Italische

Italische is a German term that can refer to several related concepts connected to Italy and its linguistic heritage. In linguistics, the Italische Sprachen, or Italic languages, designate a branch of the Indo-European language family. The Italic group includes the ancient Latino-Faliscan languages (Latin and Faliscan) and the Osco-Umbrian subgroup (Oscan, Umbrian, and related languages). From Latin, the Romance languages developed, giving rise to Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Romanian, and others. The Italic languages share historical features and ancestry that help explain the development of the Romance language family.

In typography, Italische or italics refer to a slanted style of type used for emphasis, foreign words, or titles. The italic style originated in Renaissance Italy; one of the earliest and most influential developments came from Italian printers in the early 16th century, notably in Venice under the work of Aldus Manutius. Today, italic type is a standard variant in most typefaces and is implemented as a separate font style in digital text.

In German-language usage, it is common to encounter italisch as the basic adjective, with inflected forms such as italische used before feminine nouns (for example, die italische Schrift). The term Italische thus appears across linguistics, typography, and cultural contexts, and its exact meaning depends on the domain of discussion.