Italian language

Member of the Romance branch of the Indo-European language family, the most direct descendant of Latin. Broadcasting and films have standardized the Italian national tongue, but most Italians speak a regional dialect as well as standard Italian.

The standard language originates in the Tuscan dialect of the Middle Ages, particularly as used for literary purposes by Dante Alighieri. Its development parallels the integration of the Italian peninsula and the plains south of the Alps into a cultural and national unity. With a strong infusion of Latin for religious, academic, and educational purposes, written standard Italian has tended to be highly formal and divorced from the many regional dialects, which are often mutually unintelligible. Italian has provided English with much of the vocabulary of music, such as adagio, arpeggio, cello, crescendo, and pianoforte; Italian cuisine (lasagne, macaroni, pasta, pizza, ravioli, spaghetti, tagliatelle); and an assortment of social comment (extravaganza, graffiti, imbroglio, mafia, seraglio).