Italian Word For King

0423

Dec 20, 2018 - 1 Language Aids; 2 Italian Genealogical Word List; 3 Language. For example, in Latin you would write magnus rex (great king), magna aetas.

  • It was also compared word for word with the Authorized Version (by King James) of 1611. King James Version KJV The KJV is the first version of Scripture authorized by the Protestant church and commissioned by England's King James I.
  • Mar 31, 2016 - If your mouth is full of water, you can't speak. In English, an equivalent would be “Don't say a word!” or “Mum's the word!” Italian Phrases Acqua.
See also: King of Italy.
Iron Crown of Lombardy, used in Italian coronations from the Lombard era to the 19th century

Queen of Italy (regina Italiae in Latin and regina d'Italia in Italian) is a title adopted by many spouses of the rulers of the Italian peninsula after the fall of the Roman Empire. The details of where and how the ruling kings ruled are in the article about them.

  • 4Queen consorts of Italy

Queen consorts of Italy, under Odoacer[edit]

  • Unknown

Ostrogothic Queen consorts of Italy[edit]

PictureNameFatherBirthMarriageBecame ConsortCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse
Audofleda of the Salian FranksChilderic I, King of the Salian Franks
(Merovingian)
47049330 August 526
husband's death
?Theodoric
Mathesuentha of the VisigothsEutharic
(Areal line)
517536540
husband's death
after 550Witiges
Berthora of RheimsTheudebert I, King of Rheims
(Merovingian)
5355491 July 552
husband's death
555Totila
No names of Ostrogothic queens are mention during beyond this point.
PictureNameFatherBirthMarriageBecame ConsortCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse

Lombardic Queen consorts of Italy[edit]

PictureNameFatherBirthMarriageBecame ConsortCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse
Chlothsind of the FranksChlothar I, King of the Franks
(Merovingian)
?????Alboin
Rosamund of the GepidsCunimund, King of the Gepids?56728 June 572/573
husband's death
?
Theodelinda of BavariaGaribald I, Duke of Bavaria
(Agilolfings)
?15 May 5895 September 590
husband's death
22 January 627Authari
May 591616
husband's death
Agilulf
Gundiberga of the LombardsAuthari591?626
husband's accession, locked in monastery
636
husband's death
?Arioald
after 636652
husband's death
Rothari
Theodota of the LombardsAripert I?after 662??Grimoald I
No names of Lombardic queens are mentioned until 739.
Guntrude???712
husband's ascension
744
husband's disposition
?Liutprand
Tassia???744
husband's ascension
749
husband's disposition
?Ratchis
AnsaVerissimo??744
husband's ascension
5 June 774
husband's disposition
?Desiderius
Hildegard of VinzgouwGerold of Vinzgouw758771774
husband's coronation as Lombardic king
30 April 783Charles I
Fastrada of FranconiaRaoul III de Franconie et d'Aéda de Bavière765784
as Queen consort the Lombards
10 October 794
Luitgard of SundgauLuitfrid II, Count of Sundgau776794
as Queen consort the Lombards
4 June 800
PictureNameFatherBirthMarriageBecame ConsortCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse

Queen consorts of Italy[edit]

Carolingian dynasty, (774–887)[edit]

PictureNameFatherBirthMarriageBecame ConsortCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse
Hildegard of VinzgouwGerold of Vinzgouw
(Agilolfings)
7587715 June 774
husband's coronation as Lombardic king
30 April 783Charles I
Fastrada of FranconiaRaoul III of Franconia765784
as Queen consort the Lombards
10 October 794
Luitgard of SundgauLuitfrid II, Count of Sundgau
(Etichonids)
776794
as Queen consort the Lombards
4 June 800
Bertha of GelloneWilliam of Gellone, Count of Toulouse?795?781
as Queen consort of Italy
8 July 810
husband's death
?Pepin
Cunigunda of Laon??81317 April 818
husband's death
?Bernard I
Ermengarde of ToursHugh of Tours
(Etichonids)
80415 October 821 as sole queen
15 June 844 as senior queen
20 March 851Lothair I
Engelberga of ParmaAdelchis I, Count of Parma
(Supponids)
8305 October 85112 August 875
husband's death
896/901Louis II
Richilde of ProvenceBivin of Gorze, Count of the Ardennes
(Bosonid)
84587012 August 875
husband's ascension
6 October 877
husband's death
2 June 910Charles II
Richardis of SwabiaErchanger, Count of the Nordgau
(Ahalolfinger)
8401 August 862879
husband's ascension
887
husband's death
18 September, between 894 and 896Charles III
PictureNameFatherBirthMarriageBecame ConsortCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse

After 887, Italy fell into instability, with many rulers claiming the Kingship simultaneously:

Unruoching dynasty, (887–924)[edit]

PictureNameFatherBirthMarriageBecame ConsortCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse
Bertila of SpoletoSuppo II of Spoleto
(Supponids)
86088026 December 887
husband's ascension
December 915Berengar I
Anna of ProvenceLouis the Blind
(Bosonids)
-by December 9157 April 924
husband's death
after May 930
PictureNameFatherBirthMarriageBecame ConsortCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse

Widonid dynasty, (889–896)[edit]

King
PictureNameFatherBirthMarriageBecame ConsortCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse
Ageltrude of BeneventoAdelchis, Prince of Benevento?early 880s889
husband's coronation
12 December 894
husband's death
27 August 923Guy
PictureNameFatherBirthMarriageBecame ConsortCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse

Carolingian Dynasty, (896–899)[edit]

PictureNameFatherBirthMarriageBecame ConsortCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse
Ota of NeustriaBerengar I of Neustria
(Conradines)
874before the end of 88822 February 896
husband's coronation
8 December 899
husband's death
after 30 November 903Arnulf
PictureNameFatherBirthMarriageBecame ConsortCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse

Bosonid dynasty, (900–905)[edit]

PictureNameFatherBirthMarriageBecame ConsortCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse
Anna of Constantinople
[1]
Leo VI the Wise
(Macedonian)
885around 90012 October 900
husband's coronation
21 July 905
husband relinquished titles
912Louis III
PictureNameFatherBirthMarriageBecame ConsortCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse

Elder Welf dynasty, (922–926)[edit]

PictureNameFatherBirthMarriageBecame ConsortCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse
Bertha of SwabiaBurchard II, Duke of Swabia
(Hunfridings)
907922922
husband's coronation
926 husband's deposition
933 husband relinquished titles
after 2 January 966Rudolph
PictureNameFatherBirthMarriageBecame ConsortCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse

Bosonid dynasty, (926–950)[edit]

PictureNameFatherBirthMarriageBecame ConsortCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse
Alda (or Hilda)A German?after 924before 932
marriage annulled
?Hugh
Marozia of Tusculum, Senatrix and Patricia of RomeTheophylact I, Count of Tusculum
(Tusculani)
890932December 932
933 husband fled, her imprisonment
932/937
Bertha of SwabiaBurchard II, Duke of Swabia
(Hunfridings)
90712 December 93710 April 948
husband's death
after 2 January 966
Adelaide of Burgundy and ItalyRudolf II of Burgundy and Italy
(Elder Welf)
93112 December 94710 April 948
husband's coronation
22 November 950
husband's death
16 December 999Lothair II
PictureNameFatherBirthMarriageBecame ConsortCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse

Anscarid dynasty, (950–963)[edit]

PictureNameFatherBirthMarriageBecame ConsortCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse
Willa of TuscanyBoso, Margrave of Tuscany
(Bosonids)
910930/93115 December 950
husband's coronation
953
husband's imprisonment
963/after 966Berengar II
Gerberga of MâconLambert of Chalon945960/62963
husband's desposition
11 December 986/991Adalbert
PictureNameFatherBirthMarriageBecame ConsortCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse

Ottonian dynasty, (951–1002)[edit]

In 951 Otto I of Germany invaded Italy and was crowned 'King of the Lombards'. In 952, Berengar and Adalbert became in vassals but remained Kings until being deposed by Otto.

PictureNameFatherBirthMarriageBecame ConsortCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse
Adelaide of Burgundy and ItalyRudolf II of Burgundy and Italy
(Elder Welf)
9319517 May 973
husband's death
16 December 999Otto I
Theophanu of Constantinople96014 April 9727 December 983
husband's death
15 June 991Otto II
PictureNameHouseBirthMarriageBecame ConsortCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse

Anscarid dynasty, (1002–1014)[edit]

PictureNameFatherBirthMarriageBecame ConsortCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse
Berthaprobably Otbert II, Margrave of Milan?before 1000c. 1002
husband accession
c. 1014
husband gave up claim
?Arduin
PictureNameHouseBirthMarriageBecame ConsortCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse

After the brief interruption by Arduin of Ivrea and after the restoration of the Holy Roman Emperor as the sole holder of the title King of Italy, the title became one of the many appanages of the Holy Roman Empress.

