View source for Languages of Italy

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{{About|the modern languages originating or spoken in Italy|the regional varieties of the Italian language specifically|Regional Italian|the ancient languages|Ancient languages of the Italian peninsula}}
{{AI-generated|date=May 2025}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Languages of
| country = Italy
| image = Linguistic_map_of_Italy_-_Legend.svg
| image size = 300px
| caption = Regional and minority languages of Italy<ref>{{cite book|title=Le origini delle lingue neolatine: introduzione alla filologia romanza|last=Tagliavini|first=Carlo|year=1962|publisher=R. Patròn|url=http://www.atlantelinguistico.it/dialetti/DialettiItalia.html|access-date=8 January 2008|archive-date=26 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180226222406/http://www.atlantelinguistico.it/dialetti/DialettiItalia.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.maldura.unipd.it/romanistica/viale/lezione_diatopia/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120216121815/http://www.maldura.unipd.it/romanistica/viale/lezione_diatopia/|archive-date=2012-02-16|title=La variazione diatopica}}</ref><ref>[http://www.italica.rai.it/principali/lingua/bruni/mappe/mappe/f_dialetti.htm ] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051107211735/http://www.italica.rai.it/principali/lingua/bruni/mappe/mappe/f_dialetti.htm|date=7 November 2005}}</ref><ref>AIS, Sprach-und Sachatlas Italiens und der Südschweiz, Zofingen 1928-1940</ref>
|official = [[Italian language|Italian]]
| regional = see "[[#Classification|classification]]"
| minority = see "[[#Historical linguistic minorities|historical linguistic minorities]]"
| immigrant = 
{{Plainlist|
* [[Romanian language|Romanian]]
* [[Albanian language|Albanian]]
* [[Arabic]]
* [[Chinese language|Chinese]]
* [[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]]
* [[Romani language|Romani]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tuttitalia.it/statistiche/cittadini-stranieri-2018/|title=Cittadini Stranieri in Italia - 2018}}</ref>
}} 
| foreign = {{plainlist|
*[[English language|English]] (35%)
*[[French language|French]] (16%)
*[[Spanish language|Spanish]] (11%)
*Other regional language (6%)}}
| sign = [[Italian Sign Language]]
| keyboard = [[Italian keyboard layout|Italian QWERTY]]
| keyboard image = [[File:Italian Keyboard layout.svg|200px]]
| source = [http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_243_en.pdf Special Eurobarometer, ''Europeans and their Languages'', 2006]
}}
{{Culture of Italy}}
{{Italian language|state=expanded}}

The '''languages of Italy''' include [[Italian language|Italian]], which serves as the country's [[national language]], in its standard and [[Regional Italian|regional forms]], as well as numerous local and [[regional languages]], most of which, like Italian, belong to the broader [[Romance languages|Romance group]]. The majority of languages often labeled as regional are distributed in a [[dialect continuum|continuum]] across the regions' administrative boundaries, with speakers from one locale within a single region being typically aware of the features distinguishing their own variety from others spoken nearby.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/country/IT|title=Italy|work=Ethnologue|access-date=2017-07-22}}</ref>

The official and most widely spoken language across the country is Italian, which started off based on the medieval [[Tuscan dialect|Tuscan]] of [[Florence]]. In parallel, many Italians also communicate in one of the local languages, most of which, like Tuscan, are indigenous evolutions of [[Vulgar Latin]]. Some local languages do not stem from Latin, however, but belong to other [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]] branches, such as [[Cimbrian language|Cimbrian]] (Germanic), [[Arbëresh language|Arbëresh]] (Albanian), [[Slavomolisano dialect|Slavomolisano]] (Slavic) and [[Griko dialect|Griko]] (Greek). Other non-indigenous languages are spoken by a substantial percentage of the population due to [[immigration]].

Of the indigenous languages, twelve are officially recognized as spoken by [[minority language|linguistic minorities]]:<ref name="parl"/> [[Albanian language|Albanian]],<ref>{{cite book |last1= Curtis |first1=Matthew C. |editor1-last=Fritz |editor1-first=Matthias |editor2-last=Joseph |editor2-first=Brian |editor3-last=Klein |editor3-first=Jared |title=Handbook of Comparative and Historical Indo-European Linguistics |date=2018 |publisher=de Gruyter Mouton |chapter=99. The dialectology of Albanian|isbn=9783110542431|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SuR8DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA1800|pages=1800|quote=The Albanian language is spoken natively by approximately 6 million speakers in south-eastern Europe, particularly in Albania and Kosovo where it is an official language, but also in Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro, and Italy where it has the status of a minority language.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Albanians in Italy|website=[[Minority Rights Group International]]|url=https://minorityrights.org/communities/albanians-2/#:~:text=Article%206%20of%20the%201947,some%20official%20recognition%20to%20Albanian.}}</ref> [[Catalan language|Catalan]], [[German language|German]], [[Greek language|Greek]], [[Slovene language|Slovene]], [[Croatian language|Croatian]], [[French language|French]], [[Franco-Provençal language|Franco-Provençal]], [[Friulian language|Friulian]], [[Ladin language|Ladin]], [[Occitan language|Occitan]] and [[Sardinian language|Sardinian]];<ref name="parl">{{citation |url=http://www.parlamento.it/parlam/leggi/99482l.htm |title=Norme in materia di tutela delle minoranze linguistiche storiche |publisher=Italian parliament |access-date=2015-10-17}}: "1. In attuazione dell'articolo 6 della Costituzione e in armonia con i princípi generali stabiliti dagli organismi europei e internazionali, la Repubblica tutela la lingua e la cultura delle popolazioni albanesi, catalane, germaniche, greche, slovene e croate e di quelle parlanti il francese, il franco-provenzale, il friulano, il ladino, l'occitano e il sardo."</ref> at the present moment, Sardinian is regarded as the largest of such groups, with approximately one million speakers, even though the Sardophone community is overall declining.<ref name="istat2000">{{cite web|url=http://portal-lem.com/images/fr/sarde/ISTAT_Langues_en_Italie.pdf|title=Letture e linguaggio. Indagine Multiscopo sulle famiglie "I cittadini e il tempo libero"|year=2000|publisher=ISTAT|pages=106–107}}</ref><ref>«With some 1,6 million speakers, Sardinia is the largest minority language in Italy. Sardinians form an ethnic minority since they show a strong awareness of being an indigenous group with a language and a culture of their own. Although Sardinian appears to be recessive in use, it is still spoken and understood by a majority of the population on the island.» {{cite book|author=Kurt Braunmüller, Gisella Ferraresi|year=2003|title=Aspects of multilingualism in European language history|place=Amsterdam/Philadelphia: University of Hamburg|publisher=John Benjamins Publishing Company|page=238}}</ref><ref>«Nel 1948 la Sardegna diventa, anche per le sue peculiarità linguistiche, Regione Autonoma a statuto speciale. Tuttavia a livello politico, ufficiale, non cambia molto per la minoranza linguistica sarda, che, con circa 1,2 milioni di parlanti, è la più numerosa tra tutte le comunità alloglotte esistenti sul territorio italiano.» {{cite book|author=Wolftraud De Concini|year=2003|title=Gli altri d'Italia : minoranze linguistiche allo specchio|place=Pergine Valsugana|publisher=Comune|page=196}}</ref><ref>«Sebbene in continua diminuzione, i sardi costituiscono tuttora la più grossa minoranza linguistica dello stato italiano con ca. 1.000.000 di parlanti stimati (erano 1.269.000 secondo le stime basate sul censimento del 2001)». {{cite book|author=Sergio Lubello|year=2016|title=Manuale Di Linguistica Italiana|series=Manuals of Romance linguistics|publisher=De Gruyter|page=499}}</ref><ref name="scuola">{{cite web|url=http://www.minoranze-linguistiche-scuola.it/sardo/|title=Lingue di Minoranza e Scuola, Sardo|access-date=12 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181016024333/http://www.minoranze-linguistiche-scuola.it/sardo/|archive-date=16 October 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="worldatlas">{{cite web|url=https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/what-languages-are-spoken-in-italy.html|title=What Languages are Spoken in Italy?|date=29 July 2019}}</ref> However, full [[bilingualism]] (''bilinguismo perfetto'') is legally granted only to the three [[Minority group|national minorities]] whose mother tongue is German, Slovene or French, and enacted in the regions of [[Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol|Trentino-Alto Adige]], [[Friuli-Venezia Giulia]] and the [[Aosta Valley]], respectively.

