Editing Italian language (section)

== Geographic distribution ==
{{See also|Geographical distribution of Italian speakers}}
[[File:Suisse italiene.png|thumb|[[Swiss Italian|Italian language in Switzerland]]]]

Italian is the official language of Italy and [[San Marino]] and is spoken fluently by the majority of the countries' populations. Italian is the third most spoken language in [[Switzerland]] (after German and French; see [[Swiss Italian]]), although its use there has moderately declined since the 1970s.<ref name="offstat">{{cite web |url=http://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/portal/fr/index/infothek/lexikon/bienvenue___login/blank/zugang_lexikon.Document.52217.pdf |title=Recensement Fédéral de la Population 2000 — Le Paysage Linguistique en Suisse |access-date=5 January 2006 |author1=Lüdi, Georges |author2=Werlen, Iwar |date=April 2005 |publisher=Office fédéral de la statistique |location=[[Neuchâtel]] |language=fr, de, it |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071129182415/http://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/portal/fr/index/infothek/lexikon/bienvenue___login/blank/zugang_lexikon.Document.52217.pdf |archive-date=29 November 2007 }}</ref> It is official both on the national level and on regional level in two [[canton of Switzerland|cantons]]: [[Ticino]] and [[Grisons]]. In the latter canton, however, it is only spoken by a small minority, in the [[Italian Grisons]].{{efn|Italian is the main language of the valleys of [[Val Calanca|Calanca]], [[Mesolcina]], [[Valle Bregaglia|Bregaglia]] and [[val Poschiavo]]. In the village of [[Maloja, Switzerland|Maloja]], it is spoken by about half the population. It is also spoken by a minority in the village of [[Bivio]].}} Ticino, which includes [[Lugano]], the largest<!--or one of the largest at the very least--> Italian-speaking city outside Italy, is the only canton where Italian is predominant.<ref>Marc-Christian Riebe, ''Retail Market Study 2015'', p. 36. "''the largest city in Ticino, and the largest Italian-speaking city outside of Italy.''"</ref> Italian is also used in administration and official documents in [[Vatican City]].<ref>The Vatican City State appendix to the [[Acta Apostolicae Sedis]] is entirely in Italian.</ref>

Italian is also spoken by a minority in [[Monaco]] and France, especially in the southeastern part of the country.<ref name=2008census>{{cite web|title=Society|url=http://www.monaco-iq.com/society|work=Monaco-IQ Business Intelligence|publisher=Lydia Porter|accessdate=28 June 2013|date=2007–2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130815074527/http://www.monaco-iq.com/society|archive-date=2013-08-15|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=e25/> Italian was the official language in [[Savoy]] and in [[Nice]] until 1860, when they were both annexed by France under the [[Treaty of Turin (1860)|Treaty of Turin]], a development that triggered the "[[Niçard exodus]]", or the emigration of a quarter of the [[Niçard Italians]] to Italy,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.montecarlonews.it/2017/08/28/notizie/argomenti/altre-notizie-1/articolo/un-nizzardo-su-quattro-prese-la-via-dellesilio-in-seguito-allunita-ditalia-dice-lo-scrittore.html|title="Un nizzardo su quattro prese la via dell'esilio" in seguito all'unità d'Italia, dice lo scrittore Casalino Pierluigi|date=28 August 2017|access-date=14 May 2021|language=it|archive-date=19 February 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200219165302/http://www.montecarlonews.it/2017/08/28/notizie/argomenti/altre-notizie-1/articolo/un-nizzardo-su-quattro-prese-la-via-dellesilio-in-seguito-allunita-ditalia-dice-lo-scrittore.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and the [[Niçard Vespers]]. [[Giuseppe Garibaldi]] complained about the referendum that allowed France to annex Savoy and Nice, and a group of his followers (among the [[Italian Savoyards]]) took refuge in Italy in the following years. [[Corsica]] passed from the [[Republic of Genoa]] to France in 1769 after the [[Treaty of Versailles (1768)|Treaty of Versailles]]. Italian was the official language of [[Corsica]] until 1859.<ref>Abalain, Hervé, (2007) ''Le français et les langues historiques de la France'', Éditions Jean-Paul Gisserot, p.113</ref> Giuseppe Garibaldi called for the inclusion of the "[[Corsican Italians]]" within Italy when [[Capture of Rome|Rome was annexed]] to the [[Kingdom of Italy]], but King [[Victor Emmanuel II]] did not agree to it. Italian is generally understood in Corsica by the population resident therein who speak [[Corsican language|Corsican]], which is an Italo-Romance idiom similar to Tuscan.<ref name="Corsican">{{cite web |title=''Sardinian language'', Encyclopedia Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Sardinian-language |access-date=7 June 2022 |archive-date=2 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180102075744/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Sardinian-language |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Francization]] occurred in Nice case, and caused a near-disappearance of the Italian language as many of the Italian speakers in these areas migrated to Italy.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/mediterraneo-e-lingua-italiana_%28Enciclopedia-dell%27Italiano%29/|title=Mediterraneo e lingua italiana|access-date=2 November 2021|language=it|archive-date=3 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211103191454/https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/mediterraneo-e-lingua-italiana_%28Enciclopedia-dell%27Italiano%29|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="rivistaetnie">{{cite web|url=https://www.rivistaetnie.com/annessione-nizza-savoia-99755/|title=Dal Piemonte alla Francia: la perdita dell'identità nizzarda e savoiarda|date=16 June 2018|access-date=14 May 2021|language=|archive-date=5 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211105132407/https://www.rivistaetnie.com/annessione-nizza-savoia-99755/|url-status=live}}</ref> In Corsica, on the other hand, almost everyone still speaks the [[Corsican language|Corsican idiom]], which, due to its linguistic proximity to the Italian standard language, appears both linguistically as an Italian dialect and therefore as a carrier of Italian culture, despite the French government's decades-long efforts to cut Corsica off from the Italian motherland. Italian was the official language in [[Monaco]] until 1860, when it was replaced by the French.<ref name="miglioverde">{{cite web|url=https://www.miglioverde.eu/monegasco-lingua-si-studia-scuola-ed-obbligatoria/|title=Il monegasco, una lingua che si studia a scuola ed è obbligatoria|date=15 September 2014|access-date=6 June 2022|language=it|archive-date=17 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220817073845/https://www.miglioverde.eu/monegasco-lingua-si-studia-scuola-ed-obbligatoria/|url-status=live}}</ref> This was due to the annexation of the surrounding [[County of Nice]] to France following the [[Treaty of Turin (1860)]].<ref name="miglioverde"/>

