language maintenance/shift of the third generation of italians living in three migration countries

438 Pages·2007·3.08 MB·English

LANGUAGE MAINTENANCE/SHIFT
OF A THREE-GENERATION ITALIAN FAMILY
IN THREE MIGRATION COUNTRIES:
AN INTERNATIONAL COMPARATIVE STUDY

Carla Maria Finocchiaro

Submitted in total fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy

Department of Linguistics and Applied Linguistics
The University of Melbourne
March 2004

Produced on acid-free paper
Abstract

This thesis is a comparative investigation into the use of Italian of an
extended Italian family in language contact situation in three countries:
the United States, Australia and France. This study is undertaken and
described in the context of the different policies on migrant integration
and minority languages in the three migration countries.

The investigation uses the ‘Case Study’ methodology in the format of an
embedded multiple case-study project.

The third generation was made the focus of the study to investigate
Fishman’s “intergroup social dependency” theory. According to this
theory, when the immigrant experience is viewed from a perspective of
three or more generation time depth, the immigrant group generally
loses its language due to its dependency on the host society for its
survival. Fishman contends that only an effective and strict
‘compartmentalisation of language functions’ between the minority
language and the host language can help the minority group maintain
its language.

The findings indicate that for people of Italian background living as a
minority group in language contact situation compartmentalisation is
not a viable alternative. Nor do they consider the ‘maintenance’ of their
community language important. When in the migration country
bilingualism is valued, it is the standard variety of the heritage language
that is chosen for maintenance and further learning.

The study presents recommendations towards the achievability of
bilingualism beyond the limitations of compartmentalisation.
This is to certify that

i. the thesis comprises only my original work towards the PhD;

ii. due acknowledgement has been made in the text to all other
material used; and

iii. the thesis is less than 100,000 words in length , exclusive of
tables, maps, bibliographies and appendices.

Signed

Carla Finocchiaro

March, 2004
Acknowledgements

A heartfelt thank you to all the people who made this project possible:

To my relatives in the US, France and Australia, who opened their
houses and their hearts to me, sharing with me their past and present
experiences in their countries of residence.

To my husband, Ross and my friend John, who supported me in
various ways towards the completion of the thesis, be it helping me in
surviving the latest computer crisis or undertaking one more last-
minute proof-reading.

To my supervisor Michael Clyne, whose patience, support, inspiration
and persistence was the driving force enabling me to complete this
project.

C.M.F.
TABLE OF CONTENTS 

CHAPTER ONE   Introduction ............................................................................. 1 
1.0   Introduction........................................................................................... 1 
1.1   Rationale ................................................................................................ 1 
1.2     Background to the study ..................................................................... 4 
1.3  This study and its scope....................................................................... 9 
1.3.1  Terms referring to the Italian language........................................... 11 
1.4   Research questions ............................................................................. 12 
1.4.1  Terminology referring to the participants ...................................... 13 
1.5  Overview of the remaining chapters of the thesis ......................... 15 

CHAPTER TWO   Italian migrants of the 1950s: their sociocultural  
                                  and sociolinguistic background........................................ 17 
2.0   Introduction......................................................................................... 17 
2.1   The sociocultural background:  Italian migration ......................... 17 
2.1.1  The Italian south: a brief overview of its history ........................... 19 
2.1.2  The people who left Italy in the 1950s, why they left and  
                where they went ................................................................................. 22 
2.2  The sociolinguistic background........................................................ 24 
2.2.1  One nation, one language? The Italian language from the  
                nationʹs unification (1861) to the end of the twentieth century ... 27 
2.2.2  Varieties of the Italian national language ....................................... 34 
2.2.3  The Italian speakers abroad .............................................................. 38 
2.3  Summary and conclusion .................................................................. 43 

