Quote:
Originally Posted by HorridRedDog
...I wish that more people understood that modern Italian language came about after the "Italian Wars" (1494 to 1559) and the conquest and occupation of Italy by Napoleon. Even in Mussolini's time there were (and to some degree or another still are) many well defined dialects.
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The first well known use of Italian as we can understand it to day is from the 13 century with the poets of the Dolce Stil Novo among whom Dante.
The same source you mention reports that Only 2.5% of Italy’s population could speak standard Italian when the nation unified in 1861.
In spite of TV, dialects are still quite alive in Italy. In the house, often we use Lombard in the Milanese variant when we want to express familiarity and intimate feelings. We also have a patrimony of proverbs and ways of saying that apply to everyday life. Sifulot de menta (flute of mint) when one (a child usually) is telling lyes. The dialect takes away the sting from a reprimand. It brings in the ingredients of the tradition so that the culprit finds himself in good company. It inspires complicity, understanding and always affection. It is really the language of the heart and of the hearth.
Thank you to
doreenjoy and
HorridRedDog, for bringing up this.