Ottonian dynasty, (1004–1024)[edit]

PictureNameFatherBirthMarriageBecame ConsortCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse
Cunigunde of LuxembourgSiegfried, Count of Luxembourg
(Luxembourg)
975100014 May 1004
husband's coronation
13 July 1024
husband's death
3 March 1033Henry II
PictureNameHouseBirthMarriageBecame ConsortCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse

Salian dynasty, (1026–1125)[edit]

PictureNameHouseBirthMarriageBecame ConsortCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse
Gisela of SwabiaHermann II, Duke of Swabia
(Conradines)
11 November 99510161026
husband's coronation as King of Italy
4 June 1039
husband's death
14 February 1043Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor
Agnes de PoitouWilliam V, Duke of Aquitaine
(Ramnulfids)
102521 November 10435 October 1056
husband's death
14 December 1077Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor
Bertha of SavoyOtto, Count of Savoy
(Savoy)
21 September 105113 July 106625 June 1080
husband's coronation as King of Italy
27 December 1087Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Eupraxia of KievVsevolod I, Grand Prince of Kiev
(Rurikids)
107114 August 10891093
stepson's coronation
20 July 1109
Constanze of SicilyRoger I of Sicily
(Hauteville)
1077–10871095April 1098
husband's deposition
1138Conrad II of Italy
Matilda of EnglandHenry I of England
(Normandy)
7 February 11017 January 111423 May 1125
husband's death
10 September 1167Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor
PictureNameHouseBirthMarriageBecame ConsortCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse

House of Supplinburg, (1128–1137)[edit]

PictureNameHouseBirthMarriageBecame ConsortCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse
Richenza of NortheimHenry, Margrave of Frisia
(Northeim)
1087/8911001128
husband's coronation as King of Italy
4 December 1137
husband's death
10 June 1141Lothair III, Holy Roman Emperor
PictureNameHouseBirthMarriageBecame ConsortCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse

House of Hohenstaufen, (1154–1197)[edit]

PictureNameHouseBirthMarriageBecame ConsortCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse
Beatrice I, Countess of BurgundyRenaud III, Count of Burgundy
(Ivrea)
11489 June 115615 November 1184Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor
Constance of SicilyRoger II of Sicily
(Hauteville)
2 November 115427 January 118614 April 1191
husband's coronation as Emperor
28 September 1197
husband's death
27 November 1198Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor
PictureNameHouseBirthMarriageBecame ConsortCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse

House of Welf, (1208–1215)[edit]

PictureNameHouseBirthMarriageBecame ConsortCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse
Beatrice of SwabiaPhilip of Swabia
(Hohenstaufen)
April/June 119823 July 121211 August 1212Otto IV
Marie of BrabantHenry I, Duke of Brabant
(Leuven)
1190after 19 May 12145 July 1215
husband's deposition
9 March/14 June 1260
PictureNameHouseBirthMarriageBecame ConsortCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse

House of Hohenstaufen, (1212–1250)[edit]

PictureNameHouseBirthMarriageBecame ConsortCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse
Constance of AragonAlfonso II of Aragón
(Barcelona)
11795 August 12099 December 1212
husband's coronation as Roman king
22 November 1220
husband's coronation as Emperor
23 June 1222Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
Yolande of JerusalemJohn of Brienne, King of Jerusalem
(Brienne)
12129 November 122525 April 1228
Isabella of EnglandJohn of England
(Plantagenet)
121415/20 July 12351 December 1241
Bianca LanciaA child of Manfred I Lancia
(Aleramici-Lancia)
c. 1200c. 1244?
Evidence for marriage is dubious
c. 1244
PictureNameHouseBirthMarriageBecame ConsortCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse

House of Luxembourg, (1308–1313)[edit]

PictureNameHouseBirthMarriageBecame ConsortCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse
Margaret of BrabantJohn I, Duke of Brabant
(Leuven)
4 October 12769 July 129227 November 1308
husband's became Roman king
6 January 1311
husband's coronation as King of Italy
14 December 1311Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor
PictureNameHouseBirthMarriageBecame ConsortCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse

House of Wittelsbach, (1327–1347)[edit]

PictureNameHouseBirthMarriageBecame ConsortCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse
Margaret, Countess of HainautWilliam I, Count of Hainaut
(Avesnes)
c. 131126 February 132423 October 1327
husband's coronation as King of Italy
11 October 1347
husband's death
23 June 1356Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor
PictureNameHouseBirthMarriageBecame ConsortCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse

House of Luxembourg, (1355–1437)[edit]

PictureNameHouseBirthMarriageBecame ConsortCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse
Anna of ŚwidnicaHenry II, Duke of Świdnica
(Piast)
c. 133927 May 1353January 1355
husband's coronation as King of Italy
11 July 1362Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Elizabeth of PomeraniaBogislaw V, Duke of Pomerania
(Pomerania-Wolgast)
c. 134721 May 136329 November 1378
husband's death
14 February 1393
Joanna of BavariaAlbert I, Duke of Bavaria
(Wittelsbach)
c. 136229 September 137029 November 1378
husband's accession
31 December 1386Wenceslaus, King of the Romans
Sofia of BavariaJohn II, Duke of Bavaria
(Wittelsbach)
13762 May 138920 August 1400
husband's deposition
1410
husband's Italian reign ends
16 August 1419
husband's death
26 September 1425
Barbara of CeljeHermann II, Count of Celje
(Celje)
1390/1395140821 July 1411
husband's election as Emperor
25 November 1431
husband's coronation as King
31 May 1433
husband's coronation as Emperor
9 December 1437
husband's death
11 July 1451Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor
PictureNameHouseBirthMarriageBecame ConsortCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse

House of Habsburg, (1437–1745)[edit]

PictureNameHouseBirthMarriageBecame ConsortCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse
Elizabeth of BohemiaSigismund
(Luxembourg)
7 October 140914229 December 1437
husband's accession as King of the Romans
18 March 1438
husband's election as King of the Romans
27 October 1439
husband's death
25 December 1442Albert II of Germany
Leonor of PortugalEdward of Portugal
(Aviz)
18 September 143416 March 145219 March 1452
husband's coronation as Emperor
3 September 1467Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor
Bianca Maria of MilanGaleazzo Maria, Duke of Milan
(Sforza)
5 April 147216 March 14944 February 1508
husband declared emperor-elect
31 December 1510Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor
Isabella of PortugalManuel I of Portugal
(Aviz)
23 October 150310 March 152624 February 1530
husband's coronation Emperor
1 May 1539Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Ferdinand I and his successor used the title of a King of Italy, though they were never crowned as such:
Anna of Bohemia and HungaryVladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary
(Jagiello)
23 July 150325 May 152116 January 1556
husband's election
1558
husband declared emperor-elect
27 January 1547Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor
Maria of SpainCharles V
(Habsburg)
21 June 152813 September 154825 July 1564
husband's ascension as emperor-elect
12 October 1576
husband's death
26 February 1603Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor
Anna of AustriaFerdinand II, Archduke of Austria
(Habsburg)
4 October 15854 December 161120 January 1612
husband's ascension as emperor-elect
14 December 1618Matthias, Holy Roman Emperor
Eleonore of MantuaVincenzo I, Duke of Mantua
(Gonzaga)
23 September (23 February?) 15984 February 162215 February 1637
husband's death
27 June 1655Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor
Maria Anna of SpainPhilip III of Spain
(Habsburg)
18 August 160620 February 163115 February 1637
husband's ascension as emperor-elect
13 May 1646Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor
Maria Leopoldine of AustriaLeopold V, Archduke of Austria
(Habsburg)
6 April 16322 July 16487 August 1649
The Peace of Westphalia on 24 October 1648, effectively terminated any imperial claims to their lands in Italy, but the Holy Roman Emperors continued their claim until the abdication of Emperor Francis II due to the growing power of Napoleon Bonaparte, who had crown himself King of Italy the previous year.
Eleanor of MantuaCharles II, Duke of Nevers and Rethel
(Gonzaga)
18 November 163030 April 16512 April 1657
husband's death
6 December 1686
Margaret Theresa of SpainPhilip IV of Spain
(Habsburg)
12 July 165112 December 166612 March 1673Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor
Claudia Felicitas of AustriaArchduke Ferdinand Charles of Austria
(Habsburg)
30 May 165315 October 16738 April 1676
Eleonore-Magdalena of NeuburgPhilip William, Elector Palatine
(Wittelsbach)
6 January 165514 December 16765 May 1705
husband's death
19 January 1720
Wilhelmina Amalia of BrunswickJohn Frederick, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
(Welf)
21 April 167324 February 16995 May 1705
husband's ascension as emperor-elect
17 April 1711
husband's death
10 April 1742Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor
Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-WolfenbüttelLouis Rudolph, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
(Welf)
28 August (28 September?) 16911 August 1708December 1711
husband's election as emperor-elect
20 October 1740
husband's death
21 December 1750Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor
PictureNameHouseBirthMarriageBecame ConsortCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse

House of Wittelsbach, (1742–1745)[edit]

PictureNameHouseBirthMarriageBecame ConsortCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse
Maria Amalia of AustriaJoseph I
(Habsburg)
22 October 17015 October 172224 January 1742
husband's election
20 January 1745
husband's death
11 December 1756Charles VII, Holy Roman Emperor
PictureNameHouseBirthMarriageBecame ConsortCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse

House of Habsburg-Lorraine, (1745–1806)[edit]

PictureNameHouseBirthMarriageBecame ConsortCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse
Maria Theresa of AustriaCharles VI
(Habsburg)
13 May 171712 February 173613 September 1745
husband's election as emperor-elect
18 August 1765
husband's death
29 November 1780Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor
Maria Josepha of BavariaCharles VII
(Wittelsbach)
30 March 173923 January 176518 August 1765
husband's ascestion as emperor-elect
28 May 1767Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor
Maria Louisa of SpainCharles III of Spain
(Bourbon)
24 November 17455 August 176530 September 1790
husband's election
March 1792
husband's death
15 May 1792Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor
Maria Theresa of Naples and SicilyFerdinand I of the Two Sicilies
(Bourbon-Two Sicilies)
6 June 177215 August 17905 July 1792
husband's election
6 August 1806
husband's abdication
13 April 1807Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor
PictureNameHouseBirthMarriageBecame ConsortCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse

House of Bonaparte, (1805–1814)[edit]

PictureNameFatherBirthMarriageBecame ConsortCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse
Joséphine de BeauharnaisJoseph-Gaspard Tascher de la Pagerie
(Tascher de la Pagerie)
23 June 17639 March 179626 May 1805
husband's ascension
10 January 1810
divorce
29 May 1814Napoleon I
Marie Louise of AustriaFrancis II, Holy Roman Emperor
(Habsburg-Lorraine)
12 December 17911 April 18106 April 1814
husband's abdication
17 December 1841
PictureNameFatherBirthMarriageBecame ConsortCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse

House of Savoy, (1861–1946)[edit]

