“Oh, there are of course many permutations of the Italian language,” he replied. “You must understand that Italy over the centuries has been subject to one invasion after the other. Hordes of different people descended on the country from all over Europe and Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.”

“I guess they must have come for the food,” said Carter with a sly grin.

“Perhaps,” said Giancarlo, trying not to dignify the remark with a response, “but in any case, many of them came and stayed, settling all over Italy, in different regions, where they left their marks on the language.”

“Sounds interesting.”

“Oh, it truly is,” said Giancarlo. “It’s a course of study all in itself.”

“So, do these dialects still exist?” asked Carter.

“Very much in some parts of the country, and not so much in others. For instance, as you know, the proper way to say ‘let’s go’ is andiamo. In some places, though, they say dammo or gammo. When you go to Abruzzo you might hear people say live for ‘olive’ instead of oliva, as you would say it in proper Italian. Words are changed like that all over the place. A letter is dropped here, a couple are added there. It happens a lot.”

“That’s weird,” chuckled Carter.

“No, not really,” said Giancarlo. “That’s just the way languages are. They have a life of their own. They’re always changing, never stagnant. When cultures mix, one language can borrow from the other, and different people can speak the result in many different ways. And they all have their little idiosyncrasies. Think about the way people speak English in this country. People say things like ‘whatcha doin’ or ‘I wanna go.’ Around here, that sweet, fizzy beverage you buy at the store is called soda, but in other places it’s pop, and in others it’s tonic. There are all sorts of words like that, and very often different ways of pronouncing them all around the country. Think about the phrase ‘atta boy.’ As an athlete, I’m sure you’ve heard that a million times. You know what it means, but how would you explain it to a foreigner?”

“That’s funny,” said Carter thoughtfully. “I’ve never really thought about things like that.You just seem to know what people are saying without it being explained.”

“That’s because you’ve grown up in the culture,” said Giancarlo, “surrounded by the language. It comes as natural to you as breathing the air. It’s the same in every culture. And it’s the same in Italy, and that’s why there are a great many dialects.”

Carter paused to consider this last statement. “If that’s the case,” he asked after a moment’s consideration, “how will I possibly understand them all?”