<Tr> <Td> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> </Td> </Tr> <Ul> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> <Li> </Li> </Ul> <P> There are approximately thirty - four living spoken languages and related dialects in Italy; most of which are indigenous evolutions of Vulgar Latin, and are therefore classified as Romance languages . Although they are sometimes referred to as regional languages, there is no uniformity within any Italian region, and speakers from one locale within a region are typically aware of the features distinguishing their local tongue from the one of other places nearby . The official and most widely spoken language across the country is Italian, a direct descendant of Tuscan . </P> <P> Almost all the Romance languages native to Italy, with the notable exception of Italian, are often colloquially referred to as "dialects", although for some of them the term may coexist with other labels like "minority languages" or "vernaculars". However, the use of the term "dialect" to refer to the languages of Italy erroneously implies that the languages spoken in Italy are actual "dialects" of Standard Italian in the prevailing linguistic sense of "varieties or variations of a language ." This is generally not the case in regard to the languages of Italy, as they are, for the most part, not varieties of Standard Italian . Most of the regional languages of Italy predate Standard Italian and evolved locally from Vulgar Latin and independently of what would become Standard Italian, long before the fairly recent spread of Standard Italian throughout Italy . In fact, Standard Italian is itself either a continuation of, or a dialect heavily based on, Florentine Tuscan . The indigenous local Romance tongues of Italy are therefore better classified as separate languages that evolved independently from Latin, rather than "dialects" or variations of the Standard Italian language . Conversely, with the spread of Standard Italian throughout Italy in the 20th century, local varieties of Standard Italian influenced to varying extents by the underlying local languages, most noticeably at the phonological level, have also developed throughout the peninsula; though regional boundaries seldom correspond to isoglosses distinguishing these varieties, they are commonly referred to as Regional Italian (italiano regionale). </P>

What is the most common language in italy