[[File:Istria-Italians-1991.gif|thumb|Percent of inhabitants with Italian native tongue in [[Croatia]]'s and [[Slovenia]]'s [[Istria]]]]
It formerly had official status in [[Montenegro]] (because of the [[Venetian Albania]]), parts of [[Slovenia]] and [[Croatia]] (because of the [[Venetian Istria]] and [[Venetian Dalmatia]]), parts of [[Greece]] (because of the [[Venetian rule in the Ionian Islands]] and by the [[Italian Islands of the Aegean|Kingdom of Italy in the Dodecanese]]). Italian is widely spoken in [[Malta]], where nearly two-thirds of the population can speak it fluently (see [[Maltese Italian]]).<ref name=Europoll>{{cite web|title=Europeans and their Languages|url=http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_243_en.pdf|publisher=European Commission: Directorate General for Education and Culture and Directorate General Press and Communication|accessdate=28 June 2013|date=February 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080803015530/http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/archives/ebs/ebs_243_en.pdf|archive-date=2008-08-03|url-status=live}}</ref> Italian served as Malta's official language until 1934, when it was abolished by the British colonial administration amid strong local opposition.<ref>Hull, Geoffrey, ''The Malta Language Question: A Case Study in Cultural Imperialism'', Valletta: Said International, 1993.</ref> [[Italian language in Slovenia]] is an officially recognised [[minority language]] in the country.<ref name="ita-slo">{{cite web|url=https://www.ita-slo.eu/it/tutte-le-notizie/news/primis-la-tutela-delle-minoranze-linguistiche-slovenia|title=La tutela delle minoranze linguistiche in Slovenia|date=22 April 2020|access-date=5 June 2022|language=it|archive-date=15 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220815062620/https://www.ita-slo.eu/it/tutte-le-notizie/news/primis-la-tutela-delle-minoranze-linguistiche-slovenia|url-status=dead}}</ref> The official census, carried out in 2002, reported 2,258 ethnic Italians ([[Istrian Italians]]) in [[Slovenia]] (0.11% of the total population).<ref name="stat">{{cite web|url=http://www.stat.si/Popis2002/en/rezultati/rezultati_red.asp?ter=SLO&st=7|title=Popis 2002|access-date=10 June 2017|archive-date=6 August 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110806084849/http://www.stat.si/popis2002/en/rezultati/rezultati_red.asp?ter=SLO&st=7|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Italian language in Croatia]] is an official minority language in the country, with many schools and public announcements published in both languages.<ref name="ita-slo"/> The 2001 census in [[Croatia]] reported 19,636 ethnic Italians (Istrian Italians and [[Dalmatian Italians]]) in the country (some 0.42% of the total population).<ref name="dzs">{{Croatian Census 2001 | E | url=http://web.dzs.hr/Eng/censuses/Census2001/Popis/E01_02_02/E01_02_02.html}}</ref> Their numbers dropped dramatically after [[World War II]] following the [[Istrian–Dalmatian exodus]], which caused the emigration of between 230,000 and 350,000 Istrian Italians and Dalmatian Italians.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1_VCBtYq1H4C&pg=PA11|title=Istria|page=11|author1=Thammy Evans  |author2=Rudolf Abraham |year=2013|publisher=Bradt Travel Guides |isbn=9781841624457|name-list-style=amp }}</ref><ref name="query.nytimes.com">{{cite news|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html|title=Election Opens Old Wounds in Trieste|author=James M. Markham|date=6 June 1987|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=9 June 2016|archive-date=9 February 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100209030954/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Italian was the official language of the [[Republic of Ragusa]] from 1492 to 1807.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Lodge|first1=R. Anthony|last2=Pugh|first2=Stefan|title=Language contact and minority languages on the littorals of Europe|publisher=Logos Verlag|isbn=9783832516444|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WxULAQAAMAAJ|year=2007|pages=235–238|access-date=6 June 2022|archive-date=8 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221208114405/https://books.google.com/books?id=WxULAQAAMAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:Italian empire 1940.PNG|thumb|upright=1.4|right|Italy and [[Italian Empire|its colonial possessions]] in 1940]]

