The Italian language might be one of the most popular languages in the world. This traces back to the popularity of Italy itself. Everyone knows something about Italy. Be it the landmarks, food, history, politics.… However, almost everyone who is passionate about the country would definitely know a lot about the language.
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To understand Italy, you need to understand the Italians. This could be a complicated and easy task at once. It is similar to drinking one bottle of Prosecco by yourself. You enjoy it even though you know how hard it is!
Origins of the Italian Language
The Italian language is a member of the Romance group of languages and dialects. However, it has very strong roots to Latin, more than any other language. The other Romance languages are French, Spanish, Portuguese and Romanian.
Perhaps its direct predecessor would be Vulgar Latin according to language professors. This was the language used by locals in the Mediterranean area during the classical period of the Roman Empire.
However, the Standard Italian we hear today has developed in the Tuscan region of Italy. Additionally, the works of writers like Dante Alighieri has further fueled the popularity of the Florentine dialect. Moreover, Florence dominated the Italian peninsula during the 14th century. The city was a global political, engineering, financial and literature center.
Also, many Florentine families like the Medici played controversial roles during the Renaissance . This has paved the way for Italy’s dominance in Europe. Consequently the emergence from the Dark Ages occurred. The latter was the chapter where Europe plunged into chaos, wars and plagues.
The resurgence of the European continent to dominate the world powers was due to literature, science and arts. The Medici who were a family of bankers, spent a big chunk of their fortune for this purpose. Moreover, they accurately documented their journey using the Italian language with its Florentine dialect.
Facts and Figures about The Italian Language
Italian is spoken by roughly 90 million people. It is the official language of Italy, San Marino and Vatican City. Additionally, many other countries recognize the language in their constitution or some regions of the country speak it. Examples include Switzerland, Croatia and Slovenia.
Another country that has Italian as a recognized language would be Albania. If you would like to learn more about this fascinating country, check this hand-picked article: Is Albania the Success Recipe for Dua Lipa and Rita Ora?
Moreover, Malta uses the Italian language where historically it had an official status. Also there are Greek islands that speak some form of Italian dialects. These islands include the Ionian Islands and the Dodecanese. Also, the island of Corsica uses the Corsu language which quite resembles Italian. This is in addition to the official language of French.
Likewise, many Italians reside abroad in North America and Australia. These people still speak Italian in addition to English.
One final note about Italian would be the Spanish dialect spoken in Argentina. The Italian language heavily influenced the Argentinian dialect, as historically many Italians moved to the country.
Therefore, they altered the established Spanish language there. Today, a visit to Argentina will facilitate hearing the lovely voice of the child born when Spanish married Italian.
The Italian Language has many dialects as the country is a unified state of magnificent historical empires. Therefore, Italians use a lot of hand and facial gestures when communicating to avoid any confusion between dialects. As a result, this habit continues to our present day and people feel a sense of connection engaging all their senses when speaking to an Italian person.
