document_title: Good Times

question_text: who sang the theme song of good times

question_tokens: who sang the theme song of good times

text: Good Times

text: Synopsis[edit]

text: Florida and James Evans and their three children live at 921 N. Gilbert Ave., apartment 17C, in a housing project in a poor, black neighborhood in inner-city Chicago. The project is unnamed on the show, but is implicitly the infamous Cabrini–Green projects, shown in the opening and closing credits.[1][2] Florida and James have three children: James Jr., also known as "J.J."; Thelma; and Michael, called "the militant midget" by his father due to his passionate activism. When the series begins, J.J. is seventeen years old, Thelma is sixteen, and Michael is eleven. Their exuberant neighbor, and Florida's best friend, is Willona Woods, a recent divorcée who works at a boutique. Their building superintendent is Nathan Bookman (seasons 2–6), who James, Willona and later J.J. refer to as "Buffalo Butt", or, even more derisively, "Booger".

text: The characters originated on the sitcom Maude as Florida and Henry Evans, with Florida employed as Maude Findlay's housekeeper in Tuckahoe, New York, and Henry employed as a New York City firefighter. When producers decided to feature the Florida character in her own show, they changed the characters' history to fit a new series that was well into development rather than start from scratch to create a consistent starring vehicle. Henry's name became James, he worked various odd jobs, there was no mention of Maude, and the couple lived in Chicago.[3]

text: Episodes of Good Times deal with the characters' attempts to overcome poverty living in a high rise project building in Chicago. James Evans often works at least two jobs, mostly manual labor such as dishwasher, construction laborer, etc. Often he is unemployed, but he is a proud man who will not accept charity. When he has to, he hustles money playing pool, although Florida disapproves of this.

text: Cast conflicts[edit]

text: Good Times was intended to be a good show for Esther Rolle and John Amos. Both expected the show to deal with serious topics in a comedic way while providing positive characters for viewers to identify with.

text: However, Jimmie Walker's character of J.J. was an immediate hit with audiences and became the breakout character of the series. J.J.'s frequent use of the expression "Dy-no-mite!" (often in the phrase "Kid Dy-no-mite!"), credited to director John Rich, became a popular catchphrase (later included in TV Land's The 100 Greatest TV Quotes and Catch Phrases special).[4] Rich insisted Walker say it in every episode. Walker and executive producer Norman Lear were skeptical of the idea, but the phrase and the J.J. Evans character caught on with the audience.[5] As a result of the character's popularity, the writers focused more on J.J.'s comedic antics instead of serious issues.

text: Through seasons two and three, Rolle and Amos grew increasingly disillusioned with the direction of the show and especially with J.J.'s antics and stereotypically buffoonish behavior.[6] Rolle was vocal about her hate of his character. In a 1975 interview with Ebony magazine she stated:

text: He's 18 and he doesn't work. He can't read or write. He doesn't think. The show didn't start out to be that...Little by little—with the help of the artist, I suppose, because they couldn't do that to me—they have made J.J. more stupid and enlarged the role. Negative images have been slipped in on us through the character of the oldest child.[7]

text: Although doing so less publicly, Amos also was outspoken about his dissatisfaction with the J.J. character. Amos stated:

text: The writers would prefer to put a chicken hat on J.J. and have him prance around saying "DY-NO-MITE", and that way they could waste a few minutes and not have to write meaningful dialogue.[8]

text: While Amos was less public with his dissatisfaction, he was ultimately fired after season three due to disagreements with Norman Lear. Amos' departure was initially attributed to his desire to focus on a film career, but he admitted in a 1976 interview that Lear called him and told him that his contract option with the show was not being renewed. Amos stated, "That's the same thing as being fired."[9] The producers decided not to recast the character of James Evans, instead opting to kill off the character in the two-part season four episode, "The Big Move".[10][11]

text: Final seasons[edit]

text: By the end of season four, Esther Rolle had also become dissatisfied with the show's direction and decided to leave the series. In the final two episodes of the season, "Love Has a Spot On His Lung", Rolle's character gets engaged to Carl Dixon (Moses Gunn), a man she began dating toward the end of season four. In the season five premiere episode, it is revealed that Florida and Carl married off screen and moved to Arizona for the sake of Carl's health.[12]

text: With Amos and Rolle gone, Ja'net Dubois took over as the lead character, as Willona checked in on the Evans children since they were now living alone.[2][13] In season five Janet Jackson joined the cast, playing Penny Gordon Woods, an abused girl who is abandoned by her mother and eventually adopted by Willona.[12]

text: Before taping of season six began, CBS and the show's producers decided that they had to do "something drastic" to increase viewership. According to then-vice president of CBS programming Steve Mills, "We had lost the essence of the show. Without parental guidance the show slipped. Everything told us that: our mail, our phone calls, our research. We felt we had to go back to basics."[12]

text: Producers approached Esther Rolle with an offer to appear in a guest role on the series. Rolle was initially hesitant but when producers agreed to a number of her demands (including an increased salary and higher quality scripts), she agreed to return to the series on a full-time basis. Rolle also wanted producers to make the character of J.J. more responsible, as she felt the character was a poor role model for black American youths. She also requested that producers write out the character of Carl Dixon; Rolle reportedly disliked the storyline surrounding the Carl Dixon character, as she believed Florida would not have moved on so quickly after James' death or leave her children. Rolle also thought the writers had disregarded Florida's devout Christian beliefs by having her fall for and marry Carl, who was an atheist.[12][14]

text: In the season six premiere episode "Florida's Homecoming: Part 1", Florida returns from Arizona without Carl to attend Thelma's upcoming wedding to professional football player Keith Anderson (Ben Powers, who joined the cast for the final season). In a rare uncut version of "Florida's Homecoming: Part 2", after Florida arrives home from Arizona, Willona briefly pulls her aside and mentions Carl, to which Florida sadly smiles and shakes her head implying that Carl had died from cancer. Florida later mentions Carl one last time when she tells Michael about a book they'd both bought him.[3] Despite changes in the series at Esther Rolle's request and her return, ratings did not improve and CBS canceled the series during the 1978–79 season.[15][16]

text: In the series finale, "The End of the Rainbow", each character finally gets a "happy ending." J.J. gets his big break as an artist for a comic book company with his newly created character, DynoWoman, which is based on Thelma (much to her surprise and delight), and is moving into an apartment with some lady friends. Michael attends college and moves into an on-campus dorm. Keith's bad knee heals due to his exercise and own physical therapy, leading to the Chicago Bears offering him a contract to play football. Keith announces that he and Thelma are moving into a luxury apartment in the city's upscale Gold Coast district. Thelma also announces that she is pregnant with the couple's first child. Keith offers Florida the chance to move in with them so she can help Thelma with the new baby. Willona becomes the head buyer of the boutique she works in and announces that she and Penny are also moving out of the projects. Willona then reveals that her new apartment is in the same apartment building that Keith, Thelma and Florida are moving to; once again, she and Penny become the Evans' downstairs neighbors.[16]

text: Cast and characters[edit]

text: Main[edit]

text:
Actor
Character
Seasons

1
2
3
4
5
6

Esther Rolle
Florida Evans
Main

Main

John Amos
James Evans
Main

Ja'net Dubois
Willona Woods
Main

Jimmie Walker
James "J.J." Evans, Jr.
Main

Ralph Carter
Michael Evans
Main

Bern Nadette Stanis*
Thelma Evans Anderson
Main

Johnny Brown
Nathan Bookman

Recurring
Main

Janet Jackson
Millicent "Penny" Gordon Woods

Main

Ben Powers
Keith Anderson

Main

*Bern Nadette Stanis was credited as "Bern Nadette" during early episodes of season one, and later as "Bernnadette Stanis."

text: Minor characters[edit]

text:
Ned the Wino (Raymond Allen) is the local drunk who frequents the neighborhood and the apartment building where the Evans family reside. In the season one episode "Black Jesus", J.J. uses Ned the Wino as the model for a portrait of Jesus. Another episode is centered on Michael's plan to "clean up" Ned and get him off the booze by letting him stay at the Evans' house.
Carl Dixon (Moses Gunn) is an atheist shop owner who Michael briefly works for. Despite their religious differences, Carl and Florida begin dating and become engaged in the final episode of season four. Carl breaks off the engagement after he is diagnosed with lung cancer. After a talk from Bookman, Carl again asks Florida for her hand in marriage. The two marry off-screen and move to Arizona. Florida returns at the beginning of season six, without Carl, for Thelma's wedding. Carl is referenced briefly in episode two of season six, but he is never mentioned again (Florida continues to use the surname Evans instead of Dixon). (Esther Rolle decided to come back to the show if the character was written out.) Florida then revealed he died from his battle of lung cancer.
Marion "Sweet Daddy" Williams (Theodore Wilson) is a menacing neighborhood numbers runner and pimp, who has a reputation for wearing flashy clothing and jewelry. He is usually accompanied by bodyguards (one portrayed by Bubba Smith, the other by series painter Ernie Barnes) and comes across as cool and threatening, but has shown a soft heart on occasion, particularly when he decided not to take an antique locket (to settle a debt) that Florida had given to Thelma because it had reminded him of his late mother. (Wilson also plays a club owner named Stanley in the season four episode, "The Comedian and the Loan Sharks").
Alderman Fred C. Davis (Albert Reed, Jr.) is a local politician with a slightly shady disposition whom the Evans generally despise. Spoofing President Richard M. Nixon, he would state in a speech "I am not a crook." He frequently relies on the support of the Evans family (his "favorite project family") for reelection or support and resorts to threats of eviction to secure their support. In a running joke, Alderman Davis frequently forgets Willona's name and calls her another similar-sounding name that began with a "W" (such as Wilhemina, Winnifrieda, Winsomnium, Wyomia and even Waldorf-Astoria), thus earning him her everlasting ire as well as the nickname "Baldy".
Lenny (Dap 'Sugar' Willie) is a neighborhood hustler and peddler who tries to sell presumably stolen items that are usually attached to the lining of his fur coat. He usually approaches people with a laid-back rap and a rhyme ("my name is Len-nay, if I ain't got it, there ain't an-nay"). He is typically rebuffed by the people he approaches and responds by saying "that's cold" or uses a small brush to "brush off" the negativity.
"Grandpa" Henry Evans (Richard Ward) is James' long lost father. He abandoned the family years before because he was ashamed that he could not do more to provide for them. This hurt James deeply, who disregarded his father's existence, telling everyone he was dead. Thelma learns about her grandfather while doing some family research. She meets him and invites him to the Evans' home to surprise James for his birthday, not knowing that James was well aware of his whereabouts but chose to stay out of his life. After Henry arrives at the Evans home and meets the rest of the family, he realizes that James would not welcome him in the home and decides to leave. Florida convinces him to stay and talk to James and explains that there may never be another chance to do so. Henry and James have a heart-to-heart talk, with Henry being remorseful and apologetic. James ultimately forgives his father. After James' death, the Evans family embraces Henry into the family, alongside his common law (and eventually legal) wife Lena in later episodes.
Wanda (Helen Martin) is another resident in the apartment building where the Evans reside. Earlier episodes show her at a women's support group, and the tenants rallying around her by giving her a rent party. Later episodes show her appearing and crying at several funerals, whether she knew the person or not, thus earning her the nickname "Weeping Wanda" from J.J. and Willona.
Mrs. Lynnetta Gordon (Chip Fields) is Penny's abusive biological mother. Her first appearance is in the four part Fifth season opening episode, "The Evans Get Involved". Penny's father abandoned Mrs. Gordon when she became pregnant. As a result, she takes her anger and frustrations out on Penny, including burning her with a hot iron. After the abuse is finally brought to light, (during which Mrs. Gordon gets into a shouting match with Willona and Thelma) she abandons Penny, despite Willona and Thelma's pleas to her to seek help. Just before she disappears, Mrs. Gordon expresses regret for hurting her child, telling Willona that Penny deserves better than her. This clears the way for Willona to adopt Penny. She reappears more than a year later, in the sixth-season episode, "A Matter of Mothers", having remarried, and reveals that her new husband is from a very wealthy family. Mrs. Gordon uses her husband's wealth to send Penny anonymous gifts and, in an effort to regain custody of Penny, she also attempts to frame Willona as an unfit adoptive parent who throws wild parties with less than wholesome attendees. However, her scheme is exposed by being recorded on tape admitting that the scheme was a set up to get Penny back. After trying to get the tape from Penny and threatening her again with physical abuse (which is stopped by Willona), Penny outright rejects Mrs. Gordon, telling her birth mother that no matter what anyone says, she would always consider Willona to be her real mother. Mrs. Gordon is devastated by this, agrees to drop the charges against Willona and leaves Penny with her, never to be seen again.
Cleatus (Jack Baker) is a cousin of J.J. Evans, Thelma Evans Anderson, and Michael Evans and nephew of Florida Evans and James Evans. He made one appearance in the episode "Cousin Cleatus".
Violet Bookman (Marilyn Coleman) is the wife of Bookman (episodes: "Bye, Bye Bookman" and "Willona, the Other Woman" in season 5).

