What are the origins of the Italian language?

Answer 1

There are many different influences on the Italian languages including French & Spanish and those 3 languages are called the romance languages rub off on each other and give each other influences but the main origin would be Latin.

Here are some ways many Latin words changed into Italian:

-us & -um becomes -o

servus & vinum becomes servo & vino

B's are pronounced like V's

Portabant becomes Portavano

Ending -m and -t dropped

eram & erat become ero and era

U's are rounded off to O's

Fabula becomes Favola

L's are dropped

claudere becomes chiudere

"au" is shortened to O or U

aurum becomes oro, audire becomes udire

N's before s+consonant clusters are dropped

transmittere becomes trasmettere

You can actually go through Latin derived words and, using some of these rules, find their Italian translations without even touching an translator!

Answer 2

The Italian language evolved from Latin, the language spoken by the ancient Romans. Over centuries, regional dialects in Italy merged to form the modern Italian language. The works of Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio in the 14th century played a significant role in establishing Italian as a literary language.