Italian

Guide Note

Italian is a romance language and is the most similar, of all the romance languages, to Latin. Italian is the official language of Italy and is also spoken in San Marino, Slovenia, Switzerland, Croatia and the Vatican City. The language was adopted after the unification of Italy in the late 19th century, and is based primarily on the Tuscan dialect. This page contains resources for learning and studying Italian.

Fast Facts

1. Language family: Indo-European, Romance Language
2. Number of speakers: 60 million native speakers
3. Official language: 10 countries including Italy plus the European Union
4. Regulated by: Accademia della Crusca
5. Major dialects: Tuscan, Umbrian, Romanesco, Marchigiano, Laziale

• Italian: Italiano
• English: Inglese
• Yes: Sì
• No: No
• Hello: Ciao
• How are you?: Come stai

Because of the relatively recent development of Italian unification, the Italian language was not a national language in Italy until the late 19th Century. Until that point, every region and city in Italy had a unique language, dating back to when Italy was divided into city-states. Like all Romantic languages, Italian is based on Latin.