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==Ancient languages of Italy==
{{see also|Ancient peoples of Italy|Italic languages}}
[[File:Iron Age Italy.svg|thumb|250px|Ethnolinguistic map of Italy in the [[Iron Age]], before the [[Roman conquest of Italy|Roman expansion and conquest of Italy]]]]

Numerous languages were spoken in ancient Italy. These included [[Etruscan language|Etruscan]] and the [[Italic languages|Italic branch]] of the [[Indo-European languages]], consisting of [[Latino-Faliscan languages|Latino-Faliscan]] and [[Osco-Umbrian languages|Osco-Umbrian]] languages. Furthermore, [[Celtic languages]] were spoken in [[Cisalpine Gaul]] and [[ancient Greek language|ancient Greek]] was spoken in [[Magna Graecia]]. Latin emerged out of the Latino-Faliscan group and replaced the other languages spoken in Italy following the [[Romanization]] of the whole peninsula; it is the ancestor of all the [[Romance languages]], the only living subgroup of the Italic languages.

== Language or dialect ==
{{see also|Regional Italian}}
Almost all of the Romance languages spoken in Italy are native to the area in which they are spoken. Apart from [[Standard Italian]], these languages are often referred to as ''dialetti'' "[[dialect]]s", both colloquially and in scholarly usage; however, the term may coexist with other labels like "minority languages" or "[[vernacular]]s" for some of them.<ref>{{harvcolnb|Loporcaro|2009}}; {{harvcolnb|Marcato|2007}}; {{harvcolnb|Posner|1996}}; {{harvcolnb|Repetti|2000|pp=1–2}}; {{harvcolnb|Cravens|2014}}.</ref> The label "dialect" may be understood erroneously to imply that the native languages spoken in Italy are "dialects" of Standard Italian in the prevailing English-language sense of "[[variety (linguistics)|varieties]] or variations of a [[language]]".<ref name="Cravens 2014">{{harvcolnb|Cravens|2014}}</ref><ref name="Cerrato">{{cite web |author=Domenico Cerrato |title=Che lingua parla un italiano? |url=http://www.treccani.it/magazine/chiasmo/lettere_e_arti/1_identita_ssas_lingua_italiano.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180211043745/http://www.treccani.it/magazine/chiasmo/lettere_e_arti/1_identita_ssas_lingua_italiano.html |archive-date=February 11, 2018 |publisher=Treccani.it}}</ref> This is not the case in Italy, as the country's long-standing linguistic diversity does not actually stem from Standard Italian. Most of Italy's variety of Romance languages predate [[Italian language|Italian]] and evolved locally from [[Vulgar Latin]], independently of what would become the standard national language, long before the fairly recent spread of Standard Italian throughout Italy.<ref>Tullio, de Mauro (2014). ''Storia linguistica dell'Italia repubblicana: dal 1946 ai nostri giorni''. Editori Laterza, {{ISBN|9788858113622}}</ref><ref name="Cerrato" /> In fact, Standard Italian itself can be thought of as either a continuation of, or a language heavily based on, the [[Florentine dialect]] of [[Tuscan language|Tuscan]].

The indigenous Romance languages of Italy are therefore classified as separate languages that evolved from Latin just like Standard Italian, rather than "dialects" or variations of the latter.<ref name=maiden>{{cite book|last1=Maiden|first1=Martin|last2=Parry|first2=Mair|title=The Dialects of Italy|date=7 March 2006|publisher=[[Routledge]]|page=2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9Dz_LyQF_eAC|isbn=9781134834365}}</ref>{{sfn|Repetti|2000|p=1}}<ref>{{Citation |last1= Andreose | first1 = Alvise |last2=Renzi |first2=Lorenzo | contribution = Geography and distribution of the Romance Languages in Europe| editor-last = Maiden | editor-first = Martin |editor2-last= Smith | editor2-first = John Charles |editor3-last= Ledgeway | editor3-first = Adam |title=The Cambridge History of the Romance Languages | volume = 2, Contexts| pages =302–308 |publisher = Cambridge University Press |place = Cambridge | year = 2013 }}</ref> Conversely, with the spread of Standard Italian throughout Italy in the 20th century, local varieties of Standard Italian have also developed throughout the peninsula, influenced to varying extents by the underlying local languages, most noticeably at the phonological level; though regional boundaries seldom correspond to [[isogloss]]es distinguishing these varieties, these variations of Standard Italian are commonly referred to as [[Regional Italian]] (''italiano regionale'').<ref name="Cerrato" />

Twelve languages have been legally granted official recognition as of 1999, but their selection to the exclusion of others is a matter of some controversy.<ref name="Cravens 2014"/> Daniele Bonamore argues that many regional languages were not recognized in light of their communities' historical participation in the construction of the Standard Italian language: [[Giacomo da Lentini]]'s and [[Cielo d'Alcamo]]'s [[Sicilian language|Sicilian]], [[Guido Guinizelli]]'s [[Bolognese dialect|Bolognese]], [[Jacopone da Todi]]'s [[Central Italian|Umbrian]], [[Neapolitan language|Neapolitan]], [[Carlo Goldoni]]'s [[Venetian language|Venetian]] and [[Dante Alighieri|Dante]]'s Tuscan are considered to be historical founders of the Standard Italian linguistic majority; outside of such epicenters are, on the other hand, Friulian, Ladin, Sardinian, Franco-Provençal and Occitan, which are recognized as distinct languages.<ref>Bonamore, Daniele (2006). ''Lingue minoritarie Lingue nazionali Lingue ufficiali nella legge 482/1999'', Editore Franco Angeli, p.16</ref> Michele Salazar found Bonamore's explanation "new and convincing".<ref>Michele Salazar (Università di Messina, Direttore Rivista giuridica della scuola) - '''Presentazione''': ''(…) La spiegazione datane nell'opera sotto analisi appare nuova e convincente (…) il siciliano (…) il bolognese (…) l'umbro (…) il toscano (…) hanno fatto l'italiano, sono l'italiano'' - Bonamore, Daniele (2008). Lingue minoritarie Lingue nazionali Lingue ufficiali nella legge 482/1999, Editore Franco Angeli</ref>

==Legal status of Italian==
Italian was first declared to be Italy's official language during the Fascist period, more specifically through the R.D.l., adopted on 15 October 1925, with the name of'' Sull'Obbligo della lingua italiana in tutti gli uffici giudiziari del Regno, salvo le eccezioni stabilite nei trattati internazionali per la città di Fiume''.<ref>{{cite book|first1=Paolo |last1=Caretti |first2=Monica |last2=Rosini |first3=Roberto |last3=Louvin |title=Regioni a statuto speciale e tutela della lingua|publisher=G. Giappichelli | location=Turin, Italy |year=2017|page=72 |isbn=978-88-921-6380-5}}</ref>

The original Italian constitution does not explicitly express that Italian is the official national language. Since the constitution was penned, there have been some laws and articles written on the procedures of criminal cases passed that explicitly state that Italian should be used:
*'''Statute of the Trentino-South Tyrol''', (constitutional law of the northern region of Italy around Trento)&nbsp;– "[...] {{lang|it|[la lingua] italiana [...] è la lingua ufficiale dello Stato.}}" (Statuto Speciale per il Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, Art. 99, "[...] [the language] Italian [...] is the official language of the State.")
*'''Code for civil procedure'''&nbsp;– "{{lang|it|In tutto il processo è prescritto l'uso della lingua italiana.}} (Codice di procedura civile, Art. 122, "In all procedures, the use of the Italian language is required.")
*'''Code for criminal procedure'''&nbsp;– "{{lang|it|Gli atti del procedimento penale sono compiuti in lingua italiana.}}" (Codice di procedura penale, Art. 109 [169-3; 63, 201 att.], "The acts of the criminal proceedings are carried out in the Italian language.")
*'''Article 1 of law 482/1999'''&nbsp;– "La lingua ufficiale della Repubblica è l'italiano." (Legge 482/1999, Art. 1 Comma 1, "The official language of the Republic is Italian.")<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.camera.it/parlam/leggi/99482l.htm |title=Legge 482 |publisher=Webcitation.org |access-date=2015-10-17 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924042628/http://www.camera.it/parlam/leggi/99482l.htm |archive-date= 24 September 2015 }}</ref>

