Things to knowThings to know

Originally from LATIN

Where the Italian language comes

from.

The Breadth of Latin

Languages that result -

Close relatives

Dialects in Italy

Firenze

1. What are some important factors and people that explain how Tuscan became the standard language of Italy.?

Why Tuscan became “Italian”?

A. Florence was a wealthy and influential town in Tuscany.

B. It was very important because of the Medici family ( wealthy merchant/banking family)

C. Textile trade/commerce made Florence very important. Its location was central.

D. Dante wrote his epic poem “La Divina Commedia” in Tuscan dialect (instead of Latin. This helped to establish the language.

Dante Alighieri

La CommediaIllumina FirenzeBy Domenico MichelinoThis painting depicts Dante reading his Divine Commedy (which describes his passage from Hell (represented in the lower left) – to Purgatory (the mountain in the center back) and then to Paradise (they city to the right (which is Florence))

Le tre corone fiorentine The three Florentine Crowns – major players in Italian (and World) Literature). They all

chose to write in Tuscan dialect (rather than Latin) – which helped to establish Tuscan is the dialect ‘of choice’ (and

therefore later becoming ‘Italian’ – the standard language of Italy)

La Divina Commedia(The Divine Commedy)Father of the Italian Language

Developed the SonnetThe Father of Humanism

The Decameron(Realistic dialogue- early forms of the short story)

DANTEPETRARCABOCACCIO

L’alfabeto italiano

QUANTE LETTERE? 21 !

j (i lunga) k (cappa) w (doppia vu) x (ics) and y (i greca/ipsilon) All do appear in Italian but are thought of as

foreign letters. They are used mainly in foreign loan words and their pronunciation depends on the word they appear in.

Foreign letters…

L’alfabeto telefonico _ Italians use this to clarify spellings

THE FLAG

MEANINGS OF THE COLORS:Green (VERDE) –green meadows of Italy (hope)White (BIANCO) – Snow on the Alps (faith)Red (ROSSO) – fertile land (some say the blood shed in gaining independence (charity)

Italy is a VERY young country!

Italy used to be a monarchy. Italy was united under King Victor Emmanuel II (image to the right) in 1861. (Some state the date as 1870 due to the later addition of the Central Papal States (which were under control of the Pope). Italy is NOW a Republic.

Another name for the Italian flag (la bandiera italiana) is…

IL TRICOLORE

“Bella Figura” ‘Bella Figura’ is a very Italian concept. I This will involve you putting your ‘best foot forward.’ It is about being respectful to yourself and others. It is about your physical appearance and about your attitude/demeanor expressed to others and community. It IS about doing your very best!(the opposite is ‘brutta figura’)

CULTURE

CULTURE

Campanilismo Italians are VERY proud of their cities. In

Italy, the concept of “campanilismo” comes from the word “campanile”, or church bell tower

Campanilismo is a very important aspect of life in Italy symbolizing a sense -

* of identity * of pride, and * of belonging to the place of your birth. It is a feeling which is usually much

stronger to an Italian than any sense of national identity.

Remember that Italy was not always one nation and that it was comprised of city

states for a great part of its cultural history.

Some people – feel pretty strongly about their civic pride.