PictureNameFatherBirthMarriageBecame ConsortCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse
Margherita of Savoy-GenoaFerdinand, 1st Duke of Genoa
(Savoy)
20 November 185121 April 18689 January 1878
husband's accession
29 July 1900
husband's death
4 January 1926Umberto I
Elena of MontenegroNicholas I of Montenegro
(Petrović-Njegoš)
8 January 187324 October 189629 July 1900
husband's accession
9 May 1946
husband's abdication
28 November 1952Victor Emmanuel III
Marie-José of BelgiumAlbert I of Belgium
(Saxe-Coburg and Gotha)
4 August 19068 January 19309 May 1946
husband's accession
12 June 1946
monarchy abolished
27 January 2001Umberto II
PictureNameFatherBirthMarriageBecame ConsortCeased to be ConsortDeathSpouse

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^Some historians believed that Anna never married Louis the Blind. Although there are proves that they were betrothed to one another, Anna was buried in Constantinople showing that she never left her father's court. The main reason some believe that she was his wife was because of Louis' son, Charles-Constantine's second name.
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_Italian_queens&oldid=884886901'
Italian
italiano, lingua italiana
Pronunciation[itaˈljaːno]
Native toItaly, Switzerland (Ticino and southern Canton of Graubünden), San Marino, Vatican City, Slovenian Istria (Slovenia), Istria County (Croatia)
RegionItaly, Ticino and southern Graubünden, Slovenian Littoral, western Istria
EthnicityItalians
69 million native speakers in the EU[1] (c.2012)[2]
90 million total speakers
L2 speakers: 24 million
Indo-European
  • Italic
    • Romance
      • Italo-Western
        • Italo-Dalmatian
          • Italian
Latin (Italian alphabet)
Italian Braille
Italiano segnato '(Signed Italian)'[3]
italiano segnato esatto '(Signed Exact Italian)'[4]
Official status
4 countries

Italy
San Marino
Switzerland
Vatican City
2 regions
Slovenian Istria(Slovenia)
Istria County(Croatia)

Organisations
European Union
OSCE
Sovereign Military Order of Malta
Recognised minority
language in
Recognized as a minority language and co-official along with the national languages in parts of the country's territory:

Croatia
Slovenia

Recognized as a minority language but not official in any part of the country's territory:
Malta[5]
Monaco[6]
Regulated byAccademia della Crusca (de facto)
Language codes
ISO 639-1it
ISO 639-2ita
ISO 639-3ita
Glottologital1282[7]
Linguasphere51-AAA-q
Former official language, now secondary
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This article is part of the series on the
Italian language
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Italian (italiano[itaˈljaːno](listen) or lingua italiana[ˈliŋɡwa itaˈljaːna]) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family. Italian, together with Sardinian, is by most measures the closest language to Vulgar Latin of the Romance languages.[8] Italian is an official language in Italy, Switzerland (where it is the first language in Canton Ticino and in the districts of Moesa and Bernina in Canton Graubünden), San Marino and Vatican City. It has an official minority status in western Istria (Croatia and Slovenia). It formerly had official status in Albania, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro (Kotor) and Greece (Ionian Islands and Dodecanese), and is generally understood in Corsica (also due to the similarities with the Corsican language) and Savoie. It also used to be an official language in the former Italian East Africa and Italian North Africa, where it plays a significant role in various sectors. Italian is also spoken by large expatriate communities in the Americas and Australia.[9] Many speakers of Italian are native bilinguals of both Italian (either in its standard form or regional dialects) and other regional languages.[10]

Italian is a major European language, being one of the official languages of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and one of the working languages of the Council of Europe. It is the fourth most widely spoken first language in the European Union with 69 million native speakers (13% of the EU population) and it is spoken as a second language by 16 million EU citizens (3%).[1] Including Italian speakers in non-EU European countries (such as Switzerland and Albania) and on other continents, the total number of speakers is around 90 million.[11] Italian is the main working language of the Holy See, serving as the lingua franca (common language) in the Roman Catholic hierarchy as well as the official language of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. Italian is known as the language of music because of its use in musical terminology and opera. Its influence is also widespread in the arts and in the luxury goods market.

Italian was adopted by the state after the Unification of Italy, having previously been a literary language based on Tuscan as spoken mostly by the upper class of Florentine society.[12] Its development was also influenced by other Italian languages and to some minor extent, by the Germanic languages of the post-Roman invaders. The incorporation into Italian of learned words from its own ancestor language, Latin, is another form of lexical borrowing through the influence of written language, scientific terminology and the liturgical language of the Church. Throughout the Middle Ages and into the early modern period, most literate Italians were also literate in Latin; and thus they easily adopted Latin words into their writing—and eventually speech—in Italian. Its vowels are the second-closest to Latin after Sardinian.[13][14] As in most Romance languages, stress is distinctive but, unlike most other Romance languages, Italian retains Latin's contrast between short and long consonants.[15] Almost all words and syllables finish with pure vowels, a factor that makes Italian words extremely easy to use in rhyming. Italian has a 7 vowel sound system ('e' and 'o' have mid-low and mid-high sounds); Classical Latin had 10, 5 with short and 5 with long sounds.

  • 1History
  • 3Geographic distribution
  • 5Phonology
  • 8Words

History[edit]

Origins[edit]

Dante Alighieri (top) and Petrarch (bottom) were influential in establishing their Tuscan dialect as the most prominent literary language in all of Italy in the Late Middle Ages.

During the Middle Ages, the established written language in Europe was Latin, though the great majority of people were illiterate, and only a handful were well versed in the language. In the Italian peninsula, as in most of Europe, most would instead speak a local vernacular. These dialects, as they are commonly referred to, evolved from Vulgar Latin over the course of centuries, unaffected by formal standards and teachings. They are not in any sense 'dialects' of standard Italian, which itself started off as one of these local tongues, but sister languages of Italian. Mutual intelligibility with Italian varies widely, as it does with Romance languages in general. The Romance dialects of Italy can differ greatly from Italian at all levels (phonology, morphology, syntax, lexicon, pragmatics) and are classified typologically as distinct languages.[16][17]

The standard Italian language has a poetic and literary origin in the writings of Tuscan writers of the 12th century, and, even though the grammar and core lexicon are basically unchanged from those used in Florence in the 13th century,[18] the modern standard of the language was largely shaped by relatively recent events. However, Romance vernacular as language spoken in the Apennine peninsula has a longer history. In fact, the earliest surviving texts that can definitely be called vernacular (as distinct from its predecessor Vulgar Latin) are legal formulae known as the Placiti Cassinesi from the Province of Benevento that date from 960–963, although the Veronese Riddle, probably from the 8th or early 9th century, contains a late form of Vulgar Latin that can be seen as a very early sample of a vernacular dialect of Italy.[19]

The language that came to be thought of as Italian developed in central Tuscany and was first formalized in the early 14th century through the works of Tuscan writer Dante Alighieri, written in his native Florentine. Dante's epic poems, known collectively as the Commedia, to which another Tuscan poet Giovanni Boccaccio later affixed the title Divina, were read throughout the peninsula and his written dialect became the 'canonical standard' that all educated Italians could understand. Dante is still credited with standardizing the Italian language. In addition to the widespread exposure gained through literature, the Florentine dialect also gained prestige due to the political and cultural significance of Florence at the time and the fact that it was linguistically an intermediate between the northern and the southern Italian dialects.[16]:22 Thus the dialect of Florence became the basis for what would become the official language of Italy.

Italian was progressively made an official language of most of the Italian states predating unification, slowly replacing Latin, even when ruled by foreign powers (like Spain in the Kingdom of Naples, or Austria in the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia), even though the masses kept speaking primarily their local vernaculars. Italian was also one of the many recognised languages in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Italy has always had a distinctive dialect for each city because the cities, until recently, were thought of as city-states. Those dialects now have considerable variety. As Tuscan-derived Italian came to be used throughout Italy, features of local speech were naturally adopted, producing various versions of regional Italian. The most characteristic differences, for instance, between Roman Italian and Milanese Italian are the gemination of initial consonants and the pronunciation of stressed 'e', and of 's' in some cases: e.g. va bene 'all right' is pronounced [vabˈbɛːne] by a Roman (and by any standard Italian speaker), [vaˈbeːne] by a Milanese (and by any speaker whose native dialect lies to the north of the La Spezia–Rimini Line); a casa 'at home' is [akˈkaːsa] for Roman, [akˈkaːsa] or [akˈkaːza] for standard, [aˈkaːza] for Milanese and generally northern.

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In contrast to the Gallo-Italic linguistic panorama of northern Italy, the Italo-DalmatianNeapolitan and its related dialects were largely unaffected by the Franco-Occitan influences introduced to Italy mainly by bards from France during the Middle Ages, but after the Norman conquest of southern Italy, Sicily became the first Italian land to adopt Occitan lyric moods (and words) in poetry. Even in the case of Northern Italian languages, however, scholars are careful not to overstate the effects of outsiders on the natural indigenous developments of the languages.

The economic might and relatively advanced development of Tuscany at the time (Late Middle Ages) gave its language weight, though Venetian remained widespread in medieval Italian commercial life, and Ligurian (or Genoese) remained in use in maritime trade alongside the Mediterranean. The increasing political and cultural relevance of Florence during the periods of the rise of the Banco Medici, Humanism, and the Renaissance made its dialect, or rather a refined version of it, a standard in the arts.

Renaissance[edit]

The Renaissance era, known as il Rinascimento in Italian, was seen as a time of 'rebirth', which is the literal meaning of both renaissance (from French) and rinascimento (Italian).

Pietro Bembo was an influential figure in the development of the Italian language from the Tuscan dialect, as a literary medium, codifying the language for standard modern usage.

