If I were to ask you what language was spoken in Italy, you’d probably respond quite quickly: Italian. However, what if I told you that the languages of Italy go far beyond just Italian, even if it is the most famous!
As of the time of writing, Italy has a population of roughly 60 million people. These 60 million people speak literally hundreds of languages, many of which are widely spoken, whilst others are confined to a remote village…
Official Languages of Italy
According to the Italian Constitution, there are two official languages of Italy. These are the languages that all Italians need to know at least one of…
Italian
Two hundred years ago, the country we know as “Italy” did not exist. The language we know as “Italian” did not exist. In its place, there were numerous Italian states who were all countries, and all spoke their own variants of “Italian”.
When Italy was unified between 1848 and 1871, the supporters of the unification worked diligently to create the Italian language so that it incorporated aspects from all of the major regional dialects.
However, this language was built around modern Tuscan, with certain areas of the language being “modified” to fit with the aforementioned criteria.
Since 1871, most people in Italy have slowly abandoned their regional languages in favor of standard Italian. To date, 93% of the country’s inhabitants speak the language to a native level (according to the Italian government).
As the country’s most spoken official language, almost all of the Italian government’s communication is performed in Italian. Most government announcements and elections are almost solely held in Italian too.
All nationwide Italian media (such as TV stations, newspapers and radio) are similarly done in Italian. With that being said, many more are also offering a version in…
French
Yes, that French.
I’m assuming you’re probably wondering to yourself “Why French?” Surprisingly, the answer is linked to the origins of Italian, you just need to know (a little) about Italian history first!
Historically, Latin and French were the languages of the European aristocracy, with them usually also speaking the language of the peasants. Although they’ve lost much of their power, their legacy remains…
Beyond the aristocracy’s legacy, large parts of northern Italy used to be a part of France, and hence spoke French, something that’s continued to this day. Today, northern Italy is the more prosperous than the south.
In order to keep the richer north on their side, the Italian government chose to make French the co-official language of Italy, however, it is only enjoys this status in Aosta Valley region of Italy (that used to be a part of France!)
Today, this all translates to roughly 34% of the country being able to speak the language to a native level, although most have learned French as a second language. Most of these people also live in the north.
Regional Languages of Italy
Whilst Italian and French are the official languages of Italy, there are also a number of regional languages spoken throughout Italy…
Catalan
If you know anything about Catalan, you probably know that it’s a language spoken on the northeastern coast of Spain, primarily in the rebellious Catalonia and Valencia regions of the country.
However, something that many people don’t understand is that it’s also spoken in Italy, even if not by many people…
During the 15th century, Catalonia (as a part of the Crown of Aragon) had a large trading empire throughout the Mediterranean, especially so in Italy. Here, they founded a series of coastal towns and villages to help them.
The majority of these villages would be made up of ethnic Catalans, who spoke (you guessed it!) Catalan. Over the next six centuries, most of these coastal towns have died out, or would become Italian in pretty much every regard.
However, one has remained mostly intact, the town of Alghero (known as L’Alguer in Catalan), in northwestern Sardinia.
Today, they have a population of roughly 45,000 people, 43,000 of whom speak Catalan (or more accurately, the Algherese dialect of Catalan).
As a result, the language is a recognized minority language by both the Italian and Sardinian governments.
In fact, the town is actually quite a popular tourist destination too! According to a friend who’s been there, many of the locals seldom use Italian, and when they do, they actually have incredibly thick Catalan accents!
Lombard
Although considered an endangered language today, Lombard (spoken in the northern region of Lombardy) is one of the more popular regional languages of Italy.
The language itself is quite interesting, having a mixture of Celtic, Romance language and Germanic vocabulary!
Sadly, most people in Lombardy under the age of 40 do not speak the language anymore. This is because outside of the rural villages, Lombard isn’t spoken whatsoever, instead being replaced by Italian.
Those under 40’s who do speak Lombard, only ever use it with their elderly relatives, mostly their grandparents. Others are scholars, who need to know the language to understand historical texts.
