If you’ve ever noticed that people of Italian descent in New Jersey have a unique accent, you’re not alone. Their distinct pronunciation of words is traceable to the region of Italy from which their ancestors hailed. Here’s an interesting breakdown.

According to Atlas Obscura, Italy is a very young country made up of many very old kingdoms awkwardly stapled together to make a patchwork whole. Before 1861, these different kingdoms were basically different countries.

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