Do you speak italiano?

Living in Italy becomes very complicated if you don’t know a little Italian because not everyone here knows English so well to be able to converse with you without misunderstanding (German and French are spoken in border regions such as Trentino Alto-Adige and Valle d’Aosta).

This explains why Italian gestures are so incisive: we rely on our hands and facial expressions to be able to communicate with those who do not know Italian.

After all, one of the most outstanding characteristics of our personality is linked to communication: we like to converse and spend time pleasantly immersed in chatting with friends.

It becomes easy to make friends here, you just have to relax a little and in front of a coffee or a nice glass of wine no Italian will refuse to know you. You can be sure of that!

In fact, even if Italian is the official language, in the 20 regions there are about 31 dialects spoken, considered as real languages in themselves, for example Friulano or Sardo.

The most spoken dialects are: Veneto, Napoletano, Friulano, Piemontese, Sardo, Lombardo, Emiliano and Romagnolo, Siciliano and Ligure.

In general, statistics say that 45% of the population speak only Italian, 32% speak Italian and their own dialect and 14% speak only dialect.

Tuscany is the region where the Italian language is officially born, precisely in Florence, and the poet Dante Alighieri is for everyone “the father of the Italian language” because in the fourteenth century he gave value to the new language using it in the composition of his most beautiful and famous work: the Divine Comedy.

He used the Florentine of 1300 which is still today, for 90%, the language we use every day when we speak and when we write (obviously over the centuries the language has evolved and changed, but the origin is the same).

This does not mean, however, that the dialects are considered as less valuable expression, on the contrary!

Some dialectal expressions have entered fully into the spoken and written Italian and it’s what enrich with color and liveliness our language.

Some dialects are really very difficult to understand even for a native Italian, and each has its own precise musicality as well as grammar and syntax. Even in the same region different versions of the same dialect can live together depending on the location in which you stay.

Usually in Northern Italy are older people who speak more local dialect because they want to prevent it from vanishing, instead in Southern Italy the percentage of young people who speak their own dialect is much higher than the rest of Italy.

The Accademia della Crusca (Italian Language Academy) in Florence is the institution charged with monitoring and recording all phenomena and linguistic changes in Italian.

In the most touristic Italian cities even if you do not know Italian you can juggle quietly because you will always find a native who can understand you and then relate to you in a normal way, but in smaller towns it becomes really difficult to live without knowing at least a few life-saving phrases in Italian.

Even if it doesn’t seem like it, an Italian always appreciates good manners so if you remember to say “per favore” (“please”) and “grazie” (“thank you”) with a smile you will be immediately welcomed as one of us.

Another thing you can do to create the right mood is say hello with a “buongiorno” or “buonasera” or even a nice “ciao” can be good, the important thing is to remember to add a sincere smile.

Pay close attention to the use of swear words… they may be misunderstood if spoken too aggressively. The same applies to the gestures that are used to accompany the speech, some must be used with great caution to avoid bad situations.

Buying a stracasa means embracing the place where you will live, with time you will learn to recognize the differences between Italian and the dialect of the place where you stay and, with the help of good neighbors, you will learn our language and be respected for this.

We love foreigners who speak Italian, it is a demonstration that they love our land and our culture and therefore they will always be welcome.