Province of Trieste - Languages

Languages

Italian language is spoken in the whole province. In the city of Trieste, many people speak Triestine, a dialect of Venetian. The Tergestine, an archaic dialect of the Friulian language was spoken in Trieste and in Muggia, but became completely extinct by the mid 19th century.

An estimated 21% of the province's population belong to the Slovene linguistic community. Italian legislation recognizes and protects the Slovene linguistic minority in all of the six municipalities of the province, although visual bilingualism is not applied in the city centre of Trieste and in the town of Muggia. Besides standard Slovene, which is taught in Slovene-language schools, three different Slovene dialects are spoken in the Province of Trieste. The Kras dialect is spoken in the municipalities of Duino-Aurisina and Sgonico, as well as in several settlements in the municipality of Trieste: Barcola, Prosecco, and Contovello. The Inner Carniolan dialect is spoken in the municipality of Monrupino and in several settlements of the municipality of Trieste, namely Opicina, Trebiciano, Padriciano, and Basovizza. The Istrian dialect is spoken in the municipalities of San Dorligo della Valle and in the rural areas of Muggia, as well as in the southern suburbs of Trieste (most notably in Servola).