It formerly had official status in [[Albania]] due to the [[Italian invasion of Albania|annexation of the country to the Kingdom of Italy]] (1939–1943). Albania has a large population of non-native speakers, with over half of the population having some knowledge of the Italian language.<ref>Zonova, Tatiana. "The Italian language: soft power or dolce potere?." Rivista di Studi Politici Internazionali (2013): 227–231.</ref> The Albanian government has pushed to make Italian a compulsory second language in schools.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.balkaneu.com/albanian-government-italian-obligatory-language-professional-schools/|title=Albanian government makes Italian an obligatory language in professional schools|website=balkaneu.com|date=February 2014|access-date=2018-11-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180809123856/https://www.balkaneu.com//albanian-government-italian-obligatory-language-professional-schools/|archive-date=2018-08-09|url-status=live}}</ref> The Italian language is well-known and studied in Albania,<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Longo|first1=Maurizio|title=La lingua italiana in Albania|journal=Education et Sociétés Plurilingues|year=2007|issue=22|pages=51–56|url=http://www.cebip.com/download.asp?file=/elementi/www/esp022_07_longo.pdf|accessdate=28 July 2014|language=it|quote=Today, even though for political reasons English is the most widely taught foreign language in Albanian schools, Italian is anyway the most widespread foreign language.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923201418/http://www.cebip.com/download.asp?file=%2Felementi%2Fwww%2Fesp022_07_longo.pdf|archive-date=2015-09-23|url-status=live}}</ref> due to its historical ties and geographical proximity to Italy and to the diffusion of Italian television in the country.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Longo|first1=Maurizio|last2=Ademi|first2=Esmeralda|last3=Bulija|first3=Mirjana|title=Una quantificazione della penetrazione della lingua italiana in Albania tramite la televisione (III)|journal=Education et Sociétés Plurilingues|date=June 2010|issue=28|pages=53–63|url=http://www.cebip.com/datapage.asp?l=1&id=40|accessdate=28 July 2014|trans-title=A quantification of the diffusion of the Italian language in Albania via television|language=it|format=PDF|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808202851/http://www.cebip.com/datapage.asp?l=1&id=40|archive-date=2014-08-08|url-status=live}}</ref>

Due to heavy Italian influence during the [[Italian Empire|Italian colonial period]], Italian is still understood by some in former colonies such as Libya.<ref name=e25/> Although it was the primary language in [[Libya]] since [[Italian Libya|colonial rule]], Italian greatly declined under the [[History of Libya under Muammar Gaddafi|rule of Muammar Gaddafi]], who expelled the [[Italian settlers in Libya|Italian Libyan]] population and made [[Modern Standard Arabic|Arabic]] the sole official language of the country.<ref>[http://www.iht.com/articles/2004/10/21/news/italy.php] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081217024247/http://www.iht.com/articles/2004/10/21/news/italy.php|date=17 December 2008}}</ref> A few hundred Italian settlers returned to Libya in the 2000s.