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CHAPTER THREE   Theoretical perspectives on language maintenance 
                                      and language shift ........................................................... 45 
3.0  Introduction: The study of language maintenance and  
                language shift…………………………………………………………45 
3.1     The macro –societal perspective....................................................... 47 
3.1.1.   The complementary model ............................................................... 48 
3.1.1.1  Diglossia and bilingualism................................................................ 48 
3.1.1.2     Compartmentalisation of language use .......................................... 50 
3.1.1.3     Domains of language behaviour ...................................................... 51 
3.1.1.4     GIDS (Graded Intergenerational Disruption Scale)....................... 60 
3.1.2        The conflict model .............................................................................. 63 
3.2           The micro‐interactional perspective ................................................ 65 
3.2.1        Aspects of the micro‐interactional approach.................................. 67 
3.2.2        The terminology used by the analysis frameworks of  
                 languages in contact .......................................................................... 68 
3.2.3        Sociolinguistic and other variables affecting code‐switching...... 72 
3.2.3.1     Code‐switching as contextual cue.................................................... 77 
3.2.3.2     Code‐switching and freedom of choice........................................... 79 
3.2.3.3  Italian language in Australia............................................................. 80 
3.2.4  Psycholinguistics and code –switching ........................................... 84 
3.3  The social network perspective ........................................................ 89 
3.4  Other perspectives on language maintenance and  
                language  shift ..................................................................................... 92 
3.4.1  Factors affecting language maintenance and language shift ....... 92 
3.4.1.1  Status and usefulness of the ethnic language................................. 94 
3.4.1.2     Grandparents....................................................................................... 96 
3.4.1.3     Dialect or other non standard variety.............................................. 96 
3.4.1.4     Attitude of the majority to the language or group ........................ 97 
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3.4.1.5     Sociocultural characteristics.............................................................. 97 
3.4.1.6     Personal characteristics...................................................................... 98 
3.4.2        Other models of language maintenance and language shift...... 100 
3.4.2.1     Conklin and Lourie ‘s taxonomy.................................................... 100 
3.4.2.2     Fishman’s predictive model............................................................ 101 
3.4.2.3     Giles, Bourhis and Taylorʹs ethnolinguistic vitality model ........ 102 
3.5           Summary and conclusion ................................................................ 108 