But other than that, they don’t use it either!
With that being said, there are certain cities, mostly in the far north of Lombardy (mostly bordering Switzerland), where the language is still used. This is mostly because the locals haven’t ever learned Italian, so still use Lombard today.
According to the Italian government, roughly three million people speak Lombard, the majority of whom live in the region of Lombardy.
Interestingly, Lombard isn’t just spoken in Italy either. There are a large minority of Lombard speakers in the south of Switzerland, most of whom are ethnic Lombards. However, this number has decreased rapidly in recent years.
Piedmontese
Similarly, the historical kingdom (and present-day region) of Piedmont, in northwest Italy, has its own regional language. This is known as Piedmontese, and is actually quite closely related to the aforementioned Lombard!
It’s not just that both languages are a part of the romance language, it’s also due to their geographical proximity. Both Piedmont and Lombardy are right next to one another, and thus have an intertwined history…
As a result, both languages share a rather uncanny amount of vocabulary, whilst still remaining as two separate languages. Today, most of Italy’s Piedmontese speakers live in either Piedmont or Lombardy!
Whilst the region of Piedmont doesn’t officially recognize them, Occitan and Franco-Provençal are also spoken in the region. In recent years, the three languages have begun to merge somewhat, creating quite an odd pidgin.
Today, the Italian government estimates that there are roughly 700,000 native Piedmontese speakers in Italy, mostly in Piedmont. However, due to migration, there are small clusters of Piedmontese speakers scattered throughout Italy.
Interestingly, whilst most linguists and Piedmontese speakers consider Piedmontese to be a separate language from Italian, the Italian government itself considers Piedmontese to be a regional dialect of Italian!
Venetian
Historically, Venice was one of the most important Italian states. Their land stretched far and wide, with the Venetian trading empire being one of the largest in the Mediterranean.
Thanks to this, their language, Venetian, was spoken far and wide, both by Venetian merchants and dealers, as well as non-Venetian ones too!
Alas, this didn’t last. Whilst it was one of the Mediterranean’s unofficial lingua francas, it hasn’t lasted today it is becoming extinct, mostly due to the fact that nobody is using it anymore. Instead, they’re using Italian.
Today, the Italian government estimates that there are roughly 3.9 million Venetian speakers spread out throughout the country. However, most are located in the regions of Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia.
Surprisingly, Venetian is also spoken outside of Italy too. Mostly, this is in parts of Slovenia and Croatia, that were historically a part of Venice.
Due to migration, there are also small Venetian populations in Brazil, Mexico and Argentina among a few others.
Immigrant Languages of Italy
In recent years, Italy has also become home to a large number of immigrant groups who bring their culture and more importantly, their languages, to the country…
Spanish
Historically speaking, Spain has controlled vast swathes of modern-day Italy, both outright and as a part of personal unions between monarchs. As a result, Spanish has been a common language in the country since the 15th century.
Due to this, Spanish became the language of local trade and commerce, as well as the official language of the municipal governments. In turn, this caused many Italians to learn Spanish.
Alas, no longer is it the 15th century, and Spain no longer rules Italy. However, Spanish is still a widely spoken language in Italy, with an estimated 300,000 native Spanish speakers.
Contrary to what you may be thinking, these 300,000 native Spanish speakers are the last holdouts from when Spain ruled Italy, but rather Spaniards, born in Spain, who have migrated to Italy due to their job moving to Italy.
Whilst most are spread out around the country, the largest clusters of Spaniards in Italy are in the neighborhoods surrounding Rome, Milan and Turin, Italy’s three largest business centers.
Although most native Spanish speakers in Italy are from Spain, there are a small minority of Spanish speakers who are not Spanish, but rather Mexican, who have often chosen to retire in Italy.
Albanian
The 1990’s were a tumultuous time for Eastern Europe to say the least. In Yugoslavia, the breakup was messy and quite violent, resulting in the deaths of millions of people, particularly Albanians.