Italian was the official language of [[Eritrea]] during [[Italian Eritrea|Italian colonisation]]. Italian is today used in commerce, and it is still spoken especially among elders; besides that, Italian words are incorporated as loan words in the main language spoken in the country (Tigrinya). The capital city of Eritrea, [[Asmara]], still has several Italian schools, established during the colonial period. In the early 19th century, Eritrea was the country with the highest number of Italians abroad, and the [[Italian Eritreans]] grew from 4,000 during World War I to nearly 100,000 at the beginning of World War II.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ilcornodafrica.it/rds-01emigrazione.pdf |title=L'emigrazione italiana in Africa orientale |first=Gian Luca |last=Podestà |access-date=2022-02-10 |archive-date=20 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130820162349/http://www.ilcornodafrica.it/rds-01emigrazione.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> In Asmara there are two Italian schools, the [[Istituto Italiano Statale Omnicomprensivo di Asmara]] (Italian primary school with a [[Montessori education|Montessori]] department) and the [[Istituto Italiano Statale Omnicomprensivo di Asmara#Divisions|Liceo Sperimentale "G. Marconi"]] (Italian international senior high school).

Italian was also introduced to [[Somalia]] through colonialism and was the sole official language of administration and education during the [[Italian Somaliland|colonial period]] but fell out of use after government, educational and economic infrastructure were destroyed in the [[Somali Civil War]].
[[File:Italian USC2000 PHS.svg|thumb|upright=1.4|[[Italian language in the United States]]]]

Italian is also spoken by large [[Italian diaspora|immigrant and expatriate communities]] in the Americas and Australia.<ref name=e25/> Although over 17 million [[Italian American|Americans are of Italian descent]], only a little over one million people in the United States speak Italian at home.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_00_SF3_QTP16&prodType=table | archive-url = https://archive.today/20200212212514/http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_00_SF3_QTP16&prodType=table | url-status = dead | archive-date = 12 February 2020 | title = Language Spoken at Home: 2000 | publisher = [[United States Bureau of the Census]] | access-date = 8 August 2012}}</ref> Nevertheless, an Italian language media market does exist in the country.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://netcapricorn.com/newsletter/italian_ethnic_market.html |title=Newsletter |publisher=Netcapricorn.com |access-date=22 October 2015 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304003416/http://netcapricorn.com/newsletter/italian_ethnic_market.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In Canada, Italian is the second most spoken non-official language when [[varieties of Chinese]] are not grouped together, with 375,645 claiming Italian as their [[Demolinguistic descriptors used in Canada#Mother tongue|mother tongue]] in 2016.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/dt-td/Rp-eng.cfm?LANG=E&APATH=3&DETAIL=0&DIM=0&FL=A&FREE=0&GC=0&GID=0&GK=0&GRP=1&PID=109977&PRID=10&PTYPE=109445&S=0&SHOWALL=0&SUB=0&Temporal=2016&THEME=118&VID=0&VNAMEE=&VNAMEF=|title=Data tables, 2016 Census|website=[[Statistics Canada]]|date=2 August 2017 |access-date=2017-10-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011045848/http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/dt-td/Rp-eng.cfm?LANG=E&APATH=3&DETAIL=0&DIM=0&FL=A&FREE=0&GC=0&GID=0&GK=0&GRP=1&PID=109977&PRID=10&PTYPE=109445&S=0&SHOWALL=0&SUB=0&Temporal=2016&THEME=118&VID=0&VNAMEE=&VNAMEF=|archive-date=2017-10-11|url-status=live}}</ref>

