Che Bella! La Lingua Italiana
Personal Observations on the Music and Bounce of the Italian Language
Trevi; Image by Francesco Bruno from Unsplash
Statistics cited by Worldomter.org cite 195 currently-recognized nations around the world. Language, culture, and travel numbers pertaining to each nation are fascinating and complex. On the topic of annual visitors, October 2022 data reveal the following top tourist destinations:
France; 89 million annual visitors
Spain; 84 million annual visitors
United States; 79 million annual visitors
China; 66 million annual visitors
Italy; 65 million annual visitors
Turkey; 51 million annual visitors
Mexico; 45 million annual visitors
Thailand; 39.7 million annual visitors
Germany; 39.5 million annual visitors
United Kingdom; 36 million annual visitors
Two items of interest:
At 39.7 million visitors and 39.5 million visitors, Thailand and Germany’s tourist numbers represent a statistical tie for 8th place
Middle Eastern and North African nations, principally Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Morocco, have proven to be strong contenders in the field of attractive tourist destinations, with an average 13% increase among these nations in tourism spending over the last 24 months.
Worldometer.org’s statistics show that Italy sits at a comfortable #5 out of 195 nations. Based on these numbers, Italy is a top 2% destination. What elements make Italy so magnetic? With mountains, long coast lines, forests, rolling hills, waterfalls, caves, and over 1,000 rivers, Italy is physically stunning. Coupled with physical beauty, Italy’s long history and central position as a cultural, military, and academic center of Western civilization help explain the allure of Italy. Between Italy’s world-class cities, ancient ruins, 8,000 villages, and world-renowned art, cuisine, and fashion scenes, one can understand Italy’s top 2% visitor ranking.
Italian — A Romance Language
Costiera amalfitana; Image by Tom Pomdore from Unsplash
Language is the essence of culture, the apparatus by which culture is transmitted. Language messages world-view and it represents in part, the foundational style of a people. The language that we think of today as Italian developed in central Tuscany in the early 14th century. Evidence of modern Italian appears in the work of Tuscan author/scholar Dante Alighieri, more commonly known as Dante, who wrote his masterpiece La Commedia (The Divine Comedy) in his native Florentine. As many as 85 million people in the world speak Italian. While almost 60 million Italian-speakers live in Italy, the language is also spoken in Switzerland, Vatican City, and San Marino, and it is a recognized minority language in Bosnia/Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovenia, and Romania.
Italian — Its Contour & Sound
Italian is frequently cited as a language that non-Italian speakers readily recognize when they hear it. Stanford University attributes the bounce and musicality that people detect in spoken Italian to the vowel-heavy nature of the language. Italian is phonetic — it is written the way it sounds. It includes seven vowels, two semi-vowels, and twenty-one consonants. General sentence structure is subject-verb-object. Almost all native Italian words end in clear, open vowel sounds. Italian also contains consonant digraphs and double consonants, which Italian speakers land on and move from with greater force than they do when they articulate single consonants. For these reasons, Italian is frequently cited as having a musical sound that is marked by quick rise and fall contours that are punctuated by double-consonant landings that serve as springboards for sounds that follow double consonants. Italian phrases are marked by smooth rising lines that are punctuated by double-consonants where speakers linger, then launch.
In summary, Italy is a top 2% world destination. Despite a relatively small number of speakers, the Italian language is one of the most popular languages in the world. The study of Italian or any language, offers those who partake a window into the worldview and culture of an entire people. Italy’s position as a cultural and historical center within Western civilization makes Italian both the language of Italy, and a significiant world language. Dating from the period of the ancient Etruscans and Romans between 800 and 300 BCE, and including Renaissance and Baroque masters Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Donatello, Bernini and more, Italy lies at the center of Western art, civilization, culture, and history. Italy is a thriving, influential contributor to the fields of business, art, fashion, cinema, trade, and politics. Italy is known for its food products, wine, for its slow, artisanal culinary traditions, its clothing, soccer fandom, international motorsport racing, its eyewear, shoes, high-end design, and automobiles. The Italian language offers a window into the rich history, culture, and contributions of Italian-speaking people around the world. Italia che bella, e la lingua italiana, che bella anche!