia, Afrikaans has a long and turbulent history. For some Boers it is an integral part of their identity and culture, which has changed greatly over the past 20 years. This African language is closest to English.
Afrikaans exists somewhere between Dutch and English, but at the same time it is simpler. The grammar is logical and consistent, there are no exceptions like in English.
Unfortunately Afrikaans does not provide you with large selection for travel. You're pretty much limited to just two countries in southern Africa. On the other hand, if you ever wanted to understand the Boer culture or conduct long time in South Africa, you'd have to be crazy not to learn Afrikaans.
Frisian
Raise your hands if you've ever heard of the Frisian language. We'd estimate that about 90 percent of you just sat there, shook your heads, and muttered something like, "Freak - what language?" Don't worry, this is normal, because this is a rather rare language. As simple as possible: Frisian is the native language of Friesland, part of the Netherlands. It is spoken by half a million people and is probably the closest language in the world to English.
Seriously, Frisian and English were the same language until relatively recently. Both languages began to develop independently of each other 1200 years ago, which is for a long time according to historians, but nothing at all from the point of view of linguists.
If you are a native (or good "speaker") of English, learning Frisian will be a walk in the park. Written form speech is similar to Dutch, the oral form is almost identical to English - vocabulary, sentence structure and pronunciation. Without any lessons, you are probably already fluent in it.
The Romance group of languages, spoken by many Europeans, is considered the most beautiful in pronunciation. Separately, it is worth highlighting Spanish and Italian, distinguished by their melody and linguistic temperament. These languages sound impressive in any form: live speech, official speeches, theatrical performances, songs. Even without understanding the meaning of the words, you can listen to the euphonious, melodious combinations.
Spanish and Italian are similar, in some respects they are synonymous, but at the same time they have many fundamental differences. In this article we will try to answer the question of which of these languages is easier to learn.
Spanish. Its origins and features
To give a comprehensive picture of the language, let’s dive into history, find out how Spanish was born, what changes it has undergone over the years, and what it is like today. Political weight, popularity, features of study - everything in order.
About the origins of the Spanish language
The birth of Spanish took place in medieval Castile. The spread occurred naturally, thanks to the conquistadors - sea travelers who introduced their language to the inhabitants of new lands. This is how people learned about español in Asia, Latin America, Africa and other countries of the world.
Like other European languages, it was formed on the basis of Latin and then gradually acquired dialects. Linguists believe that among modern languages Spanish is phonetically the closest to Latin. Portuguese and Italian changed more intensively, absorbing the features of local dialects.
Separately, it is worth mentioning the dialects spoken by Spaniards in different corners countries.
- Regional groups can be divided into Catalan, Aragonese, Galician, Occitan, Asturian, Aranese, Valencian.
Each of the adverbs has its own phonetic and lexical features. State Spanish is considered standard and is used in literature, television, radio, and business communication.
Today, Spanish is spoken by about six hundred million people in the world - on almost all continents, in 57 countries. Español is not only common in Spain, it is considered official language African Union, UN, EU. This is its main difference from Italian - high degree demand.
Language features
According to teachers, Spanish is much easier to learn than, for example, French. Of course, it all depends on the level the student wants to achieve. Reach perfection, hone colloquial speech, you can master grammar perfectly in a few years. You can improve your language for communicating with foreigners while traveling in three to four months.
One of the peculiarities of Spanish is its accents, which can easily get confusing for a beginner. It is important to remember the rule here. The emphasis should be placed on the last syllable if there is a consonant at the end of the word (exceptions are n and s). We place the emphasis on the penultimate syllable if there is a vowel or n, s at the end of the word. Graphically, stress is indicated in the same way as in many other languages: á.
Another characteristic feature of español is the complex vector system of tenses, which requires careful immersion. Total quantity- fourteen. They include seven complex and seven simple tenses. Imperative is used in two forms, the difference of which is not only in the negative particle, but also in the lexical structure itself.
It is better to study grammar with a teacher who will step by step introduce you to all the intricacies of the rules. The person of the verb and moods have a huge number of endings that you need not only to remember, but also to understand. Among the verbs there are deviating and irregular ones. If you want to learn how to structure speech correctly, delve into grammar step by step, relying on the experience and professionalism of the teacher. Learning a language from scratch on your own is difficult.
- Spanish has similar features to Russian, namely in the wealth of synonyms! For almost every word you can find analogues that repeat the meaning, but differ in sound and spelling.
Español phonetics is easier to learn than French or English, but more difficult than Italian. There are more intonation nuances and difficulties with stress. The sound of words is accompanied by expression, dynamic, bright, temperamental. Significantly different from English. So, for example, k, t, p are pronounced clearly, without aspiration.
Basics and subtleties of Italian
An elegant boot, washed Mediterranean Sea, two hundred years ago was not a single state. Italy was formed gradually from separate nationalities, each of which had its own culture and language. Modern Italian dialects are still very different from each other today. A single normative language has been adopted, but mental linguistic features remain. Sometimes situations even arise when native southerners do not understand the inhabitants of northern Italy.