Due to the violence, many Albanians had their homes and livelihoods destroyed. This resulted in many Albanians choosing to flee the country as refugees, searching for a more stable country, where they’d be safer.
As refugees, many Albanians simply went to whichever country would take them, be it Britain, Germany, Spain, France or yes, Italy. Indeed, the vast majority of Albanian refugees fled just across the Adriatic, to neighboring Italy.
Here, they too moved to wherever there was space, often in the center of major Italian towns and cities. Due to this, many of them formed their own mini-Albanias, having their Albanian language, food and ceremonies.
This has received varying degrees of recognition from the Italian government, mostly differing from region to region. In total, the Italian government estimates that there are around 400,000 native Albanian speakers in the country!
Beyond this, there is also a dialect of Albanian that is naturally spoken in Italy. This is the Arbëresh dialect of Albanian that is spoken mostly on the eastern coast of Italy, by natural-born Italians who are also ethnic Albanians.
Polish
The 1990’s was also a significant decade for Poland too. Over the course of a decade, the country went from throwing off the constraints of communism, to negotiating joining the EU.
Poland officially joined the EU in May 2004, thus giving all Polish citizens the right to move to, and work in, other EU member nations. Thanks to the promise of higher wages, many Poles subsequently left the country.
Here, they moved to almost every country in Europe, with many choosing Italy. In Italy, most Poles typically do one of two jobs: Farm labor or factory work.
This is mostly due to their willingness to take “low-paying” jobs, as they often pay far higher than similar jobs would back in Poland.
As a farm laborer, many Poles often work on vineyards, where they pick grapes which will then be turned into wine. Many Poles also do factory work, mostly in meat-packing plants, something Italy is actually renowned for!
Perhaps not surprisingly, many of these Polish immigrants have brought their children to the country too, to be educated in Italy. Many of them have also married Italians, having children who speak both Polish and Italian!
Currently, the Italian government estimates that there are roughly 100,000 native Polish speakers in Italy. Most of these Polish speakers are in rural Italy, although there are large clusters around major manufacturing hubs like Turin.
Romanian
However, it wasn’t just Poland that threw off the shackles of communism and joined the EU; so did Romania. Just as with Poland, many Romanians have similarly left their homeland in search of a better life…
Whilst many have gone here, there and everywhere, a large minority of them have gone to Italy. This is mostly because they can afford a much better lifestyle, and still have the weather they’re accustomed to (opposed to rainy Britain!)
Similarly to the Polish, most Romanians either live in the agricultural parts of Italy, or around the major manufacturing hubs, namely, Turin. Here, they do many of the same jobs as their Polish cousins.
As with the Polish, many Romanians have similarly brought their own children to Italy, mostly to receive a better education in Italy than they would in Romania.
Just as with the Polish, this has led to many Romanian children marrying Italians. This has similarly led to a new generation of children who speak both Romanian and Italian natively!
Today the Italian government estimating that there are approximately 800,000 native Romanian speakers currently living in Italy. This makes Romanian the largest minority language currently spoken in the country!
Arabic
In recent years, Italy has similarly become the home of a number of Arabic-speaking immigrants. Unlike in other countries, these immigrants usually come from all over the Arabic-speaking world!
Whilst many do come from the former Italian colonies of Somalia and Libya, the majority do not. Instead, they mostly come from places like Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Despite the history between the two nations, many Pakistanis and Bangladeshis often live in the same areas as one another, often living side-by-side. With this, their children usually grow up and go to school together…
Indeed, many Italian cities, primarily Rome and Milan, have large areas around the main town center, where there are large Pakistani/Bangladeshi communities, that often speak Arabic.
Many Arabic-speaking Somalis and Libyans often live nearby, however not explicitly in the Pakistani/Bangladeshi communities. Oftentimes, the two groups interact, mostly at the local Mosque (as both groups are also Muslims).
Today, the Italian government estimates that there are between 450,000 and 550,000 native Arabic speakers in the country. Due to this, the number often cited is 500,000.
Which are your favorite languages of Italy? Do you speak any of them? Tell me in the comments!