If a Spanish person wanted to refer to someone or something as 'Italian', they would use the word Italiano which is actually exactly the same word Italians would use themselves. Italiana is also the feminine form of the word in both languages.An example of a sentence that demonstrates this is as follows:
- English: Justin Bieber is learning to speak Italian.
- Spanish: Justin Bieber está aprendiendo a hablar italiano.
- Italian: Justin Bieber sta imparando a parlare l'italiano..
There are a number of cases where you will find Italian and Spanish sharing similar-sounding words to describe something. This is mainly due to the two languages both sharing a common linguistic heritage in the Latin that was spoken across much of western Europe, and which was the basis for a number of languages commonly referred to as 'romance languages', a category which both Spanish and Italian fall into.
The similarities between the two languages can be seen in many words and phrases. For example, an Italian might suggest sharing 'a bottle of wine' or una bottiglia di vino, whilst a Spanish counterpart would be willing to split a botella de vino.
False Friends
Despite the similarity between the two languages, there are a number of potential pitfalls for Italian and Spanish speakers. This is because, as the two languages developed from Latin along their separate paths, some words kept the phonological similarities, whilst their meanings evolved in different directions.
This has created a number of 'trap words' that often complicate conversations between Spaniards and Italians, rather than helping them.
An example of this is how an Italian would refer to a particularly hot day is being very caldo - whilst the same word, caldo, to a Spaniard would mean 'broth' or 'soup'.
