Fabiola speaking Trentino

This video was recorded by Hugo Campbell in Trentino, Italy, where he was visiting at the time. Trentino, as well as ‘Trentino dialect’, are loose terms that can be used to describe any of the languages spoken in northern Italy’s Trentino province: Ladin, Mócheno, and Cimbrian, as well as local varieties of Italian. Fabiola most likely speaks the latter, perhaps with influences of the former three, although this is unconfirmed. The ambiguity herein illustrates the challenges of linguistic classification when it comes to reconciling objective differences in speech with the subjective experience of cultural identity. This is especially pronounced in Italy, where the term ‘dialetto’ or dialect is widely used to describe regional languages.