text: Notable guest stars[edit]

text:
Debbie Allen as J.J.'s drug-addicted fiancée, Diana in "J.J.'s Fiancee (Parts 1 & 2)" (season 3)
Matthew "Stymie" Beard (former Our Gang child actor) in five episodes, including four appearances as James' friend Monty
Sorrell Booke as Mr. Galbraith, J.J.'s boss at the ad agency (season 5, episode 17)
Roscoe Lee Browne as a shady televangelist Reverend Sam "the Happiness Man", who befriended James in the military (season 1, episode 4)
T. K. Carter as J.J.'s friend "Head" (part of the "Awesome Foursome", later the "Gleesome Threesome", the "Gruesome Twosome" and the "Lonesome Onesome", as stated in the episode "The New Car"
Rosalind Cash as Thelma's teacher, Jessica Bishop, who becomes romantically involved with a much younger J.J. (season 4, episode 3)
Judith Cohen as herself in the episode "The Judy Cohen Story" (season 4, episode 12)
Gary Coleman as Gary, a sharp-tongued classmate of Penny's in two season five episodes
Conchata Ferrell as Miss Johnson, Willona's supervisor at her short-lived second job as security in a department store (season 5, episode 6)
Kim Fields (real-life daughter of Chip Fields) as Penny's friend, Kim, who has a tendency to add the suffix "-ness" to emphasize her anxiety such as "hopelessnessness" (2 season 6 episodes)
Carl Franklin as Larry, Thelma's fiancé', ultimately breaking up when Larry is offered a job on the West Coast and Thelma is not ready to accompany him (2 episodes)
Alice Ghostley as Ms Dobbs, a social worker who is working on Penny being adopted by Willona (3 episodes)
Ron Glass as Michael's elementary school principal (2.4); also made an appearance as a blind encyclopedia salesman who tries to swindle the Evans family (2.8)
Louis Gossett, Jr., in season two as Thelma's older boyfriend, which Florida and James object to their relationship because of the age difference (2.6); also appears as Uncle Wilbert (Florida's brother), who comes from Detroit to look in on the family while James is away (3.8)
Robert Guillaume as Fishbone the wino in the episode "Requiem for a Wino" (season 5, episode 11)
Phillip Baker Hall as Motel Owner in the episode "J.J.'s Fiancee (Part 2)" (season 3, episode 18)
Shirley Hemphill as "Roz", the dimwitted sister of Edna, who was being tutored by Thelma (season 4, episode 10)
Gordon Jump as Mr. Rogers, the head of security at Willona's short-lived second job as security in a department store (season 5, episode 6)
Paula Kelly as Dr. Kelly in the episode "Where Have All The Doctors Gone" (season 6, episode 17)
Jay Leno as "Young Man" in the season three's "J.J. in Trouble", which was one of the first times that the subject of "VD" (STD) was addressed on a primetime series
Calvin Lockhart as Florida's cousin Raymond, who earned his riches by betting on horses (season 6, episode 23)
Don Marshall as FBI Agent Lloyd in the episode " The Investigation" (season 3, episode 20).
Paul Mooney as "The Second Guy" in the episode "J.J. and T.C." (season 6)
Debbi Morgan as Samantha, a date of J.J.'s (3.23); and as Ellen (4.18)
J. A. Preston as Walter Ingles in the episode "Wilona's Dilemma" (season 3, episode 10)
Charlotte Rae as a hiring manager for a sales job that Florida stole from James (season 2, episode 14)
Sheryl Lee Ralph as Vanessa in the episode "J.J. and The Plumber's Helper" (season 6, episode 9)
Bubba Smith as Claude, a bodyguard/thug working for Marion "Sweet Daddy" Williams (4 season 6 episodes)
Thalmus Rasulala as Ernie Harris, a childhood friend of James with a gambling problem (season 3, episode 20)
Philip Michael Thomas as Eddie, Thelma's college-age boyfriend (season 1, episode 6)
Adam Wade as successful businessman Frank Mason, Willona's boyfriend (2 season 5 episodes)
Vernee Watson-Johnson as Thelma's friend and college mate Valerie, in the episode "Thelma's African Romance (Part 1)" (season 4)
Carl Weathers as Calvin Brooks, husband of the 'nude' model for J.J.'s painting (season 2, episode 16)
Hal Williams as one of the movers in a season one episode; James' friend, Willie Washington (season 2); and Mr. Mitchell, the father of Earl Mitchell, who is an art student of J.J.'s (season 6)
John Witherspoon as Officer Lawson in the episode "A Matter of Mothers" (season 6, episode 20)

text: Production notes[edit]

text: Good Times was created by Eric Monte and actor Mike Evans. The series also features a character named "Michael Evans", after co-creator Mike Evans who portrayed Lionel Jefferson on the Norman Lear-produced series All in the Family and The Jeffersons.[17]

text: Theme song and opening sequence[edit]

text: The gospel-styled theme song was composed by Dave Grusin with lyrics written by Alan and Marilyn Bergman. It was sung by Jim Gilstrap and Motown singer Blinky Williams with a gospel choir providing background vocals.

text: The lyrics to the theme song are notorious for being hard to discern, notably the line "Hangin' in a chow line"/"Hangin' in and jivin'" (depending on the source used). Dave Chappelle used this part of the lyrics as a quiz in his "I Know Black People" skit on Chappelle's Show in which the former was claimed as the answer.[18] The insert for the Season One DVD box set has the lyric as "Hangin' in a chow line". However, the Bergmans confirmed that the lyric is actually "Hangin' in and jivin'."[18] Slightly different lyrics were used for the closing credits, with the song beginning on a verse instead of the chorus.

text: Episodes[edit]

text: Reception[edit]

text: Ratings[edit]

text: The program premiered in February 1974; high ratings led CBS to renew the program for the 1974–75 season, as it was the seventeenth-highest-rated program that year. During its first full season on the air, 1974–75, the show was the seventh-highest-rated program in the Nielsen ratings, with more than 25% of all American households tuning into an episode each week. Three of the top ten highest-rated programs on American TV that season centered on the lives of African-Americans: Sanford and Son, The Jeffersons, and Good Times.

text: The Nielsen ratings for the series declined over time, partly because of its many time slot changes and the departure of John Amos.[19] The ratings went down considerably when the show entered its final two seasons:

text:
Season
TV Season
No. of Episodes
Time slot (ET)
Nielsen ratings[20]

Rank
Rating

1
1973–1974
13
Friday at 8:30 pm
17
21.4 (Tied with Barnaby Jones)

2
1974–1975
24
Tuesday at 8:00 pm
7
25.8

3
1975–1976
24
24
21.0

4
1976–1977
24
Wednesday at 8:00 pm (Episodes 1-15, 17-24)
Wednesday at 8:30 pm (Episode 16)
26
20.5

5
1977–1978
24
Wednesday at 8:00 pm (Episodes 1, 3-16)
Wednesday at 8:30 pm (Episode 2)
Monday at 8:00 pm (Episodes 17-24)
53 [21]
N/A

6
1978–1979
22
Saturday at 8:00 pm (Episode 1)
Saturday at 8:30 pm (Episodes 2-10)
Wednesday at 8:30 pm (Episodes 11-22)
83 [21]
14.4 [21]

text: Awards and nominations[edit]

text:
Year
Association
Category
Recipient(s) / work
Result

1974
Golden Globe Awards
Best Supporting Actor – Television
Jimmie Walker
Nominated

1975
Best TV Actress – Musical/Comedy
Esther Rolle
Nominated

Best Supporting Actor – Television
Jimmie Walker
Nominated

Humanitas Prize
30 Minute Category
John Baskin and Roger Shulman / episode: "The Lunch Money Ripoff"
Nominated

30 Minute Category
Bob Peete / episode: "My Girl Henrietta"
Nominated

2006
TV Land Awards
Impact Award
John Amos, Ralph Carter, Ja'net DuBois, Esther Rolle (posthumously), BernNadette Stanis, and Jimmie Walker
Won

text: Syndication[edit]

text: The cable network TV One aired reruns of the show since its launch on January 19, 2004 until 2012. The network began airing the series again in June 2013. Good Times has also aired at various times on TV Land, Antenna TV and on the Canadian specialty cable channel DejaView. Minisodes of the show are available for free on Crackle.

text: DVD releases[edit]

text: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released the entire series on DVD in Region 1 between February 2003 and August 2006, with a complete box set following the separate seasons on October 28, 2008. Season 1 was released on DVD in Region 4 on December 27, 2006.

text: On August 27, 2013, it was announced that Mill Creek Entertainment had acquired the rights to various television series from the Sony Pictures library including Good Times.[22] They have subsequently re-released the first four seasons on DVD.[23][24]

text: On September 1, 2015, Mill Creek Entertainment re-release Good Times- The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1.[25]

text:
DVD name
Ep #
Release date

The Complete First Season
13
February 4, 2003
January 21, 2014 (re-release)