During this time, long-existing beliefs stemming from the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church began to be understood from new perspectives as humanists—individuals who placed emphasis on the human body and its full potential—began to shift focus from the church to human beings themselves.[20] Humanists began forming new beliefs in various forms: social, political, and intellectual. The ideals of the Renaissance were evident throughout the Protestant Reformation, which took place simultaneously with the Renaissance. The Protestant Reformation began with Martin Luther's rejection of the selling of indulgences by Johann Tetzel and other authorities within the Roman Catholic Church, resulting in Luther's eventual break-off from the Roman Catholic Church in the Diet of Worms. After Luther was excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church, he founded what was then understood to be a sect of Catholicism, later referred to as Lutheranism.[20] Luther's preaching in favor of faith and scripture rather than tradition led him to translate the Bible into many other languages, which would allow for people from all over Europe to read the Bible. Previously, the Bible was only translated into Latin, but after this development it could be understood in many other languages, including Italian. The Italian language was able to spread even more with the help of Luther and the invention of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg. The printing press facilitated the spread of Italian because it was able to rapidly produce texts, such as the Bible, and cut the costs of books which allowed for more people to have access to the translated Bible and new pieces of literature.[21] The Roman Catholic Church was losing its control over the population, as it was not open to change, and there was an increasing number of reformers with differing beliefs.[22]

Italian became the language used in the courts of every state in the Italian peninsula. The rediscovery of Dante's De vulgari eloquentia and a renewed interest in linguistics in the 16th century, sparked a debate that raged throughout Italy concerning the criteria that should govern the establishment of a modern Italian literary and spoken language. This discussion, known as questione della lingua (i. e., the problem of the language), ran through the Italian culture until the end of the 19th century, often linked to the political debate on achieving a united Italian state. Renaissance scholars divided into three main factions:

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  • The purists, headed by Venetian Pietro Bembo (who, in his Gli Asolani, claimed the language might be based only on the great literary classics, such as Petrarch and some part of Boccaccio). The purists thought the Divine Comedy was not dignified enough because it used elements from non-lyric registers of the language.
  • Niccolò Machiavelli and other Florentines preferred the version spoken by ordinary people in their own times.
  • The courtiers, like Baldassare Castiglione and Gian Giorgio Trissino, insisted that each local vernacular contribute to the new standard.
Alessandro Manzoni sat the basis for the modern Italian language and helped creating linguistic unity throughout Italy.[23]

A fourth faction claimed that the best Italian was the one that the papal court adopted, which was a mixture of the Tuscan and Roman dialects. Eventually, Bembo's ideas prevailed, and the foundation of the Accademia della Crusca in Florence (1582–1583), the official legislative body of the Italian language led to publication of Agnolo Monosini's Latin tome Floris italicae linguae libri novem in 1604 followed by the first Italian dictionary in 1612.

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The continual advancements in technology plays a crucial role in the diffusion of languages. After the invention of the printing press in the fifteenth century, the number of printing presses in Italy grew rapidly and by the year 1500 reached a total of 56, the biggest number of printing presses in all of Europe. This allowed to produce more pieces of literature at a lower cost and as the dominant language, Italian spread.[24]

Modern era[edit]

An important event that helped the diffusion of Italian was the conquest and occupation of Italy by Napoleon in the early 19th century (who was himself of Italian-Corsican descent). This conquest propelled the unification of Italy some decades after and pushed the Italian language into a lingua franca used not only among clerks, nobility, and functionaries in the Italian courts but also by the bourgeoisie.

Contemporary times[edit]

Italian literature's first modern novel, I promessi sposi (The Betrothed) by Alessandro Manzoni, further defined the standard by 'rinsing' his Milanese 'in the waters of the Arno' (Florence's river), as he states in the preface to his 1840 edition.

Download turnitin software free. After unification, a huge number of civil servants and soldiers recruited from all over the country introduced many more words and idioms from their home languages (ciao is derived from the Venetian word s-cia[v]o ('slave'), panettone comes from the Lombard word panetton, etc.). Only 2.5% of Italy's population could speak the Italian standardized language properly when the nation was unified in 1861.[25]

Classification[edit]

Italian is a Romance language, and is therefore a descendant of Vulgar Latin (the spoken form of non-classical Latin).[note 1] Standard Italian is based on Tuscan, especially its Florentine dialect, and is therefore an Italo-Dalmatian language, to which Sicilian and the extinct Dalmatian also belong, among a few others.

Unlike most other Romance languages, Italian retains Latin's contrast between short and long consonants. As in most Romance languages, stress is distinctive. In particular, among the Romance languages, Italian is the closest to Latin in terms of vocabulary.[27]Lexical similarity is 89% with French, 87% with Catalan, 85% with Sardinian, 82% with Spanish, 78% with Ladin, 77% with Romanian[9][28][29] and 70% with Portuguese.[citation needed]

One study analyzing the degree of differentiation of Romance languages in comparison to Latin (comparing phonology, inflection, discourse, syntax, vocabulary, and intonation) estimated that among the languages analyzed the distance between Italian and Latin is only higher than that between Sardinian and Latin.[30]

Geographic distribution[edit]

Use of the Italian language in Europe
Use of the Italian language in Europe and former use in Africa

Italian is an official language of Italy and San Marino and is spoken fluently by the majority of the countries' populations. Italian is the third most spoken language in Switzerland (after German and French), and its use has modestly declined since the 1970s.[31] Italian is also used in administration and official documents in Vatican City.[32]

Due to heavy Italian influence during the Italian colonial period, Italian is still understood by some in former colonies.[9] Although it was the primary language in Libya since colonial rule, Italian greatly declined under the rule of Muammar Gaddafi, who expelled the Italian Libyan population and made Arabic the sole official language of the country.[33] A few hundred Italian settlers returned to Libya in the 2000s; today Italian is the most spoken second language in the country and serves as a language of commerce and sometimes as a lingua franca between Libyans and foreigners.[34] In Eritrea, Italian is at times used in commerce and the capital city Asmara still has one Italian-language school.[35] Italian was also introduced to Somalia through colonialism and was the sole official language of administration and education during the colonial period but fell out of use after government, educational and economic infrastructure were destroyed in the Somali Civil War.

Although over 17 million Americans are of Italian descent, only a little over one million people in the United States speak Italian at home.[36] Nevertheless, an Italian language media market does exist in the country.[37]

Italian immigrants to South America have also brought a presence of the language to that continent. Italian is the second most spoken language in Argentina[38] after the official language of Spanish, with over 1 million (mainly of the older generation) speaking it at home, and Italian has also influenced the dialect of Spanish spoken in Argentina and Uruguay, mostly in phonology, known as Rioplatense Spanish.

Education[edit]

Italian is widely taught in many schools around the world, but rarely as the first foreign language. Italian is the fourth[39][40] most frequently taught foreign language in the world.[41] In the 21st century, technology also allows for the continual spread of the Italian language, as people have new ways for one to learn how to speak, read, and write languages at their own pace and at any given time. For example, the free website and application Duolingo has 4.94 million English speakers learning the Italian language.[42]

According to the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, every year there are more than 200,000 foreign students who study the Italian language; they are distributed among the 90 Institutes of Italian Culture that are located around the world, in the 179 Italian schools located abroad, or in the 111 Italian lecturer sections belonging to foreign schools where Italian is taught as a language of culture.[43]

Influence and derived languages[edit]

In blue color Buenos Aires, Argentina, where Cocoliche developed.

From the late nineteenth to the mid-twentieth century, thousands of Italians settled in Argentina, Uruguay, southern Brazil, and Venezuela, where they formed a physical and cultural presence.

In some cases, colonies were established where variants of regional languages of Italy were used, and some continue to use this regional language. Examples are Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, where Talian is used, and the town of Chipilo near Puebla, Mexico; each continues to use a derived form of Venetian dating back to the nineteenth century. Another example is Cocoliche, an Italian–Spanish pidgin once spoken in Argentina and especially in Buenos Aires, and Lunfardo.

Rioplatense Spanish, and particularly the speech of the city of Buenos Aires, has intonation patterns that resemble those of Italian languages because Argentina has had a continuous large influx of Italian settlers since the second half of the nineteenth century: initially primarily from northern Italy; then, since the beginning of the twentieth century, mostly from southern Italy.

Lingua franca[edit]

Starting in late medieval times in much of Europe and the Mediterranean, Latin was replaced as the primary commercial language by Italian language variants (especially Tuscan and Venetian). These variants were consolidated during the Renaissance with the strength of Italy and the rise of humanism and the arts.

During that period, Italy held artistic sway over the rest of Europe. It was the norm for all educated gentlemen to make the Grand Tour, visiting Italy to see its great historical monuments and works of art. It thus became expected to learn at least some Italian. In England, while the classical languages Latin and Greek were the first to be learned, Italian became the second most common modern language after French, a position it held until the late eighteenth century when it tended to be replaced by German. John Milton, for instance, wrote some of his early poetry in Italian.

Within the Catholic church, Italian is known by a large part of the ecclesiastical hierarchy and is used in substitution for Latin in some official documents.

Italian loanwords continue to be used in most languages in matters of art and music (especially classical music including opera), in the design and fashion industries, in some sports like football[44] and especially, in culinary terms.

For

Dialects[edit]

Throughout Italy, regional variations of Standard Italian, called Regional Italian, are spoken. In Italy, almost all the other languages spoken as the vernacular — other than standard Italian and some languages spoken among immigrant communities — are often imprecisely called 'Italian dialects',[45] even though they are quite different, with some belonging to different linguistic branches. The only exceptions to this are twelve groups considered 'historical language minorities', which are officially recognized as distinct minority languages by the law. On the other hand, Corsican (a language spoken on the French island of Corsica) is closely related to Tuscan, from which Standard Italian derives and evolved.

Linguistic map of Italy according to Clemente Merlo and Carlo Tagliavini (1937)

The differences in the evolution of Latin in the different regions of Italy can be attributed to the presence of three other types of languages: substrata, superstrata, and adstrata. The most prevalent were substrata (the language of the original inhabitants), as the Italian dialects were most likely simply Latin as spoken by native cultural groups. Superstrata and adstrata were both less important. Foreign conquerors of Italy that dominated different regions at different times left behind little to no influence on the dialects. Foreign cultures with which Italy engaged in peaceful relations with, such as trade, had no significant influence either.[16]:19-20

Regional differences can be recognized by various factors: the openness of vowels, the length of the consonants, and influence of the local language (for example, in informal situations the contraction annà replaces andare in the area of Rome for the infinitive 'to go'; and nare is what Venetians say for the infinitive 'to go').

