The Italian Language

Learn about the Italian language, grammar, vocabulary and culture

The Languages of Italy

Italy as a country is a recent phenomenon, dating form only 1861, when the country was unified. For many centuries there was a series of different states which shared the Italic Peninsula. The different history of each of these entities and the different influences they suffered, meant that in each of them Vulgar Latin developed differently, giving rise to different languages or dialects. The modern Italian state reflects a bit of this history in its different regions, which often are no more than former independent states that were incorporated into the Kingdom. One example is Tuscany, which is virtually identical with the former Grand Duchy of Tuscany, with the addition of Lucca.
		The regions of Italy