7 Interesting Facts About The Italian Language

To have another language is to possess a second soul’. Italy has been among the world’s top tourist destinations due to its well-endowed history, breathtaking architectural work and mouth-watering meals. The national Italian heritage month happens on October with the third week set as Italian language week. Did you know Italian is popularly known as the language of romance? Keep reading to discover more mind-blowing facts about Italian.

1. The language became standardized in the 14th century when Dante Alighieri provided rules for written Italian.

Dante Alighieri is probably the most well-known Italian writer of all time. Written Italian was derived from his vast writings. The most important work he wrote was ‘The Divine Comedy’ which he did in the Tuscan dialect that became the set standard of the Italian spoken today.

2. The Italian alphabet contains 21 letters

Italian has similar characters as the English language. However, letters j,k,w,x, and y are not present in Italian.

3. Italian became an official language in 1861

Although various Italian dialects existed in the past, a standard language emerged when the existing dialects were unified. This occurred in 1861, with only 2.5% of the population speaking Italian.

4. The oldest text in Italian is over 1000 years old.

The initial documents in the Italian language were written in the 960-963 years. They were legal documents known as Placiti Cassinesi, regarding a land ownership dispute between Benedictine monasteries.

5. Italian is the official language of classical music

During the Renaissance, music notation was invented in Italy, making it the standard language in classical music.

6. Italian is spoken by over 85 million people worldwide

Due to its popularity as the language of romance, it has sparked interest among a variety of people across the world. It is the official language of Italy, Switzerland, and San Marino, and it is also spoken by sizable minority communities around the world including the United States, Croatia, Brazil, Argentina, Canada, and Australia.

7. Italian dialects constitute independent languages.

There are several regional dialects in Italian with each uniquely different from the other. Moreover, each independent state in Italy has its language.

On the whole, Italian is distinctive and diverse with a rich history. It’s worth learning. Step on it and enroll In an Italian tutoring class and you won’t second guess your decision.