If you visit Italy and you don’t speak Italian, it will seem like everyone speaks Italian but you. That is not necessarily true. There are several languages spoken in Italy other than Italian along with various dialects of Italian.
Most regions have their own dialect, accent, and even their own language. The languages spoken in Italy have evolved over the centuries. The different dialects are all markedly different from standard Italy.
Italian is known as an Indo-European language and there are currently over 55 million Italian speakers in Italy. Some of the people are bilingual in Italian and some of the regional dialects. There are an additional 6.5 million people who speak Italian in other countries.
Besides Italy, Italian is spoken in several countries, including Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Canada, Croatia, Egypt, France, Germany, Israel, Libya, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Paraguay, the Philippines, Puerto Rico , Romania , San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, UK, Uruguay, USA and Vatican State.
There are various regional dialects spoken in Italy. Major dialects of Italian include Tuscan, Abruzzese, Pugliese, Umbrian, Laziale, Central Marchigiano, Cicolano-Reatino-Aquilano, and Molisano.
Due to the different regions of Italy, different languages are also spoken in Italy apart from standard Italian. Those languages include Emiliano-Romagnolo, Friulian, Ligurian, Lombard, Napoletan, Plemontese, Sardarese, Sardu, Sicilian, and Venetian. Some of these languages are known by different names, which are not listed here.
Obviously, Italians don’t speak exactly the same language. This can make conversing with Italians a bit more difficult, but learning to understand the differences can be interesting and valuable.