==Historical linguistic minorities==
===Recognition by the Italian state===
[[File:Minority_Languages_Italy.svg|250px|thumb|Communities recognized by Italy as historical linguistic minorities<ref>{{cite book|author=Sergio Lubello|year=2016|title=Manuale Di Linguistica Italiana|series=Manuals of Romance linguistics|publisher=De Gruyter|page=506}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.minoranze-linguistiche-scuola.it/carta-generale/|title=Lingue di Minoranza e Scuola: Carta Generale|website=Minoranze-linguistiche-scuola.it|access-date=8 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010152621/http://www.minoranze-linguistiche-scuola.it/carta-generale/|archive-date=10 October 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>]]
{{blockquote|The Republic safeguards linguistic minorities by means of appropriate measures.|[https://www.senato.it/documenti/repository/istituzione/costituzione_inglese.pdf Italian Constitution], Art. 6}}
Art. 6 of the [[Constitution of Italy|Italian Constitution]] was drafted by the Founding Fathers to show sympathy for the country's historical linguistic minorities, in a way for the newly founded Republic to let them become part of the national fabric and distance itself from the [[Italianization]] policies promoted earlier because of [[Italian nationalism|nationalism]], especially during [[Italian Fascism|Fascism]].<ref name="leggextutti">{{cite web|url=https://www.laleggepertutti.it/140226_tutela-delle-minoranze-linguistiche-e-articolo-6-costituzione|title=Tutela delle minoranze linguistiche e articolo 6 Costituzione}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.brocardi.it/costituzione/principi-fondamentali/art6.html|title=Articolo 6 Costituzione, Dispositivo e Spiegazione}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Paolo Coluzzi|year=2007|title=Minority Language Planning and Micronationalism in Italy: An Analysis of the Situation of Friulian, Cimbrian and Western Lombard with Reference to Spanish Minority Languages|publisher=Peter Lang|page=97}}</ref> Since 1934, Minister [[Francesco Ercole]] had excluded in fact from the school curriculum any language other than Italian, in accordance with the policy of linguistic nationalism.<ref>Silvia Demartini (2010). ''Dal dialetto alla lingua negli anni Venti del Novecento''. Pisa-Roma, Fabrizio Serra Editore; p.78</ref>

For the [[Constitutional Court of Italy|Constitutional Court of the Italian Republic]], Article 6 of the Constitution represents "the overcoming of the closed notion of the 19th-century national State and a reversal of great political and cultural significance, compared to the nationalistic attitude manifested by Fascism" as well as being "one of the fundamental principles of the current constitutional system".<ref>Sentenze Corte costituzionale n. 15 del 1996, n. 62 del 1992, n. 768 del 1988, n. 289 del 1987 e n. 312 del 1983. Dalla [http://www.giurcost.org/decisioni/1996/0015s-96.htm sentenza nr. 15 del 1996] : 2.- «La tutela delle minoranze linguistiche è uno dei principi fondamentali del vigente ordinamento che la Costituzione stabilisce all'art. 6, demandando alla Repubblica il compito di darne attuazione "con apposite norme". Tale principio, che rappresenta un superamento delle concezioni dello Stato nazionale chiuso dell'Ottocento e un rovesciamento di grande portata politica e culturale, rispetto all'atteggiamento nazionalistico manifestato dal fascismo, è stato numerose volte valorizzato dalla giurisprudenza di questa Corte, anche perché esso si situa al punto di incontro con altri principi, talora definiti "supremi", che qualificano indefettibilmente e necessariamente l'ordinamento vigente (sentenze nn. 62 del 1992, 768 del 1988, 289 del 1987 e 312 del 1983): il principio pluralistico riconosciuto dall'art. 2 - essendo la lingua un elemento di identità individuale e collettiva di importanza basilare - e il principio di eguaglianza riconosciuto dall'art. 3 della Costituzione, il quale, nel primo comma, stabilisce la pari dignità sociale e l'eguaglianza di fronte alla legge di tutti i cittadini, senza distinzione di lingua e, nel secondo comma, prescrive l'adozione di norme che valgano anche positivamente per rimuovere le situazioni di fatto da cui possano derivare conseguenze discriminatorie.»</ref>

However, more than a half century passed before the Art. 6 was followed by any of the above-mentioned "appropriate measures".<ref name="Fachin">{{cite web|url=http://www.patriaindipendente.it/persone-e-luoghi/servizi/articolo-6-lingue-tutelare/|title=Schiavi Fachin, Silvana. ''Articolo 6, Lingue da tutelare''|date=15 June 2017 }}</ref> Italy applied in fact the Article for the first time in 1999, by means of the national law N.482/99.<ref name="parl" /> According to the linguist [[Tullio De Mauro]], the Italian delay of over 50 years in implementing Article 6 was caused by "decades of hostility to multilingualism" and "opaque ignorance".<ref>Tratto dalla “Presentazione” a firma del prof. Tullio De Mauro della prima edizione (31 dicembre 2004) del Grande Dizionario Bilingue Italiano-Friulano – Regione autonoma Friuli-Venezia Giulia – edizione CFL2000, Udine, pag. 5/6/7/8: «Anzitutto occorre rievocare il vasto movimento mondiale che ha segnato la fine dell'ideologia monolinguistica e delle politiche culturali, scolastiche, legislative a essa ispirata. (…) I grandi Stati nazionali europei si sono andati costituendo, a partire dal secolo XV, sull'assioma di una vincolante identità tra Stato-nazione-lingua. (…) Il divergente esempio svizzero a lungo è stato percepito come una curiosità isolata.(…) Le vie percorso dal plurilinguismo (…). In Italia il percorso, come si sa, non è stato agevole.(…) Nella pluridecennale ostilità ha operato un difetto profondo di cultura, un'opaca ignoranza fatta dall'intreccio di molte cose. (…) Finalmente nel 1999, vinte resistenze residue, anche lo Stato italiano si è dotato di una legge che, non eccelsa, attua tuttavia quanto disponeva l'art. 6 della Costituzione (...)»</ref>

Before said legal framework entered into force, only four linguistic minorities (the French-speaking community in the Aosta Valley; the German-speaking community and, to a limited extent, the Ladin one in the [[Province of Bolzano]]; the Slovene-speaking community in the [[Province of Trieste]] and, with less rights, the [[Province of Gorizia]]) enjoyed some kind of acknowledgment and protection, stemming from specific clauses within international treaties.<ref name="leggextutti" /> The other eight linguistic minorities were to be recognized only in 1999, including the Slovene-speaking minority in the [[Province of Udine]] and the [[Germanic peoples|Germanic populations]] ([[Walser]], [[Mòcheno language|Mocheni]] and Cimbri) residing in provinces different from Bolzano. Some now-recognized minority groups, namely in Friuli-Venezia Giulia and [[Sardinia]], already provided themselves with regional laws of their own. It has been estimated that less than 400.000 people, out of the two million people belonging to the twelve historical minorities (with Sardinian being the numerically biggest one<ref name="scuola" /><ref name="istat2000" /><ref name="worldatlas" />), enjoyed state-wide protection.<ref>Salvi, Sergio (1975). ''Le lingue tagliate. Storia della minoranze linguistiche in Italia'', Rizzoli Editore, pp. 12–14</ref>

Around the 1960s, the [[Italian Parliament]] eventually resolved to apply the previously neglected article of the country's fundamental Charter. The Parliament thus appointed a "Committee of three Sages" to single out the groups that were to be recognized as linguistic minorities, and further elaborate the reason for their inclusion. The nominated people were Tullio de Mauro, Giovan Battista Pellegrini and Alessandro Pizzorusso, three notable figures who distinguished themselves with their life-long activity of research in the field of both [[linguistics]] and [[Jurisprudence|legal theory]]. Based on linguistic, historical as well as anthropological considerations, the experts eventually selected thirteen groups, corresponding to the currently recognized twelve with the further addition of the [[Sinti]] and [[Romani language|Romani]]-speaking populations.<ref>Camera dei deputati, Servizio Studi, Documentazione per le Commissioni Parlamentari, Proposte di legge della VII Legislatura e dibattito dottrinario,123/II, marzo 1982</ref> The original list was approved, with the only exception of the nomadic peoples, who lacked the territoriality requisite and therefore needed a separate law. However, the draft was presented to the law-making bodies when the legislature was about to run its course, and had to be passed another time. The bill was met with resistance by all the subsequent legislatures, being reluctant to challenge the widely-held myth of "Italian linguistic homogeneity",<ref name="Fachin" /> and only in 1999 did it eventually pass, becoming a law. In the end, the historical linguistic minorities have been recognized by the Law no. 482/1999 (''Legge 15 Dicembre 1999, n. 482, Art. 2, comma 1'').<ref name="parl" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.culturalpolicies.net/web/italy.php?aid=519|title=Italy's general legislation, Language Laws|access-date=15 January 2019|archive-date=2 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140302163710/http://www.culturalpolicies.net/web/italy.php?aid=519|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Some interpretations of said law seem to divide the twelve minority languages into two groups, with the first including the non-Latin speaking populations (with the exception of the Catalan-speaking one) and the second including only the Romance-speaking populations. Some other interpretations state that a further distinction is implied, considering only some groups to be "national minorities".<ref name="Fachin" /><ref>[http://www.italica.rai.it/principali/lingua/bruni/lezioni/f_lv2.htm] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120516005113/http://www.italica.rai.it/principali/lingua/bruni/lezioni/f_lv2.htm|date=16 May 2012}}</ref> Regardless of the ambiguous phrasing, all the twelve groups are technically supposed to be allowed the same measures of protection;<ref>Bonamore, Daniele (2008). ''Lingue minoritarie lingue nazionali lingue ufficiali nella legge 482/1999'', FrancoAngeli Editore, Milano, p. 29</ref> furthermore, the [[Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities]], signed and ratified by Italy in 1997, applies to all the twelve groups mentioned by the 1999 national law, therefore including the [[Friulians]], the [[Sardinian people|Sardinians]],<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.sardegnacultura.it/j/v/258?s=24017&v=2&c=2803&t=7|title= Lingua Sarda, Legislazione Internazionale, Sardegna Cultura}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.sardiniapost.it/politica/coordinamentu-sardu-ufitziale-lettera-consiglio-deuropa-rispettare-impegni/|title= Coordinamentu sardu ufitziale, lettera a Consiglio d'Europa: "Rispettare impegni"|date= 17 April 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.unionesarda.it/articolo/cronaca/2016/06/24/gli_ispettori_di_bruxelles_lingua_sarda_discriminata_norme_non_ri-68-509174.html|title= Il Consiglio d'Europa: "Lingua sarda discriminata, norme non-rispettate"|date= 24 June 2016}}</ref> the [[Occitans]], the [[Ladin people|Ladins]] etc., with the addition of the [[Romani people|Romani]].

