Modern Italian, as often happens with many national languages, is in fact a dialect that has succeeded in imposing itself as the proper language of a larger region than the one corresponding to the land where a dialect is spoken. In the case of Italian, the Tuscan dialect, spoken in Florence, Pisa and Siena, has become the dominant dialect.
Interestingly, this is not because of political or demographic reasons as normally happens, but thanks to the cultural prestige it carries due to the fact that it was the language of the famed "Divina Comedia". This literary work written in the early years of the 14th century was considered the first literary work authored in the "modern language."
The Tuscan dialect is indeed the one in which renown authors such as Dante Alighieri, Petrarca and Boccaccio wrote. These three authors were considered the most well known Italian Renaissance writers. The economic success and development of the Tuscan region during the late Middle Ages gave the dialect extra weight despite the continued influence of the Venetian dialect.
The Italian languaeg is related to the other two Italo-Dalmatian languages, Sicilian and the now extinct Dalmatian. These three languaegs are part of the Italo-Western familyof Romance languages. Italian is nearest to Latin in terms of vocabulary other Romance languages are closer to Latin in terms of noun declension, verb conjugation, and phonology.
All languages spoken as the vernacular other than standard Italian are termed "Italian dialects". These include various recognized dialects such as Friulian, Neapolitan, Sardinian, Sicilian, and Venetian.
Other dialects are generally not used in the public square and are largely limited to informal conversations. Demographically, the younger generations tend to speak standard Italian almost exclusively though local accents and idioms do continue to be present.
The Italian language is of course spoken mainly in Italy, where it is the national language and is spoken by approximately 63 million people. It also spoken in two cantons (Ticino and Grigioni) of Switzerland where it is also known as an official language.
Italian speaking communities however reach far beyond Italy. Italian speakers are found throughout Europe most notably in England, Belgium, the various republics of the former Yugoslavia, Monaco, Molta and Argentina Others are found Uruguay, Brazil, Venezuela, Mexico, Chile, United States and Canada.
A substantial community of Italian speakers is also found in Australia. Substantially smaller numbers of speakers in the former Italian colonies of Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia and Lybia.
When it comes to kitchen designs, Italian's have always garnered a lot of attention in the world of renovations and remodeling. There are a few very good reasons that Italian design is so popular when it comes to the kitchen space within people's homes. Kitchens that are designed with an Italian flair and put together with more than just look in mind, but also functionality. Italian families have always been large and often meal-oriented, thus an Italian kitchen is a place where not only food can be prepared, but where family can gather, interact and perform any number of tasks.
While traditional Italian kitchen designs have always had these attributes, there are also modern touches being added that can give any kitchen the practically of the Italian style along with all the flair of contemporary plans. Recently there has been a steady growth in the popularity of certain modern ideas in relation to Italian kitchen styles. There has been more focus on technology that has given outdated ideas and unprecedented amount of relativity in the modern world. While all modern Italian kitchen designs have some similar characteristics, there are a few more popular designs that you can choose from if you are looking to remodel.
One of the most common and popular designs is a contemporary curved kitchen style. These kitchens will display and possess round and curved cabinets and structures that give easy access to all areas for the cook and guests. The main structure is often a circular work area in which the cook can stand in and cut, prepare and wash food in an enclosed space. This allows for great functionality as other members of your family can move around the kitchen without interfering in any of the work that is going into food preparation. On top of all this, it is a design strategy that allows the cook to reach or access anything they might need easily and quickly no matter what else is going on around them.
Another popular modern design choice when it comes to Italian kitchens is a more futuristic and sleek style. This style usually revolves around a sleek island and commonly white cabinets and features. The island itself is usually designed with the same intent as the previously discussed design but the cabinets and other features are made to be much more functional. The white colors are often contrasted with stainless steel add-ons that add to the futuristic modern touch while making everything quite easy to clean.
There is truly a vast array of popular designs when it comes to Italian kitchens and this number seems to be growing with each passing day. As new technology and modern ideas are incorporated and intertwined with Old Italian style, these designs are becoming the staple for many people's kitchen remodeling process.
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Jacob Lumbroso has sinced written about articles on various topics from Learn Spanish, Religion and Education. Jacob Lumbroso is a world traveler and an enthusiast for foreign languages and cultures. He writes articles on history and languages and has used