The Complete Second Season
24
February 3, 2004
January 21, 2014 (re-release)

The Complete Third Season
24
August 10, 2004
May 20, 2014 (re-release)

The Complete Fourth Season
24
February 15, 2005
May 20, 2014 (re-release)

The Complete Fifth Season
24
August 23, 2005

The Complete Sixth and Final Season
24
August 1, 2006

The Complete Series
133
October 28, 2008
September 1, 2015 (re-release)


document_title: Italian language

question_text: when did rome switch from latin to italian

question_tokens: when did rome switch from latin to italian

root

text: Italian language

text: History[edit]

text: This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

tag: table

text: Origins[edit]

text: During the Middle Ages, the established written language in Europe was Latin. With the great majority of people being illiterate, however, only a handful were well versed in the language. In the Italian peninsula, as in most of Europe, the majority would instead speak a local vernacular. These dialects (as they are commonly referred to as) were born to Vulgar Latin over the course of centuries, evolving naturally unaffected by formal standards and teachings, and are not truly "dialects" of Standard Italian, that itself started off being one of these local tongues. Since they often provide poor mutual intelligibility with standard Italian, they are better classified as distinct languages.[22]:13

tag: p

text: The standard Italian language has a poetic and literary origin in the writings of Tuscan writers of the 12th century, and, even though the grammar and core lexicon are basically unchanged from those used in Florence in the 13th century,[23] the modern standard of the language was largely shaped by relatively recent events. However, Italian as a language spoken in the Appenine peninsula has a longer history. In fact, the earliest surviving texts that can definitely be called Italian (or more accurately, vernacular, as distinct from its predecessor Vulgar Latin) are legal formulae known as the Placiti Cassinesi from the Province of Benevento that date from 960–963, although the Veronese Riddle, probably from the 8th or early 9th century, contains a late form of Vulgar Latin that can be seen as a very early sample of an Italian dialect.[24]

text: The language which came to be thought of as Italian was first formalized in the early 14th century through the works of Tuscan writer Dante Alighieri, written in his native Florentine. Dante's epic poems, known collectively as the Commedia, to which another Tuscan poet Giovanni Boccaccio later affixed the title Divina, were read throughout the peninsula and his written dialect became the "canonical standard" that all educated Italians could understand. Dante is still credited with standardizing the Italian language. In addition to the widespread exposure gained through literature, the Florentine dialect also gained prestige due to the political and cultural significance of Florence at the time and the fact that it was linguistically an intermediate between the northern and the southern Italian dialects.[22]:22 Thus the dialect of Florence became the basis for what would become the official language of Italy.

text: Italian was progressively made an official language of most of the Italian states predating unification, slowly replacing Latin, even when ruled by foreign powers (like Spain in the Kingdom of Naples, or Austria in the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia), even though the masses kept speaking primarily vernacular languages and dialects. Italian was also one of the many recognised languages in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

text: Italy has always had a distinctive dialect for each city because the cities, until recently, were thought of as city-states. Those dialects now have considerable variety. As Tuscan-derived Italian came to be used throughout Italy, features of local speech were naturally adopted, producing various versions of Regional Italian. The most characteristic differences, for instance, between Roman Italian and Milanese Italian are the gemination of initial consonants and the pronunciation of stressed "e", and of "s" in some cases: e.g. va bene "all right": is pronounced [va ˈbːɛne] by a Roman (and by any standard-speaker), [va ˈbene] by a Milanese (and by any speaker whose native dialect lies to the north of the La Spezia–Rimini Line); a casa "at home" is [a ˈkːasa] for Roman and standard, [a ˈkaza] for Milanese and generally northern.

text: In contrast to the Gallo-Italic linguistic panorama of northern Italy, the Italo-Dalmatian Neapolitan and its related dialects were largely unaffected by the Franco-Occitan influences introduced to Italy mainly by bards from France during the Middle Ages, but after the Norman conquest of southern Italy, Sicily became the first Italian land to adopt Occitan lyric moods (and words) in poetry. Even in the case of Northern Italian languages, however, scholars are careful not to overstate the effects of outsiders on the natural indigenous developments of the languages.

text: The economic might and relatively advanced development of Tuscany at the time (Late Middle Ages) gave its language weight, though Venetian remained widespread in medieval Italian commercial life, and Ligurian (or Genoese) remained in use in maritime trade alongside the Mediterranean. The increasing political and cultural relevance of Florence during the periods of the rise of the Banco Medici, Humanism, and the Renaissance made its dialect, or rather a refined version of it, a standard in the arts.

text: Renaissance[edit]

text: The Renaissance era, known as il Rinascimento in Italian, was seen as a time of "rebirth", which is the literal meaning of both renaissance (from French) and rinascimento (Italian).

text: During this time, long-existing beliefs stemming from the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church began to be understood from new a perspectives as humanists—individuals who placed emphasis on the human body and its full potential—began to shift focus from the church to human beings themselves.[25] Humanists began forming new beliefs in various forms: social, political, and intellectual. The ideals of the Renaissance were evident throughout the Protestant Reformation, which took place simultaneously with the Renaissance. The Protestant Reformation began with Martin Luther's rejection of the selling of indulgences by Johann Tetzel and other authorities within the Roman Catholic Church, resulting in Luther's eventual break-off from the Roman Catholic Church in the Diet of Worms. After Luther was excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church, he founded what was then understood to be a sect of Catholicism, later referred to as Lutheranism.[25] Luther's preaching in favor of faith and scripture rather than tradition led him to translate the Bible into many other languages, which would allow for people from all over Europe to read the Bible. Previously, the Bible was only written in Latin, but after the Bible was translated, it could be understood in many other languages, including Italian. The Italian language was able to spread even more with the help of Luther and the invention of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg. The printing press facilitated the spread of Italian because it was able to rapidly produce texts, such as the Bible, and cut the costs of books which allowed for more people to have access to the translated Bible and new pieces of literature.[26] The Roman Catholic Church was losing its control over the population, as it was not open to change, and there was an increasing number of reformers with differing beliefs.[27]

text: Italian became the language used in the courts of every state in the Italian peninsula. The rediscovery of Dante's De vulgari eloquentia and a renewed interest in linguistics in the 16th century, sparked a debate that raged throughout Italy concerning the criteria that should govern the establishment of a modern Italian literary and spoken language. This discussion, known as "questione della lingua" (i. e., the problem of the language), ran through the Italian culture until the end of the 19th century, often linked to the political debate on achieving a united Italian state. Renaissance scholars divided into three main factions:

text:
The purists, headed by Venetian Pietro Bembo (who, in his Gli Asolani, claimed the language might be based only on the great literary classics, such as Petrarch and some part of Boccaccio). The purists thought the Divine Comedy was not dignified enough because it used elements from non-lyric registers of the language.
Niccolò Machiavelli and other Florentines preferred the version spoken by ordinary people in their own times.
The courtiers, like Baldassare Castiglione and Gian Giorgio Trissino, insisted that each local vernacular contribute to the new standard.

tag: ul

text: A fourth faction claimed the best Italian was the one that the papal court adopted, which was a mix of Florentine and the dialect of Rome. Eventually, Bembo's ideas prevailed, and the foundation of the Accademia della Crusca in Florence (1582–1583), the official legislative body of the Italian language led to publication of Agnolo Monosini's Latin tome Floris italicae linguae libri novem in 1604 followed by the first Italian dictionary in 1612.

text: The continual advancements in technology plays a crucial role in the diffusion of languages. After the invention of the printing press in the fifteen century, the number of printing presses in Italy grew rapidly and by the year 1500 reached a total of 56, the biggest number of printing presses in all of Europe. This allowed to produce more pieces of literature at a lower cost and as the dominant language, Italian spread.[28]

text: Modern era[edit]

text: An important event that helped the diffusion of Italian was the conquest and occupation of Italy by Napoleon in the early 19th century (who was himself of Italian-Corsican descent). This conquest propelled the unification of Italy some decades after and pushed the Italian language into a lingua franca used not only among clerks, nobility, and functionaries in the Italian courts but also by the bourgeoisie.

text: Contemporary times[edit]

text: Italian literature's first modern novel, I Promessi Sposi (The Betrothed), by Alessandro Manzoni, further defined the standard by "rinsing" his Milanese "in the waters of the Arno" (Florence's river), as he states in the Preface to his 1840 edition.

text: After unification, a huge number of civil servants and soldiers recruited from all over the country introduced many more words and idioms from their home languages ("ciao" is derived from Venetian word "s-cia[v]o" (slave), "panettone" comes from Lombard word "panetton" etc.). Only 2.5% of Italy's population could speak the Italian standardized language properly when the nation was unified in 1861.[29]

text: Classification[edit]

text: Italian is a Romance language, and is therefore a descendant of Vulgar Latin (the spoken form of non-classical Latin).[note 1] Standard Italian is based on Tuscan, especially its Florentine dialect, and is therefore an Italo-Dalmatian language, to which Sicilian and the extinct Dalmatian also belong, among a few others.

text: Unlike most other Romance languages, Italian retains Latin's contrast between short and long consonants. As in most Romance languages, stress is distinctive. In particular, among the Romance languages, Italian is the closest to Latin in terms of vocabulary.[31] Lexical similarity is 89% with French, 87% with Catalan, 85% with Sardinian, 82% with Spanish, 78% with Ladin, and 77% with Romanian.[12][32][33]

text: One study analyzing the degree of differentiation of Romance languages in comparison to Latin (comparing phonology, inflection, discourse, syntax, vocabulary, and intonation) estimated that among the languages analyzed the distance between Italian and Latin is only higher than that between Sardinian and Latin.[34]

text: Geographic distribution[edit]

text: Europe and the Mediterranean Region[edit]

text: Italian is an official language of Italy and San Marino and is spoken fluently by the majority of the countries' populations. Italian is official, together with French, German and Romansch in Switzerland, with most of the 0.5 million speakers concentrated in the south of the country, in the cantons of Ticino and southern Graubünden (predominately in Italian Grigioni). Italian is the third most spoken language in Switzerland (after German and French), and its use has modestly declined since the 1970s.[35] Italian is also used in administration and official documents in Vatican City.[36]

text: Italian is widely spoken in Malta, where nearly two-thirds of the population can speak it fluently.[37] Italian served as Malta's official language until 1934, when it was abolished by the British colonial administration amid strong local opposition.[38] Italian is also recognized as an official language in Istria County, Croatia, and Slovenian Istria, where there are significant and historic Italian populations.[39][40][41]

text: It is used as the official language of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, a Roman Catholic chivalric order which, while not a nation per se, is still recognized as a sovereign subject of international law.

