I can related with the OP. I guess most non-native English speakers can. > Before 1950, when the "TV Language Unification" happened, everybody was still taking

I can related with the OP. I guess most non-native English speakers can. > Before 1950, when the "TV Language Unification" happened, everybody was still taking with their dialects and italian was only mastered by a small percentage of people. Sicilian itself, the language talked the most by my family, predates Italian by centuries. For a hands-on example about what he is talking about, those of you who learned Italian try to understand what this song[1] says, without actually studying the lyrics. It's an awesome Sicilian tune by an ethnic group Messinese[2] group called Kunsertu (concert). [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXQSoTGwun4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXQSoTGwun4 [2] Messina is the port-city that gates the most beautiful island in the world: Sicily! :-)