In actual practice, not each of the twelve historical linguistic minorities is given the same consideration.<ref name="Fachin" /> All of them still bear strong social pressure to assimilate to Italian, and some of them do not even have a widely acknowledged standard to be used for official purposes.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://jemi.myblog.it/files/lingue_minoranza_scuola.pdf|page=82|title=Lingue di minoranza e scuola. A dieci anni dalla Legge 482/99. Il plurilinguismo scolastico nelle comunità di minoranza della Repubblica Italiana|year=2010|author=Gabriele Iannàccaro|access-date=17 July 2021|archive-date=17 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140817111034/http://jemi.myblog.it/files/lingue_minoranza_scuola.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> In fact, the discrimination lay in the urgent need to award the highest degree of protection only to the French-speaking minority in the Aosta Valley and the German one in [[South Tyrol]], owing to international treaties.<ref>See the [https://www.felicebesostri.it/ricorso-anti-italikum/ appeal] of the attorney [[Felice Besostri]] against the [[Italian electoral law of 2015]].</ref> For example, the institutional websites are only in Italian with a few exceptions, like a French version of the Italian Chamber of Deputies.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://fr.camera.it/|title= Chambre des députés}}</ref> A bill proposed by former prime minister [[Mario Monti]]'s [[Monti Cabinet|cabinet]] formally introduced a differential treatment between the twelve historical linguistic minorities, distinguishing between those with a "foreign mother tongue" (the groups protected by agreements with [[Austria]], [[France]] and [[Slovenia]]) and those with a "peculiar dialect" (all the others). The bill was later implemented, but deemed unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.giurcost.org/decisioni/2013/0215s-13.html|title=Sentenza Corte costituzionale nr. 215 del 3 luglio 2013, depositata il 18 luglio 2013 su ricorso della regione Friuli-VG}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://com482.altervista.org/comunicats/comst13_05_it.pdf|title=Anche per la Consulta i friulani non-sono una minoranza di serie B}}</ref>

===Recognition at the European level===
Italy is a signatory of the [[European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages]], but has not ratified the treaty, and therefore its provisions protecting regional languages do not apply in the country.<ref name="coe1">{{cite web |url=http://www.coe.int/en/web/conventions/full-list/-/conventions/treaty/148/signatures |title=Chart of signatures and ratifications of Treaty 148 |publisher=Council of Europe |access-date=17 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017135911/http://www.coe.int/en/web/conventions/full-list/-/conventions/treaty/148/signatures|archive-date=17 October 2015}}</ref>

The Charter does not, however, establish at what point differences in expression result in a separate language, deeming it an "often controversial issue", and citing the necessity to take into account, other than purely linguistic criteria, also "psychological, sociological and political considerations".<ref name="coe2">{{citation |url=http://www.coe.int/t/dc/files/themes/langues_minoritaire/Definition_en.asp |title=What is a regional or minority language? |publisher=Council of Europe |access-date=2015-10-17}}</ref>

