La storia della lingua italiana

The Breadth of Latin

Languages that result -

Close relatives

Dialects in Italy- are wide spread

Firenze

Perché Firenze. Perché fiorentino Perché Firenze? Perché fiorentino? Florence’s importance and development as a Renaissance superpower can be explained by facts: 1. Florence was extremely wealthy and important due to trade/business (particulary for textiles and clothing) 2. Florence was in a key central location (making a connection between key ports and Rome). 3. Florence had a very healthy and active merchant class. 4. Florence had a healthy economy – in fact – banking was invented in nearby Siena. 5. Florence had very wealthy /influential families (among the most famous: The Medici) The money/wealth and desire supported the arts and helped to develop the arts.

Dante Alighieri La Commedia Illumina Firenze Di Domenico Michelino

Dante 1. Most famous work is “The Divine Comedy” 2. Comedy in this case does not mean funny, it means that it uplifts. 3. In Dante’s D.C. (Divine Comedy) there are three parts: L’Inferno, Il Purgatorio and il Paradiso. 4. In the poem there are two guides: Virgil (Roman poet (kind of big deal) and Beatrice (Dante’s unrequited love). 5. Dante choose to write this epic poem in Florentine vernacular instead of Latin – thus making it more accessible to all. (this is important because Dante makes many references to contemporary history and events of the time (in fact…we can learn much about Florentine/Italian happenings due to his poem).

Le tre corone fiorentine: Dante, Petrarca, Boccaccio The Decameron (Realistic dialogue- early forms of the short story) La Divina Commedia (The Divine Commedy) Father of the Italian Language Developed the Sonnet The Father of Humanism

Dialects in Italy – there are many (still spoken Dialects in Italy – there are many (still spoken!) often they are linked to regional differences and they are linked to historical influences of visiting/invading ethnicities and geography.

Perche’ Fiorentino? 1. When Italy became a country – remember that Florence was briefly the capital of the country. 2. Florence enjoyed great prestige due to its glorious past. READ: RENAISSANCE SUPERPOWER. 3. Remember that Florence was central (compared to other important Italian cities).

How did Italy develop a national language? (after it became a country) 1. Trade/commerce both within Italy (and with other countries). Business wants efficiency! 2. Migration patterns caused Italians to relocate. (Usually from the South to the North). People had to communicate with each other! 3. TV/Media. A standard language was spread via TV to even remote small towns (traditionally isolated). 4. Obligatory schooling. All students were learning the same standard language. This helped to develop standard usage.