There is no definitive date when the various Italian variants of Latin—including varieties that contributed to modern Standard Italian—began to be distinct enough from Latin to be considered separate languages. One criterion for determining that two language variants are to be considered separate languages rather than variants of a single language is that they have evolved so that they are no longer mutually intelligible; this diagnostic is effective if mutual intelligibility is minimal or absent (e.g. in Romance, Romanian and Portuguese), but it fails in cases such as Spanish-Portuguese or Spanish-Italian, as native speakers of either pairing can understand each other well if they choose to do so. Nevertheless, on the basis of accumulated differences in morphology, syntax, phonology, and to some extent lexicon, it is not difficult to identify that for the Romance varieties of Italy, the first extant written evidence of languages that can no longer be considered Latin comes from the ninth and tenth centuries C.E. These written sources demonstrate certain vernacular characteristics and sometimes explicitly mention the use of the vernacular in Italy. Full literary manifestations of the vernacular began to surface around the 13th century in the form of various religious texts and poetry.[16]:21Although these are the first written records of Italian varieties separate from Latin, the spoken language had likely diverged long before the first written records appear, since those who were literate generally wrote in Latin even if they spoke other Romance varieties in person.

Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, the use of Standard Italian became increasingly widespread and was mirrored by a decline in the use of the dialects. An increase in literacy was one of the main driving factors (one can assume that only literates were capable of learning Standard Italian, whereas those who were illiterate had access only to their native dialect). The percentage of literates rose from 25% in 1861 to 60% in 1911, and then on to 78.1% in 1951. Tullio De Mauro, an Italian linguist, has asserted that in 1861 only 2.5% of the population of Italy could speak Standard Italian. He reports that in 1951 that percentage had risen to 87%. The ability to speak Italian did not necessarily mean it was in everyday use, and most people (63.5%) still usually spoke their native dialects. In addition, other factors such as mass emigration, industrialization, and urbanization, and internal migrations after World War II contributed to the proliferation of Standard Italian. The Italians who emigrated during the Italian diaspora beginning in 1861 were often of the uneducated lower class, and thus the emigration had the effect of increasing the percentage of literates, who often knew and understood the importance of Standard Italian, back home in Italy. A large percentage of those who had emigrated also eventually returned to Italy, often more educated than when they had left.[16]:35

The Italian dialects have declined in the modern era, as Italy unified under Standard Italian and continues to do so aided by mass media, from newspapers to radio to television.[16]:37

Phonology[edit]

Luke 2, 1–7 of the Bible being read by a speaker of Italian from Milan
Consonant phonemes
LabialDental/
alveolar
Post-
alveolar/
palatal
Velar
Nasalmnɲ
Stoppbtdkɡ
Affricatet͡sd͡zt͡ʃd͡ʒ
Fricativefvszʃ
Approximantjw
Laterallʎ
Trillr

Notes:

  • Between two vowels, or between a vowel and an approximant (/j, w/) or a liquid (/l, r/), consonants can be both singleton or geminated. Geminated consonants shorten the preceding vowel (or block phonetic lengthening) and the first geminated element is unreleased. For example, compare /fato/[ˈfaːto] ('fate') with /fatto/[ˈfatto] ('fact'). However, /ɲɲ/, /ʃʃ/, /ʎʎ/, are always geminated word-internally.[46] Similarly, nasals, liquids, and sibilants are pronounced slightly longer in medial consonant clusters.[47]
  • /j/, /w/, and /z/ are the only consonants that cannot be geminated.
  • /t, d/ are laminaldenti-alveolar[t̪, d̪],[48][49][50] commonly called 'dental' for simplicity.
  • /k, ɡ/ are pre-velar before /i, e, ɛ, j/.[49]
  • /t͡s, d͡z, s, z/ have two variants:
    • Dentalized laminal alveolar[t̪͡s̪, d̪͡z̪, s̪, z̪][48][51] (commonly called 'dental' for simplicity), pronounced with the blade of the tongue very close to the upper front teeth, with the tip of the tongue resting behind lower front teeth.[51]
    • Non-retracted apical alveolar [t͡s̺, d͡z̺, s̺, z̺].[51] The stop components of the 'apical' affricates is actually laminal denti-alveolar.[51]
  • /n, l, r/ are apical alveolar [n̺, l̺, r̺] in most environments.[48][50][52] The first two are pronounced as laminal denti-alveolar [n̪, l̪] before /t, d, t͡s, d͡z, s, z/[50][53][54] and palatalized laminal postalveolar[n̠ʲ, l̠ʲ] before /t͡ʃ, d͡ʒ ʃ/.[55][56]/n/ has a velar allophone [ŋ] before /k, ɡ/.[57][58]
  • /m/ and /n/ do not contrast before /p, b/ and /f, v/, where they are pronounced [m] and [ɱ], respectively.[57][59]
  • /ɲ/ and /ʎ/ are alveolo-palatal.[60] In a large number of accents, /ʎ/ is a fricative [ʎ̝].[61]
  • Some accents from central Italy and southern Italy, such as the Roman, do not have the /ʎ/ sound; instead, it is pronounced as [j], or, sometimes, [ʝ].[citation needed]
  • In almost all speeches from northern Italy, geminates are not realised.
  • Intervocalically, single /r/ is realised as a trill with one or two contacts.[62] Some literature treats the single-contact trill as a tap[ɾ].[63][64] Single-contact trills can also occur elsewhere, particularly in unstressed syllables.[65] Geminate /rr/ manifests as a trill with three to seven contacts.[62]
  • The phonetic distinction between [s] and [z] is neutralized before consonants and at the beginning of words: the former is used before voiceless consonants and before vowels at the beginning of words; the latter is used before voiced consonants (meaning [z] is an allophone of /s/ before voiced consonants). The two can contrast only between vowels within a word, e.g. [ˈfuːzo] 'melted' vs. [ˈfuːso] 'spindle'. According to Canepari,[64] though, the traditional standard has been replaced by a modern neutral pronunciation which always prefers /z/ when intervocalic, except when the intervocalic s is the initial sound of a word, if the compound is still felt as such: for example, presento/preˈsɛnto/[66] ('I foresee', with pre meaning 'before' and sento meaning 'I see') vs presento/preˈzɛnto/[67] ('I present'). There are many words in which dictionaries now indicate that both pronunciations with [z] and with [s] are acceptable. Word-internally between vowels, the two phonemes have merged in many regional varieties of Italian, either as /z/ (Northern-Central) or /s/ (Southern-Central).

Italian has a seven-vowel system, consisting of /a, ɛ, e, i, ɔ, o, u/, as well as 23 consonants. Compared with most other Romance languages, Italian phonology is conservative, preserving many words nearly unchanged from Vulgar Latin. Some examples:

  • Italian quattordici 'fourteen' < Latin quattuordecim (cf. Romanian paisprezece/paișpe, Spanish catorce, French quatorze/kaˈtɔʁz/, Catalan and Portuguesecatorze)
  • Italian settimana 'week' < Latin septimāna (cf. Romanian săptămână, Spanish and Portuguese semana, French semaine/s(ə)ˈmɛn/, Catalansetmana)
  • Italian medesimo 'same' < Vulgar Latin *medi(p)simum (cf. Spanish mismo, Portuguesemesmo, French même/mɛm/, Catalanmateix; note that Italian usually uses the shorter stesso)
  • Italian guadagnare 'to win, earn, gain' < Vulgar Latin *guadanyāre < Germanic/waidanjan/ (cf. Spanish ganar, Portuguese ganhar, French gagner/ɡaˈɲe/, Catalanguanyar)

The conservativeness of Italian phonology is partly explained by its origin. Italian stems from a literary language that is derived from the 13th-century speech of the city of Florence in the region of Tuscany, and has changed little in the last 700 years or so. Furthermore, the Tuscan dialect is the most conservative of all Italian dialects, radically different from the Gallo-Italian languages less than 100 miles to the north (across the La Spezia–Rimini Line).

The following are some of the conservative phonological features of Italian, as compared with the common Western Romance languages (French, Spanish, Portuguese, Galician, Catalan). Some of these features are also present in Romanian.

  • Little or no lenition of consonants between vowels, e.g. vīta > vita 'life' (cf. Romanian viață, Spanish vida[biða], French vie), pedem > piede 'foot' (cf. Spanish pie, French pied/pje/).
  • Preservation of geminate consonants, e.g. annum > /ˈan.no/anno 'year' (cf. Spanish año/aɲo/, French an/ɑ̃/, Portuguese ano/ˈã.nu/).
  • Preservation of all Proto-Romance final vowels, e.g. pacem > pace 'peace' (cf. Romanian pace, Spanish paz, French paix/pɛ/), octō > otto 'eight' (cf. Romanian opt, Spanish ocho, French huit/ɥi(t)/), fēcī > feci 'I did' (cf. Spanish hice, French fis/fi/).
  • Preservation of most intertonic vowels (those between the stressed syllable and either the beginning or ending syllable). This accounts for some of the most noticeable differences, as in the forms quattordici and settimana given above.
  • Slower consonant development, e.g. folia > Italo-Western /fɔʎʎa/ > foglia/ˈfɔʎʎa/ 'leaf' (cf. Romanian foaie/ˈfo̯aje/, Spanish hoja/ˈoxa/, French feuille/ˈfœj/; but note Portuguese folha/ˈfoʎɐ/).

Compared with most other Romance languages, Italian has a large number of inconsistent outcomes, where the same underlying sound produces different results in different words, e.g. laxāre > lasciare and lassare, captiāre > cacciare and cazzare, (ex)dēroteolāre > sdrucciolare, druzzolare and ruzzolare, rēgīna > regina and reina, -c- > /k/ and /ɡ/, -t- > /t/ and /d/. Although in all these examples the second form has fallen out of usage, the dimorphism is thought to reflect the several-hundred-year period during which Italian developed as a literary language divorced from any native-speaking population, with an origin in 12th/13th-century Tuscan but with many words borrowed from languages farther to the north, with different sound outcomes. (The La Spezia–Rimini Line, the most important isogloss in the entire Romance-language area, passes only about 20 miles to the north of Florence.)

