The official language of Italy is of course Italian. However, because of Italy’s history (the country was not unified until 1861), there are many distinct regional dialects – each of which is different from the others, although they are generally mutually intelligible. For official purposes, “Standard Italian”, which is based on the Tuscan dialect of the language is used.
As well as Italian, there are also a number of regional countries used in particular parts of the country. These include Neapolitan, Sardinian, Sicilian and Venetian. Additionally a number of other languages are also spoken by various communities in Italy, including dialects of Croat and Greek, as well as Albanian, Catalan, Franco-Provençal, Friulian, German, Ladin and Slovene.
Many people find learning a foreign language to be an enjoyable intellectual challenge, and learning Italian is no different. Of course, if you learn Italian, it can be very useful too! When you visit Italy, you’ll be able to speak to the natives in their own tongue, and speaking the language will of course be a major advantage if you want to do business with Italian people or companies.
Learning to speak Italian might be easier than you imagine. Today, there are many resources and language learning tools which can help. For example, you get software for your PC (including the popular, and well-rated Rosetta Stone Italian software package) which can help, there are many web sites that teach Italian, and of course books and audio training courses are an ever popular option. As the old adage says, practice makes perfect – so the more you immerse yourself in the Italian language, the better you’ll get.