Anna Gallo - GalloAnna_Multilingualism&diaspora-the language(s) of Bristol Italians.mp4 (354.94 MB)
Multilingualism and diaspora: The language(s) of Bristol Italians
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posted on 2017-12-03, 19:08 authored by Anna GalloPaper presented at ITML3 http://latllab.canterbury.ac.nz/language-choices-siblings-italianenglish-families/
Multilingualism and diaspora: The language(s) of Bristol Italians
Multilingualism is key to social research, because language mirrors society and its changes (Labov 1972), and as such it has been at core of sociolinguistic investigations for the past few decades. Specifically, the unprecedented post-WWII mass movements entailed substantial social and linguistic changes in the UK. Yet, despite displacement and diaspora, white minorities have rarely been seen as ‘ethnic’ and are still under-researched in sociolinguistics. The present talk addresses the case of post-WWII Italian migrants in Bristol.
Despite the evident benefits of language maintenance, Italian families seem to experience language shift in the span of three generations (e.g. De Fina 2012). However, speakers may combine resources from their multilingual repertoires according to their level of language mastery, social practices and ethnic orientation. Particularly, the multi-layered landscape of Anglo-Italian communities (e.g. the coexistence of English, dialect and Standard Italian), offers stimulating socio-linguistic cues. In this respect, participants’ minority language(s) may convey key functions in interaction, endorsing their Italianness.
Drawing on an intergenerational approach, this talk provides qualitative and quantitative data, based on ethnographic observation, questionnaires and interviews, in order to understand the degree of language(s) maintenance and shift, informants’ intra- and inter-linguistic code-mixing and its correlation with identity and ethnic orientation.
Multilingualism and diaspora: The language(s) of Bristol Italians
Multilingualism is key to social research, because language mirrors society and its changes (Labov 1972), and as such it has been at core of sociolinguistic investigations for the past few decades. Specifically, the unprecedented post-WWII mass movements entailed substantial social and linguistic changes in the UK. Yet, despite displacement and diaspora, white minorities have rarely been seen as ‘ethnic’ and are still under-researched in sociolinguistics. The present talk addresses the case of post-WWII Italian migrants in Bristol.
Despite the evident benefits of language maintenance, Italian families seem to experience language shift in the span of three generations (e.g. De Fina 2012). However, speakers may combine resources from their multilingual repertoires according to their level of language mastery, social practices and ethnic orientation. Particularly, the multi-layered landscape of Anglo-Italian communities (e.g. the coexistence of English, dialect and Standard Italian), offers stimulating socio-linguistic cues. In this respect, participants’ minority language(s) may convey key functions in interaction, endorsing their Italianness.
Drawing on an intergenerational approach, this talk provides qualitative and quantitative data, based on ethnographic observation, questionnaires and interviews, in order to understand the degree of language(s) maintenance and shift, informants’ intra- and inter-linguistic code-mixing and its correlation with identity and ethnic orientation.
