The rise of modern Italian is tied to an unlikely source. The popularity of Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy gave rise to the Tuscan's rise as the standard Italian dialect.
The Italian language of today, as often happens with many languages, is in reality a dialect that has succeeded in imposing itself as the proper language of a larger region than the one corresponding to the land where a dialect is spoken. While a variety of dialects continue to exist, in the case of Italian, the Tuscan dialect, spoken in Florence, Pisa and Siena, has become the dominant dialect.
This is not because of political reasons as normally happens, but thanks to the cultural prestige it carries due to the fact that it was the language of the famed "Divina Comedia". This literary work written in the early years of the 14th century was considered the first literary work authored in the "modern language."
The Tuscan dialect is indeed the one in which renown authors such as Dante Alighieri, Petrarca and Boccaccio wrote. These three authors were considered the most well known Italian Renaissance writers. The economic success and development of the Tuscan region during the late Middle Ages gave the dialect extra weight despite the continued influence of the Venetian dialect.
The Italian languaeg is related to the other two Italo-Dalmatian languages, Sicilian and the now extinct Dalmatian. These three languaegs are part of the Italo-Western familyof Romance languages. Italian is nearest to Latin in terms of vocabulary other Romance languages are closer to Latin in terms of noun declension, verb conjugation, and phonology.
All languages spoken as the vernacular other than standard Italian are termed "Italian dialects". These include various recognized dialects such as Friulian, Neapolitan, Sardinian, Sicilian, and Venetian.
Other dialects are generally not used in the public square and are largely limited to informal conversations. Demographically, the younger generations tend to speak standard Italian almost exclusively though local accents and idioms do continue to be present.
The Italian language is spoken primarily in Italy, where it is the national language and is spoken by approximately 63 million people. It also spoken in two cantons (Ticino and Grigioni) of Switzerland where it is also known as an official language.
Italian speaking communities however reach far beyond Italy. Italian speakers are found in England, Belgium, the various republics of the former Yugoslavia, Monaco, Molta and Argentina Others are found Uruguay, Brazil, Venezuela, Mexico, Chile, United States and Canada.
A substantial community of Italian speakers is also found in Australia. Substantially smaller numbers of speakers in the former Italian colonies of Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia and Lybia.
Pointers for Learning a Foreign Language
In today's world, knowing another language or two has become very, very important - even essential in some cases. Foreign communication surrounds most people daily, and people desire to obtain other languages to increase their brain power, grow as people, or for more whimsical reasons.
Learning a Foreign Language
There are a number of reasons to learn a new language. But whether it is to stimulate your intellect, work towards personal growth, travel the world, or whatever else, most people would agree that studying a distant or exotic foreign language takes a considerable amount of time and effort.
Western Delaware: A Native American People and Language
Western Delaware is an updated take of a Southern Unami dialect, taught by the Delaware Tribe of Indians. It is labeled Western because the language was used in the Western region of Oklahoma.