==Regional recognition of the local languages==
*[[Aosta Valley]]: 
**French is co-official (enjoying the same dignity and standing of Italian) in the whole region (Le Statut spécial de la Vallée d'Aoste, Titre VI<sup>e</sup>, Article 38);<ref name="vda">{{citation |url=http://www.regione.vda.it/allegato.aspx?pk=34495 |title=Statut spécial de la Vallée d'Aoste, Title VIe |publisher=Region Vallée d'Aoste |access-date=2015-10-17}}</ref>
**[[Franco-Provençal]] is unofficial, but protected and promoted according to federal and regional laws.<ref name="vda" /><ref>[http://www.consiglio.regione.vda.it/fr/app/leggieregolamenti/dettaglio?pk_lr=3141&versione=V "Conseil de la Vallée - Loi régionale 1er août 2005, n. 18 - Texte en vigueur"]. Retrieved 25 April 2020</ref> 
**German is unofficial but recognised in the Lys Valley (Lystal) (Le Statut spécial de la Vallée d'Aoste, Titre VI<sup>e</sup>, Art. 40 - bis).<ref name="vda" />
*[[Apulia]]: 
**[[Griko language|Griko]], [[Arbëresh language|Arbëresh]] and Franco-Provençal are recognized and safeguarded (Legge regionale 5/2012).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.regione.puglia.it/index.php?page=burp&opz=getfile&file=1.htm&anno=xliii&num=45|title=QUIregione - Il Sito web Istituzionale della Regione Puglia|last=Puglia|first=QUIregione - Il Sito web Istituzionale della Regione|website=QUIregione - Il Sito web Istituzionale della Regione Puglia|access-date=2018-06-10}}</ref>
[[File:GrikoSpeakingCommunitiesTodayV4.png|thumb|Map showing the areas where the [[Griko language]] is still spoken ([[Bovesia]] and [[Grecìa Salentina]]); the last living trace of the Greek elements that once formed [[Magna Graecia]].<ref name="itinerarieluoghi">{{cite web|url=
https://www.itinerarieluoghi.it/una-lingua-unidentita-alla-scoperta-del-griko-salentino/|title=Una lingua, un'identità: alla scoperta del griko salentino|work=Itinerari e Luoghi |date=25 May 2020 |access-date=15 July 2023|language=it |last1=Balduzzi |first1=Erica }}</ref>]]
*[[Basilicata]]:
**[[Arbëresh language|Arbëresh]] is officially recognized.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Promozione e salvaguardia delle minoranze linguistiche |url=https://www.regione.basilicata.it/giunta/site/giunta/department.jsp?dep=100435&area=109477&level=1 |website=Regione Basilicata}}</ref>
*[[Calabria]]:
**[[Calabrian Greek]], [[Arbëresh language|Arbëresh]] and [[Occitan language|Occitan]] are officially recognized and safeguarded.
*[[Campania]]: [[Neapolitan language|Neapolitan]] is "promoted", but not recognised, by the region (Reg. Gen. nn. 159/I 198/I, Art. 1, comma 4).<ref name="campania">{{citation |url=http://www.consiglio.regione.campania.it/cms/CM_PORTALE_CRC/servlet/Docs?dir=atti&file=AttiCommissione_4203.pdf |title=Reg. Gen. nn. 159/I 198/I, Norme per lo Studio, la Tutela, la Valorizzazione della Lingua. Napoletana, dei Dialetti e delle Tradizioni Popolari in. Campania |publisher=Consiglio Regionale della Campania |access-date=2015-10-17}}</ref>
*[[Friuli-Venezia Giulia]]:
**[[Friulian language|Friulian]], Slovene and German are "promoted", but not recognised, by the region (Legge regionale 18 dicembre 2007, n. 29, Art. 1, comma 1);<ref name="fvg1">{{citation |url=http://lexview-int.regione.fvg.it/fontinormative/xml/xmlLex.aspx?anno=2007&legge=29&ART=000&AG1=00&AG2=00&fx=lex |title=Norme per la tutela, valorizzazione e promozione della lingua friulana |publisher=Regione Autonoma Friuli-Venezia Giulia |access-date=2015-10-17}}</ref> (Legge regionale 16 novembre 2007, n. 26, Art. 16);<ref name="fvg2">{{citation |url=http://lexview-int.regione.fvg.it/fontinormative/xml/xmlLex.aspx?anno=2007&legge=26&ART=000&AG1=00&AG2=00&fx=lex |title=Norme regionali per la tutela della minoranza linguistica slovena |publisher=Regione Autonoma Friuli-Venezia Giulia |access-date=2015-10-17}}</ref> (Legge regionale 20 novembre 2009, n. 20);<ref name="fvg3">{{citation |url=https://lexview-int.regione.fvg.it/fontinormative/xml/xmllex.aspx?anno=2009&legge=20 |title=Norme di tutela e promozione delle minoranze di lingua tedesca del Friuli Venezia Giulia |publisher=Regione Autonoma Friuli-Venezia Giulia |access-date=2024-07-24}}</ref>
[[File:Visconti XIV century - Lombard language.svg|thumb|Comparison between the domains of the [[Duchy of Milan]] in the 14th century (in green) and the modern geographical borders of the [[Lombard language]] (in yellow)]]
*[[Lombardy]]:
**[[Lombard language|Lombard]] is unofficial but recognised as the regional language (Legge regionale 25/2016).<ref>''"L.R. 25/2016 - 1. Ai fini della presente legge, la Regione promuove la rivitalizzazione, la valorizzazione e la diffusione di tutte le'' varietà locali della lingua lombarda, in quanto significative espressioni del patrimonio culturale immateriale, attraverso: a) lo svolgimento di attività e incontri finalizzati a diffonderne la conoscenza e l'uso; b) la creazione artistica; c) la diffusione di libri e pubblicazioni, l'organizzazione di specifiche sezioni nelle biblioteche pubbliche di enti locali o di interesse locale; d) programmi editoriali e radiotelevisivi; e) indagini e ricerche sui toponimi. 2. La Regione valorizza e promuove tutte le forme di espressione artistica del patrimonio storico linguistico quali il teatro tradizionale e moderno in lingua lombarda, la musica popolare lombarda, il teatro di marionette e burattini, la poesia, la prosa letteraria e il cinema. 3. La Regione promuove, anche in collaborazione con le università della Lombardia, gli istituti di ricerca, gli enti del sistema regionale e altri qualificati soggetti culturali pubblici e privati, la ricerca scientifica sul patrimonio linguistico storico della Lombardia, incentivando in particolare: a) tutte le attività necessarie a favorire la diffusione della lingua lombarda nella comunicazione contemporanea, anche attraverso l'inserimento di neologismi lessicali, l'armonizzazione e la codifica di un sistema di trascrizione; b) l'attività di archiviazione e digitalizzazione; c) la realizzazione, anche mediante concorsi e borse di studio, di opere e testi letterari, tecnici e scientifici, nonché la traduzione di testi in lingua lombarda e la loro diffusione in formato digitale."</ref>
*[[Piedmont]]:
**[[Piedmontese language|Piedmontese]] is unofficial but recognised as the regional language (Consiglio Regionale del Piemonte, Ordine del Giorno n. 1118, Presentato il 30 November 1999);<ref name="pie1">{{citation |url=http://www.consiglioregionale.piemonte.it/mzodgint/jsp/AttoSelezionato.jsp?ATTO=61118 |title=Ordine del Giorno n. 1118, Presentato il 30/11/1999 |publisher=Consiglio Regionale del Piemonte |access-date=2015-10-17}}</ref><ref name="pie2">{{citation |url=http://www.gioventurapiemonteisa.net/wp-content/uploads/2007/05/odg1118.pdf |title=Ordine del Giorno n. 1118, Presentato il 30/11/1999 |publisher=Gioventura Piemontèisa |access-date=2015-10-17}}</ref> 
**the region "promotes", without recognising, the [[Occitan language|Occitan]], [[Franco-Provençal]], French and [[Walser German|Walser]] languages (Legge regionale 7 aprile 2009, n. 11, Art. 1).<ref name="pie3">{{citation |url=http://arianna.consiglioregionale.piemonte.it/base/coord/c2009011.html |title=Legge regionale 7 aprile 2009, n. 11. (Testo coordinato) "Valorizzazione e promozione della conoscenza del patrimonio linguistico e culturale del Piemonte" |publisher=Consilio Regionale del Piemonte |access-date=2017-12-02}}</ref>
*[[Sardinia]]: 
**The region considers the cultural identity of the Sardinian people as a primary asset (l.r. N.26/97,<ref name="sardegna">{{cite web|url=http://www.regione.sardegna.it/j/v/86?v=9&c=72&file=1997026|title=Legge Regionale 15 ottobre 1997, n. 26|publisher=Regione autonoma della Sardegna – Regione Autònoma de Sardigna}}</ref> l.r. N.22/18<ref name="sardegna2">{{cite web|url=http://www.regione.sardegna.it/j/v/2604?s=374982&v=2&c=93175&t=1&anno=|title=Legge Regionale 3 Luglio 2018, n. 22|publisher=Regione autonoma della Sardegna – Regione Autònoma de Sardigna}}</ref>), in accordance with the values of equality and linguistic pluralism enshrined in the Italian Constitution and the European treaties, with particular reference to the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages and the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities (l.r. N.26/97).<ref name="sardegna" /> All the languages indigenous to the island ([[Sardinian language|Sardinian]], [[Catalan language|Catalan]], [[Tabarchino]], [[Sassarese language|Sassarese]] and [[Gallurese dialect|Gallurese]]) are recognised and promoted as "enjoying the same dignity and standing of Italian" (l.r. N.26/97)<ref name="sardegna" /> in their respective linguistic areas.
*[[Sicily]]: 
**[[Gallo-Italic of Sicily]] and [[Arbëresh language|Arbëresh]] are officially recognized and safeguarded.
** [[Sicilian language|Sicilian]] is unofficial but recognised as the regional language (Legge regionale 9/2011).<ref>[http://www.gurs.regione.sicilia.it/Gazzette/g11-24/g11-24.pdf Gazzetta Ufficiale della Regione Siciliana - Anno 65° - Numero 24]</ref>
*[[South Tyrol]]:
**German and [[Ladin language|Ladin]] are official (enjoying the same dignity and standing of Italian, the national language) in the province of South Tyrol (Statuto speciale per il Trentino-Alto Adige, Titolo XI, Articolo 99 and Articolo 102);<ref name="taa" /><ref>https://home.provinz.bz.it/en/autonomy?utm_source=chatgpt.com {{Bare URL inline|date=May 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.suedtirol.info/en/en/information/about-south-tyrol/language-diversity?utm_source=chatgpt.com | title=Languages in South Tyrol - true diversity }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:62013CJ0322 | title=62013Cj0322 }}</ref> German being the most spoken by the population.
*[[Trentino]]: 
**[[Ladin language|Ladin]], [[Cimbrian language|Cimbrian]], and [[Mòcheno language|Mòcheno]] are unofficial but recognised in (Statuto speciale per il Trentino-Alto Adige, Titolo XI, Articolo 102).<ref name="taa">{{citation|title=Statuto speciale per il Trentino-Alto Adige|url=http://www.regione.taa.it/normativa/statuto_speciale.pdf|publisher=Regione.taa.it|access-date=2015-10-17|archive-date=26 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181126033052/http://www.regione.taa.it/normativa/statuto_speciale.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>
*[[Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol]]
**[[German language|German]] (in ([[South Tyrolean dialect]] form) is officially recognized and safeguarded.<ref>Sonderstatut für Trentino-Südtirol, Article 99, Title IX. Region Trentino-Südtirol.</ref> In some municipalities [[Ladin language|Ladin]], [[Mòcheno language|Mocheno]], and [[Cimbrian language|Cimbrian]] are also recognized.
*[[Veneto]]:
**[[Venetian language|Venetan]] is unofficial but recognised and promoted (Legge regionale 13 aprile 2007, n. 8, Art. 2, comma 2).<ref name="veneto">{{citation|url=http://www.consiglioveneto.it/crvportal/leggi/2007/07lr0008.html|title=Legge regionale 13 aprile 2007, n. 8|publisher=Consiglio Regionale del Veneto|access-date=2015-10-17|archive-date=25 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130325111511/http://www.consiglioveneto.it/crvportal/leggi/2007/07lr0008.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Conservation status==
[[File:Frequency_of_Dialect_Use_in_Italy_(2015).svg|thumb|300px|Frequency of use of regional languages in Italy, as the sole or principal languages at home, based on ISTAT data from 2015<ref>{{citation |url=https://www.istat.it/en/archivio/207967|title=ISTAT Report "Use of Italian language, dialects, and foreign languages" (English version) |publisher=ISTAT|year=2017|access-date=2020-11-18}} ; {{cite web|url=https://www.istat.it/it/archivio/207961|title=L'uso della lingua italiana, dei dialetti e di altre lingue in Italia (Italian version)|publisher=ISTAT|year=2017}}</ref>]]
According to the [[UNESCO]]'s [[Red Book of Endangered Languages|Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger]], there are 31 endangered languages in Italy.<ref name="unescoatlas">{{citation |url=http://www.unesco.org/culture/languages-atlas/index.php |title=Interactive Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger |publisher=UNESCO's Endangered Languages Programme |access-date=2015-10-17}}</ref> The [[degree of endangerment]] is classified in different categories ranging from 'safe' (safe languages are not included in the atlas) to 'extinct' (when there are no speakers left).<ref name="unescoatlas2">{{citation |url=http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/index.php?pg=00139 |title=Degrees of endangerment |publisher=UNESCO's Endangered Languages Programme |access-date=2015-10-17}}</ref>

The source for the languages' distribution is the Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger<ref name="unescoatlas"/> unless otherwise stated, and refers to Italy exclusively.

