The present dialects of Italy are descendants of Latin. But in
nearly all regions it was a Latin influenced in its vocabualry
and pronunciation by the earlier linguistic habits of the
populations that had adopted it. These peoples contain a
strong admixture of Ligurian, Gallic, Illyrian, Greek and
Phoenician nationalities, and of Italic tribes whose native tongue was related to Latin, for instance, Umbrian and Oscan.

Professor Grandgent presents a fascinating account of the early development of the Italian language which will be of particular interest to linguists and medievalists.

Charles Hall Grandgent was a professor at Harvard from 1896 to 1932. He was highly regarded as a Romance linguist and authorityon Dante. He was also a leading expert on American English
dialects.