So, let start with the most obvious difference of all…The languageBoth French and Italian are called romantic languages, and both have Latin roots.But don’t be fooled by that, though, the languages are very different.Spanish is the language that would help you the most if you wanted to learn Italian.
I know that there are some people out there thinking that if you can speak one you can pretty much speak the other, and oh, I wish it was true! But people believing such thing, are usually people who don’t speak either of the two languages.The truth is that’s really not true. They are two very different languages.For example, let me give you some very basic words in both language and you tell me if they look alike enough so you could guess them from one language to the other.Now if you look at that list, you have a very good idea about how both languages can be similar and different.And don’t forget that even if they spell a bit similar, they sound totally different. Pretty much the same as when English and French words spell similar, but you wouldn’t recognize the if you heard them spoken.All in all, each language is it’s own, and there’s no such thing as speaking or understanding one simply because you speak the other.Now does a French speaker would have an advantage over an English speaker to learn Italian?Yes, most definitely, but that’s about it.France is almost twice as big as Italy, but Italy is more crowded. France has 66 million inhabitants with about 100 people per square mile, with a total square mileage of 210,521,289.Italy has 61 million inhabitants with about 200 people per square mile, with a total square mileage of 113,521.So, in case you didn’t get it from the numbers, while Italy is smaller than France it has about 100 more inhabitants per square mile.Food. Both countries are known to be among the best cuisines of the world.Both cuisines are very rich and tasty, and both Italy and France have different dish traditions depending on regions.While France is the country of the potato, Italy is the country of pasta.The French can cook a potation in a hundred different ways, and Italians can cook pasta in hundred different way too!But that’s NOT the only food they can cook either. Don’t be mistaken.I personally love both cuisines.
I could eat pasta every day.Climate.As a whole, Italy is warmer than France, since it’s more southern. The average temperature in Central France in summer is 70 degrees while in Central Italy is 80 degrees.Just remember that these are only average summer temperatures of center regions, but of course, northern Italy is warmer than northern France.Both countries have 4 seasons just like the US, and at the same time.Both countries are pretty much as old as them make them.Both countries still have vestiges from the Greek and Roman Empires still standing. For obvious reasons, Italy having been the Roman Empire center has more of it.Rome is the capital of the country, and the place where you can find the most popular Roman Coliseums.Paris, however, is not the city hosting the oldest monuments in the country.But in Vienne, France, for example, you can find a Roman Temple (the Temple of Augustus of Livia) dating from 20-10 BC, at the heart of the town.
