Abstract:
This research intends to broaden the field of the studies regarding Italian and its dialects overseas through studying the maintenance of Italian and dialect among second generation Italians in the Italian Community of Wellington, New Zealand. In particular, this study aims to discover the participants' attitudes towards the Italian language, dialect and their maintenance within the community and to investigate possible connections between their proficiency in Italian and dialect, collected through self-report data, and their attitudes towards Italy, Italian and dialect. This will be done by investigating on the one hand the use of Italian, dialect and English in several domains, and on the other the participants' feelings towards Italy and their knowledge of modern Italy.
Fifty persons, all second generation Italians aged between 20 and 60, all evenly distributed as regards age and sex, took part in the study. Data was gathered during 1999 through the use of self-report questionnaires, filled in by the participants themselves, and interviews.
Results showed the respondents have maintained a good level of proficiency in dialect and a scarce level of proficiency in Italian. It is the dialect that has been passed on and well maintained, not the Italian language. The shift towards English is high because in every domain considered the respondents reported using more English than Italian and dialect. Nevertheless the respondents showed very positive attitudes towards Italian language and its maintenance and rather negative attitudes towards dialect and its maintenance. A significant correlation was discovered between the respondents' proficiency in dialect and their attitudes to language. The factor proficiency in dialect also proved to correlate significantly with the respondents' use of the different languages and on their sense of belonging.
The maintenance of good proficiency in dialect is relevant if a higher knowledge and a future maintenance of Italian language in Wellington is desired. Only with the concern and support of the Community itself, the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the New Zealand Ethnic Affairs Service, will Italian language and dialect be maintained.
