The descendent of Latin, the language spoken in the Roman empire, Italian is now spoken by more than 60 million people. Unlike its ancestor, however, Italian has grammar that is considered much easier to learn.

Reasons for learning Italian range from preparing for a trip to Italy to retiring on the Italian coast. Many others learn Italian because their ancestors came from Italy or because they want an advantage in applying for jobs. No matter what your reason may be for learning Italian, learning a new language is a very rewarding process.

One factor that may help speed up your studies of Italian is if you already have knowledge of another romance language like Spanish or French. Linguists consider these languages to be very similar and if you know one, you will find that you already know much of the vocabulary and grammar.

For English speakers, Italian is often remarked to have a “pleasing” sound to it, most likely due to its great use of vowels and especially its use of vowels at the end of words. Unfortunately, this stress of vowels also means that listening to Italian seems like an incomprehensible stream to most English-speaking Italian language learners just beginning their studies.

Some differences in Italian from English include the fact that there are two genders for nouns: masculine and feminine. It will be necessary to learn which gender a noun is everytime you learn a new noun. You will also find that Italian verbs conjugate quite differently based on the subject.

Word order, however, is quite similar between Italian and English. Both languages are subject-verb-object languages and because the syntax is similar, it will be very easy for you to start putting together your own sentences in Italian even as a learner.

Because so many people are interested in learning Italian, there is a great variety of Italian language learning programs for you to choose from. From audio programs to traditional textbooks, you will never be at a loss for materials to learn from.

If you decide to learn the beautiful Italian language, remember to make a serious commitment. Learning any foreign language can be a tough process but if you stick with it and make a consistent effort over a long period of time, you will continually improve your Italian abilities. That being said, don’t forget to relax and enjoy the language, as well! You can read a good Italian novel or listen to Italian music among many other fun activities. These practices will not only improve your Italian but can be some of the most fun and rewarding experiences for you in your Italian language pursuit.

Author Robertson Kunz has a language learning guide: learn a foreign language fast. Italian learners: Italian fluency.