ERIC Number: EJ1347596
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2022-Sep
Pages: 19
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0167-8507
EISSN: EISSN-1613-3684
Family Language Policy and Dialect-Italian Dynamics: Across the Waves of Italo-Australian Migrant Families
Rubino, Antonia
Multilingua: Journal of Cross-Cultural and Interlanguage Communication, v41 n5 p571-589 Sep 2022
In this article I adopt a family language policy approach and a diachronic perspective to explore how the dialect-Italian dynamics unfolds differently within different cohorts of Italian migrants due to the hierarchical position of the two heritage languages. I highlight three main issues that emerge across time in the language policies in the home; the relevance of linguistic stratification in the migrants' repertoires, especially with regard to the interplay between language ideologies, beliefs and practices; the extent to which we can talk of agency of choice vis-à-vis linguistic stratification; and the role of education. The tension between the two languages generally plays out in favour of Italian, in spite of the emotional attachment to dialect that persists across generations. The language policies of Italo-Australian families call attention to the challenges that migrants, and dialect speakers in particular, have to face regarding language maintenance, while the diachronic perspective highlights the dynamic and contextual nature of such policies.
Descriptors: Italian, Language Usage, Family Relationship, Immigrants, Language Maintenance, Second Language Learning, Language Attitudes, English (Second Language), Foreign Countries, Family Environment, Barriers, Diachronic Linguistics
De Gruyter Mouton. Available from: Walter de Gruyter, Inc. 121 High Street, Third Floor, Boston, MA 02110. Tel: 857-284-7073; Fax: 857-284-7358; e-mail: service@degruyter.com; Web site: http://www.degruyter.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Australia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A