===Vulnerable===
*[[Alemannic German|Alemannic]]: spoken in the Lys Valley of the Aosta Valley and in Northern Piedmont
*[[Bavarian language|Bavarian]]: South Tyrol
*Ladin: several valleys, comunes and villages in the [[Dolomites]], including the [[Val Badia]] and the [[Val Gardena|Gardena Valley]] in South Tyrol, the [[Fassa Valley|Fascia Valley]] in Trentino, and [[Livinallongo del Col di Lana|Livinallongo]] in the [[Province of Belluno]]
*Sicilian: Sicily, southern and central [[Calabria]] and southern Apulia
*Neapolitan: [[Campania]], [[Basilicata]], [[Abruzzo]], [[Molise]], northern Calabria, northern and central Apulia, southern [[Lazio]] and [[Marche]] as well as eastern fringes of [[Umbria]]
*[[Romanesco dialect|Romanesco]]: [[Metropolitan City of Rome Capital|Metropolitan City of Rome]] in Lazio and in some communes of southern [[Tuscany]]
*[[Venetian language|Venetian]] (Venetan): Veneto, parts of Friuli-Venezia Giulia

===Definitely endangered===
*[[Algherese dialect|Algherese Catalan]]: the town of [[Alghero]] in northwestern Sardinia; an outlying dialect of Catalan language not listed separately by the [[SIL International]].
*Occitan [[Vivaro-Alpine dialect|Alpine Provençal]]: the upper valleys of Piedmont (Val Mairo, Val Varacho, Val d'Esturo, Entraigas, Limoun, [[Vinai]], [[Pinerolo]], [[Sestriere]])
*Arbëresh: (i) Adriatic zone: [[Montecilfone]], [[Campomarino]], [[Portocannone]] and [[Ururi]] in Molise as well as [[Chieuti]] and [[Casalvecchio di Puglia]] in Apulia; (ii) [[San Marzano di San Giuseppe|San Marzano]] in Apulia; (iii) [[Greci, Campania|Greci]] in Campania; (iv) northern Basilicata: [[Barile]], [[Ginestra]] and [[Maschito]]; (v) North Calabrian zone: ca. 30 settlements in northern Calabria ([[Plataci]], [[Civita, Calabria|Civita]], [[Frascineto]], [[San Demetrio Corone]], [[Lungro]], [[Acquaformosa]] etc.) as well as [[San Costantino Albanese]] and San Paolo Lucano in southern Basilicata; (vi) settlements in southern Calabria, e.g. [[San Nicola dell'Alto]] and Vena di Maida; (vii) Sicilian zone: [[Piana degli Albanesi]] and two nearby villages near [[Palermo]]; (viii) formerly also Villabadessa in Abruzzo; an outlying dialect of Albanian
*Cimbrian: vigorously spoken in [[Luserna]] in Trentino; disappearing in Giazza (part of the commune [[Selva di Progno]]) in the [[Province of Verona]] and in [[Roana]] in the [[Province of Vicenza]]; recently extinct in several other locations in the region; an outlying Bavarian dialect
*[[Corsican language|Corsican]]: spoken on [[La Maddalena|Maddalena Island]] off the northeast coast of Sardinia
*[[Emilian dialect|Emilian]]: North to Northwestern [[Emilia-Romagna]], parts of the provinces of [[Province of Pavia|Pavia]], [[Voghera]], and [[Province of Mantua|Mantua]] in southern Lombardy, the [[Lunigiana]] district in northwestern Tuscany and in a zone called Traspadana Ferrarese in the [[Province of Rovigo]] in Veneto
*[[Romagnol dialect|Romagnol]]: Southeastern [[Emilia-Romagna]], the Alta Valle del Tevere district in northern part of the [[Province of Perugia]] and eastern part of the [[Province of Arezzo]], the [[Province of Pesaro and Urbino|Province of Pesaro-Urbino]] in the Marche (disputed)
*[[Faetar language|Faetar]]: [[Faeto]] and [[Celle di San Vito|Celle San Vito]] in the [[Province of Foggia]] in Apulia; a variety of Franco-Provençal not listed separately by the SIL
*Franco-Provençal: spoken in the Aosta Valley ([[Valdôtain dialect]]) and the Alpine valleys to the north and east of the [[Susa Valley]] in Piedmont
*Friulan: Friuli-Venezia Giulia except the Province of Trieste and western and eastern border regions, and [[Portogruaro]] area in the [[Province of Venice]] in Veneto
[[File:Siciliano gallo italico.svg|thumb|Distribution of [[Gallo-Italic of Sicily]]]]
*[[Gallo-Italic of Sicily]]: [[Nicosia, Sicily|Nicosia]], [[Sperlinga]], [[Piazza Armerina]], [[Valguarnera Caropepe]] and [[Aidone]] in the [[province of Enna]], and [[San Fratello]], [[Acquedolci]], [[San Piero Patti]], [[Montalbano Elicona]], [[Novara di Sicilia]] and [[Fondachelli-Fantina]] in the [[province of Messina]]; an outlying dialect of Lombard not listed separately by the SIL; other dialects were formerly also spoken in southern Italy outside Sicily, especially in Basilicata
*Gallurese: northeastern Sardinia; an outlying dialect of Corsican
*[[Ligurian language|Ligurian]]: [[Liguria]] and adjacent areas of Piedmont, [[Emilia (region)|Emilia]] and Tuscany; settlements in the towns of [[Carloforte]] on the [[San Pietro Island]] and [[Calasetta]] on the Sant'Antioco Island off the southwest coast of Sardinia
*Lombard: Lombardy (except the southernmost border areas) and the [[Province of Novara]] in Piedmont
*[[Mòcheno language|Mòcheno]]: [[Palù del Fersina|Palù]], [[Fierozzo]] and [[Frassilongo]] in the [[Fersina Valley]] in Trentino; an outlying Bavarian dialect
*Piedmontese: Piedmont except the Province of Novara, the western Alpine valleys and southern border areas, as well as minor adjacent areas
*[[Resian dialect|Resian]]: [[Resia, Friuli|Resia]] in the northeastern part of the Province of Udine; an outlying dialect of [[Slovene language|Slovene]] not listed separately by the SIL
*Romani: spoken by the Roma community in Italy
*Sardinian, consisting of both the [[Campidanese Sardinian|Campidanese]] (southern Sardinia) and [[Logudorese Sardinian|Logudorese]] (central Sardinia) dialects
*Sassarese: northwestern Sardinia; a transitional language between Corsican and Sardinian
*[[Yiddish]]: spoken by parts of the [[History of the Jews in Italy|Jewish community in Italy]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mosaico-cem.it/cultura-e-societa/personaggi-e-storie/la-straordinaria-rinascita-dello-yiddish-chi-lo-studia-chi-lo-parla-e-chi-si-nutre-delle-sue-radici-anche-italiane/|title=La straordinaria rinascita dello Yiddish. Chi lo studia, chi lo parla e chi si nutre delle sue radici (anche italiane)|date=4 July 2021 |access-date=4 June 2022|language=it}}</ref>

===Severely endangered===
*[[Walser German]]: the village of [[Issime]] in the upper Lys Valley/Lystal in the [[Aosta Valley]]; an outlying dialect of [[Alemannic German|Alemannic]] not listed separately by the [[SIL International|SIL]]. It is considered by [[Glottolog]] to be a separate language.
*[[Molise Croatian]]: the villages of [[Montemitro]], [[San Felice del Molise]], and [[Acquaviva Collecroce]] in the [[Province of Campobasso]] in southern [[Molise]];<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.helsinki.fi/~tasalmin/europe_report.html#MCroatian |title=Endangered languages in Europe: report |publisher=Helsinki.fi |access-date=2015-10-17}}</ref> a mixed [[Chakavian]]–[[Shtokavian|Shtokavian dialect]] of [[Croatian language|Croatian]] not listed separately by the [[SIL International|SIL]]. It is considered by [[Glottolog]] to be a separate language.
*[[Griko language|Griko]]: the [[Salento]] peninsula in the [[Province of Lecce]] in southern [[Apulia]]; an outlying dialect of [[Greek language|Greek]] not listed separately by the [[SIL International|SIL]]. It is considered by [[Glottolog]] to be a separate language known as [[Apulia-Calabrian Greek]].
*[[Vivaro-Alpine dialect|Gardiol Occitan]]: [[Guardia Piemontese]] in Calabria; an outlying dialect of Occitan Alpine Provençal. It is considered by [[Glottolog]] to be a separate language.
*[[Calabrian Greek|Griko (Calabria)]]: a few villages near [[Reggio Calabria|Reggio di Calabria]] in southern [[Calabria]]; an outlying dialect of [[Greek Language|Greek]] not listed separately by the [[SIL International|SIL]]. It is considered by [[Glottolog]] to be a separate language known as [[Apulia-Calabrian Greek]].

