History of the Italian Language
As for lots languages, the Italian Language dates back to the
Romans who imposed their native tongue Latin, or "Latino" as it's
known it Italian, on all the people they conquered.
Italian is considered the closest living language to Latin, is spoken in many dialects,
all of which are bastardized spin-offs from spoken of colloquial
Latin. Many Italian dialects sound like totally different
languages.
The Evolution of the Italian language
The Italian language developed with the regional dialects of the
various Italian city states. As what is now known modern Italy
was fought over and invaded the language has absorbed different
influences. In the north of the country this has give rise to
dialects known as "Gallo-Italian". These Gallo-Italian dialects are
heavily influenced by the French language. This is so wide
spread that natives of the northern city of Milan can be generally
understood by most French speakers!
The center of Italy is dominated by the dialects
Toscano, Marchegiano, Umbro, Abruzzese, Laziale, Molisano and
Campano. The very distinct southern dialects, such as Pugliese,
Lucano, Maruggese, Salentino and Calabrese are as difficult to
understand to the northern Italians as the dialects spoken on the
islands of Sicily, Siciliano, and the islands of Sardinia, Sardo
and Corsica, Corso.
Modern Italian
It was not until the 19th century that the language spoken by
educated Tuscans spread to become the language a unified Italy. The
unification of Italy in 1861 resulted in a significant social,
economical, and cultural transformation. As schooling became
compulsory, the literacy rate increased, and many speakers
abandoned their native dialect in favour of the national
language.
The Romance Language Family
