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This article presents observations on sociolinguistic behavior in two Italian regions. A. A. Sobrero states that what is socially relevant in Italian verbal behavior is the choice of code and the factors determine code switching rather than variability in the codes used. The problem remains: how to characterize a continuum of varieties with at one extreme dialect defined as patois, limited in use, at the other hypothetical standard pronunciation, and in between a vast varietal range that compromises the majority of real verbal production by Italian speakers. This continuum might be considered as a series of compartments in which the upper limits of each compartment are at the same time the lower limits of the next and so on. Conversion analysis and direction observation led the author to conclude that most inter-group working class interaction is carried out in dialect, except perhaps in the youngest group analyzed.