==Classification==
All living languages indigenous to Italy are part of the [[Indo-European]] [[language family]].

They can be divided into [[Romance languages]] and non-Romance languages. The classification of the [[Romance languages]] of [[Italy]] is controversial, and listed here are two of the generally accepted classification systems.

===Romance languages===
Loporcaro <ref>{{harvcolnb|Loporcaro|2009|page=70}}</ref> proposes a classification of [[Romance languages]] of [[Italy]] based on Pellegrini,<ref>{{harvcolnb|Pellegrini|1977}}</ref> who groups different [[Romance languages]] according to areal and some typological features. The following five linguistic areas can be identified:<ref>Note that Loporcaro uses the term ''dialetto'' 'dialect' throughout the book, intended as 'non-national language'. Since ''dialect'' has a different connotation in English, we avoid it here.</ref>

* Northern (''dialetti settentrionali''):
** [[Gallo-Italic]] ([[Emilian dialects|Emilian]],<ref>Hajek (1997:273) separates [[Emilian dialects|Emilian]] and [[Romagnol]], with [[Bolognese dialect|Bolognese]] characterized as transitional between the two.</ref> [[Lombard language|Lombard]], [[Piedmontese language|Piedmontese]], [[Ligurian language|Ligurian]]
** [[Venetian language|Venetan]] (''dialetti veneti'')
* [[Friulian language|Friulian]]
* [[Tuscan dialect|Tuscan]]
* Mid-Southern (''dialetti centro-meridionali''):
** Middle (''dialetti mediani''; Central Marchigiano, Umbrian, Laziale).
** Upper Southern (''dialetti alto-meridionali''; Marchigiano-Abruzzese, Molisano, Apulian, Southern Laziale and Campanian including Neapolitan, Northern Lucano-Calabrese).
** [[Extreme Southern Italian|Extreme Southern]] (''dialetti meridionali estremi''; Salentino, Calabrian, Sicilian).
* Sardinian

The following classification is proposed by Maiden and Parry:<ref>{{harvcolnb|Maiden|Parry|1997|page=3}}</ref>

* Northern varieties:
** Northern Italo-Romance:
*** 'Gallo-Italian' (Piedmont, Lombardy, Liguria and Emilia-Romagna).
*** Venetan.
** Ladin.
** Friulian.
* Central and Southern:
** Tuscan (with Corsican).
** 'Middle Italian' (Marche, Umbria, Lazio).
** Upper Southern (Abruzzo, northern Puglia, Molise, Campania, Basilicata).
** [[Extreme Southern Italian|Extreme Southern]] (Salento, southern Calabria and Sicily).
* Sardinian.

===Non-Romance languages===
====Albanian, Slavic, Greek and Romani languages====
{| class="toccolours sortable" border="1" cellpadding="3" style="border-collapse:collapse; text-align:center"
|-
! Language
!colspan="4" | Family
! ISO 639-3
! Dialects spoken in Italy
! Notes
! Speakers
|-
| [[Arbëresh language|Arbëresh]] || [[Albanian language|Albanian]] || [[Tosk Albanian|Tosk]] || |||| [http://www.ethnologue.org/show_language.asp?code=aae aae] || According to [[Minority Rights Group International]]: "The ethnic Albanian (Arbëresh) dialects of Italy bear little resemblance to the standard language or dialects of Albania, as they have been cut off from the main language for around 500 years. Some dialects spoken in Italy are so dissimilar that ethnic Albanians use Italian as a [[lingua franca]]. Ethnic Albanians are bilingual."<ref>{{cite web|title=Albanians in Italy|website=[[Minority Rights Group International]]|url=https://minorityrights.org/communities/albanians-2/#:~:text=Article%206%20of%20the%201947,some%20official%20recognition%20to%20Albanian.}}</ref> || recognized as a variant of the Albanian strain by UNESCO<ref name="unescoatlas"/> || 100,000
|-
| [[Croatian language|Croatian]] || [[Slavic languages|Slavic]] || South || Western || || [http://www.ethnologue.org/show_language.asp?code=hr hr] || [[Molise Croatian]] || || 1,000
|-
| [[Slovene language|Slovene]] (''slovenščina'')|| Slavic || South || Western || || [http://www.ethnologue.org/show_language.asp?code=slv slv] || [[Gail Valley dialect|Gai Valley dialect]]; [[Resian dialect|Resian]]; [[Torre Valley dialect]]; [[Natisone Valley dialect]]; [[Brda dialect]]; [[Karst dialect]]; [[Inner Carniolan dialect]]; [[Istrian dialect]] || || 100,000
|-
| [[Italiot Greek]]|| [[Hellenic languages|Hellenic (Greek)]] || [[Attic Greek|Attic]] || || || [http://www.ethnologue.org/show_language.asp?code=ell ell] || [[Griko dialect|Griko (Salento)]]; [[Calabrian Greek]]|| || 20,000
|-
| [[Romani language|Romani]] || [[Indo-Iranian languages|Indo-Iranian]] || [[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan]] || Central Zone || Romani || [http://www.ethnologue.org/show_language.asp?code=rom rom] || By ISO 639-3 classification, [https://iso639-3.sil.org/code/rmo Sinte Romani] is the individual language most present in Italy in the [https://iso639-3.sil.org/code/rom Romany] [[macrolanguage]]|| || 
|}

====High German languages====
{| class="toccolours sortable" border="1" cellpadding="3" style="border-collapse:collapse; text-align:center"
|-
! Language
!colspan="2" | Family
! ISO 639-3
! Dialects spoken in Italy
! Notes
! Speakers
|-
| [[German language|German]] || Middle German || East Middle German || [http://www.ethnologue.org/show_language.asp?code=deu deu] || [[Tyrolean dialects]] || [[Austrian German]] is the usual standard variety || 315,000
|-
| [[Cimbrian language|Cimbrian]] || Upper German || Bavarian-Austrian || [http://www.ethnologue.org/show_language.asp?code=cim cim] || || sometimes considered a dialect of Bavarian, also considered an outlying dialect of Bavarian by the UNESCO<ref name="unescoatlas"/> || 2,200
|-
| [[Mocheno language|Mocheno]] || Upper German || Bavarian-Austrian || [http://www.ethnologue.org/show_language.asp?code=mhn mhn] || || considered an outlying dialect of Bavarian by the UNESCO<ref name="unescoatlas"/> || 1,000
|-
| [[Walser language|Walser]] || Upper German || Alemannic || [http://www.ethnologue.org/show_language.asp?code=wae wae] || || || 3,400
|}

==Geographic distribution==
===Northern Italy===
The Northern Italian languages are conventionally defined as those Romance languages spoken north of the [[La Spezia–Rimini Line]], which runs through the northern [[Apennine Mountains]] just to the north of Tuscany; however, the dialects of Occitan and Franco-Provençal spoken in the extreme northwest of Italy (e.g. the Valdôtain in the Aosta Valley) are generally excluded. The classification of these languages is difficult and not agreed-upon, due both to the variations among the languages and to the fact that they share isoglosses of various sorts with both the [[Italo-Dalmatian languages|Italo-Romance languages]] to the south and the [[Gallo-Romance languages]] to the northwest.

{{Northern Italy regional languages labelled map|float=none}}

One common classification divides these languages into four groups:
*The Italian [[Rhaeto-Romance languages]], including Ladin and Friulian.
*The poorly researched [[Istriot language]].
*The Venetian language (sometimes grouped with the majority Gallo-Italian languages).
*The [[Gallo-Italic languages|Gallo-Italian languages]], including all the rest (although with some doubt regarding the position of Ligurian).

Any such classification runs into the basic problem that there is a dialect continuum throughout northern Italy, with a continuous transition of spoken dialects between e.g. Venetian and Ladin, or Venetian and Emilio-Romagnolo (usually considered Gallo-Italian).

