How close is modern Italian pronunciation of sounds to Ecclesiastical Latin pronunciation?

1. How close is Latin to modern Italian?
2. Is it better to learn classical or Ecclesiastical Latin?
3. Should Latin be pronounced like Italian?
4. What percentage of Italian is Latin?

How close is Latin to modern Italian?

According to many sources, Italian is the closest language to Latin in terms of vocabulary. According to the Ethnologue, Lexical similarity is 89% with French, 87% with Catalan, 85% with Sardinian, 82% with Spanish, 80% with Portuguese, 78% with Ladin, 77% with Romanian.

Is it better to learn classical or Ecclesiastical Latin?

Ecclesiastical pronunciation is a more beautiful, more euphonious pronunciation. It is also easier to learn and is closer to English. Because it is closer to English it makes learning English words which are derivatives of Latin (important for the SAT and reading and writing in general) easier.

Should Latin be pronounced like Italian?

You may have wondered if Latin sounds like Italian, and whether someone with no knowledge of Italian would be able to tell the two languages apart just based on how they sound. Overall, Latin sounds less melodic than Italian and has more consonants, leading to a slightly harsher sound.

What percentage of Italian is Latin?

The linguist Mario Pei's lexical chart had Italian at 12% distant to Latin, closer than Italian, Portuguese, Spanish or French.