The Adaptation of Italian Language and Dialects as Identity

Italy, despite its size, has a unique situation regarding language due to its multi-faceted dialects spoken across the country. In looking at this diversity in dialects, the people who speak both their dialect and Italian, and... [ view full abstract ]

Italy, despite its size, has a unique situation regarding language due to its multi-faceted dialects spoken across the country. In looking at this diversity in dialects, the people who speak both their dialect and Italian, and the relationship between person and language we can widen the scope of what the Italian identity looks like. We can follow the adaptation of the Italian language and dialects across several large historical events, such as the choosing of a national language, the unification of the country, and the several migration movements (both internal and external), which have changed the person’s relationship with their languages and hence has changed their identity. There is a continuous adaptation of language that happens over time and the historical events have aided both the spread of the Italian language and the survival of the dialects. Does the variety in language found in Italy help or hurt the existence of the Italian identity or the regional identity?