All of these languages are considered innovative relative to the Romance languages as a whole, with some of the Gallo-Italian languages having phonological changes nearly as extreme as standard French (usually considered the most phonologically innovative of the Romance languages). This distinguishes them significantly from standard Italian, which is extremely conservative in its [[phonology]] (and notably conservative in its [[morphology (linguistics)|morphology]]).<ref>Hull, Geoffrey, PhD thesis 1982 (University of Sydney), published as ''The Linguistic Unity of Northern Italy and Rhaetia: Historical Grammar of the Padanian Language.'' 2 vols. Sydney: Beta Crucis, 2017.</ref>

===Southern Italy and islands===
Approximate distribution of the regional languages of Sardinia and [[Southern Italy]] according to the UNESCO's Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger:
{{Sardinia regional languages labelled map|float=left}}
{{Southern Italy regional languages labelled map|float=right}}
{{clear}}

One common classification divides these languages into two groups:
*The Italo-Dalmatian languages, including Neapolitan and Sicilian, as well as the Sardinian-influenced Sassarese and Gallurese which are sometimes grouped with Sardinian but are actually of [[Corsican language#Southern Corsican|southern Corsican]] origin.
*The Sardinian language, usually listed as a group of its own with two main Logudorese and Campidanese orthographic forms.

All of these languages are considered conservative relative to the Romance languages as a whole, with Sardinian being the most conservative of them all.

==Mother tongues of foreign citizens in Italy==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Language (2018)<ref>{{cite web|title=Linguistic diversity among foreign citizens in Italy|url=https://demo.istat.it/app/?i=P03&a=2018|publisher=Statistics of Italy|access-date=1 December 2018|date=25 July 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Stranieri residenti e condizioni di vita : Lingua madre |url=http://dati.istat.it/Index.aspx?QueryId=24379 |publisher=Istat.it |access-date=30 July 2018}}</ref>!! Population
|-
| [[Romanian language|Romanian]] || 806,938 
|-
| [[Albanian language|Albanian]] || 441,027
|-
| [[Arabic language|Arabic]] || 420,980
|-
| [[Chinese language|Chinese]] || 299,823
|-
| [[Spanish language|Spanish]] || 285,664
|-
| [[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]] || 239,424 
|-
| [[Filipino language|Filipino]] || 168,292 
|-
| [[Italian language|Italian]] || 162,148
|-
| Others || 892,283
|}

==Standardised written forms==
Although "[al]most all Italian dialects were being written in the Middle Ages, for administrative, religious, and often artistic purposes",<ref>{{Citation |last1= Andreose | first1 = Alvise |last2=Renzi |first2=Lorenzo | contribution = Geography and distribution of the Romance Languages in Europe| editor-last = Maiden | editor-first = Martin |editor2-last= Smith | editor2-first = John Charles |editor3-last= Ledgeway | editor3-first = Adam |title=The Cambridge History of the Romance Languages | volume = 2, Contexts| page =303 |publisher = Cambridge University Press |place = Cambridge | year = 2013 }}</ref> use of local language gave way to stylized Tuscan, eventually labeled Italian. Local languages are still occasionally written, but only the following regional languages of Italy have a [[Koiné language|standardised written form]]. This may be widely accepted or used alongside more traditional written forms:
* Piedmontese: traditional, definitely codified between the 1920s and the 1960s by Pinin Pacòt and Camillo Brero
* Ligurian: "Grafîa ofiçiâ" created by the Académia Ligùstica do Brénno;<ref>{{citation |url=http://www.zeneize.net/grafia/index.htm |title=Grafîa ofiçiâ |publisher=Académia Ligùstica do Brénno|access-date=2015-10-17}}</ref>
* Sardinian: "[[Limba Sarda Comuna]]" was experimentally adopted in 2006;<ref>{{citation |url=http://www.sardegnacultura.it/linguasarda/limbasardacomuna/ |title= Limba sarda comuna |publisher=Sardegna Cultura|access-date=2015-10-17}}</ref>
* Friulian: "Grafie uficiâl" created by the Osservatori Regjonâl de Lenghe e de Culture Furlanis;<ref>{{citation |url=http://www.friul.net/lenghe/Grafie.php |title=Grafie dal O.L.F. |publisher=Friûl.net|access-date=2015-10-17}}</ref>
* Ladin: "Grafia Ladina" created by the [[Istituto Ladin de la Dolomites]];<ref>{{citation |url=http://www.istitutoladino.it/lad/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=19&Itemid=48 |title=PUBLICAZIOIGN DEL ISTITUTO LADIN |publisher=Istituto Ladin de la Dolomites |access-date=2015-10-17 }}{{Dead link|date=February 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
* Venetian: "Grafia Veneta Unitaria", the official manual published in 1995 by the Regione Veneto local government, although written in Italian.<ref>{{citation |url=http://win.elgalepin.org/gvu/ |title=Grafia Veneta Unitaria - Manuale a cura della giunta regionale del Veneto |publisher=Commissione regionale per la grafia veneta unitaria |access-date=2016-12-06}}</ref> It has been recently updated on 14 December 2017, under the name of "Grafia Veneta Ufficiale".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.linguaveneta.net/lingua-veneta/grafia-veneta-ufficiale/|title=Grafia Veneta ufficiale – Lingua Veneta The modern international manual of the Venetian spelling.|website=Lingua Veneta|access-date=2019-06-20}}</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Minoranze linguistiche it.svg|Officially recognised ethno-linguistic minorities of Italy
File:Dialetti Italia 1939.png|Regional languages of Italy according to Clemente Merlo and Carlo Tagliavini in 1939
File:Linguistic_map_of_Italy.png|Languages and language islands of Italy
File:Dialetti e lingue in Italia.png|Languages of Italy
File:Languages spoken in Italy.svg|Main dialectal groups of Italy
File:Italy - Forms of Dialect.jpg|Main linguistic groups of Italy
File:Use of regional languages.png|Percentage of people in Italy having a command of a regional language (Doxa, 1982; Coveri's data, 1984)
</gallery>

==See also==
{{Portal|Italy|Languages}}
* [[Bilingual sign]]
* [[Language geography]]
* [[Regional Italian]]

==Notes and references==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{cite journal|last=Cravens|first=Thomas D.|year=2014|title=''Italia Linguistica'' and the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages|journal=Forum Italicum|volume=48|issue=2|pages=202–218|doi=10.1177/0014585814529221|s2cid=145721889}}
* {{Citation|last= Hajek | first = John | contribution = Emilia-Romagna| editor1-last = Maiden | editor1-first = Martin |editor2-last= Parry | editor2-first = Mair |title=The Dialects of Italy| pages =271–278 |publisher = Routledge |place = London and New York|year = 1997}}
* {{cite book|last=Loporcaro|first=Michele|year=2009|title=Profilo linguistico dei dialetti italiani|location=Bari|publisher= Laterza|language=it}}
* {{cite book|last1=Maiden|first1=Martin|last2=Parry|first2=Mair|year=1997|title=The Dialects of Italy|location=London and New York|publisher=Routledge}}
* {{cite book|last=Marcato|first=Carla|year=2007|title=Dialetto, dialetti e italiano|location=Bologna|publisher=Il Mulino|language=it}}
* {{cite book|last=Posner|first=Rebecca|year=1996|title=The Romance languages|location=Cambridge|publisher=Cambridge University Press}}
* {{cite book|last=Pellegrini|first=Giovan Battista|year=1977|title=Carta dei dialetti d'Italia|location=Pisa|publisher=Pacini|language=it|url=https://phaidra.cab.unipd.it/detail/o:318068}}
* {{cite book|editor-last=Repetti|editor-first=Lori|year=2000|title=Phonological Theory and the Dialects of Italy|publisher=John Benjamins Publishing|location=Amsterdam/Philadelphia|series=Amsterdam Studies in the Theory and History of Linguistic Science, Series IV Current Issues in Linguistic Theory|volume=212}}

==External links==
* {{cite web |title=LEGGE 15 dicembre 1999, n. 482 - Normattiva |url=https://www.normattiva.it/uri-res/N2Ls?urn:nir:stato:legge:1999;482 |website=www.normattiva.it}}
* [http://www3.pd.istc.cnr.it/navigais-web/ NavigAIS] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161211234046/http://www3.pd.istc.cnr.it/navigais-web/ |date=11 December 2016 }} Online version of the ''Sprach- und Sachatlas Italiens und der Südschweiz (AIS) (Linguistic and Ethnographic Atlas of Italy and Southern Switzerland)''
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070826235450/http://www.italica.rai.it/principali/lingua/bruni/mappe/mappe/f_dialetti.htm An interactive map of languages and dialects in Italy]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060321140752/http://www.ethnologue.com/14/show_country.asp?name=Italy Ethnologue - Languages of Italy]
* [http://www.rivistaetnie.com/argomenti/linguistica Rivista Etnie, linguistica]

{{Languages of Italy}}
{{Italy topics}}
{{Languages of Europe}}
{{Minority languages of Europe}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Languages of Italy}}
[[Category:Languages of Italy| ]]