text: In Albania, it is one of the most spoken languages. This is due to the strong historical ties between Italy and Albania but also the Albanian communities in Italy, and the 19,000 Italians living in Albania.[42] It is reported as high as 70% of the Albanian adult population has some form of knowledge of Italian. Furthermore, the Albanian government has pushed to make Italian a compulsory second language in schools.[43] Today, Italian is the third most spoken language in the country after Albanian and Greek.

text: Italian is also spoken by a minority in Monaco and France (especially in the southeast region of the country).[44][45]

text: Africa[edit]

text: Due to heavy Italian influence during the Italian colonial period, Italian is still understood by some in former colonies.[12] Although it was the primary language in Libya since colonial rule, Italian greatly declined under the rule of Muammar Gaddafi, who expelled the Italian Libyan population and made Arabic the sole official language of the country.[46] Nevertheless, Italian continues to be used in economic sectors in Libya. In Eritrea, Italian is at times used in commerce and the capital city Asmara still has one Italian-language school.[47] Italian was also introduced to Somalia through colonialism and was the sole official language of administration and education during the colonial period but fell out of use after government, educational and economic infrastructure were destroyed in the Somali Civil War. Italian is still understood by some elderly and other people. The official languages of the Somali Republic are Somali (Maay and Maxaatiri) and Arabic. The working languages during the Transitional Federal Government were Italian and English.[48]

text: Immigrant communities[edit]

text: Although over 17 million Americans are of Italian descent, only a little over one million people in the United States speak Italian at home.[49] Nevertheless, an Italian language media market does exist in the country.[50] On the other hand, although technology allows for the Italian language to spread globally, there has been a decrease in the number of Italian speakers in the United States. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of Italian speakers in 1980 was 1,614,344. In 1990, the number of Italian speakers in the United States dropped to 1,308,648. In 2000, the number of speakers decreased to 1,008,370, and finally, in 2010, the number of Italian speakers plummeted to 725,223. The percent change from 1980–2010 was a negative 55.2.[51]

text: In Canada, Italian is the second most spoken non-official language when varieties of Chinese are not grouped together, with over 660,000 speakers (or about 2.1% of the population) according to the 2006 Census.[52]

text: In Australia, Italian is the second most spoken foreign language after Chinese, with 1.4% of the population speaking it as their home language.[53]

text: Italian immigrants to South America have also brought a presence of the language to that continent. Italian is the second most spoken language in Argentina[54] after the official language of Spanish, with over 1 million (mainly of the older generation) speaking it at home, and Italian has also influenced the dialect of Spanish spoken in Argentina and Uruguay, mostly in phonology, as well as the Portuguese prosody of the Brazilian state of São Paulo which itself has 15 million Italian descendants. This form of Spanish is known as Rioplatense Spanish.[55] Italian bilingual speakers can be found in the Southeast of Brazil as well as in the South. In Venezuela, Italian is the second most spoken language after Spanish, with around 200,000 speakers.[56] Smaller Italian-speaking minorities on the continent are also found in Paraguay and Ecuador.

text: In Costa Rica, Central America, Italian is one of the most important immigration community languages, after English. It is spoken in the southern area of the country in cities like San Vito and other communities of Coto Brus, near the south borderline with Panama.[57]

text: Number of speakers by country[edit]

text: This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

text:
Country
Number of speakers

 Italy
57,700,000

 Romania
1,502,950

 France
829,000

  Switzerland
666,000

 Croatia
618,600

 Australia
300,000

 Brazil
50,000

 San Marino
25,000

 Japan
6,900

 Monaco
5,600

 Somalia
4,000

 Slovenia
3,760

  Vatican City
330

text: Education[edit]

text: Italian is widely taught in many schools around the world, but rarely as the first foreign language. Italian is the fourth[16][59] most frequently taught foreign language in the world.[60] In the 21st century, technology also allows for the continual spread of the Italian language, as people have new ways for one to learn how to speak, read, and write languages at their own pace and at any given time. For example, the free website and application Duolingo has 28.1 million English speakers learning the Italian language.[61]

text: According to the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, every year there are more than 200,000 foreign students who study the Italian language; they are distributed among the 90 Institutes of Italian Culture that are located around the world, in the 179 Italian schools located abroad, or in the 111 Italian lecturer sections belonging to foreign schools where Italian is taught as a language of culture.[62]

text: In the United States, Italian is the fourth most taught foreign language after Spanish, French, and German, in that order (or the fifth if American Sign Language is considered).[63] In central-east Europe Italian is first in Montenegro, second in Austria, Croatia, Slovenia, and Ukraine after English, and third in Hungary, Romania and Russia after English and German.[62] But throughout the world, Italian is the fifth most taught foreign language, after English, French, German, and Spanish.[64]

text: In the European Union statistics, Italian is spoken as a native language by 13% of the EU population, or 65 million people,[1] mainly in Italy. In the EU, it is spoken as a second language by 3% of the EU population, or 14 million people. Among EU states, the percentage of people able to speak Italian well enough to have a conversation is 66% in Malta, 15% in Slovenia, 14% in Croatia, 8% in Austria, 5% in France and Luxembourg, and 4% in the former West Germany, Greece, Cyprus, and Romania.[65] Italian is also one of the national languages of Switzerland, which is not a part of the European Union.[66] The Italian language is well-known and studied in Albania,[67] another non-EU member, due to its historical ties and geographical proximity to Italy and to the diffusion of Italian television in the country.[68]

text: Influence and derived languages[edit]

text: From the late nineteenth to the mid-twentieth century, thousands of Italians settled in Argentina, Uruguay, southern Brazil, and Venezuela, where they formed a physical and cultural presence.

text: In some cases, colonies were established where variants of regional languages of Italy were used, and some continue to use this regional language. Examples are Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, where Talian is used, and the town of Chipilo near Puebla, Mexico; each continues to use a derived form of Venetian dating back to the nineteenth century. Another example is Cocoliche, an Italian–Spanish pidgin once spoken in Argentina and especially in Buenos Aires, and Lunfardo.

text: Rioplatense Spanish, and particularly the speech of the city of Buenos Aires, has intonation patterns that resemble those of Italian languages because Argentina has had a continuous large influx of Italian settlers since the second half of the nineteenth century: initially primarily from northern Italy; then, since the beginning of the twentieth century, mostly from southern Italy.

text: Lingua franca[edit]

text: Starting in late medieval times in much of Europe and the Mediterranean, Latin was replaced as the primary commercial language by Italian language variants (especially Tuscan and Venetian). These variants were consolidated during the Renaissance with the strength of Italy and the rise of humanism and the arts.

text: During that period, Italy held artistic sway over the rest of Europe. It was the norm for all educated gentlemen to make the Grand Tour, visiting Italy to see its great historical monuments and works of art. It thus became expected to learn at least some Italian. In England, while the classical languages Latin and Greek were the first to be learned, Italian became the second most common modern language after French, a position it held until the late eighteenth century when it tended to be replaced by German. John Milton, for instance, wrote some of his early poetry in Italian.

text: Within the Catholic church, Italian is known by a large part of the ecclesiastical hierarchy and is used in substitution for Latin in some official documents.

text: Italian loanwords continue to be used in most languages in matters of art and music (especially opera), in the design and fashion industries, in some sports like football[69] and especially, in culinary terms.

text: Dialects[edit]

text: Throughout Italy, regional variations of Standard Italian, called Regional Italian, are spoken. In Italy, almost all Romance languages are spoken as the vernacular—other than standard Italian and distantly-related, non-Romance languages spoken in border regions or among immigrant communities—are often imprecisely called "Italian dialects",[70] even though they are quite different, with some belonging to different branches of the Romance language family. The only exceptions to this are Sardinian, Ladin and Friulian, which are officially recognized as distinct minority languages by the law. On the other hand, Corsican (a language spoken on the French island of Corsica) is closely related to Tuscan, from which Standard Italian derives and evolved.

text: The differences in the evolution of Latin in the different regions of Italy can be attributed to the presence of three other types of languages: substrata, superstrata, and adstrata. The most prevalent were substrata (the language of the original inhabitants), as the Italian dialects were most likely simply Latin as spoken by native cultural groups. Superstrata and adstrata were both less important. Foreign conquerors of Italy that dominated different regions at different times left behind little to no influence on the dialects. Foreign cultures with which Italy engaged in peaceful relations with, such as trade, had no significant influence either.[22]:19-20

text: Regional differences can be recognized by various factors: the openness of vowels, the length of the consonants, and influence of the local language (for example, in informal situations the contraction annà replaces andare in the area of Rome for the infinitive "to go"; and nare is what Venetians say for the infinitive "to go").

text: There is no definitive date when the various Italian variants of Latin—including varieties that contributed to modern Standard Italian—began to be distinct enough from Latin to be considered separate languages. From a linguistic perspective, two language variants are considered separate languages (rather than variant dialects of a single language) when they are no longer mutually intelligible. For the Italian Romance languages, the first extant written evidence of varieties that can be considered no longer to be Latin comes from the ninth and tenth centuries C.E. These written sources demonstrate certain vernacular characteristics and sometimes explicitly mention the use of the vernacular in Italy. Full literary manifestations of the vernacular began to surface around the 13th century in the form of various religious texts and poetry.[22]:21Although these are the first written records of Italian varieties separate from Latin, the spoken language had likely diverged long before the first written records appear, since those who were literate generally wrote in Latin even if they spoke other Romance varieties in person.

text: Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, the use of Standard Italian became increasingly widespread and was mirrored by a decline in the use of the dialects. An increase in literacy was one of the main driving factors (one can assume that only literates were capable of learning Standard Italian, whereas those who were illiterate had access only to their native dialect). The percentage of literates rose from 25% in 1861 to 60% in 1911, and then on to 78.1% in 1951. Tullio De Mauro, an Italian linguist, has asserted that in 1861 only 2.5% of the population of Italy could speak Standard Italian. He reports that in 1951 that percentage had risen to 87%. The ability to speak Italian did not necessarily mean it was in everyday use, and most people (63.5%) still usually spoke their native dialects. In addition, other factors such as mass emigration, industrialization, and urbanization, and internal migrations after World War II contributed to the proliferation of Standard Italian. The Italians who emigrated during the Italian diaspora beginning in 1861 were often of the uneducated lower class, and thus the emigration had the effect of increasing the percentage of literates, who often knew and understood the importance of Standard Italian, back home in Italy. A large percentage of those who had emigrated also eventually returned to Italy, often more educated than when they had left.[22]:35

text: The Italian dialects have declined in the modern era, as Italy unified under Standard Italian and continues to do so aided by mass media, from newspapers to radio to television.[22]:37

text: Phonology[edit]

text: This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA.