CHAPTER FOUR    The sociocultural and sociolinguistic context 
                                    of the study. United States ‐ Australia ‐ France ......... 110 
4.0            Introduction...................................................................................... 110 
4.1          Italians in the United States of America......................................... 111 
4.1.1       Italians in the United States of America:  
               the period 1950 ‐1980......................................................................... 112 
4.1.1.1  At ‘home’ in the USA ....................................................................... 113 
4.1.1.2  The Italian family in the USA ......................................................... 114 
4.1.1.3  Immigrants and their home language vs the host language...... 116 
4.1.1.4  The second generation family......................................................... 118 
4.1.1.5  The Bilingual Education Act ........................................................... 120 
4.1.1.6  Language loyalty in the USA.......................................................... 121 
4.1.2   Italians in the United States of America:  
                the period 1981 to late 1990s ........................................................... 124 
4.1.3        Assessing the language situation of the Italian‐American 
                community......................................................................................... 126 
4.1.3.1  The Italian‐American intergroup situation: status ....................... 128 
4.1.3.2  The Italian‐American intergroup situation: demography............. 133 
4.1.3.3     Assessment of the institutional support of the  
                Italian‐American group ................................................................... 136 
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4.1.4  The Italian‐American language situation: discussion and 
                conclusion .......................................................................................... 143 
4.2  Italians in Australia .......................................................................... 147 
4.2.1        Italians in Australia: the period 1950 – 1980 ................................. 148 
4.2.2        Italians in Australia: the period 1981 to late 1990s ...................... 153 
4.2.3  Assessing the language situation of the Italian‐Australian 
                community......................................................................................... 157 
4.2.3.1  The Italian‐Australian intergroup situation: status..................... 157 
4.2.3.2  The Italian‐Australian intergroup situation: demography........... 160 
4.2.3.3  Assessment of the institutional support of the  
                 Italian‐Australian group................................................................. 163 
4.2.4  The Italian‐Australian language situation:  
                 discussion  and conclusion............................................................. 173 
4.3  Italians in France............................................................................... 177 
4.3.1        Italians in France: the period 1950 – 1980...................................... 178 
4.3.1.1.  France and language ........................................................................ 181 
4.3.2  Italians in France:  the period 1981 to late 1990s .......................... 184 
4.3.2.1  French in France in the 1990s ......................................................... 185 
4.3.2.2  French  policy on multilingualism ................................................ 187 
4.3.2.3  Teaching language other than French in France ......................... 188 
4.3.3         Assessing the language situation of the Italians in France........ 191 
4.3.3.1  The Italian‐French intergroup situation: status ........................... 191 
4.3.3.2  The Italian‐French intergroup situation: demography ................. 194 
4.3.3.3  Assessment of the institutional support of the Italians 
                 in France............................................................................................ 195 
4.3.4  The language situation of the Italians in France:  
                discussion and conclusion............................................................... 201 
4.4  Summary and conclusion ................................................................ 203 
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CHAPTER FIVE  Methodology ........................................................................ 206 
5.0  Introduction....................................................................................... 206 
5.1  The methodology.............................................................................. 207 
5.2  The study design............................................................................... 210 
5.2.1  Research questions ........................................................................... 210 
5.2.2  Study propositions ........................................................................... 211 
5.2.3  The unit of analysis .......................................................................... 212 
5.2.3.1  The participants ................................................................................ 215 
5.2.3.1.1  Family relationships......................................................................... 216 
5.2.4  Linking data to propositions.......................................................... 219 
5.2.4.1   Data collection................................................................................... 219 
5.2.4.1.1  Direct observation ............................................................................ 221 
5.2.4.1.2  Participant observation.................................................................... 223 
5.2.4.1.3  Documentation.................................................................................. 224 
5.2.4.1.4  Focused interviews with the whole family................................... 225 
5.2.4.1.5  Language activities in Italian .......................................................... 227 
5.2.4.2  Analysis of data................................................................................. 231 
5.2.5  Criteria for interpreting the study’s findings ............................... 233 
5.3  Summary and conclusion ................................................................ 234 

CHAPTER SIX  The United States case study ............................................... 235 
6.0  Introduction....................................................................................... 235 
6.1  The Satra family in the USA............................................................ 235 
6.2  Analysis of data................................................................................. 238 
6.2.1  Child Generation self‐report ........................................................... 238 
6.2.2  Grandparent Generation report ..................................................... 239 
6.2.3  Parent Generation report................................................................. 240 
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6.2.4     Summary............................................................................................... 241 
6.3  Behaviour through language .......................................................... 243 
6.3.1  Child Generation self‐report ........................................................... 243 
6.3.2  Grandparent Generation report ..................................................... 245 
6.3.3  Parent Generation report................................................................. 246 
6.3.4        Researcherʹs report ........................................................................... 246 
6.3.5        Summary............................................................................................ 251 
6.3.6  Language activities........................................................................... 251 
6.3.6.1  Language activities for the ʹunder fiveʹ CG and the 
                ʹfive to sevenʹ year old...................................................................... 251 
6.3.6.2  Language activities for the 8 to 12 years of age informants ....... 252 
6.3.6.3  Language activities for the 13 years of age and over 
                informants.......................................................................................... 254 
6.3.6.4  Summary............................................................................................ 257 
6.4  Behaviour towards language .......................................................... 258 
6.4.1  Report of interview with the Child Generation ........................... 258 
6.4.2  Report of the Grandparent Generation interview ....................... 259 
6.4.3     Report of the Parent Generation interview………………………262 
6.5           Summary and conclusion ................................................................ 268 

CHAPTER SEVEN The Australian case study............................................... 271 
7.0  Introduction....................................................................................... 271 
7.1  The Satra family in Australia .......................................................... 271 
7.2  Analysis of data................................................................................. 273 
7.2.1  Child Generation self‐report ........................................................... 273 
7.2.2  Grandparent Generation report ..................................................... 274 
7.2.3  Parent Generation report................................................................. 275 
7.2.4        Summary............................................................................................ 277 
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