Italian Language Variations
If you have been in Italy for any amount of time, you might have already understood that the language varies greatly depending on where you are. Along with differences in accents, there are also dozens of dialects. In this article, we will break down a brief history of the development of the standard Italian language as well as information on the different dialects you can still hear.
The difference between an accent and a dialect
Before proceeding, it might be useful to clarify the difference between an accent and dialect since sometimes they can be (erroneously) used interchangeably. A dialect is a subset of a broader language, spoken by a specific group of people, usually dependent on geographic region. While it shares roots and many similarities with the primary language, it can differ based on grammar and vocabulary.
An accent, in contrast, describes a difference in the way in which the main language or dialect is spoken, specifically regarding pronunciation and emphasis. This can be determined by region or social class.
Why does the Italian language vary so much across the country?
Compared to most other countries, Italy has an astounding number of dialects, a large number of them incomprehensible to those who did not learn them. Dialects and accents can even change from town-to-town! This is primarily due to the fact that, as a unified country, Italy is relatively new: it wasn’t until 1861 that the Kingdom of Italy was established. Prior to this, the peninsula had existed as a conglomeration of city-states, all with their own unique cultural identity, some (like Sicily and other southern regions) heavily influenced by outside countries, and, yes, even different languages.
The origins of the Italian language
For the development of the Italian language we know and love today, we have the fall of the Roman Empire to thank. After this happened in the 5th century AD, variations of vulgar Latin began to develop. Classical Latin, however, continued to be used in the Church, in universities, and other similar professional roles. French was also widely used—as it was in England in the Middle Ages—among the upper classes and nobility, given the power and influence of the country.
The lower classes and majority of the population continued to use only the vernacular which, as mentioned above, could differ even from one town to another. These were not languages (or rather, dialects) that were used in any professional sense, certainly not written down or used for literature. Until Dante Alighieri changed that precedent.
How Dante “developed” modern Italian
Technically, Dante was not the first to utilize a vernacular language in literature for the masses. Around the early- to mid-13th century the Sicilian School was active, a group of poets at the court of King Frederick II of Sicily. Their literature, primarily centering around courtly love, was written in Sicilian. Dante was a great admirer of this work, and nearly a hundred years later, he—along with other prominent literary figures, Boccaccio and Petrarch—wrote in vernacular Tuscan. The most famous of these works is undoubtedly Dante’s Commedia. His poetic style and use of language was particularly unique and innovative, not unlike Shakespeare’s influence on the English language.
However, while the Tuscan language did become popular and better known, following Dante, the other dialects persisted and there was no considered official “language” of Italy until its unification in 1861. Even in the early 19th century when one of Italy’s most famous literary works, I Promessi Sposi, was written, Alessandro Manzoni revised the novel to make it sound more Tuscan and less Lombard.
Following Italy’s geographic and linguistic unification, there was still a problem of illiteracy that persisted up until the 1950s. Even though the Italian Constitution of 1948 established basic education for all, it was actually television that helped people learn standard Italian the most. Specifically, there was a show that ran in the ‘60s by the station RAI called Non è mai troppo tardi (“It’s never too late”). This led to an astonishing boom in literacy.
Linguistic influences on Italian dialects
Apart from Latin, there have been many other linguistic influences on the various Italian dialects that speak to the colorful history of the peninsula. Spanish and French probably aren’t surprising influences, given the closeness of the other two countries and the easily observable similarities among the languages.
Arab, for instance, had a surprisingly important influence on the Sicilian language. This is due to the fact that Sicily was an emirate from the 9th to 11th centuries. On the other hand, the dialects spoken in the northern regions of Italy—Emilia-Romagna, Liguria, Piedmont, and Lombardy—took some influence from Celtic and Germanic languages from when Celts lived in the area during the 4th-3rd centuries BC (Cisalpine Gaul). In the far north today, particularly Alto Adige, you will even see signs written in German, which is also an official language there.
Of course, these are simplistic explanations for the purpose of a short article; the reality of all the various influences and developments on the dialects across the peninsula is much more complex.
How common are dialects today?
According to the Istituto Nazionale di Statistica, as of 2015, 32.2% of the Italian population could speak both Italian and a dialect. Looking at those who speak primarily in dialect, that number drops down to 14%. It is, on the whole, true too that the older generation comprises the most speakers of local dialects. However, some dialects, such as Sardinian, Neapolitan, and Sicilian, are so distinct in their own rights that they are recognized more as languages than dialects. The question of where to draw the line between “dialect” and “language” among the regional varieties of Italy is complicated, though, and can be hotly contested. Needless to say, they are all a rich part of the peninsula’s history.
Conclusion
As this article has shown, the question of language in Italy is a difficult, yet fascinating, one. As you learn more and start interacting with locals, see if you can hear bits of dialect in your daily interactions. And if you’d like to get started on your Italian language learning journey, don’t hesitate to contact us at info@italiancitizenshiplanguageschool.com.