Italian immigrants to South America have also brought a presence of the language to that continent. According to some sources, Italian is the second most spoken language in [[Argentina]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.americaeconomia.com/politica-sociedad/sociedad/los-segundos-idiomas-mas-hablados-de-sudamerica |title=Los segundos idiomas más hablados de Sudamérica &#124; AméricaEconomía – El sitio de los negocios globales de América Latina |publisher=Americaeconomia.com |date=16 July 2015 |access-date=22 October 2015 |archive-date=19 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151019061615/http://www.americaeconomia.com/politica-sociedad/sociedad/los-segundos-idiomas-mas-hablados-de-sudamerica |url-status=live }}</ref> after the official language of Spanish, although its number of speakers, mainly of the older generation, is decreasing. Italian bilingual speakers can be found scattered across the southeast of Brazil and in the south.<ref name=e25/> In [[Venezuela]], Italian is the most spoken language after Spanish and Portuguese, with around 200,000 speakers.<ref name="L'ITALIANO IN VENEZUELA">{{cite journal|last1=Bernasconi|first1=Giulia|title=L'Italiano in Venezuela|journal=Italiano LinguaDue|volume=3|year=2012|issue=2|page=20|doi=10.13130/2037-3597/1921|url=https://www.openaire.eu/search/publication?articleId=doajarticles::e2c6e2d8ae5915079007d321c21defb0|accessdate=22 January 2017|publisher=Università degli Studi di Milano|doi-broken-date=16 December 2024 |language=it|quote=L'italiano come lingua acquisita o riacquisita è largamente diffuso in Venezuela: recenti studi stimano circa 200.000 studenti di italiano nel Paese|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202192545/https://www.openaire.eu/search/publication?articleId=doajarticles::e2c6e2d8ae5915079007d321c21defb0|archive-date=2017-02-02|url-status=live}}</ref> In [[Uruguay]], people who speak Italian as their home language are 1.1% of the total population of the country.<ref>{{Cite web|year=2019|title=Encuesta Telefónica de Idiomas (ETI) 2019|url=https://www.ine.gub.uy/web/guest/eti2019|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028151823/https://www.ine.gub.uy/web/guest/eti2019|archive-date=28 October 2020|website=Instituto Nacional de Estadística Instituto Nacional de Estadística – Uruguay}}</ref> In Australia, Italian is the second most spoken foreign language after Chinese, with 1.4% of the population speaking it as their home language.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/census_services/getproduct/census/2011/quickstat/0 |title=2011 Census QuickStats: Australia |publisher=Censusdata.abs.gov.au |accessdate=2015-10-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151106221006/http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/census_services/getproduct/census/2011/quickstat/0 |archive-date=2015-11-06 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The main Italian-language newspapers published outside Italy are the ''[[L'Osservatore Romano]]'' ([[Vatican City]]), the ''L'Informazione di San Marino'' ([[San Marino]]), the ''[[Corriere del Ticino]]'' and the ''[[laRegione Ticino]]'' ([[Switzerland]]), the ''[[La Voce del Popolo]]'' ([[Croatia]]), the ''Corriere d'Italia'' (Germany), the ''L'italoeuropeo'' (United Kingdom), the ''Passaparola'' ([[Luxembourg]]), the {{lang|it|[[America Oggi]]}} (United States), the ''[[Corriere Canadese]]'' and the ''[[Corriere Italiano]]'' (Canada), the ''Il punto d'incontro'' (Mexico), the ''L'Italia del Popolo'' ([[Argentina]]), the ''Fanfulla'' (Brazil), the ''Gente d'Italia'' ([[Uruguay]]), the ''La Voce d'Italia'' ([[Venezuela]]), the ''[[Il Globo]]'' (Australia) and the ''La gazzetta del Sud Africa'' (South Africa).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ipse.com/quotites.html|title=QUOTIDIANI ITALIANI ALL'ESTERO|access-date=6 June 2022|language=it|archive-date=24 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220524153914/https://ipse.com/quotites.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.conteallestero.it/articoli-psicologo-all-estero/come-si-informano-gli-italiani-all-estero|title=Come si informano gli italiani all'estero|access-date=6 June 2022|language=it|archive-date=14 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221214215149/https://www.conteallestero.it/articoli-psicologo-all-estero/come-si-informano-gli-italiani-all-estero|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.radioascolta.it/t-giornale-italo-brasiliano-(Fanfulla)/#:~:text=Il%20Fanfulla%20%C3%A8%20il%20giornale,brasiliani%20che%20vivevano%20in%20Brasile.|title=Il giornale italo-brasiliano (Fanfulla)|access-date=6 June 2022|language=it|archive-date=14 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221214215149/https://www.radioascolta.it/t-giornale-italo-brasiliano-(Fanfulla)/#:~:text=Il%20Fanfulla%20%C3%A8%20il%20giornale,brasiliani%20che%20vivevano%20in%20Brasile.|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Education ===
[[File:ItalSchoolRijeka.jpg|thumb|[[Italian Secondary School, Rijeka|Italian Secondary School in Rijeka/Fiume]], [[Croatia]]]]
Italian is widely taught in many schools around the world, but rarely as the first foreign language. In the 21st century, technology also allows for the continual spread of the Italian language, as people have new ways to learn how to speak, read, and write languages at their own pace and at any given time. For example, the free website and application [[Duolingo]] has 4.94&nbsp;million English speakers learning the Italian language.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.duolingo.com/courses|title=duolingo|website=duolingo|access-date=18 July 2017|archive-date=23 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221023033042/https://www.duolingo.com/enroll/eo/en/Learn-Esperanto|url-status=live}}</ref>