text:
Consonant phonemes

Bilabial
Labio-
dental
Dental/
Alveolar
Post-
alveolar
Palatal
Velar

Nasal

m

n

ɲ

Stop
p
b

t
d

k
ɡ

Affricate

t͡s
d͡z
t͡ʃ
d͡ʒ

Fricative

f
v
s
z
ʃ

Approximant

j

w

Lateral

l

ʎ

Trill

r

text: Notes:

text:
Between two vowels, or between a vowel and an approximant or liquid (/l r/ or /w j/), consonants can be either single or geminated. Geminated consonants shorten the preceding vowel (or block phonetic lengthening) and the first geminated element is unreleased. For example, /fato/ [ˈfaː.to] ~ /fatto/ [ˈfat.to] (first one means "fate, destiny" and the second means "fact", see "fato" and "fatto"). However, /ɲ/, /ʃ/, /ʎ/, are always geminated word-internally.[71] Similarly, nasals, liquids, and sibilants are pronounced slightly longer before medial consonant clusters.[72]
/z/ is the only consonant that cannot be geminated.
/t d t͡s d͡z s z/ are denti-alveolar, while /l n/ are alveolar.[73][74]
The trill /r/ is sometimes reduced to a single vibration when not geminated, but it is not a flap *[ɾ][clarification needed].
Nasals assimilate to the point of articulation of whatever consonant they precede. For example, /nɡ/ is realized as [ŋɡ].
The distinction between /s/ and /z/ is neutralized before consonants and at the beginning of words: the former is used before voiceless consonants and before vowels at the beginning of words; the latter is used before voiced consonants (meaning [z] is an allophone of /s/ before voiced consonants). The two are only contrasted between two vowels within a word. According to Canepari,[75] though, the traditional standard has been replaced by a modern neutral pronunciation which always prefers /z/ when intervocalic, except when the intervocalic s is the initial sound of a word or a morpheme, if the compound is still felt as such: for example, presento /preˈsɛnto/[76] ('I foresee', with pre meaning 'before' and sento meaning 'I see') vs. presento /preˈzɛnto/[77] ('I present'). There are many words in which dictionaries now indicate that both pronunciations with /z/ and with /s/ are acceptable. The two phonemes have merged in many regional varieties of Italian, either into /z/ (Northern-Central) or /s/ (Southern-Central). Geminate /ss/ can be pronounced as single [s].

text: Italian has a seven-vowel system, consisting of /a, ɛ, e, i, ɔ, o, u/, as well as 23 consonants. Compared with most other Romance languages, Italian phonology is conservative, preserving many words nearly unchanged from Vulgar Latin. Some examples:

text:
Italian quattordici "fourteen" < Latin quattuordecim (cf. Romanian paisprezece/paișpe, Spanish catorce, French quatorze /kaˈtɔʁz/, Catalan and Portuguese catorze)
Italian settimana "week" < Latin septimāna (cf. Romanian săptămână, Spanish and Portuguese semana, French semaine /s(ə)ˈmɛn/, Catalan setmana)
Italian medesimo "same" < Vulgar Latin *medi(p)simum (cf. Spanish mismo, Portuguese mesmo, French même /mɛm/, Catalan mateix; note that Italian usually uses the shorter stesso)
Italian guadagnare "to win, earn, gain" < Vulgar Latin *guadanyāre < Germanic /waidanjan/ (cf. Spanish ganar, Portuguese ganhar, French gagner /ɡaˈɲe/, Catalan guanyar)

text: The conservativeness of Italian phonology is partly explained by its origin. Italian stems from a literary language that is derived from the 13th-century speech of the city of Florence in the region of Tuscany, and has changed little in the last 700 years or so. Furthermore, the Tuscan dialect is the most conservative of all Italian dialects, radically different from the Gallo-Italian languages less than 100 miles to the north (across the La Spezia–Rimini Line).

text: The following are some of the conservative phonological features of Italian, as compared with the common Western Romance languages (French, Spanish, Portuguese, Galician, Catalan). Some of these features are also present in Romanian.

text:
Little or no lenition of consonants between vowels, e.g. vīta > vita "life" (cf. Romanian viață, Spanish vida [biða], French vie), pedem > piede "foot" (cf. Spanish pie, French pied /pje/).
Preservation of doubled consonants, e.g. annum > anno "year" (cf. Spanish año /aɲo/, French an /ɑ̃/, Portuguese ano /ˈã.nu/).
Preservation of all Proto-Romance final vowels, e.g. pacem > pace "peace" (cf. Romanian pace, Spanish paz, French paix /pɛ/), octō > otto "eight" (cf. Romanian opt Spanish ocho, French huit /ɥi(t)/), fēcī > feci "I did" (cf. Spanish hice, French fis /fi/).
Preservation of most intertonic vowels (those between the stressed syllable and either the beginning or ending syllable). This accounts for some of the most noticeable differences, as in the forms quattordici and settimana given above.
Slower consonant development, e.g. folia > Italo-Western /fɔʎʎa/ > foglia /ˈfɔʎʎa/ "leaf" (cf. Romanian foaie /ˈfo̯aje/, Spanish hoja /ˈoxa/, French feuille /ˈfœj/; but note Portuguese folha /ˈfoʎɐ/).

text: Compared with most other Romance languages, Italian has a large number of inconsistent outcomes, where the same underlying sound produces different results in different words, e.g. laxāre > lasciare and lassare, captiāre > cacciare and cazzare, (ex)dēroteolāre > sdrucciolare, druzzolare and ruzzolare, rēgīna > regina and reina, -c- > /k/ and /ɡ/, -t- > /t/ and /d/. Although in all these examples the second form has fallen out of usage, the dimorphism is thought to reflect the several-hundred-year period during which Italian developed as a literary language divorced from any native-speaking population, with an origin in 12th/13th-century Tuscan but with many words borrowed from languages farther to the north, with different sound outcomes. (The La Spezia–Rimini Line, the most important isogloss in the entire Romance-language area, passes only about 20 miles to the north of Florence.)

text: Some other features that distinguish Italian from the Western Romance languages:

text:
Latin ce-,ci- becomes /tʃe, tʃi/ rather than /(t)se, (t)si/.
Latin -ct- becomes /tt/ rather than /jt/ or /tʃ/: octō > otto "eight" (cf. Spanish ocho, French huit, Portuguese oito).
Vulgar Latin -cl- becomes cchi /kkj/ rather than /ʎ/: oclum > occhio "eye" (cf. Portuguese olho /oʎu/, French oeil /œj/ < /œʎ/); but Romanian ochi /okʲ/.
Final /s/ is not preserved, and vowel changes rather than /s/ are used to mark the plural: amico, amici "male friend(s)", amica, amiche "female friend(s)" (cf. Romanian amic, amici,amică, amice, Spanish amigo(s) "male friend(s)", amiga(s) "female friend(s)"); trēs, sex → tre, sei "three, six" (cf. Romanian trei, șase, Spanish tres, seis).

text: Standard Italian also differs in some respects from most nearby Italian languages:

text:
Perhaps most noticeable is the total lack of metaphony, though metaphony is a feature characterizing nearly every other Italian language.
No simplification of original /nd/, /mb/ (which often became /nn/, /mm/ elsewhere).

text: Assimilation[edit]

text: Italian phonotactics do not usually permit verbs and polysyllabic nouns to end with consonants, excepting poetry and song, so foreign words may receive extra terminal vowel sounds.

text: Writing system[edit]

text: The Italian alphabet is typically considered to consist of 21 letters. The letters j, k, w, x, y are traditionally excluded, though they appear in loanwords such as jeans, whisky, taxi, xenofobo, xilofono. The letter ⟨x⟩ has become common in standard Italian with the prefix extra-, although (e)stra- is traditionally used; it is also common to use of the Latin particle ex(-) to mean "former(ly)" as in: la mia ex ("my ex-girlfriend"), "Ex-Jugoslavia" ("Former Yugoslavia"). The letter ⟨j⟩ appears in the first name Jacopo and in some Italian place-names, such as Bajardo, Bojano, Joppolo, Jerzu, Jesolo, Jesi, Ajaccio, among others, and in Mar Jonio, an alternative spelling of Mar Ionio (the Ionian Sea). The letter ⟨j⟩ may appear in dialectal words, but its use is discouraged in contemporary standard Italian.[78] Letters used in Foreign words can be replaced with phonetically equivalent native Italian letters and digraphs: ⟨gi⟩, ⟨ge⟩, or ⟨i⟩ for ⟨j⟩; ⟨c⟩ or ⟨ch⟩ for ⟨k⟩ (including in the standard prefix kilo-); ⟨o⟩, ⟨u⟩ or ⟨v⟩ for ⟨w⟩; ⟨s⟩, ⟨ss⟩, ⟨z⟩, ⟨zz⟩ or ⟨cs⟩ for ⟨x⟩; and ⟨e⟩ or ⟨i⟩ for ⟨y⟩.

text:
The acute accent is used over word-final ⟨e⟩ to indicate a stressed front close-mid vowel, as in perché "why, because". In dictionaries, it is also used over ⟨o⟩ to indicate a stressed back close-mid vowel (azióne). The grave accent is used over word-final ⟨e⟩ to indicate a front open-mid vowel, as in tè "tea". The grave accent is used over any vowel to indicate word-final stress, as in gioventù "youth". Unlike ⟨é⟩, a stressed final ⟨o⟩ is always a back open-mid vowel (andrò), making ⟨ó⟩ unnecessary outside of dictionaries. Most of the time, the penultimate syllable is stressed. But if the stressed vowel is the final letter of the word, the accent is mandatory, otherwise it is virtually always omitted. Exceptions are typically either in dictionaries, where all or most stressed vowels are commonly marked. Accents can optionally be used disambiguate words that differ only by stress, as for prìncipi "princes" and princìpi "principles", or àncora "anchor" and ancóra "still/yet". For monosyllabic words, the rule is different: when two identical monosyllabic words with different meanings exist, one is accented and the other is not (example: è "is", e "and").
The letter ⟨h⟩ distinguishes ho, hai, ha, hanno (present indicative of avere "to have") from o ("or"), ai ("to the"), a ("to"), anno ("year"). In the spoken language, the letter is always silent. The ⟨h⟩ in ho additionally marks the contrasting open pronunciation of the ⟨o⟩. The letter ⟨h⟩ is also used in combinations with other letters. No phoneme [h] exists in Italian. In nativized foreign words, the ⟨h⟩ is silent. For example, hotel and hovercraft are pronounced /oˈtɛl/ and /ˈɔverkraft/ respectively. (Where ⟨h⟩ existed in Latin, it either disappeared or, in a few cases before a back vowel, changed to [ɡ]: traggo "I pull" ← Lat. trahō.)
The letters ⟨s⟩ and ⟨z⟩ can symbolize voiced or voiceless consonants. ⟨z⟩ symbolizes /dz/ or /ts/ depending on context, with few minimal pairs. For example: zanzara /dzanˈdzaːra/ "mosquito" and nazione /natˈtsjoːne/ "nation". ⟨s⟩ symbolizes /s/ word-initially before a vowel, when clustered with a voiceless consonant (⟨p, f, c, ch⟩), and when doubled; it symbolizes /z/ when between vowels and when clustered with voiced consonants. Intervocalic ⟨s⟩ varies regionally between /s/ and /z/, with /z/ being more dominant in northern Italy and /s/ in the south.
The letters ⟨c⟩ and ⟨g⟩ vary in pronunciation between plosives and affricates depending on following vowels. The letter ⟨c⟩ symbolizes /k/ when word-final and before the back vowels ⟨a, o, u⟩. It symbolizes /tʃ/ as in chair before the front vowels ⟨e, i⟩. The letter ⟨g⟩ symbolizes /ɡ/ when word-final and before the back vowels ⟨a, o, u⟩. It symbolizes /dʒ/ as in gem before the front vowels ⟨e, i⟩. Other Romance languages and, to an extent, English have similar variations for ⟨c, g⟩. Compare hard and soft C, hard and soft G. (See also palatalization.)
The digraphs ⟨ch⟩ and ⟨gh⟩ indicate or preserve hardness (/k/ and /ɡ/) before ⟨i, e⟩. The digraphs ⟨ci⟩ and ⟨gi⟩ indicate or preserve softness (/tʃ/ and /dʒ/) before ⟨a, o, u⟩. For example:

text:
Before back vowel (A, O, U)
Before front vowel (I, E)