Origin of language
Italiano comes from volgare - Latin vernacular, flavored with regional dialects. Modern Italian is based on the Tuscan dialect, which was first spoken by the Florentines. Dante is considered the father of literary italiano, who introduced the world to the cult “ Divine Comedy”, today published in all languages of the world. With this work, the development of Italian began in the form in which it was in the middle of the 16th century.
Today, the language of sunny Italy is considered one of the most beautiful and melodic. It is easier to learn than Spanish. This applies to both grammar and vocabulary, phonetics. But there are still some difficulties and nuances that you need to be aware of.
Features of Italian
First, about pronunciation. There are no complicated transcriptions that you need to read several times before speaking out loud. In most cases, the word is pronounced the same way as it is written. The consonants are clear, sometimes sharp, there are no muting, gradations, or prolongation. Vowels are also phonetically simple and transparent. The main thing is to correctly place stress, intonation and make competent semantic accents.
A feature of phonetics is multiple and long vowels, which are not found in other languages of the Romance group. Due to this combination of letters in words in Italian, they are melodious and melodious. You will have to master the technique of full-voiced pronunciation, which requires tension in the speech apparatus.
There is nothing supernatural about this; skills come with experience. Conversation practice will allow you to quickly learn these phonetic nuances and learn to speak beautiful and temperamental Italiano.
The grammar is simpler in español. There are three main tenses: present, future and past, the constructions of which are mostly formed on the basis of auxiliary verbs. One of the difficulties is the forms irregular verbs. There are many of them, it is better to learn them by heart. Important point, on which the literacy of sentence construction depends - the rules of verb conjugation, they should be given special attention.
- Study grammar in parallel with phonetics. This way the process will be more effective and will allow you to consciously immerse yourself in the intricacies of the language.
How to learn Spanish and Italian quickly
If you want to own a beautiful español or italiano, set yourself up for effective training. Linguists recommend making a motivational list that will help you tune in to the process and bring it to the end. So, what do you need to quickly and easily immerse yourself in the peculiarities of Spanish:
Decide on a goal. Ask yourself a question - why are you learning a language? The intensity of the program and the method of training will depend on this. If you are not in a hurry, you can gradually immerse yourself in the linguistic features of the language in classical courses. There are clear boundaries, you are preparing for a meeting with foreign partners - you should speed up by choosing the option with a tutor. Giving preference self-study, know that the process will be long and labor-intensive.
Practice, practice and more practice. After the lesson ends, improvement should continue. Don't stop once you close the textbook. Practice your day's knowledge at home. Repeat the material, write out difficult points. Keep a notepad for independent work. Transcriptions, grammar rules, difficult to remember words - such a mini-book will become your assistant and help you avoid mistakes.
Practice speaking. If language courses do not give you the proper skills for live communication in Spanish or Italian, find yourself a Skype companion or a good tutor who will help you understand intonation, logical and phonetic stresses.
Reinforce your knowledge by listening. The language school does not support this method - choose it yourself. Consult your teacher about what to choose. This way you will save time and in the end you will not make a mistake with the listening program.
Abstract from your knowledge of English (if you have basic English). Spanish and Italian are very different from it. Don’t try to find similarities, thereby making the task easier. This will create confusion, the grammar here is completely different, the pronunciation features are completely opposite.
Whatever language you choose for yourself, both Spanish and Italian are worthy of your attention and will be useful when traveling around Europe, communicating with business partners, and building a career in the European Union. If you can't choose one of them, learn both!
There are many countries and peoples in Europe. In the north and center the Germanic peoples dominate, in the east the Slavic peoples, and in the south the descendants of the Romans (Spaniards, Portuguese, Italians) dominate. The West of Europe is divided between the Germanic peoples (Dutch and English) and the French, relatives of the Spaniards.
Slavs and Russians, including, throughout history have been in contact with different peoples Europe and, accordingly, there was a need to study different foreign languages, which in the modern world is becoming increasingly acute.
Russia and most former USSR- the countries are quite cold and the inhabitants of this territory have always been drawn to the south, where it is warm. In addition to Turkey, Egypt and Cyprus, many of our compatriots prefer holidays in Italy and Spain, especially in the Canary Islands.
This is due not only to the warm climate of these countries, but also to the rich cultural heritage of these countries. “There is somewhere to warm up and there is something to see.” Naturally, our citizens have a question: “ How to communicate at the resort?" There are usually no problems within the hotel. The staff there is trained in English, and if you studied at school with at least a C in this subject, you will be able to communicate somehow.
It’s more difficult if you need to leave the hotel and go into the city or travel outside of it. Here English will no longer help. Need to know native language residents of these countries, that is, either Spanish or Italian. Otherwise, you risk getting lost and not returning to your homeland.
Spanish and Italian are also part of the Romance language. language group, united by a common origin from the Latin language - the official language of the ancient Roman Empire.
In addition to Spanish and Italian, this group also includes, for example, French, which is quite common as a subject in secondary schools.
