Italian

The term 'Italian' is used in relation to the people of Italy. This European country has a rich history in arts, literature, and warfare. One can also use the term 'Italian,' with reference to the language and culture of the people of Italy. Therefore, one relates to the cuisine of that country as Italian food. Latin is an ancient Indo-European language, which was the official language of the Roman Empire, and adopted by the Roman Catholic Church. Classical Latin was popularly used in works of literature, whereas Vulgar Latin was the spoken form of this language. The Italian language along with its' many dialects have all evolved from Vulgar Latin. Italian is spoken even in some places outside Italy such as southern Switzerland. The Italian dialect of Tuscany in Italy dominated the other dialects in the fourteenth century, due to the strategic position of this region, as well as the significance of its major city Florence. This dialect had the least deviation in structure and sound from classical Latin. The three great Florentine literary figures Dante, Petrarca, and Boccaccio, played a major role in the development of the modern Italian Language. La Divina Commedia (The Divine Comedy), the epic written by Dante Alighieri, is a world famous literary work, which had a major influence on the language. There are many courses on the Italian language available in the U.S. and worldwide. They are conducted in schools, by post, or with the help of special audio-visual aids such as language learning software. The learning software usually helps one with the correct pronunciation of the language. They help the foreign learner to express oneself, however orally and verbally, in fluent Italian. These user-friendly interactive software applications use effective speech recognition technology. They are useful for linguistic students, translators, and international call center trainees.