L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2024 www.italoamericano.org 20 L'Italo-Americano rolling of "r" sounds, which m a n y f i n d c h a r m i n g o r attractive. T h e s u r v e y i n v o l v e d respondents from the UK, France, Spain, Italy, Ger- many, and the US, and rated languages on aspects of sexi- ness, romanticism, and pas- sion: Italian topped the list as the language perceived to be the "most sexy" and "most romantic." The study also revealed that British English was considered the "most polite," while German was deemed the "most direct." Over 70% of British respon- dents believed learning their romantic partner's native lan- guage would enhance emo- t i o n a l c o n n e c t i o n , w h i c h highlights once more the inti- mate link between language and relationships . Linguist Patti Adank, a professor of speech percep- tion and production at Uni- versity College London, con- tributed insights into why certain languages are particu- larly liked by English speak- ers: in an article published in the UK Daily Mail, Adank h i g h l i g h t e d t h a t i t i s t h e melodic nature of languages like French and Italian to make them irresistible to spread to the international world of music, more specifi- cally, to opera: historically, most libretti were written in Italian, not just because of Italy's pivotal role in the Bel Canto tradition but also due to the language's inherent m u s i c a l i t y . I t s s m o o t h , flowing vowels and expres- sive consonants made it a natural fit for opera's emotive power, allowing composers to create complex melodies able to capture the full spectrum of human emotions and feel- ings. There were already, as you can see, historical and artistic reasons behind the well-root- ed belief that passion "speaks Italian," but Babbel's latest study finally gives us num- bers. The language-learning platform gathered opinions f r o m 6 , 0 0 0 p a r t i c i p a n t s around the globe, aiming to explore perceptions of lan- guages in terms of sexiness, romanticism, and passion. Noël Wolf, a Babbel language teacher, explains that Ital- ian's victory can be attributed to its musical quality, char- acterized by the melodious rise and fall of pitch in spo- ken form, and by distinctive phonetic features like the Anglophone ears: "English speakers are drawn to the melody of a language such as French or Italian. In compar- ison, languages such as Thai or Mandarin can sound harsh because they use tonal dis- t i n c t i o n s . I t s o u n d s v e r y unnatural and unexpected." But the recent poll by Bab- ble isn't the only study to confirm Italian's place in peo- ple's hearts. Time Out Mag- azine discussed a unique e x p e r i m e n t l e d b y researchers for the language site Preply, which involved monitoring the heart rates of volunteers as they listened to chat-up lines in 13 different languages. Italian emerged as the clear winner, increasing heart rates by an average of 23 percent! Portuguese fol- lowed, with Spanish, Russian, Greek, and French tying for the third spot. If we want to have an even better - and more academic - explanation of why everyone loves Italian so much, then Stefano Jossa's book La Più Bella del Mondo – Perché Amare la Llingua Italiana (Einaudi) is the way to go. Jossa, a professor of Italian literature, language, and cul- ture at Royal Holloway Uni- versity of London, guides readers on an impassioned journey through the history and usage of the Italian lan- g u a g e , i n v i t i n g t h e m t o appreciate its beauty and complexity. He argues that Italian, a language of inven- tion shaped by literati over centuries, and nationalized even before the nation's exis- tence, can be formal, bureau- cratic, and lofty but is also geared towards creativity and verbal play. The book high- lights Italian's capacity for metaphor, its layered mean- ings - which allow for a rich interpretation of the world - and the extraordinary wealth of its rhymes, introduced by poets of the Dolce Stil Novo and rejuvenated today, Jossa says, by rap music. Jossa also encourages us to embrace the weight of tra- dition while remembering t h a t l a n g u a g e s t h r i v e o n memory, diversity, and other- ness, becoming more beauti- ful as they open, rather than close, their borders . define a common linguistic standard for Italian literati, rather than describing an existing idiom. Among them, Dante was particularly vocal i n d e f e n d i n g t h e l i t e r a r y value of the Italian Volgare as a high language, an idea he explained well in his De Vul- gari Eloquentia. But it was, of course, Dante's magnum opus, the Divina Comme- dia, that masterfully exem- plified this by showing how Italian's versatility and depth could go well beyond its use in romantic poetry. Fast forward a few cen- turies and the Italian lan- guage's influence on the arts A few years ago, I w r o t e a b r i e f a r t i c l e f o r o u r beloved newspa- p e r , e x p l o r i n g the idea that Italian was con- s i d e r e d t h e " L a n g u a g e o f Love." Despite my own affini- ty for French - I speak it, love it, and find it irresistible! - recent data seem to support what many have long argued: when it comes to sexiness, I t a l i a n h a s n o r i v a l s ! T h e long-standing belief is now backed by findings from a comprehensive survey con- ducted by Babbel, the lan- g u a g e l e a r n i n g p l a t f o r m , which had already carried out a s i m i l a r i n v e s t i g a t i o n i n 2017: back then, French was on top, with our Bella Lingua ending up second. This year, h o w e v e r , t h i n g s h a v e changed, with La Bella Lin- gua finally taking over the language of Molière as the most passionate on Earth. But considering its origins, it should hardly come as a surprise. Back in the 13th cen- tury, the Italian Volgare was embraced as a literary language specifically used to articulate themes of love, notably through the Dolce Stil Novo movement. It was- n't until Dante Alighieri's intervention that the Italian language was demonstrated to possess the capacity to delve into all facets of human inquiry, including philosophy and theology. Yet, this evolu- tion was more about the con- scious crafting of a language by intellectuals aiming to FRANCESCA BEZZONE Italiano, ti amo! Italian crowned as "the sexiest language" Ciao belli! Italian has been chosen as the sexiest language by users of language learning platform Babbel (Photo: Frantisek Chmura/Dreamstime) NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS Selling Homes Throughout The Bay Area Adele Della Santina "The Right Realtor makes all the di昀erence." 650.400.4747 Adele.DellaSantina@compass.com www.AdeleDS.com DRE# 00911740 Expert in preparation, promotion, and negotiation!

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