Italo-Dalmatian languages facts for kids

The Italo-Dalmatian languages are a group of Romance languages. They are mostly spoken in Italy. Some of these languages were also spoken in Croatia a long time ago. These languages come from Latin, which was spoken by the ancient Romans.

What are Italo-Dalmatian Languages?

The Italo-Dalmatian languages are a branch of the larger Romance languages family. Romance languages are those that developed from Vulgar Latin. This was the everyday Latin spoken by ordinary people in the Roman Empire.

Main Groups of Italo-Dalmatian Languages

This language family has two main groups:

• Italo-Romance: This group includes languages spoken mostly in Italy.
  • Italian: This is the official language of Italy. It grew from the Tuscan dialect spoken in Florence. Many different dialects of Italian are spoken across the country.
  • Neapolitan: This language is spoken in Naples and southern Italy.
  • Sicilian: This language is spoken on the island of Sicily and in parts of southern Italy.

• Dalmatian Romance: This group includes languages that were once spoken in Dalmatia. This region is now part of Croatia.
  • Dalmatian: This language is now extinct. This means no one speaks it anymore. The last speaker died in 1898.
  • Istriot: This language is also extinct. It was spoken in the Istria region of Croatia.

Images for kids

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  Venetian varieties

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  The Tuscan varieties.

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  Central Italian dialects

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  Neapolitan dialects

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  Sicilian dialects

See also

In Spanish: Lenguas italo-dálmatas para niños