By: Colin Grant, Italian Language Foundation
Modern Italian, like many other languages, originated from Latin. After the Roman Empire fell, Classical Latin continued to be used for most writings. A different version, Vulgar Latin, became more commonly spoken by the average person in parts of Italy and eventually led to Classical Italian.
Latin continued to change over the centuries, creating entirely new languages such as Italian, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Romanian, and others. Today Italian is the closest language to Latin.
Italian as we think of it, originated in Florence. Florence’s central location in Italy as well as its economic power facilitated this, but the main reason is due to the authors from this area. Dante was one of the first authors to write in Florence’s Tuscan vernacular form of early Italian.
In addition to Dante, Petrarca and Boccaccio were two very influential Italian writers from the 14th and 15th centuries, and they all wrote in this style giving the Tuscan dialect more exposure. This dialect was also very similar to Vulgar Latin which further helped Tuscan Italian spread across Italy.
In 1861 at the time of Italy’s unification, localized dialects were so widespread that only around three percent of Italy spoke what is now modern Italian. To help bring Italy together, the Tuscan version of Italian was chosen by the newly formed government to be the national language of Italy.
Today all languages continue to change. They create new words because of influences from other languages, new technologies and activities, as well as different speaking styles becoming more or less popular. In 2016, an 8-year-old student in central Italy used the word petaloso to describe a flower full of petals in a writing assignment.
While this is not a real word, their teacher contacted the Accademia della Crusca which is the institution that oversees the Italian language. The institution responded by saying that the word was beautiful and clear; the only thing preventing it from being included in the Italian language is its usage. The institution stated that more people need to start using the word before it could be added to the dictionary.
Many words commonly used in English have been adopted from Italian, such as the word graffiti. Graffito singular or graffiti plural has the same meaning in Italian as it does in English. This word gets its origins from the Italian infinitive graffiare which means “to scratch” and first began appearing in English in the mid 19th century.
The word ballerina originated in Italian and was first used in English in the late 18th century. Ballerina is the feminine singular version of ballerino which is a male dancer, but these titles were very prestigious and only given to the top dancer or dancers in a group. Ballerino comes from the Italian ballo which means a dance.
Another Italian word that became a part of English is extravaganza. The Italian version spelled stravaganza referred to behavior that was considered to be bizarre, overindulgent, or eccentric. During the 18th century, extravaganza began to be used in English to refer to a fantastic performance or writing.
As words become part of a new language sometimes their meanings change. Confetti comes from Italian but has a different meaning in English. Today confetti in Italian refers to sugar covered almonds which are common during celebrations, especially weddings.
Historically during Venice’s Carnival celebration, people would throw small pellets or balls at each other. Overtime these pellets were replaced by small sugar candies and called confetti. During the early 19th century, England adopted part of this tradition and would throw small pieces of paper during weddings and other celebrations calling it confetti.
The Italian language has changed drastically over the centuries from its Latin origin and continues to change today. Different dialects of Italian continue to be used across Italy, but most Italians are familiar with the version that comes from Tuscany.
Italian influences different languages as they adopt and use Italian words. The English language has been influenced by Italian in countless ways.
The words referenced above are just a few of the many English words that stem from the Italian language. Volcano, grotto, riviera, propaganda, vendetta, opera, diva, torso, fiasco, nostalgia, and scenario are also borrowed words from Italian.
As you study or learn more about the Italian language, you will discover the roots and origins of a wonderful culture.
Colin Grant, a team member of The Italian Language Foundation, earned a Bachelor of Arts & Science from Indiana University. He majored in Media Advertising with a Minor in Italian. Colin utilizes his creative skills in media, advertising and Italian to support ILF’s social media and website content.
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