Most materials used in Italian research are written in Italian. However, you do not need to speak or read Italian to do research in Italian records. You will, however, need to know some key words and phrases to understand the records.

Because the Roman Catholic Church is predominant, most church records are in Latin. Because of the various political situations through the years, you may also find records from the northern areas in French or German.

Latin grammar may affect the way names appear in the church records. For example, the names Dominica and Dominicam refer to the same person. Translated into Italian, this same person would be Domenica. If the records are in Italian, the spelling of your ancestor’s name will not be affected by grammar.

Language Aids

The Family History Library has genealogical word lists for Italian and Latin.

The following English-Italian dictionaries can also aid you in your research. You can find these and similar material at many research libraries or bookstores:

Orlandi, Giuseppe. Dizionario italiano-inglese, inglese- italiano (Italian-English, English-Italian dictionary). Terza ed. Milano: Carla Signorelli, 1957. (FHL book EUROPE REF 453.21 Or5d 1961; computer number 26921.)

Il nuovo dizionario inglese Garzanti (The new Garzanti English dictionary). Milano: A. Garzanti, 1984. (FHL book EUROPE REF 453.21 G199n; computer number 702076.)

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