In terms of the number of speakers of these languages, Spanish and Italian are very different. Spanish is spoken by about 350 million people in the world (most of them in Latin America), and Italian by about 70 million people.
Spanish is an official UN language, but Italian is not. Spanish is recognized as an official language in 20 countries, and Italian only in three. That is, the international prestige and importance of the Spanish language is much higher than that of Italian. The importance of the Spanish language is also evident in the fact that it is much more widespread as a subject in schools than the Italian language. It would seem that it is definitely more useful to learn Spanish, but this is not always the case.
Why do they learn foreign languages at all?
- If necessary, they are forced to do so at school or university.
- Study foreign language just like that - as a hobby.
- For practical purposes - vacation, study, work or business abroad.
- For cultural and educational purposes.
People come to foreign language courses and schools of their own free will, no one forces them, so the motivation of students is described only in points 2-4. Let's look at them separately.
Learning a foreign language as a hobby. It doesn’t matter what language you choose to study, Italian, Spanish or another.
Learning a foreign language for leisure. The choice is determined by the place where you want to relax. If you love the Canary Islands, learn Spanish; if you want to sunbathe in Sicily, learn Italian.
Selecting a foreign language for study. It all depends on the specialty you choose. If you are an artist, then you should definitely learn Italian, because there are simply nowhere as many museums, ancient ruins and other attractions as in Italy. If you decide to become a bullfighter, then you need to go to Spain and, of course, learn Spanish.
As for work. They usually go where they pay more. In this sense, Italy is somewhat more attractive than Spain and Latin America, and from this point of view, it is now more profitable to learn Italian. But everything can change and it’s difficult to say what will happen in the future.
From a business point of view, you don’t have to learn the language at all - it’s easier to take a translator with you. But if your business has some “subtle” aspects that should not reach anyone’s ears, then you will have to learn the language yourself. Which language to learn depends on where you have established business connections. This could be Spain, Latin America, the southern states of the USA - then learn Spanish. If you have connections in Italy, the southern cantons of Switzerland or some of the Mediterranean islands of France, then you should master the Italian language.
Language learning for cultural and educational purposes. What can I say? Spiritual needs are a complex thing and are quite individual for each person. It's difficult to determine exactly what you need. If you are a dance enthusiast and love flamenco, samba, tango or cha-cha, then carry a Spanish textbook with you. If you prefer tarantella, saltarella or quadrilla, immediately take an Italian language course.
Dancing doesn’t appeal to you, but music delights you? If you are a lover of the classics, you should definitely learn Italian. Then you can easily understand what e.g. allegro, staccato, fermata, arpeggio and will not look at the notes to the musical notation as something mysterious and sacred, inaccessible to the average person.
As for songs, Spanish and Italian are in approximately the same position. There are many excellent songs in both languages, performed by wonderful artists. It is enough to mention Placido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti.
There are a great many pop singers, both in Italy and in Spain and Latin American countries. You can’t list them all. Suffice it to mention Julio Iglesias and Adriano Celentano.
The only thing where Spanish has no competition is in television series. Latin America is churning out these television series at the speed of light, and housewives around the world (or at least a significant part of it) are crying over the suffering of the characters and rejoicing at their happiness. If you are such a housewife or just a lover of Latin American TV series, then you have a direct path to Spanish courses. Satellite television, together with knowledge of this language, will allow you to plunge headlong into the world of hot passions that our TV viewer is not even aware of.
We hope that now it will be easier for you to decide which language to study. Of course, both are better, but don’t rush yet - choose one.
Two richest cultures, two most beautiful language... What to choose - Spanish or Italian? If you want to learn a new foreign language as a hobby, you may have this question. Let's figure out what advantages this or that language has, as well as what difficulties you may encounter when learning them.
Spanish or Italian
Theoretically, the two languages are very similar. They have the same words, similar grammatical rules and constructions. And all because both of them come from Latin. Therefore, when choosing which language to learn, focus primarily on own plans and preferences. Since you are unlikely to find a clear answer to the question: “Italian or Spanish – which is easier?” One thing is clear: having studied one of these languages, you will quickly master the second one. In addition, having learned Spanish, you will most likely understand Italian speech, and vice versa.
Today, Spanish and Italian are very popular, and there are many courses, tutorials and resources for learning them. Therefore, it is quite possible to learn any of these languages even on your own. You can find interlocutors via Skype and practice speaking with them, you can download films and programs in the language you are learning. You can read books and magazines, watch TV series and listen to songs. In addition, Italian or Spanish is easier to learn on the basis of another European language. So, if you already know English, you will find at least a lot of similar words.
So, if you dream of visiting Italy, love Italian cuisine or are planning shopping in Milan, then your choice is Italian. Italian works of art, books, architectural masterpieces - you can get acquainted with all this by studying Italian. Spanish is more universal, because this language is used in almost 60 countries around the world. Therefore, Spanish will be more useful to you when traveling. If you plan to use the language to advance your career, then perhaps Spanish will also be preferable, since many fields today employ Spanish-speaking people.
