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Language

General

Italian is the official national language, but in the province of Bolzano (South Tyrol) German is spoken (approx. 200,000 persons), in some of the valleys of Piemonte and Valle d'Aosta a lot of French is spoken (approx. 100,000 persons); in the valleys of the Dolomites and in the region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, people speak Raeto Romanesque. In the region of Basilicata, in southern Italy, part of the population even speaks Albanian. Italian is also spoken in the Swiss canton of Ticino (Ticino), in four mountain valleys in the Swiss Graubünden, in the Republic of San Marino and in the Vatican City. Italian dialects can also be found on (French) Corsica, on the Côte d'Azur to Nice (Nizza), in Monaco and in the urban centers of Istria. Outside Italy there are more than 1 million Italian speakers in Europe and in Africa and North and South America together more than 10 million.

Flag of the Italian language: with the Italian flag and from top to bottom the coats of arms of Switzerland, San Marino and Vatican City Flag of the Italian language: with the Italian flag and from top to bottom the coats of arms of Switzerland, San Marino and Vatican CityPhoto:Enrinipo CC 3.0 Unported no changes made

Italian language

Overview of Romanesque languagesOverview of Romanesque languagesPhoto: Koryakov Yuri CC 3.0 Unported no changes made

The Italian language is a Romanesque language and a direct continuation and development of (Vulgar) Latin. The question of whether Italian should be based on the Florentine dialect or contain elements of other dialects has given rise to many and protracted discussions and controversies (which continued into the 18th century): the so-called "questione della lingua". The language of civilized circles in the Tuscan cities and in Rome is currently the standard.

Some Italian words and expressions:

Dialects

Compared to those of other Romance languages such as French and Spanish, the Italian dialects appeared relatively late as a written language. Latin was maintained here as an official and learned language for much longer than elswhere: in full until the early 17th, sporadically even until the end of the 18th century.

The first attempts at creating a written vernacular started with the Sicilian poetry school (first half of the 13th century), followed a little later by the north and Tuscany. For historical and geographic reasons, but mainly by Dante, followed by Petrarch and Boccaccio, Tuscan, especially its Florentine idiom, prevailed over all other dialects in the 14th century.

Due to the typical shape of the country, with its many isolated areas, but also due to the former political division, approximately 1500 dialects have been created. Only two percent of Italians would not be able to speak some dialect.

Italian dialects Italian dialectsPhoto: Public domain

The Italian dialects are generally divided into:

A central and southern Italian group, including Sicily, which has a line from the east of Rome to Ancona as its northern border.

A Tuscan group, whose northern boundary is the arc of the Apennines (Spezia and Rimini), which also includes most of the Corsian accents.

An Upper Italian group, namely Piemonte, Lombardy (including Ticino), Liguria, Emilia-Romagna, the so-called Gallo-Italic dialects, as well as Venice.

From a linguistic point of view, Sardinian is regarded as an independent Romance language, while the languages of Friuli and Central Ladin are considered to be Raeto Romanesque; the Val d'Aosta is Franco-Provencal.

The name "Italia" first appeared in a tribe in Calabria, who called themselves "Vitaloi". This name Greeked to "Italoi" and in 42 BC. the Roman Octavian gave the whole area the official name "Italia".

Sources

Aigner, G. / Toscane
Lannoo

Beliën, H. / Toscane/Umbrië
Gottmer/Becht

Breuiller, J. / Toscane, Umbrië
ANWB

Büld Campetti, C. / Toscane
Het Spectrum

Catling, C. / Florence & Toscane
Van Reemst

Florence en Toscane
Lannoo

Leeuwen, G. van / Toscane
ANWB

Leeuwen, G. van / Toscane, Umbrië
ANWB

Pelz, M. / Toscane
Elmar

Romig-Kirsch, U. / Toscane
Van Reemst

Schaper, A. / Toscane, Umbrië en de Marken
Elmar

Tuscany & Umbria
Lonely Planet

CIA - World Factbook

BBC - Country Profiles

Last updated November 2024
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