Background: Dante was a large influence on modern day Italian language being credited for influencing its acceptance as the national dialect. The following is a link to Columbia University regarding Dante. The history of Italian literature properly begins toward the end of the Middle Ages. It was then that writers began to abandon Latin as the language of literature and write in one of the Italian dialects used in common speech. The first great poet of Italy is still regarded as one of the most notable writers of all time. He was Dante Alighieri (1265-1321) of Florence, author of 'The Divine Comedy'. This allegorical masterpiece is the account of a journey beyond the grave, through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven, and its sustained power has seldom been equaled. Written in the Tuscan dialect, it helped make that the language of literary Italy.

Start: We recommend finding a local language class in your town and meeting Italian speaking friends to listen and practice speaking with. Begin reading Italian newspapers on the internet and translating them into English side by side to learn the words and phrases. Buy an Italian cassette series and listen to them in your car, playing them until you have mastered them. As you become advanced, play Italian mental word games by listening to American television and thinking on your own how you would translate what was said into Italian sentences. This is exactly what bilingual Italians hear when listening to American TV, it is processed into two languages. It is recommended that you first devote your time to learning modern Italian than Arbreshe because this will get you through all of Italy and Contessa Entellina. Modern Italian is easier to learn than Albanian-Arbreshe, and Arbreshe is spoken in Arbreshe villages in Western Sicily. It appears the trend is for the childen to learn Italian in school and Arbreshe is spoken in the home. Once you have mastered Italian, then learn some common Arbreshe terms.