Italian 101

Italian 101

Here at La Piazza di Carolina, we’re dedicated to teaching Italian to people of all ages. But we don’t want you just to know how to speak Italian; we want you to know about the language too! So here are 10 facts to start you off:

  1. Italian is a Romance language, tracing its roots back to Latin. It’s also the Romance language that is most similar to Latin.
  2. Approximately 66 million people throughout the world speak Italian.
  3. It is the official language of Italy, San Marino, and certain parts of Switzerland.
  4. Italy’s unification in 1861 established what we know as modern Italian as the country’s main language. Before this, many people mainly spoke a regional dialect.
  5. And speaking of dialects, modern Italian comes from one that was spoken in Tuscany.
  6. Italian is also spoken in various places outside of Europe, including parts of the US, Argentina, Venezuela, Australia, and Canada.
  7. The five cities in the United States with the greatest amount of Italian speakers are New York City, Boston, Chicago, Miami, and Philadelphia.
  8. Italian ranks fifth among the most popular non-native languages taught.
  9. Almost every word in Italian ends with a vowel.

10. According to BBC, the longest word in Italian (with 29 letters!) is esofagodermatodigiunoplastica, which they say refers to surgery following the removal of the stomach and oesophagus.

Ciao!

P.S. And now that you know, don’t keep these facts to yourself! Help us spread the knowledge by likin or retweeting this post.

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