Languages of Italy
Although society has existed on the Italian Peninsula for thousands of years, the Italian language we know today
only begun being used in an official capacity after Italian unification in 1861. Before this, there was no Italian
language, and the peninsula was filled with regional descendants of the vulgar latin spoken by the common citizens
of ancient Rome. After unification, the variety spoken in Tuscany, specifically the Florentine dialect, was chosen
to be used as the official language of Italy. Florentine was chosen due to its historical importance, particularly
in the literature of Dante Alighieri, Petrarch, and Giovanni Boccaccio.
Though only about 2.5% of the population spoke Italian in 1861, its use gradually increased as literacy rates improved
and the standard variety was taught in schools, though outside of school and work the regional varieties continued to
be the preferred means of communication. Today, most everyone can speak and understand standard Italian, but each region
still retains many regional dialects, or in many cases fully distinct languages in their own right.
Each of these dialects and languages form an important part of the history and culture of each region. Each of these region has thousands of years of history, many of which even being their own distinct nations, and their joining into unified Italy is relatively recent by comparison. Here we invite to to click on the various regions of the map and learn more about what makes them distinct.
Each of these dialects and languages form an important part of the history and culture of each region. Each of these region has thousands of years of history, many of which even being their own distinct nations, and their joining into unified Italy is relatively recent by comparison. Here we invite to to click on the various regions of the map and learn more about what makes them distinct.
