Italian language friends

Even beginning Italian students tend to notice how similar many Italian words are to English. This is because most words used today in modern Italian, and many words in English, have their roots in the Latin language spoken long ago by the Romans.*  

In linguistic terms, words in two different languages that have a common origin and a similar meaning are called cognates.  Given the close relationship between languages that cognates foster, these words can be thought of as “true friends.” This is good news for English speakers learning Italian as a second language; recognizing these words can greatly increase one’s vocabulary with very little effort!

In general, when two words are cognates, the stem of each word will provide a clue to the actual meaning. The ending of each word in both languages will also follow a common pattern.

For instance, the ending –tà in Italian is equivalent to the ending –ty for English nouns.  All Italian nouns that end in –tà are feminine and invariable; therefore, these words will take the definite article la for the singular form and le for the plural form while the ending remains –à.  (Remember that a definite article is the word for “the.”) For instance, one city is la città and many cities is le città.

Some common examples are given below.  Notice that some Italian nouns have several different, but related, meanings in English.

 città                            =                     city

communità                =                     community

elettricità                   =                     electricity

facoltà                        =                     faculty department or course of study/ability/power

festività                      =                     religious holiday

identità                       =                     identity

località                        =                     locality/place/small town

nazionalità                 =                     nationality

ospitalità                    =                     hospitality

società                        =                     society/company (business)

specialità                    =                     specialty

unità                           =                     unity

università                   =                     university

 

For some –ire verbs, the –ire ending will be equivalent to the ending –ish for English verbs.

 finire                           =                     to finish

punire                         =                     to punish

 

Many English and Italian adjectives are also cognates, or “friends.”  See below for some adjectives we use every day.

The ending –ale in Italian is equivalent to the ending –al in English.

 originale                     =                    original

personale                   =                     personal

speciale                      =                     special

tradizionale                =                     traditional

 

The ending –ico in Italian is equivalent to the ending –ical or -isty in English.

classico                       =                     classical

fisiologico                  =                     physiological

politico                       =                     political

tecnico                       =                    technical

tipico                          =                     typical

turistico                      =                      touristy

 

The ending –etto in Italian is equivalent to the ending –ect in English.

 

corretto                      =                     correct

dialetto                       =                     dialect

diretto                        =                     direct

perfetto                      =                     perfect

 

The ending –atto in Italian is equivalent to the ending –act in English.

 

contatto                     =                     contact (to touch)/to know someone (in a business)

contratto                    =                      contract

fatto                           =                      fact

tratto                         =                     tract of land/pamphlet

tratto digestivo         =                     digestive tract

 

This is just a small sample of Italian language friends that English speakers will surely encounter.  It is estimated that approximaetly 30% of English words originate directly from Latin.  If words spoken in English with origins in other Latin-based languages are included, this figure may climb to as much as 60%.  How many more can you think of?

English speakers —
listen closely to Italian words
and you will find many Italian language friends 
called cognates that you will use every day!