Dante e la nascita dell'italiano
Dante and the birth of Italian
Beatrice Lombardi
Transcript
Dante Alighieri did not just invent a poem. He founded a language.
By choosing the Florentine vernacular instead of Latin, Dante made a revolutionary choice.
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Latin was the language of power and the church.
The vernacular was the language of the people, considered inferior by intellectuals.
Dante overturned this hierarchy, showing that the vernacular could express the most profound truths.
The Comedy became the model on which literary Italian was formed.
Centuries later, when Italy was seeking a national language, Dante was the point of reference.
Every time we speak Italian, we are in some way heirs of Dante.