Plosive
C
caramella /karaˈmɛlla/ candy
CH
china /ˈkiːna/ India ink

G
gallo /ˈɡallo/ rooster
GH
ghiro /ˈɡiːro/ edible dormouse

Affricate
CI
ciambella /tʃambɛlla/ donut
C
Cina /ˈtʃiːna/ China

GI
giallo /ˈdʒallo/ yellow
G
giro /ˈdʒiːro/ round, tour

text: Italian has geminate, or double, consonants, which are distinguished by length and intensity. Length is distinctive for all consonants except for /ʃ/, /dz/, /ʎ/, /ɲ/, which are always geminate, and /z/, which is always single. Geminate plosives and affricates are realized as lengthened closures. Geminate fricatives, nasals, and /l/ are realized as lengthened continuants. There is only one vibrant phoneme /r/ but the actual pronunciation depends on context and regional accent. Generally one can find a flap consonant [ɾ] in unstressed position whereas [r] is more common in stressed syllables, but there may be exceptions. Especially people from the Northern part of Italy (Parma, Aosta Valley, South Tyrol) may pronounce /r/ as [ʀ], [ʁ], or [ʋ].[79]

text: Of special interest to the linguistic study of Italian is the gorgia toscana, or "Tuscan Throat", the weakening or lenition of certain intervocalic consonants in the Tuscan language.

text: The voiced postalveolar fricative /ʒ/ is only present in loanwords: for example, garage [ɡaˈraːʒ].

text: Grammar[edit]

text: Italian grammar is typical of the grammar of Romance languages in general. Cases exist for personal pronouns (nominative, oblique, accusative, dative), but not for nouns.

text: There are two genders (masculine and feminine). Masculine nouns end in -o, which changes to -i in the plural, and feminine nouns ends in -a, which changes to -e in the plural. With few exceptions, masculine nouns refer to male people or animals, and feminine nouns refer to female people or animals. A last class of nouns end in -e in the singular and -i in the plural, and are arbitrarily assigned masculine or feminine. These nouns often denote inanimate objects. This is fixed by the grammar of Italian, and a dictionary would need to be consulted to figure out the gender.[80] There is a number of nouns that change their gender from the singular to plural, having a masculine singular and a feminine plural, and thus are sometimes considered neuter (those are derived from neuter Latin nouns). An instance of neuter gender also exists in pronouns of the third person singular.

text:
Definition
Gender
Singular Form
Plural Form

Son
Masculine
Figlio
Figli

House
Feminine
Casa
Case

Love
Masculine
Amore
Amori

Art
Feminine
Arte
Arti

text: Nouns, adjectives, and articles inflect for gender and number (singular and plural).

text: Like in English, common nouns are capitalized when occurring at the beginning of a sentence. Unlike English, nouns referring to languages (e.g. Italian), speakers of languages, or inhabitants of an area (e.g. Italians) are not capitalized.[80]

text: There are three types of adjectives: descriptive, invariable and form-changing. Descriptive adjectives are the most common, and their endings change to match the number and gender of the noun they modify. Invariable adjectives are adjectives whose endings do not change. The form changing adjectives "buono (good), bello (beautiful), grande (big), and santo (saint)" change in form when placed before different types of nouns. Italian has three degrees for comparison of adjectives: positive, comparative, and superlative.[80]

text: The order of words in the phrase is relatively free compared to most European languages.[78] The position of the verb in the phrase is highly mobile. Word order often has a lesser grammatical function in Italian than in English. Adjectives are sometimes placed before their noun and sometimes after. Subject nouns generally come before the verb. Italian is a null-subject language, so that nominative pronouns are usually absent, with subject indicated by verbal inflections (e.g. amo 'I love', ama 's/he loves', amano 'they love'). Noun objects normally come after the verb, as do pronoun objects after imperative verbs, infinitives and gerunds, but otherwise pronoun objects come before the verb.

text: There are both indefinite and definite articles in Italian. There are four indefinite articles, which vary based on the gender and first letter of the noun they modify. Uno is used before a masculine singular noun beginning with z, s+consonant, gn, or ps. Un is used before masculine singular nouns beginning with any other letters. Una is used before a feminine singular noun beginning with any consonant. Un' is used before a feminine singular noun beginning with any vowel. There are seven definite articles, both singular and plural. In the singular: lo, which corresponds to the uses of uno; il, which corresponds to the uses of un, la, which corresponds to the uses of una; l', used before both masculine and feminine nouns and corresponds to un' in the feminine and un in the masculine. In the plural: gli, the plural of lo and l'; i, the plural of il; and le, the plural of la and l'. If an adjective also precedes the noun, the article used corresponds with the adjective.[80]

text: There are numerous contractions of prepositions with subsequent articles. There are numerous productive suffixes for diminutive, augmentative, pejorative, attenuating etc., which are also used to create neologisms.

text: There are 27 pronouns, grouped in clitic and tonic pronouns. Personal pronouns are separated into three groups: subject, object (which take the place of both direct and indirect objects), and reflexive. Second person subject pronouns have both a polite and a familiar form. These two different types of address are very important in Italian social distinctions. All object pronouns have two forms: stressed and unstressed. Unstressed object pronouns are much more frequently used, and come before the verb. Stressed object pronouns come after the verb, and are used when emphasis is required or to avoid ambiguity. Aside from personal pronouns, Italian also has demonstrative, interrogative, possessive, and relative pronouns. There are two types of demonstrative pronouns: relatively near (this) and relatively far (that). Demonstratives in Italian are repeated before each noun, unlike in English.[80]

text: There are three regular sets of verbal conjugations, and various verbs are irregularly conjugated. Within each of these sets of conjugations, there are four simple (one-word) verbal conjugations by person/number in the indicative mood (present tense; past tense with imperfective aspect, past tense with perfective aspect, and future tense), two simple conjugations in the subjunctive mood (present tense and past tense), one simple conjugation in the conditional mood, and one simple conjugation in the imperative mood. Corresponding to each of the simple conjugations, there is a compound conjugation involving a simple conjugation of "to be" or "to have" followed by a past participle. "To have" is used to form compound conjugation when the verb is transitive ("Ha detto", "ha fatto": he/she has said, he/she has made/done), while "to be" is used in the case of verbs of motion and some other intransitive verbs ("È andato", "è stato": he/she has gone, he/she has been). "To be" may be used with transitive verbs, but in such a case it makes the verb passive ("Ê detto", "è fatto": it is said, it is made/done). This rule is not absolute, and some exceptions do exist.

text: Examples[edit]

text: Conversation[edit]

text:
English (inglese)
Italian (italiano)
Pronunciation

Yes
Sì
(listen) /ˈsi/

No
No
(listen) /ˈnɔ/

Of course!
Certo! / Certamente! / Naturalmente!
/ˈtʃɛrto/ /ˌtʃertaˈmente/ /naturalˈmente/

Hello!
Ciao! (informal) / Salve! (formal);
/ˈtʃaːo/

Cheers!
Salute!
/saˈluːte/

How are you?
Come stai? (informal) / Come sta? (formal) / Come state? (plural) / Come va? (general, informal)
/ˌkomeˈstai/; /ˌkomeˈsta/ /ˌkome ˈstaːte/ /ˌkome va/

Good morning!
Buongiorno! (= Good day!)
/ˌbwɔnˈdʒorno/

Good evening!
Buonasera!
/ˌbwɔnaˈseːra/

Good night!
Buonanotte! (for a good night sleeping) / Buona serata! (for a good night awake)
/ˌbwɔnaˈnɔtte/ /ˌbwɔna seˈraːta/

Have a nice day!
Buona giornata! (formal)
/ˌbwɔna dʒorˈnaːta/

Enjoy the meal!
Buon appetito!
/ˌbwɔn‿appeˈtiːto/

Goodbye!
Arrivederci (general) / ArrivederLa (formal) / Ciao! (informal)
(listen) /arriveˈdertʃi/

Good luck!
Buona fortuna! (general)
/ˌbwɔna forˈtuːna/

I love you
Ti amo (between lovers only) / Ti voglio bene (in the sense of "I am fond of you", between lovers, friends, relatives etc.)
/ti ˌvɔʎʎo ˈbɛːne/; /ti ˈaːmo/

Welcome [to...]
Benvenuto/-i (for male/males or mixed) / Benvenuta/-e (for female/females) [a / in...]
/beɱveˈnuːto/

Please
Per favore / Per piacere / Per cortesia
(listen) /per faˈvoːre/ /per pjaˈtʃeːre/ /per korteˈziːa/

Thank you!
Grazie! (general) / Ti ringrazio! (informal) / La ringrazio! (formal) / Vi ringrazio! (plural)
(listen) /ˈɡrattsje/ /ti riŋˈɡrattsjo/

You are welcome!
Prego!
/ˈprɛːɡo/

Excuse me / I am sorry
Mi dispiace (only "I am sorry") / Scusa(mi) (informal) / Mi scusi (formal) / Scusatemi (plural) / Sono desolato ("I am sorry", if male) / Sono desolata ("I am sorry", if female)
(listen) /ˈskuːzi/; /ˈskuːza/; /mi disˈpjaːtʃe/

Who?
Chi?
/ki/

What?
Che cosa? / Cosa? / Che?
/kekˈkɔːsa/ /ˈkɔːsa/ /ˈke/

When?
Quando?
/ˈkwando/

Where?
Dove?
/ˈdoːve/

How?
Come?
/ˈkoːme/

Why / Because
perché
/perˈke/

Again
di nuovo / ancora
/di ˈnwɔːvo/; /aŋˈkoːra/

How much? / How many?
Quanto? / Quanta? / Quanti? / Quante?
/ˈkwanto/

What is your name?
Come ti chiami? (informal) / Qual è il suo nome? (formal) / Come si chiama? (formal)
/ˌkome tiˈkjaːmi/ /kwal ˈɛ il ˌsu.o ˈnoːme/