Some other features that distinguish Italian from the Western Romance languages:

  • Latin ce-,ci- becomes /tʃe, tʃi/ rather than /(t)se, (t)si/.
  • Latin -ct- becomes /tt/ rather than /jt/ or /tʃ/: octō > otto 'eight' (cf. Spanish ocho, French huit, Portuguese oito).
  • Vulgar Latin -cl- becomes cchi/kkj/ rather than /ʎ/: oclum > occhio 'eye' (cf. Portuguese olho/oʎu/, French oeil/œj/ < /œʎ/); but Romanian ochi/okʲ/.
  • Final /s/ is not preserved, and vowel changes rather than /s/ are used to mark the plural: amico, amici 'male friend(s)', amica, amiche 'female friend(s)' (cf. Romanian amic, amici,amică, amice, Spanish amigo(s) 'male friend(s)', amiga(s) 'female friend(s)'); trēs, sextre, sei 'three, six' (cf. Romanian trei, șase, Spanish tres, seis).

Standard Italian also differs in some respects from most nearby Italian languages:

  • Perhaps most noticeable is the total lack of metaphony, though metaphony is a feature characterizing nearly every other Italian language.
  • No simplification of original /nd/, /mb/ (which often became /nn/, /mm/ elsewhere).

Assimilation[edit]

Italian phonotactics do not usually permit verbs and polysyllabic nouns to end with consonants, excepting poetry and song, so foreign words may receive extra terminal vowel sounds.

Writing system[edit]

The Italian alphabet is typically considered to consist of 21 letters. The letters j, k, w, x, y are traditionally excluded, though they appear in loanwords such as jeans, whisky, taxi, xenofobo, xilofono. The letter ⟨x⟩ has become common in standard Italian with the prefix extra-, although (e)stra- is traditionally used; it is also common to use of the Latin particle ex(-) to mean 'former(ly)' as in: la mia ex ('my ex-girlfriend'), 'Ex-Jugoslavia' ('Former Yugoslavia'). The letter ⟨j⟩ appears in the first name Jacopo and in some Italian place-names, such as Bajardo, Bojano, Joppolo, Jerzu, Jesolo, Jesi, Ajaccio, among others, and in Mar Jonio, an alternative spelling of Mar Ionio (the Ionian Sea). The letter ⟨j⟩ may appear in dialectal words, but its use is discouraged in contemporary standard Italian.[68] Letters used in foreign words can be replaced with phonetically equivalent native Italian letters and digraphs: ⟨gi⟩, ⟨ge⟩, or ⟨i⟩ for ⟨j⟩; ⟨c⟩ or ⟨ch⟩ for ⟨k⟩ (including in the standard prefix kilo-); ⟨o⟩, ⟨u⟩ or ⟨v⟩ for ⟨w⟩; ⟨s⟩, ⟨ss⟩, ⟨z⟩, ⟨zz⟩ or ⟨cs⟩ for ⟨x⟩; and ⟨e⟩ or ⟨i⟩ for ⟨y⟩.

  • The acute accent is used over word-final ⟨e⟩ to indicate a stressed front close-mid vowel, as in perché 'why, because'. In dictionaries, it is also used over ⟨o⟩ to indicate a stressed back close-mid vowel (azióne). The grave accent is used over word-final ⟨e⟩ to indicate a front open-mid vowel, as in 'tea'. The grave accent is used over any vowel to indicate word-final stress, as in gioventù 'youth'. Unlike ⟨é⟩, which is a close-mid vowel, a stressed final ⟨o⟩ is always a back open-mid vowel (andrò), making ⟨ó⟩ unnecessary outside of dictionaries. Most of the time, the penultimate syllable is stressed. But if the stressed vowel is the final letter of the word, the accent is mandatory, otherwise it is virtually always omitted. Exceptions are typically either in dictionaries, where all or most stressed vowels are commonly marked. Accents can optionally be used to disambiguate words that differ only by stress, as for prìncipi 'princes' and princìpi 'principles', or àncora 'anchor' and ancóra 'still/yet'. For monosyllabic words, the rule is different: when two orthographically identical monosyllabic words with different meanings exist, one is accented and the other is not (example: è 'is', e 'and').
  • The letter ⟨h⟩ distinguishes ho, hai, ha, hanno (present indicative of avere 'to have') from o ('or'), ai ('to the'), a ('to'), anno ('year'). In the spoken language, the letter is always silent. The ⟨h⟩ in ho additionally marks the contrasting open pronunciation of the ⟨o⟩. The letter ⟨h⟩ is also used in combinations with other letters. No phoneme/h/ exists in Italian. In nativized foreign words, the ⟨h⟩ is silent. For example, hotel and hovercraft are pronounced /oˈtɛl/ and /ˈɔverkraft/ respectively. (Where ⟨h⟩ existed in Latin, it either disappeared or, in a few cases before a back vowel, changed to [ɡ]: traggo 'I pull' ← Lat. trahō.)
  • The letters ⟨s⟩ and ⟨z⟩ can symbolize voiced or voiceless consonants. ⟨z⟩ symbolizes /dz/ or /ts/ depending on context, with few minimal pairs. For example: zanzara/dzanˈdzaːra/ 'mosquito' and nazione/natˈtsjoːne/ 'nation'. ⟨s⟩ symbolizes /s/ word-initially before a vowel, when clustered with a voiceless consonant (⟨p, f, c, ch⟩), and when doubled; it symbolizes /z/ when between vowels and when clustered with voiced consonants. Intervocalic ⟨s⟩ varies regionally between /s/ and /z/, with /z/ being more dominant in northern Italy and /s/ in the south.
  • The letters ⟨c⟩ and ⟨g⟩ vary in pronunciation between plosives and affricates depending on following vowels. The letter ⟨c⟩ symbolizes /k/ when word-final and before the back vowels ⟨a, o, u⟩. It symbolizes /tʃ/ as in chair before the front vowels ⟨e, i⟩. The letter ⟨g⟩ symbolizes /ɡ/ when word-final and before the back vowels ⟨a, o, u⟩. It symbolizes /dʒ/ as in gem before the front vowels ⟨e, i⟩. Other Romance languages and, to an extent, English have similar variations for ⟨c, g⟩. Compare hard and soft C, hard and soft G. (See also palatalization.)
  • The digraphs ⟨ch⟩ and ⟨gh⟩ indicate (/k/ and /ɡ/) before ⟨i, e⟩. The digraphs ⟨ci⟩ and ⟨gi⟩ indicate softness (/tʃ/ and /dʒ/) before ⟨a, o, u⟩. For example:
Before back vowel (A, O, U)Before front vowel (I, E)
PlosiveCcaramella /karaˈmɛlla/candyCHchina /ˈkiːna/India ink
Ggallo /ˈɡallo/roosterGHghiro /ˈɡiːro/edible dormouse
AffricateCIciambella /tʃambɛlla/donutCCina /ˈtʃiːna/China
GIgiallo /ˈdʒallo/yellowGgiro /ˈdʒiːro/round, tour
Note: ⟨h⟩ is silent in the digraphs ⟨ch⟩, ⟨gh⟩; and ⟨i⟩ is silent in the digraphs ⟨ci⟩ and ⟨gi⟩ before ⟨a, o, u⟩ unless the ⟨i⟩ is stressed. For example, it is silent in ciao/ˈtʃaː.o/ and cielo /ˈtʃɛː.lo/, but it is pronounced in farmacia/ˌfar.maˈtʃiː.a/ and farmacie/ˌfar.maˈtʃiː.e/.

Italian has geminate, or double, consonants, which are distinguished by length and intensity. Length is distinctive for all consonants except for /ʃ/, /dz/, /ts/, /ʎ/, /ɲ/, which are always geminate when between vowels, and /z/, which is always single.Geminate plosives and affricates are realized as lengthened closures. Geminate fricatives, nasals, and /l/ are realized as lengthened continuants. There is only one vibrant phoneme /r/ but the actual pronunciation depends on context and regional accent. Generally one can find a flap consonant [ɾ] in unstressed position whereas [r] is more common in stressed syllables, but there may be exceptions. Especially people from the Northern part of Italy (Parma, Aosta Valley, South Tyrol) may pronounce /r/ as [ʀ], [ʁ], or [ʋ].[69]

Of special interest to the linguistic study of Regional Italian is the gorgia toscana, or 'Tuscan Throat', the weakening or lenition of intervocalic/p/, /t/, and /k/ in the Tuscan language.

The voiced postalveolar fricative/ʒ/ is present as a phoneme only in loanwords: for example, garage[ɡaˈraːʒ]. Phonetic [ʒ] is common in Central and Southern Italy as an intervocalic allophone of /dʒ/: gente[ˈdʒɛnte] 'people' but la gente[laˈʒɛnte] 'the people', ragione[raˈʒoːne] 'reason'.

Grammar[edit]

Italian grammar is typical of the grammar of Romance languages in general. Cases exist for personal pronouns (nominative, oblique, accusative, dative), but not for nouns.

There are two basic classes of nouns in Italian, referred to as genders, masculine and feminine. Gender may be natural (ragazzo 'boy', ragazza 'girl') or simply grammatical with no possible reference to biological gender (masculine costo 'cost', feminine costa 'coast'). Masculine nouns typically end in -o (ragazzo 'boy'), with plural marked by -i (ragazzi 'boys'), and feminine nouns typically end in -a, with plural marked by -e (ragazza 'girl', ragazze 'girls). For a group composed of boys and girls, ragazzi is the plural, suggesting that -i is a general plural. A third category of nouns is umarked for gender, ending in -e in the singular and -i in the plural: legge 'law, f. sg.', leggi 'laws, f. pl.'; fiume 'river, m. sg.', fiumi 'rivers, m. pl.', thus assignment of gender is arbitrary in terms of form, enough so that terms may be identical but of distinct genders: fine meaning 'aim, purpose' is masculine, while fine meaning 'end, ending' (e.g. of a movie) is feminine, and both are fini in the plural, a clear instance of -i as a non-gendered default plural marker. These nouns often, but not always, denote inanimates. There are a number of nouns that have a masculine singular and a feminine plural, most commonly of the pattern m. sg. -o, f. pl. -a (miglio 'mile, m. sg.', miglia 'miles, f. pl.'; paio 'pair, m. sg., paia 'pairs, f. pl.'), and thus are sometimes considered neuter (these are usually derived from neuter Latin nouns). An instance of neuter gender also exists in pronouns of the third person singular.