According to the [[Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs]], every year there are more than 200,000 foreign students who study the Italian language; they are distributed among the 90 [[Italian Cultural Institute|Institutes of Italian Culture]] that are located around the world, in the 179 Italian schools located abroad, or in the 111 Italian lecturer sections belonging to foreign schools where Italian is taught as a language of culture.<ref name="esteri.it">{{cite web |url=http://www.esteri.it/MAE/IT/Politica_Estera/Cultura/PromozioneLinguaItaliana/DatiStatisticheInsegnamentoLingua.htm |title=Dati e statistiche |publisher=Esteri.it |date=28 September 2007 |access-date=22 October 2015 |archive-date=7 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807061658/http://www.esteri.it/MAE/IT/Politica_Estera/Cultura/PromozioneLinguaItaliana/DatiStatisticheInsegnamentoLingua.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>

As of 2022, Australia had the highest number of students learning Italian in the world. This occurred because of support by the Italian community in Australia and the Italian Government and also because of successful educational reform efforts led by local governments in Australia.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hajek |first1=John |last2=Aliani |first2=Renata |last3=Slaughter |first3=Yvette |title=From the Periphery to the Center Stage: The Mainstreaming of Italian in the Australian Education System (1960s to 1990s) |journal=History of Education Quarterly |date=November 2022 |volume=62 |issue=4 |pages=475–97 |doi=10.1017/heq.2022.30|s2cid=253447737 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

=== Influence and derived languages ===
{{See also|Italian diaspora}}
[[File:Talian.svg|right|thumb|Municipalities where [[Talian dialect|Talian]] is co-official in [[Rio Grande do Sul]], Brazil]]
[[File:Placard piemontèis a San Fransesch an Argentin-a.jpg|thumb|Trilingual sign in [[San Francisco, Argentina]], in Spanish, Italian, and [[Piedmontese language|Piedmontese]]]]

From the late 19th to the mid-20th century, millions of Italians settled in Argentina, Uruguay, southern Brazil, and Venezuela, and in Canada and the United States, where they formed a physical and cultural presence.

In some cases, colonies were established where variants of regional [[languages of Italy]] were used, and some continue to use this regional language. Examples are [[Rio Grande do Sul]], Brazil, where [[Talian dialect|Talian]] is used, and the town of [[Chipilo]] near Puebla, Mexico; each continues to use a derived form of [[Venetian language|Venetian]] dating back to the 19th century. Other examples are [[Cocoliche]], an Italian–Spanish [[pidgin]] once spoken in [[Argentina]] and especially in [[Buenos Aires]], and [[Lunfardo]]. The [[Rioplatense Spanish]] dialect of Argentina and Uruguay today has thus been heavily influenced by both standard Italian and Italian regional languages as a result.

=== Lingua franca ===
{{See also|Mediterranean Lingua Franca}}
Starting in late [[medieval]] times in much of Europe and the Mediterranean, Latin was replaced as the primary commercial language by languages of Italy, especially Tuscan and Venetian. These varieties were consolidated during the [[Renaissance]] with the strength of Italy and the rise of [[Renaissance humanism|humanism]] and [[the arts]].

Italy came to enjoy increasing artistic prestige within Europe. A mark of the educated gentlemen was to make the [[Grand Tour]], visiting Italy to see its great historical monuments and works of art. It was expected that the visitor would learn at least some Italian, understood as language based on Florentine. In England, while the classical languages [[Latin]] and [[Greek language|Greek]] were the first to be learned, Italian became the second most common modern language after French, a position it held until the late 18th century when it tended to be replaced by German. [[John Milton]], for instance, wrote some of his early poetry in Italian.

Within the [[Catholic Church]], Italian is known by a large part of the ecclesiastical hierarchy and is used in substitution for Latin in some official documents.

Italian [[loanword]]s continue to be used in most languages in matters of art and music (especially classical music including opera), in the design and fashion industries, in some sports such as [[football (association)|football]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ilsonline.it/italy/italianlanguage.html|title=Italian Language|website=ilsonline.it|access-date=7 October 2016|archive-date=27 April 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240427114200/http://www.ilsonline.it/italy/italianlanguage.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and especially in culinary terms.