Perche

You lived in Naples met of you life and don't know it has its own language? Those in the tourist or services industry speak Italian, but with a strong Napolitano accent.

In 2008, the Neapolitan language was recognized by UNESCO as a protected language and heritage. It’s spoken by about 8 million people in Southern Italy, though it enjoys no official status and is not taught in schools. It’s somewhat intelligible with Italian, as most Romance languages are, but the two truly differ to the point where a northern Italian would have no idea what was being said in a bar exchange in Naples. There are many words that cannot be translated back into Italian; in fact, many Neapolitans may have to switch from speaking Italian to Neapolitan just to get their true point across. I've walked into many a bar on the periphery of the tourist area, and the bartender shrugs and calls over a kid because to learn Italian for the first 8 years of school, because it's not spoken at home. Go to a pizza shop on via Tribunali, or a restaurant or hotel on the lungamare, or one of the fashionable areas and you will be able ton understand the Naples accented Italian. But if you wander out as I do, that's by the case. They'll always find someone in the bar who can communicate with you, but many older ones cannot. I've walked into neighborhood bars where they are speaking Napolitano and ask them a question in Italian. They'll answer in Italian. Then go back to Napolitano and I have no clue. Not even a word, there's enough Italian for commercial purposes, but if you're sitting in a real local restaurant, that language you here around you is not Italian being spoke. Same in many parts of Venice, slices of Piemonte and Abruzzo and Sicily. This is less as you go up the educational and professional ladder because all higher education is taught in Florentine (standard) Italian.