There’s more to Italian than meets the ear

Many might be surprised to find that Italy and its 20 regions are very diverse. There are many different regional dialects in Italy. To make things even more complicated, there are even dialects within dialects!

Aosta Valley

The Aosta Valley is a true hybrid. The mountainous Aosta Valley is nestled in the northwestern corner of Italy. Being surrounded by Mont Blanc, the Matterhorn and Monte Rosa make it a popular skiing destination. Hikers also come from far and wide to walk the beautiful trails the valley has to offer. Aosta Valley cuisine is influenced by Switzerland, France and Germany. Interestingly, it’s completely bilingual. Both Italian and French are taught in schools and the locals use both languages frequently.

Tuscany

The darling of tourists the world over, beautiful Tuscany conjures up thoughts of rolling hills, vineyards and fantastic wine. The dialetto toscano or Tuscan dialect is an Italo-Dalmation language. Interestingly, ‘standard Italian’ gets its roots from the Tuscan dialect. Florence has its own slight skew on the Tuscan dialect and it was this specific variety that spurned standard Italian. Some argue the standard Italian adoption of the Florentine dialect was down to the fact that it became fashionable with the ‘cultured’ set due to the number of prestigious artists that came from the area.

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Umbria

Umbria is located in central Italy and is flanked by Tuscany. This picturesque region is most hilly or mountainous and is landlocked. Umbria has a great variety of different dialects with perhaps the most notable being that spoken in Perugia. The Perugian dialect, or Perugino, is generally thought of by those outside of the region as being half Tuscan and half Roman. However, it’s actually very close to standard Italian. A notable exception is the fact that the last syllable of a word can often be dropped, making it incredibly hard to follow, even for native Italians! The Umbrian dialect also has many words not found in other Italian dialects, most of which are related to farming.

Sicily

Like so many languages, Sicilian has been shaped by centuries of foreign occupation. Languages such as Albanian, Arabic, French and Greek have all influenced the Sicilian dialect. Pronunciation of Sicilian is famously difficult, specifically the double ‘d’. The language of Sicily is just as colourful as it’s landscape and mafia history. Perhaps the most amusing example of this comes from their proverbs, many of which have an English influence. For example, the Sicilian version of ‘All things in moderation’ is ‘don’t be too sweet lest you be eaten, don’t be too sour lest you be stunned’.

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For those aspiring Italian speakers out there, don’t be daunted by the myriad of dialects. Remember, if you learn standard Italian you will still be mostly understood across the country. Whether you want to learn Italian in Bristol, Cambridge or Liverpool there are language schools that have sites in cities across the UK. Check out the options for learning Italian at UICLanguages.com, you could be cussing like a Sicilian in no time!

From: www.italianwords.org.uk