Will I learn Italian faster than I've learned French?

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darren
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Will I learn Italian faster than I've learned French?

Postby darren » Wed Jul 13, 2022 7:50 pm

A bit of context: I started learning French in September of 2020, and am now at a (tested) B2 level. My listening and reading skills are perhaps on the higher side of B2, while my speaking skills lag behind. I started learning the language as I am a fan of pro cycling (where many of the events, of course, take place in France) and because I also plan to travel to France for some vacations. My goals are to reach a solid C1 level, which I believe if I continue studying at the pace that I have been, should take me another year and a half to two years.

Just recently, my wife and I learned that she qualifies to become a (dual) Italian citizen, by descent from her great-grandfather. We have started this process, which all told should take 3-4 years to complete. After she becomes a citizen, I can then also start a separate process to become an Italian citizen as well, because I would then be married to an Italian citizen. BUT, there is a language requirement for those applying for citizenship via marriage: One has to demonstrate a B1 level. My eventual goals are to reach a C1 in Italian also, but I can take the test and get citizenship as soon as I feel comfortable that I'd pass at B1.

So, with all of that context above, for folks who have learned multiple romance languages, do you feel that you proceeded more quickly in that second romance language?
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tractor
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Re: Will I learn Italian faster than I've learned French?

Postby tractor » Wed Jul 13, 2022 9:01 pm

darren wrote:So, with all of that context above, for folks who have learned multiple romance languages, do you feel that you proceeded more quickly in that second romance language?

Yes.
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Re: Will I learn Italian faster than I've learned French?

Postby iguanamon » Wed Jul 13, 2022 10:19 pm

Seconding Tractor, yes, the second romance language will be quicker. Still, Italian is another language for a reason. French and English will help a lot but there will still be a lot of work to do with grammar, pronunciation and vocabulary. Despite the similarity, it won't be "a walk in the park".
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Re: Will I learn Italian faster than I've learned French?

Postby Cenwalh » Wed Jul 13, 2022 10:44 pm

It absolutely helps a ton. Considering the timelines you've given, I would recommend continuing with French until C1 if that's your goal before starting Italian. I think having as high of a level as practicable in one Romance language helps not confuse the next one. Plus considering the two have a ~90% lexical similarity (according to Ethnologue), all your learning on French will help you with your future Italian studies.

Once you do start to learn Italian, you could "ladder" it from French, ie you'd use French as the base language of whatever course you end up using (if you go the course route). This is useful because you don't have to wade through all the explanations of grammar that is common to both languages, and indeed other Romance languages, and it helps you use your French knowledge better. Some say it helps keep the two languages separate as well, and such a course is likely to point out false friends and other oddities that wouldn't be mentioned in an English course

Good luck!
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Re: Will I learn Italian faster than I've learned French?

Postby Le Baron » Wed Jul 13, 2022 11:01 pm

Well motivation is a crucial factor and you have a (or more) specific reason for motivation. That's one box checked. Knowing another romance language is helpful, and I think I'd rather be coming from French to Italian than the other way around because the pronunciation/speaking element of French is, on the whole, arguably a steeper incline.
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Re: Will I learn Italian faster than I've learned French?

Postby sirgregory » Wed Jul 13, 2022 11:36 pm

How did you learn French? Did you reach B2 via self-study in your spare time while living in an English-speaking country? If so, that is a very good outcome imo. If you managed that, Italian should be a breeze for you.

All else equal, you should pick up Italian at least as easily as you did French, and in theory it should come easier, perhaps substantially so. It seems you've been pretty successful with French; if you are able to replicate that success even with no substantial Romance discount that would be a fine outcome. When I say "all else equal," I mean the amount of time, effort, opportunities to speak, etc. If those inputs are substantially different, obviously you could have a very different outcome with Italian. French is also probably marginally harder. I haven't studied much Italian but with Spanish vs French I feel like understanding spoken French is a little harder because a lot of French words are less distinct (e.g. vin/vingt vs vino/veinte).

In my case, I learned Spanish first and later studied French casually on my own. It seemed rather easy and I felt like I was getting a HUGE discount vs a monolingual English speaker. And yet. I never actually got that far with it because I never used it with sufficient intensity.
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Re: Will I learn Italian faster than I've learned French?

Postby garyb » Thu Jul 14, 2022 12:00 pm

For sure, although don't expect miracles. I picked up basic Italian pretty quickly when I had a high B2 level in French, but going beyond the basics and becoming a good speaker has still taken a long time and a lot of effort, albeit certainly less than if I hadn't known French.
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Re: Will I learn Italian faster than I've learned French?

Postby MorkTheFiddle » Thu Jul 14, 2022 5:57 pm

From Spanish to French, Spanish helped only insofar as Spanish had introduced me to the subjunctive, and in between them was German with more subjunctive. Between Spanish and French were about 3 years, during which time Spanish was neglected.
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