🇮🇹 What Language Do They Speak in Italy?
The short answer
Italy speaks Italian, but that's only half the story: many Italians also grow up with a regional language like Neapolitan, Sicilian or Venetian — distinct enough that linguists class them as languages, not dialects. Standard Italian, based on Tuscan, unites the country.
Worth knowing
- ●Standard Italian only became an everyday spoken language nationwide in the 20th century, helped by television
- ●South Tyrol is largely German-speaking; the Aosta Valley is officially bilingual with French
- ●Italian is the closest major language to Latin in vocabulary
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