Examples:[70]

DefinitionGenderSingular FormPlural Form
SonMasculineFiglioFigli
HouseFeminineCasaCase
LoveMasculineAmoreAmori
ArtFeminineArteArti

Nouns, adjectives, and articles inflect for gender and number (singular and plural).

Like in English, common nouns are capitalized when occurring at the beginning of a sentence. Unlike English, nouns referring to languages (e.g. Italian), speakers of languages, or inhabitants of an area (e.g. Italians) are not capitalized.[71]

There are three types of adjectives: descriptive, invariable and form-changing. Descriptive adjectives are the most common, and their endings change to match the number and gender of the noun they modify. Invariable adjectives are adjectives whose endings do not change. The form changing adjectives 'buono (good), bello (beautiful), grande (big), and santo (saint)' change in form when placed before different types of nouns. Italian has three degrees for comparison of adjectives: positive, comparative, and superlative.[71]

The order of words in the phrase is relatively free compared to most European languages.[68] The position of the verb in the phrase is highly mobile. Word order often has a lesser grammatical function in Italian than in English. Adjectives are sometimes placed before their noun and sometimes after. Subject nouns generally come before the verb. Italian is a null-subject language, so that nominative pronouns are usually absent, with subject indicated by verbal inflections (e.g. amo 'I love', ama 's/he loves', amano 'they love'). Noun objects normally come after the verb, as do pronoun objects after imperative verbs, infinitives and gerunds, but otherwise pronoun objects come before the verb.

There are both indefinite and definite articles in Italian. There are four indefinite articles, selected by the gender of the noun they modify and by the phonological structure of the word that immediately follows the article. Uno is masculine singular, used before z (ts/ or /dz/), s+consonant, gn (/ɲ/), or ps, while masculine singular un is used before a word beginning with any other sound. The noun zio 'uncle' selects masculine singular, thus uno zio 'an uncle' or uno zio anziano 'an old uncle,' but un mio zio 'an uncle of mine'. The feminine singular indefinite articles are una, used before any consonant sound, and its abbreviated form, written un', used before vowels: una camicia 'a shirt', una camicia bianca 'a white shirt', un'altra camicia 'a different shirt'. There are seven forms for definite articles, both singular and plural. In the singular: lo, which corresponds to the uses of uno; il, which corresponds to the uses with consonant of un; la, which corresponds to the uses of una; l', used for both masculine and feminine singular before vowels. In the plural: gli is the masculine plural of lo and l'; i is the plural of il; and le is the plural of feminine la and l'.[71]

There are numerous contractions of prepositions with subsequent articles. There are numerous productive suffixes for diminutive, augmentative, pejorative, attenuating etc., which are also used to create neologisms.

There are 27 pronouns, grouped in clitic and tonic pronouns. Personal pronouns are separated into three groups: subject, object (which take the place of both direct and indirect objects), and reflexive. Second person subject pronouns have both a polite and a familiar form. These two different types of address are very important in Italian social distinctions. All object pronouns have two forms: stressed and unstressed (clitics). Unstressed object pronouns are much more frequently used, and come before the verb (Lo vedo. 'I see him.'). Stressed object pronouns come after the verb, and are used when emphasis is required, for contrast, or to avoid ambiguity (Vedo lui, ma non lei. 'I see him, but not her'). Aside from personal pronouns, Italian also has demonstrative, interrogative, possessive, and relative pronouns. There are two types of demonstrative pronouns: relatively near (this) and relatively far (that). Demonstratives in Italian are repeated before each noun, unlike in English.[71]

There are three regular sets of verbal conjugations, and various verbs are irregularly conjugated. Within each of these sets of conjugations, there are four simple (one-word) verbal conjugations by person/number in the indicative mood (present tense; past tense with imperfective aspect, past tense with perfective aspect, and future tense), two simple conjugations in the subjunctive mood (present tense and past tense), one simple conjugation in the conditional mood, and one simple conjugation in the imperative mood. Corresponding to each of the simple conjugations, there is a compound conjugation involving a simple conjugation of 'to be' or 'to have' followed by a past participle. 'To have' is used to form compound conjugation when the verb is transitive ('Ha detto', 'ha fatto': he/she has said, he/she has made/done), while 'to be' is used in the case of verbs of motion and some other intransitive verbs ('È andato', 'è stato': he/she has gone, he/she has been). 'To be' may be used with transitive verbs, but in such a case it makes the verb passive ('Ê detto', 'è fatto': it is said, it is made/done). This rule is not absolute, and some exceptions do exist.

Words[edit]

Conversation[edit]

Note: the plural form of verbs could also be used as an extremely formal (for example to noble people in monarchies) singular form.

English (inglese)Italian (italiano)Pronunciation
Yes(listen) /ˈsi/
NoNo(listen) /ˈnɔ/
Of course!Certo! / Certamente! / Naturalmente!/ˈtʃɛrto//ˌtʃertaˈmente//naturalˈmente/
Hello!Ciao! (informal) / Salve! (semi-formal)/ˈtʃaːo/
Cheers!Salute!/saˈluːte/
How are you?Come stai? (informal) / Come sta? (formal) / Come state? (plural) / Come va? (general, informal)/ˌkomeˈstai/; /ˌkomeˈsta//ˌkome ˈstaːte//ˌkome va/
Good morning!Buongiorno! (= Good day!)/ˌbwɔnˈdʒorno/
Good evening!Buonasera!/ˌbwɔnaˈseːra/
Good night!Buonanotte! (for a good night sleeping) / Buona serata! (for a good night awake)/ˌbwɔnaˈnɔtte//ˌbwɔna seˈraːta/
Have a nice day!Buona giornata! (formal)/ˌbwɔna dʒorˈnaːta/
Enjoy the meal!Buon appetito!/ˌbwɔn‿appeˈtiːto/
Goodbye!Arrivederci (general) / ArrivederLa (formal) / Ciao! (informal)(listen) /arriveˈdertʃi/
Good luck!Buona fortuna! (general)/ˌbwɔna forˈtuːna/
I love youTi amo (between lovers only) / Ti voglio bene (in the sense of 'I am fond of you', between lovers, friends, relatives etc.)/ti ˈaːmo/; /ti ˌvɔʎʎo ˈbɛːne/
Welcome [to..]Benvenuto/-i (for male/males or mixed) / Benvenuta/-e (for female/females) [a / in..]/beɱveˈnuːto/
PleasePer favore / Per piacere / Per cortesia(listen) /per faˈvoːre//per pjaˈtʃeːre//per korteˈziːa/
Thank you!Grazie! (general) / Ti ringrazio! (informal) / La ringrazio! (formal) / Vi ringrazio! (plural)/ˈɡrattsje//ti riŋˈɡrattsjo/
You are welcome!Prego!/ˈprɛːɡo/
Excuse me / I am sorryMi dispiace (only 'I am sorry') / Scusa(mi) (informal) / Mi scusi (formal) / Scusatemi (plural) / Sono desolato ('I am sorry', if male) / Sono desolata ('I am sorry', if female)/ˈskuːzi/; /ˈskuːza/; /mi disˈpjaːtʃe/
Who?Chi?/ki/
What?Che cosa? / Cosa? / Che?/kekˈkɔːsa//ˈkɔːsa//ˈke/
When?Quando?/ˈkwando/
Where?Dove?/ˈdoːve/
How?Come?/ˈkoːme/
Why / BecausePerché/perˈke/
AgainDi nuovo / Ancora/di ˈnwɔːvo/; /aŋˈkoːra/
How much? / How many?Quanto? / Quanta? / Quanti? / Quante?/ˈkwanto/
What is your name?Come ti chiami? (informal) / Qual è il suo nome? (formal) / Come si chiama? (formal)/ˌkome tiˈkjaːmi//kwal ˈɛ il ˌsu.o ˈnoːme/
My name is ..Mi chiamo ../mi ˈkjaːmo/
This is ..Questo è .. (masculine) / Questa è .. (feminine)/ˌkwesto ˈɛ//ˌkwesta ˈɛ/
Yes, I understand.Sì, capisco. / Ho capito./si kaˈpisko//ɔkkaˈpiːto/
I do not understand.Non capisco. / Non ho capito.(listen) /noŋ kaˈpisko//nonˌɔkkaˈpiːto/
Do you speak English?Parli inglese? (informal) / Parla inglese? (formal) / Parlate inglese? (plural)(listen) /parˌlate iŋˈɡleːse/ (listen) /ˌparla iŋˈɡleːse/
I do not understand Italian.Non capisco l'italiano./noŋ kaˌpisko litaˈljaːno/
Help me!Aiutami! (informal) / Mi aiuti! (formal) / Aiutatemi! (plural) / Aiuto! (general)/aˈjuːtami//ajuˈtaːtemi//aˈjuːto/
You are right/wrong!(Tu) hai ragione/torto! (informal) / (Lei) ha ragione/torto! (formal) / (Voi) avete ragione/torto! (plural)
What time is it?Che ora è? / Che ore sono?/ke ˌora ˈɛ//ke ˌore ˈsono/
Where is the bathroom?Dov'è il bagno?(listen) /doˌvɛ il ˈbaɲɲo/
How much is it?Quanto costa?/ˌkwanto ˈkɔsta/
The bill, please.Il conto, per favore./il ˌkonto per faˈvoːre/
The study of Italian sharpens the mind.Lo studio dell'italiano aguzza l'ingegno./loˈstuːdjo dellitaˈljaːno aˈɡuttsa linˈdʒeɲɲo/