My name is ...
Mi chiamo ...
/mi ˈkjaːmo/

This is ...
Questo è ... (masculine) / Questa è ... (feminine)
/ˌkwesto ˈɛ/ /ˌkwesta ˈɛ/

Yes, I understand.
Sì, capisco. / Ho capito.
/si kaˈpisko/ /ɔkkaˈpiːto/

I do not understand.
Non capisco. / Non ho capito.
(listen) /noŋ kaˈpisko/ /nonˌɔkkaˈpiːto/

Do you speak English?
Parli inglese? (informal) / Parla inglese? (formal) / Parlate inglese? (plural)
(listen) /parˌlate iŋˈɡleːse/ (listen) /ˌparla iŋˈɡleːse/

I do not understand Italian.
Non capisco l'italiano.
/noŋ kaˌpisko litaˈljaːno/

Help me!
Aiutami! (informal) / Mi aiuti! (formal) / Aiutatemi! (plural) / Aiuto! (general)
/aˈjuːtami/ /ajuˈtaːtemi/ /aˈjuːto/

You are right/wrong!
(Tu) hai ragione/torto! (informal) / (Lei) ha ragione/torto! (formal) / (Voi) avete ragione/torto! (plural)

What time is it?
Che ora è? / Che ore sono?
/ke ˌora ˈɛ/ /ke ˌore ˈsono/

Where is the bathroom?
Dov'è il bagno?
(listen) /doˌvɛ il ˈbaɲɲo/

How much is it?
Quanto costa?
/ˌkwanto ˈkɔsta/

The bill, please.
Il conto, per favore.
/il ˌkonto per faˈvoːre/

The study of Italian sharpens the mind.
Lo studio dell'italiano aguzza l'ingegno.
/loˈstuːdjo dellitaˈljaːno aˈɡuttsa linˈdʒeɲɲo/

text: Question Words[80][81][edit]

text:
English
Italian
IPA

what (adj.)
che
ke

what (standalone)
cosa
ˈkɔza

who
chi
ki

how
come
ˈkome

where
dove
ˈdove

why, because
perché
perˈke

which
quale
ˈkwale

when
quando
ˈkwando

how much
quanto
ˈkwanto

text:
English
Italian
IPA

today
oggi
ˈɔddʒi

yesterday
ieri
ˈjɛri

tomorrow
domani
doˈmani

second
secondo (-a)
/seˈkondo/

minute
minuto
(miˈnuto

hour
ora
ˈora

day
giorno
ˈdʒorno

week
settimana
settiˈmana

month
mese
ˈmese

year
anno
ˈanno

text: Numbers[edit]

text:
English
Italian
IPA

one
uno
/ˈuːno/

two
due
/ˈduːe/

three
tre
/ˈtre/

four
quattro
/ˈkwattro/

five
cinque
/ˈtʃiŋkwe/

six
sei
/ˈsɛi/

seven
sette
/ˈsɛtte/

eight
otto
/ˈɔtto/

nine
nove
/ˈnɔve/

ten
dieci
/ˈdjɛːtʃi/

English
Italian
IPA

eleven
undici
/ˈunditʃi/

twelve
dodici
/ˈdoːditʃi/

thirteen
tredici
/ˈtreːditʃi/

fourteen
quattordici
/kwatˈtorditʃi/

fifteen
quindici
/ˈkwinditʃi/

sixteen
sedici
/ˈseːditʃi/

seventeen
diciassette
/ditʃasˈsɛtte/

eighteen
diciotto
/diˈtʃɔtto/

nineteen
diciannove
/ditʃanˈnɔːve/

twenty
venti
/ˈventi/

English
Italian
IPA

twenty-one
ventuno
/venˈtuːno/

twenty-two
ventidue
/ˌventiˈduːe/

twenty-three
ventitré
/ˌventiˈtre/

twenty-four
ventiquattro
/ˌventiˈkwattro/

twenty-five
venticinque
/ˌventiˈtʃiŋkwe/

twenty-six
ventisei
/ˌventiˈsɛi/

twenty-seven
ventisette
/ˌventiˈsɛtte/

twenty-eight
ventotto
/venˈtɔtto/

twenty-nine
ventinove
/ˌventiˈnɔːve/

thirty
trenta
/ˈtrenta/

text:
English
Italian
IPA

one hundred
cento
/ˈtʃɛnto/

one thousand
mille
/ˈmille/

two thousand
duemila
/ˌdueˈmiːla/

two thousand and eighteen (2018)
duemiladiciotto
/dueˌmilaˈditˈɔtto/

one million
milione
/miˈljone/

one billion
miliardo
/miˈljardo/

text: Days of the week[edit]

text:
English
Italian
IPA

Monday
lunedì
/luneˈdi/

Tuesday
martedì
/marteˈdi/

Wednesday
mercoledì
/ˌmerkoleˈdi/

Thursday
giovedì
/dʒoveˈdi/

Friday
venerdì
/venerˈdi/

Saturday
sabato
/ˈsaːbato/

Sunday
domenica
/doˈmeːnika/

text: Months of the year[edit]

text:
English
Italian
IPA

January
gennaio
/dʒenˈnaːjo/

February
febbraio
/febˈbraːjo/

March
marzo
/ˈmartso/

April
aprile
/aˈpriːle/

May
maggio
/ˈmaddʒo/

June
giugno
/ˈdʒuɲɲo/

July
luglio
/ˈluʎʎo/

August
agosto
/aˈɡosto/

September
settembre
/setˈtɛmbre/

October
ottobre
/otˈtoːbre/

November
novembre
/noˈvɛmbre/

December
dicembre
/diˈtʃɛmbre/[82]

text: Sample texts[edit]

text: There is a recording of Dante's Divine Comedy read by Lino Pertile available online.[83]


document_title: List of men's footballers with 500 or more goals

question_text: who scored the most goals in football career

text: In top-level  football, 28 players have scored 500 or more goals over the course of their career. According to research by the Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Only those who were active in the highest level football for all or most of their careers are considered. The ranking below takes into account goals scored in official matches played with national teams at all age levels and clubs in all divisions.[1]

text: Ranking[edit]

text:
+ Unverified data is excluded from players' data; goal and match totals may be higher.
Players in bold are currently active; data is accurate as of the 30 October 2018.

text:
Rank

Player

Goals

Matches

Ratio

Years

1

/ Josef Bican+

805

530

1.52

1931–1955

2

 Romário

772

994

0.78

1985–2007

3

 Pelé

767

831

0.92

1957–1977

4

 Ferenc Puskás+

746

754

0.99

1943–1966

5

 Gerd Müller

735

793

0.93

1962–1981

6

 Cristiano Ronaldo

683

963

0.71

2001–present[2]

7

 Lionel Messi

656

832

0.79

2003–present[3]

8

 Ferenc Deák+

576

—

1940–1957

9

 Uwe Seeler

575

—

1953–1978

 Túlio Maravilha

575

—

1988–2012

11

 Arthur Friedenreich

557

—

1909–1935

12

/ Ernst Willimowski+

554

—

1934–1955

13

 Eusébio

552

—

1957–1979

14

 Jimmy McGrory

550

—

1922–1937

15

 Franz Binder+

546

—

1930–1949

16

 Fernando Peyroteo

544

—

1937–1949

17

 Hugo Sánchez+

541

—

1976–1997

18

 Fritz Walter+

539

—

1937–1959

19

 József Takács+

523

—

1917–1934

20

 Gyula Zsengellér+

522

—

1935–1953

 Zico

522

—

1971–1994

22

/ Alfredo Di Stéfano+

514

—

1945–1966

 Hans Krankl

514

—

1970–1989

24

 Gunnar Nordahl+

513

—

1937–1958

25

 Roberto Dinamite

512

—

1971–1993

 Zlatan Ibrahimović

512

883

0.58

1999–present[4]

27

 Jimmy Greaves

511

—

1957–1980

28

 Ferenc Bene+

508

—

1961–1978

text: Source: Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation[1]


document_title: Ministry of Defence (India)

question_text: present chief of integrated defence staff of india

text: Ministry of Defence (India)

text: History[edit]

text: Origin[edit]

text: A Military Department was created by the Supreme Government of the British East India Company at Kolkata in the year 1776.[9] Its main function was to co-ordinate and record orders, relating to the Army, issued by various Departments of the Government of the East India Company. The Military Department initially functioned as a branch of the Public Department and maintained a list of Army personnel.[9]

text: With the Charter Act of 1833 the Secretariat of the Government of the East India Company was re-organised into four Departments, each headed by a Secretary to the Government.[9] The Armies in the Presidencies of Bengal, Bombay & Madras functioned as the respective Presidency Armies until April 1895, when the Presidency Armies were unified into a single Indian Army. For administrative convenience, it was divided into four Commands; Punjab (including the North West Frontier), Bengal (including Burma), Madras and Bombay (including Sind, Quetta and Aden).[9]

text: The supreme authority over the Indian Army was vested in the Governor General-in-Council, subject to the Control of the Crown, which was exercised by the Secretary of State for India. Two Members in the Council were responsible for military affairs. One was the Military Member, who supervised all administrative and financial matters. The other was the Commander-in-Chief who was responsible for all operational matters.[9] The Military Department was abolished in March 1906 and was replaced by two separate Departments; the Army Department and the Military Supply Department. In April 1909 the Military Supply Department was abolished and its functions were taken over by the Army Department. The Army Department was re-designated as the Defence Department in January 1938. The Department of Defence became the Ministry of Defence under a Cabinet Minister in August 1947.[9]

text: Post Independence Changes[edit]

text: The functions of MOD which in 1947 was mainly logistic support to the Armed Forces, has undergone far reaching changes. In November 1962, following the 1962 war, a Department of Defence Production was set-up to deal with research, development and production of defence equipment. In November 1965, the Department of Defence Supplies was created for planning and execution of schemes for import substitution of requirements for defence purposes. These two Departments were later merged to form the Department of Defence Production and Supplies.

text: In 1980, the Department of Defence Research and Development was created. In January 2004, the Department of Defence Production and Supplies was renamed the Department of Defence Production. A Scientific Adviser to the Defence Minister was appointed to advise on scientific aspects of military equipment and the research and design of Defence forces equipment. The Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare was created in 2004.

