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01The Italian alphabet has only 21 letters. The letters (j, k, w, x, y) are excluded, though they appear in loanwords such as "jeans", "whisky" and "taxi". The letter (x) has become common in standard Italian with the prefix "extra”
02Italian is big on vowels, and most words end with one. For this reason, word palindromes are quite short and rare, since they must start with a vowel as well. The longest single word palindrome in Italian is “onorarono” (they honored).
03The Divine Comedy (Divina Commedia) is a very important piece of literature because it was the first book to be written in Italian rather than Latin or Greek. In fact, it is said that the modern Italian language began with the writing of The Divine Comedy. For this reason, Dante is also referred to as The Father of the Italian Language.
04The Adventures of Pinocchio, one of the most iconic works of children's literature of all time was first published in Italian language. According to an extensive research done by the Fondazione Nazionale Carlo Collodi in late 1990's and based on UNESCO sources it has been adapted in more than 240 languages worldwide. That would make it possibly the most translated (and read) non-religious book of all times.
05Accademia della Crusca founded in Florence in 1583 is the oldest linguistic academy in the world and among the leading institutions in the field of research on the Italian language. Its activity is centered on supporting scientific activity, training of new researchers in Italian linguistics and spreading historical knowledge of the Italian language in a society. It collaborates with the most important foreign institutions as well as with Italian and European Governments, to support multilingualism.
What does Italian sound like? Listen to an Italian radio station here.