Question words[edit]

EnglishItalian[71][70]IPA
what (adj.)che/ke/
what (standalone)cosa/ˈkɔːza/
whochi/ki/
howcome/ˈkoːme/
wheredove/ˈdoːve/
why, becauseperché/perˈke/
whichquale/ˈkwaːle/
whenquando/ˈkwando/
how muchquanto/ˈkwanto/

Time[edit]

EnglishItalian[71][70]IPA
todayoggi/ˈɔddʒi/
yesterdayieri/ˈjɛːri/
tomorrowdomani/doˈma:ni/
secondsecondo/seˈkondo/
minuteminuto/miˈnu:to/
hourora/ˈo:ra/
daygiorno/ˈdʒorno/
weeksettimana/settiˈma:na/
monthmese/ˈme:se/
yearanno/ˈanno/

Numbers[edit]

EnglishItalianIPA
oneuno/ˈuːno/
twodue/ˈduːe/
threetre/ˈtre/
fourquattro/ˈkwattro/
fivecinque/ˈtʃiŋkwe/
sixsei/ˈsɛi/
sevensette/ˈsɛtte/
eightotto/ˈɔtto/
ninenove/ˈnɔve/
tendieci/ˈdjɛːtʃi/
EnglishItalianIPA
elevenundici/ˈunditʃi/
twelvedodici/ˈdoːditʃi/
thirteentredici/ˈtreːditʃi/
fourteenquattordici/kwatˈtorditʃi/
fifteenquindici/ˈkwinditʃi/
sixteensedici/ˈseːditʃi/
seventeendiciassette/ditʃasˈsɛtte/
eighteendiciotto/diˈtʃɔtto/
nineteendiciannove/ditʃanˈnɔːve/
twentyventi/ˈventi/
EnglishItalianIPA
twenty-oneventuno/venˈtuːno/
twenty-twoventidue/ˌventiˈduːe/
twenty-threeventitré/ˌventiˈtre/
twenty-fourventiquattro/ˌventiˈkwattro/
twenty-fiveventicinque/ˌventiˈtʃiŋkwe/
twenty-sixventisei/ˌventiˈsɛi/
twenty-sevenventisette/ˌventiˈsɛtte/
twenty-eightventotto/venˈtɔtto/
twenty-nineventinove/ˌventiˈnɔːve/
thirtytrenta/ˈtrenta/

Italian Word For Man

EnglishItalianIPA
one hundredcento/ˈtʃɛnto/
one thousandmille/ˈmille/
two thousandduemila/ˌdueˈmiːla/
two thousand and eighteen (2018)duemiladiciotto/dueˌmiladiˈtʃɔtto/
one millionun milione/miˈljone/
one billionun miliardo/miˈljardo/

Days of the week[edit]

EnglishItalianIPA
Mondaylunedì/luneˈdi/
Tuesdaymartedì/marteˈdi/
Wednesdaymercoledì/ˌmerkoleˈdi/
Thursdaygiovedì/dʒoveˈdi/
Fridayvenerdì/venerˈdi/
Saturdaysabato/ˈsaːbato/
Sundaydomenica/doˈmeːnika/

Months of the year[edit]

EnglishItalianIPA
Januarygennaio/dʒenˈnaːjo/
Februaryfebbraio/febˈbraːjo/
Marchmarzo/ˈmartso/
Aprilaprile/aˈpriːle/
Maymaggio/ˈmaddʒo/
Junegiugno/ˈdʒuɲɲo/
Julyluglio/ˈluʎʎo/
Augustagosto/aˈɡosto/
Septembersettembre/setˈtɛmbre/
Octoberottobre/otˈtoːbre/
Novembernovembre/noˈvɛmbre/
Decemberdicembre/diˈtʃɛmbre/[72]

See also[edit]

Italian edition of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  • The Italian Language Foundation (in the United States)

Notes[edit]

  1. ^It is debated, that the Sicilian language is the oldest and direct descendant of Vulgar Latin.[26]

References[edit]

  1. ^ ab'Eurobarometer – Europeans and their languages'(PDF).(485 KB), February 2006
  2. ^Italian at Ethnologue (18th ed., 2015)
  3. ^'Centro documentazione per l'integrazione'. Cdila.it. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  4. ^'Centro documentazione per l'integrazione'. Cdila.it. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  5. ^http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_243_en.pdf
  6. ^Monaco IQ (English language), referencing Chapter One of Files and Reports&InfoSujet=General Population Census 2008&6Gb 2008 census (gouv.mc not an English source)Archived 27 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2017). 'Italian'. Glottolog 3.0. Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
  8. ^'Romance languages'. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 19 February 2017. .. if the Romance languages are compared with Latin, it is seen that by most measures Sardinian and Italian are least differentiated and French most
  9. ^ abcEthnologue report for language code:ita (Italy) – Gordon, Raymond G., Jr. (ed.), 2005. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Fifteenth edition. Dallas, Tex.: SIL International. Online version
  10. ^'Italy'. Ethnologue. 19 February 1999. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  11. ^'Italian — University of Leicester'. .le.ac.uk. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  12. ^[1]Archived 3 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  13. ^See Italica 1950: 46 (cf. [2] and [3]): 'Pei, Mario A. 'A New Methodology for Romance Classification.' Word, v, 2 (Aug. 1949), 135–146. Demonstrates a comparative statistical method for determining the extent of change from the Latin for the free and checked stressed vowels of French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Rumanian, Old Provençal, and Logudorese Sardinian. By assigning 3½ change points per vowel (with 2 points for diphthongization, 1 point for modification in vowel quantity, ½ point for changes due to nasalization, palatalization or umlaut, and −½ point for failure to effect a normal change), there is a maximum of 77 change points for free and checked stressed vowel sounds (11×2×3½=77). According to this system (illustrated by seven charts at the end of the article), the percentage of change is greatest in French (44%) and least in Italian (12%) and Sardinian (8%). Prof. Pei suggests that this statistical method be extended not only to all other phonological but also to all morphological and syntactical, phenomena.'.
  14. ^See Koutna et al. (1990: 294): 'In the late forties and in the fifties some new proposals for classification of the Romance languages appeared. A statistical method attempting to evaluate the evidence quantitatively was developed in order to provide not only a classification but at the same time a measure of the divergence among the languages. The earliest attempt was made in 1949 by Mario Pei (1901–1978), who measured the divergence of seven modern Romance languages from Classical Latin, taking as his criterion the evolution of stressed vowels. Pei's results do not show the degree of contemporary divergence among the languages from each other but only the divergence of each one from Classical Latin. The closest language turned out to be Sardinian with 8% of change. Then followed Italian — 12%; Spanish — 20%; Romanian — 23,5%; Provençal — 25%; Portuguese — 31%; French — 44%.'
  15. ^'Portland State Multicultural Topics in Communications Sciences & Disorders Italian'. www.pdx.edu. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
  16. ^ abcdefLepschy, Anna Laura; Lepschy, Giulio C. (1988). The Italian language today (2nd ed.). New York: New Amsterdam. pp. 13, 22, 19–20, 21, 35, 37. ISBN978-0-941533-22-5. OCLC17650220.
  17. ^Andreose, Alvise; Renzi, Lorenzo (2013), 'Geography and distribution of the Romance Languages in Europe', in Maiden, Martin; Smith, John Charles; Ledgeway, Adam (eds.), The Cambridge History of the Romance Languages, Vol. 2, Contexts, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 302–308
  18. ^Vittorio Coletti (2011). Storia della lingua. Istituto della Enciclopedia italiana. ISBN9788812000487. Retrieved 10 October 2015. L’italiano di oggi ha ancora in gran parte la stessa grammatica e usa ancora lo stesso lessico del fiorentino letterario del Trecento.
  19. ^'History of the Italian language'. Italian-language.biz. Retrieved 24 September 2006.
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Bibliography[edit]

  • Ashby, Patricia (2011), Understanding Phonetics, Understanding Language series, Routledge, ISBN978-0340928271
  • Bertinetto, Pier Marco; Loporcaro, Michele (2005). 'The sound pattern of Standard Italian, as compared with the varieties spoken in Florence, Milan and Rome'(PDF). Journal of the International Phonetic Association. 35 (2): 131–151. doi:10.1017/S0025100305002148.
  • Canepari, Luciano (1992), Il MªPi – Manuale di pronuncia italiana [Handbook of Italian Pronunciation] (in Italian), Bologna: Zanichelli, ISBN978-88-08-24624-0
  • Hall, Robert A. Jr. (1944). 'Italian phonemes and orthography'. Italica. American Association of Teachers of Italian. 21 (2): 72–82. doi:10.2307/475860. JSTOR475860.
  • Rogers, Derek; d'Arcangeli, Luciana (2004). 'Italian'. Journal of the International Phonetic Association. 34 (1): 117–121. doi:10.1017/S0025100304001628.
  • M. Vitale, Studi di Storia della Lingua Italiana, LED Edizioni Universitarie, Milano, 1992, ISBN88-7916-015-X
  • S. Morgana, Capitoli di Storia Linguistica Italiana, LED Edizioni Universitarie, Milano, 2003, ISBN88-7916-211-X
  • J. Kinder, CLIC: Cultura e Lingua d'Italia in CD-ROM / Culture and Language of Italy on CD-ROM, Interlinea, Novara, 2008, ISBN978-88-8212-637-7
  • Treccani Italian Dictionary(iso). archive.org (in Italian). it. Archived from the original on 17 October 2018. (with a similar list of other Italian-modern languages dictionaries)

External links[edit]

Italian edition of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  • Il Nuovo De Mauro(in Italian)
  • Italian language at Curlie
  • 'Learn Italian,' BBC
  • Portal of the Italian Language(in Italian)
  • Translation of Italian expressions(in Italian)
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Italian_language&oldid=899159477'
This entry was posted on 4/23/2019.