In the Middle Ages and up to the early 19th century inhabitants of Trieste spoke Tergestina, a Rhaeto-Romance dialect, although the primary language used for all official purposes and in culture was Latin throughout the Middle Ages. At end of the medieval period (14th and 15th centuries) usage of Italian language started to spread (although spoken as mother tongue, by a small minority of people in Trieste), and later still, in the latter part of the 18th century, German became more widely used, although it was confined to the purely administrative sphere.
