![]() The most recent data available (from 2013) found that Italian was the fifth most-studied foreign language in the United States. Today, about 709,000 people in the country speak Italian at home, according to the U.S. Large numbers of Italians immigrated to the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It’s difficult to find exact numbers for all of Europe, but there are approximately 64 million native Italian speakers in the European Union. Significant contingents of Italian speakers also reside in Albania, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Malta, France, Germany, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Romania and the United Kingdom. For instance, Italian is the official national language of San Marino (25,000 speakers), Switzerland (666,000) and Vatican City, along with some local areas of Croatia and Slovenia that have also made it their official language. The language is popular in other parts of Europe, as well. Unsurprisingly, Italy is home to the most Italian speakers in the world - nearly 58 million of them. Various sources differ slightly, but Italian is around the 20th most-spoken language in the world. An additional 3 million speak Italian as a second language. How Many People In The World Speak Italian?Īpproximately 63 million people in the world speak Italian as their first language. There is a relatively sizeable number of Italian speakers in Albania, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, Croatia, Malta, Egypt, Eritrea, France, Germany, Israel, Libya, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Paraguay, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Slovenia, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, the United States and Venezuela. It’s also the official language of some parts of Croatia and Slovenia. Italian is the official language of Italy, San Marino, Switzerland and Vatican City. The local dialects still reigned supreme until the unification of Italy in 1861, when the modern form of Tuscan became the official language. ![]() In fact, Italian is the Romance language that most closely resembles Latin.ĭuring the 15th and 16th centuries, the Tuscan dialect of the 14th century was codified as classical Italian. It began as a dialect in Tuscany or Florence, and it gained in popularity possibly either because of Tuscany’s central location, the importance of Florence as a key city of commerce, or the similarities between the Tuscan dialect and Latin. The first documents that were written in some form of Italian popped up in the 10th century, but Standard Italian didn’t begin developing until the 13th and 14th centuries. ![]() ![]() Italian, like Spanish, French, Romanian and Portuguese, is a Romance language rooted in Vulgar (“Common”) Latin. Keep reading to find out more! A Brief History Of The Italian Language Ever wondered just how many people speak Italian around the world? It’s found in more countries than you might think. ![]()
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