The Countless Dialects of the Italian Language

In previous articles, we’ve discussed both the Italian language—the official one—and idioms. In everyday conversations and informal situations, however, dialects play a very important role.

Dialects are not taught in school, and if a foreigner studies Italian, they certainly won’t learn any dialect other than the Tuscan one. In fact, the literary Tuscan dialect used in Florence as early as the 13th century by great poets such as Dante, Boccaccio, and Petrarch is the one that was later established as standard Italian.
Every town, every area, and every village has its own way of speaking, its own local dialect words, and its own cadence and accent, which differ from those of the neighboring village.

Dialect Categories

Although they are quite diverse, Italian dialects can be divided into the following broad categories:
– the northern or Upper Italian dialects;
– the Tuscan and central dialects;
– the southern and extreme southern dialects.
Certain dialects, such as Sardinian, for example, cannot be classified into any category because they are distinct languages that have little in common with Standard Italian.

Speaking in a dialect

Speaking in dialect feels much more natural and instinctive. People usually do it in informal situations—with family or among friends. It’s like when you come home, take off your dress shoes or high heels, slip into a pair of comfortable slippers, and finally feel at ease.
Perhaps this is why many authors, such as Trilussa, or singer-songwriters like Pino Daniele, Fabrizio De André, and Franco Battiato, have written works in dialect. Perhaps they felt freer and were able to convey their emotions more accurately.
For tourists or foreign residents coming to Italy, it might be a bit difficult to get used to living in a place where dialects are widely spoken, because they often differ greatly from the language they studied in school. It’s easy to get used to it, though—in fact, adapting to the local environment comes very naturally, and you feel more integrated.