text: Organisation[edit]

text: Departments[edit]

text: The Ministry of Defence consists of four Departments; Department of Defence, Department of Defence Production, Department of Defence Research & Development, and Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare. The Defence Secretary functions as head of the Department of Defence,[10][11] and is additionally responsible for coordinating the activities of the four Departments in the Ministry.[10][11]

text: The principal functions of all the Departments are as follows:

text:
The Department of Defence (DoD), headed by the Defence Secretary, deals with the Integrated Defence Staff (IDS), the three Services, the Indian Coast Guard, the paramilitary forces and various Inter-Service Organisations. It is also responsible for the Defence Budget, establishment matters, defence policy, matters relating to the Parliament, defence co-operation with foreign countries and coordination of all activities.[10][11]
The Department of Defence Production (DPP), headed by the Defence Production Secretary, was set up in November 1962 and is responsible for matters pertaining to defence production, planning and control of departmental production units of the Ordnance Factories Board, indigenisation of imported stores equipment and spares, and for Defence Public Sector Undertakings (HAL, BEL, BEML, BDL, MDL, GSL, GRSE, Midhani).[11][12]
The Department of Defence Research and Development (DDRD), headed by the Defence Research and Development Secretary and ex-officio Chairman of DRDO, was formed in 1958, after the three-way merger of Technical Development Establishment (TDEs) of the Indian Army and the Directorate of Technical Development and Production (DTDP) and the Defence Science Organisation (DSO). The Department is responsible for Defence Research Development Organization (DRDO).[11][13]
The Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare (DESW), headed by the Ex-Servicemen Welfare Secretary, was set up in 2004 to look after Veteran Affairs. The Directorate General of Resettlement, the Kendriya Sainik Welfare Board and Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme come under the purview of DESW.[11][14]

text: Universities and Institutes[edit]

text: Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, Defence Institute of Advanced Technology, Defence Institute of Psychological Research and National Defence University come under administration and purview of the Ministry of Defence.

text: Inter-Services organisations[edit]

text:
Officers Training Academy
Indian Military Academy
Military Engineer Services
Armed Forces Medical Services
Directorate General Resettlement
National Defence College
Directorate General of Defence Estates
Directorate of Public Relations
Canteen Stores Department
Army Purchase Organisation
Services Sports Control Board
National Cadet Corps
National Defence Academy
Directorate General Quality Assurance
Armed Forces Films and Photo Division
Armed Forces Medical College
History Division, Ministry of Defence
College of Defence Management
Defence Services Staff College
Ministry of Defence Library
Border Roads Development Board/Border Roads Organisation
Strategic Information Services
Tactical Intelligence Division

text: Integrated Defence Staff (IDS)[edit]

text: To ensure a high degree of synergy between the Armed forces, the Government has set up the Integrated Defence Staff, headed by the Chief of Integrated Staff as the Chairman. It was created on 1 October 2001 based on the recommendations of the Group of Ministers which was set up in 2000 (post-Kargil) to review India's defence management.[15] It acts as the point organisation for integration of policy, doctrine, war fighting and procurement by employing best management practices. The current Chief of Integrated Defence Staff is Lieutenant General Satish Dua, who took over on 31 October 2016.[16]

text: Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC)[edit]

text: 'Chiefs of Staff are the authority for advising the Defence Minister and normally through him the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs on all military matters which require ministerial consideration'. The IDS is 'the principal arm and Secretariat to the Chiefs of Staff Committee'[17][18]

text: Composition[edit]

text: The COSC is composed of: (a) Chief of the Army Staff (COAS); (b) Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS); (c) Chief of the Air Staff (CAS); and (d) Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (CIDS) (non-voting member). The Scientific Adviser to the Minister of Defence is invited to attend when ever needed.[17]

text: The senior most member of the Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC) is appointed its Chairman. Admiral Sunil Lanba is the current head of COSC.[17]

text: Strategic Information Services/Tactical Intelligence Division[edit]

text: SIS/TID is a highly classified division within the walls of Ministry of Defence under the Government of India. Very limited information is available for this division.

text: Role[edit]

text: The responsibility for national defence "rests with the Cabinet, which is discharged through the Ministry of Defence, which provides the policy framework and wherewithal to the Armed Forces to discharge their responsibilities in the context of the defence of the country. The Raksha Mantri (Defence Minister) is the head of the Ministry of Defence."[9]

text: The Defence Ministry is responsible for "obtaining policy directions of the Government on all defence and security related matters" and communicating these directions to "Services Headquarters, Inter-Services Organisations, Production Establishments and Research and Development Organisations".[9] The MoD works closely with the National Security Council, Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of Home Affairs.

text: Ministers[edit]

text: MoD is headed by the Union Cabinet Minister for Defence, who is supported by one, or more than one, Ministers of State.[9]

text:
Minister
Rank
Portfolio

Nirmala Sitharaman
Minister of Defence
Overall responsibility.

Dr. Subhash Bhamre
Minister of State
Charter of duties includes secondary logistic and administrative functions.

text: Senior officials[edit]

text: There are about 400,000 defence civilians, under the MOD including Ministry of Finance personnel attached to MOD. In 2015–16 Defence pension bill was ₹54,500 crores of which about 36 percent was on account of defence civilians.[66]

text: Defence Secretary, other senior officials and Scientific Adviser to Defence Minister[edit]

text: The Ministers are supported by a number of civilian, scientific and professional military advisers.

text: The Defence Secretary as head of the Department of Defence,[10] is the senior most civil servant in the Ministry and is responsible for co-coordinating the activities of the four Departments in the Ministry.[10] His/Her role is to ensure that the MoD operates effectively as a department of the government.[19][20][10] Defence Secretary is assisted by Additional Secretaries and Joint Secretaries to Government of India posted in the Ministry. The Defence Secretary, generally is an officer from the Indian Administrative Service, apart from the Defence Secretary, there are three more Secretary-level posts in the Ministry of Defence.

text: Scientific Adviser to Defence Minister plays a key role in formulation of R&D policies and promoting self-reliance in Indian Defence Industries.

text:
Senior officials in the Ministry of Defence[21][22][23][24]hide

Name
Designation

Sanjay Mitra, IAS
Defence Secretary

Dr. Ajay Kumar, IAS
Secretary (Defence Production)

Sanjeevanee Kutty, IAS
Secretary (Ex-Servicemen Welfare)

Dr. S Christopher
Secretary (Defence Research and Development) and Chairman, DRDO

Apurva Chandra, IAS
Director General (Acquisition) and Additional Secretary

Barun Mitra, IAS
Additional Secretary (BM)

Jiwesh Nandan, IAS
Additional Secretary (JN)

Vacant
Additional Secretary (Defence Production)

Major General Jagatbir Singh, VSM
Director General (Resettlement)

Major General Ashok Kumar
Managing Director, ECHS

Major General HS Shanbhag
Technical Manager (Land Systems)

Rear Admiral IPS Bali, VSM
Technical Manager (Maritime & Systems)

Air Vice Marshal G Raveendranath
Technical Manager (Air)

Dr. G. Sateesh Reddy
Scientific Adviser to Defence Minister and Director General (Missiles and Strategic Systems)

text: Civil Services under MOD[edit]

text:
Civil Services under the Ministry of Defencehide

Name of Service
Group

1
Indian Naval Material Management Service (INMMS)
A

2
Border Roads Engineering Service (BRES)
A

3
Defence Aeronautical Quality Assurance Service (DAQAS)
A

4
Defence Quality Assurance Service (DQAS)
A

5
Defence Research & Development Service (DRDS)
A

6
Indian Defence Accounts Service (IDAS)
A

7
Indian Defence Estates Service (IDES)
A

8
Indian Defence Service of Engineers (IDSE)
A

9
Indian Naval Armament Service (INAS)
A

10
Indian Ordnance Factories Service (IOFS)
A

11
Indian Ordnance Factories Health Service (IOFHS)
A

12
Armed Forces Headquarters Civil Services
B

text: Finance Division[edit]

text: The Finance Division of the Ministry of Defence is headed by the Financial Advisor (Defence Services). He/she exercises financial control over proposals involving expenditure from the Defence Budget and is responsible for the internal audit and accounting of defence expenditure. In the latter tasks, s/he is assisted by the Controller General of Defence Accounts (CGDA).

text: Chiefs of the Tri-Services[edit]

text: In 1955, the title of Commander-in-Chief was abolished and the three Service Chiefs were designated as the Chief of the Army Staff, the Chief of the Naval Staff and the Chief of the Air Staff. The heads of the three services of Indian Armed Forces are:

text:
Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) — General Bipin Rawat
Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS) — Admiral Sunil Lanba
Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) — Air Chief Marshal Birender Singh Dhanoa


document_title: East of the Sun (and West of the Moon)

question_text: who wrote east of the sun west of the moon

text: East of the Sun (and West of the Moon)

text: "East of the Sun (and West of the Moon)" is a popular song written by Brooks Bowman, an undergraduate member of Princeton University's Class of 1936, for the 1934 production of the Princeton Triangle Club's production of Stags at Bay.[1] It was published in 1934 and soon became a hallmark of the Princeton Tigertones,[2] one of Princeton University's all-male a cappella groups. The standard is also sung by the Princeton Nassoons, Princeton University's oldest a cappella group.

text: "East of the Sun" was first recorded by Hal Kemp for Brunswick Records on Dec. 1, 1934, and has remained a jazz standard since the 1950s.

text: Recorded versions[edit]

text: One of the first recordings was by Arthur Tracy on September 22, 1935 according to CD jacket of ASV Living Era Hits of '35, CD AJA 5185. Sarah Vaughan recorded it in a 1949 Columbia session for the album Sarah Vaughan in Hi-Fi.,[3] and also her 1953 EP "Hot Jazz (album)" Charlie Parker recorded it as early as 1952; it is featured on numerous albums, including two renditions on The Complete Legendary Rockland Palace Date 1952.[4] Benny Goodman recorded a memorable version with his sextet, also in 1952; this performance is included on Benny Goodman Sextet.[5] Stan Getz recorded it in 1955, and it was featured as the first track on his seminal double album The West Coast Jazz.[6] One of the most popular recordings was by Louis Armstrong, featured in his 1957 double-album I've Got the World on a String.[7] The Four Freshmen recorded it on their album Four Freshmen and Five Saxes (1957).[8] Keely Smith recorded it in 1958 for her Capital album, Politely[9] with Billy May & His Orchestra. Lee Wiley recorded it for West of the Moon (1958). Ella Fitzgerald included this on her 1959 Verve release Ella Fitzgerald Sings Sweet Songs for Swingers with the Frank De Vol Orchestra and Harry "Sweets" Edison on trumpet. Frank Sinatra recorded it on I Remember Tommy (1961). Al Hirt released a version on his 1962 album, Trumpet and Strings.[10] Cal Tjader recorded the song on his 1964 album, Breeze from the East.[11] Ellis Marsalis Recorded the song in the Wynton Marsalis album of 1991, Standard Time Vol. 2. Tony Bennett recorded the song on his 1992 tribute to Sinatra Perfectly Frank. Betty Carter recorded the song on her 1996 album I'm Yours, You're Mine. Diana Krall recorded the song on her album When I Look in Your Eyes (1999) and again on Live in Paris (2002).

text: Other versions recorded include: Guy Mitchell, Billie Holiday,[12] Tommy Dorsey,[13] George Shearing, Dakota Staton,[14] Lester Young,[15] Scott Hamilton (1993),[16] Stacey Kent (1998), Sonny and Perley (1999),[17] Alexis Cole (2005),[18] Rebecca Parris (2007),[19] and Joshua Redman (2007).[20]