Overview of the Italian Language
Italian Language
The Italian language, known as Italiano or lingua italiana, is a Romance language that evolved from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire.
Geographical Distribution
Italian is spoken primarily in:
- Italy 🇮🇹
- San Marino 🇸🇲
- Vatican City 🇻🇦
- Parts of Switzerland 🇨🇠(Ticino and Italian Grisons)
- Slovenian Littoral in Slovenia 🇸🇮
- Western Istria in Croatia ðŸ‡ðŸ‡·
It also has significant speaker communities in the Americas and Australia due to immigration.
Total Speakers
Approximately 85 million people speak Italian, including around 67 million native speakers.
Official Language Status
Italian is an official language in:
- Italy 🇮🇹
- San Marino 🇸🇲
- Switzerland 🇨🇠(Ticino and the Grisons)
- Vatican City 🇻🇦
It also has a recognized minority status in certain areas of Slovenian Istria and Istria County.
Language Family
Italian belongs to the Indo-European language family, within the Italic group, and is part of the Latino-Faliscan branch that led to the Romance languages.
Similar Languages
Italian shares similarities with other Romance languages such as French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Romanian. It is closely related to other Italo-Dalmatian languages and is the least divergent from Latin, along with Sardinian.
Writing Systems
Italian uses the Latin script and has its own Italian alphabet. It also has a Braille version for the visually impaired.