Does the rich history, stunning architecture, striking fine arts and delectable food of Italy fascinate you? Do you want to learn Italian language? Looking for Italian classes in Los Angeles? However, before you join the language classes in Los Angeles, take a look at a few interesting facts about the Italian language, the official language of Classical Music. Sounds great, right! Here comes a few more:
- Italian became an official language in the year 1861
Italy was split into a number of different states for centuries until the union of Italy in the year 1861. As these states were under foreign rule there were a number of different dialects spoken all over the country. On the day of unification of Italy in 1861 it was decided to make the Tuscan dialect as the official language of the country.
- Italian language has only 21 alphabets
The standard Italian language has only 21 alphabets. The alphabet set does not contain J, K, W, X and Y. However, if you find any of these letters in any Italian word then it is a foreign loan word or in old writings.
- Italian is one of the closest languages to Latin
Considering the similarities in terms of vocabulary and pronunciation, Italian is one of the closest languages to Latin. Latin was the official language of the Roman Empire and used until the dissolution of the empire in the 6th Century, when Romance languages developed replacing the vulgar versions.
- Almost around 66 million people speak Italian all over the world
About 63 million people around the globe speak Italian language as their first language and about 3 million speak Italian as a second language. Italian is around the 20th most spoken language and 4th most studied language in the world.
- More than 700,000 Americans speak Italian
Italian has always been one of the most popular languages in the United States due to the large number of migration from Italy to the US in the 19th century. According to the US Census Bureau, about 709,000 Americans speak Italian with the majority residing in New York and New Jersey.
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