DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ITALIAN AND SPANISH THAT SURPRISED ME

It's true that Italian and Spanish are very similar because they both derive from Latin, but when I began to learn Italian I noticed a few differences that really took me aback. One was the musicality of the language: Italian is more melodic and with a stronger rhythm, as if every sentence were arranged to sound nice, while Spanish is more rapid and blunt. What also struck me was doubled consonants pronunciation: for Italians, “pala” and “palla” are totally different words, and I couldn’t recognize that difference at first that made it really hard for me to understand how to tell those apart. Another surprise was the gestures because in Italian we practically use our hands to communicate, and following some of them helped me to understand the meaning more easily. I was very surprised by the articles and how different you used them: in Italian, you are forced to use them even for things that they don't use them for in Spanish, for example: il caffè, la fama, la casa. Also, there are words that look the same but are completely different, and those can create funny misunderstandings, as for example *burro* (in Italian: butter). 

Last off, I was curious to learn how Italian could mirror a warmly expressive, passionate cultural persona which has long been sensed in the way the language is spoken and felt. Learning these differences not only helped me to get better, but also made me love the Italian language even more.

MOTIVATIONAL PHRASE:

✨ “Learning a language is discovering a new world within yourself.” ✨

Video about the difference between the Italian and Spanish languages: