L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JANUARY 11, 2024 www.italoamericano.org 10 L'Italo-Americano HERITAGE HISTORY IDENTITY TRADITIONS PEOPLE A few years ago, a study revealed a s i g n i f i c a n t i n s i g h t i n t o Italians' sense of identity, when it discov- ered they overwhelmingly consider their language as t h e m o s t c r u c i a l f a c t o r defining national identity. The essence of this revela- tion lies in the discovery of o f h o w m u c h a l a n g u a g e connects with the history and culture of a place, and how it carries the stories, traditions, and shared expe- riences of its people. It acts as a living, breathing entity that mirrors the progression and shifts in societal norms, values, and collective memo- ry. W e a l l k n o w t h a t Ital- ian is a globally spoken lan- guage, with about 63 to 65 million native speakers and a p p r o x i m a t e l y 3 m i l l i o n people speaking it as a sec- o n d l a n g u a g e . T h e v a s t majority of Italian speakers are in Italy, where it is the official language; in Switzer- land, Italian holds the status of one of the four national languages, mainly spoken in the Ticino canton and parts of Graubünden. Other coun- tries where Italian is an offi- cial language include San Marino and Vatican City. Beyond these regions, there are significant Italian-speak- ing communities worldwide, especially in countries that have seen substantial Italian immigration, including the U n i t e d S t a t e s a s w e l l a s Canada, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, and Australia. But o u r l a n g u a g e i n f l u e n c e e x t e n d s b e y o n d t h e s e nations, as it is also com- monly studied and spoken as a second language in vari- ous Mediterranean countries and some African regions with historical Italian ties, such as Ethiopia. So, why is Italian an offi- cial language of Switzer- land? Well, its presence in this beautiful Alpine state, especially in its southern- most regions, is historically linked to a series of migra- tions and cultural exchanges between the two countries. Starting from the late 19th c e n t u r y , p a r t i c u l a r l y between 1870 and 1914, a significant number of Italian i m m i g r a n t s m o v e d t o S w i t z e r l a n d , d r i v e n b y a treaty in 1868 that allowed free movement and domi- cile. These immigrants were primarily engaged in railway c o n s t r u c t i o n a n d o t h e r u n s k i l l e d l a b o r . I t a l i a n immigration continued to play a role in Switzerland's labor market after World W a r I I , b u t i n 1 9 4 8 , a n a g r e e m e n t b e t w e e n I t a l y and Switzerland limited Ital- ian workers in Switzerland t o s e a s o n a l w o r k a n d restricted their movement. This agreement was revised in 1964, allowing for family reunification, and showing the growing presence and importance of the Italian community in Switzerland. In San Marino, the lan- g u a g e ' s o f f i c i a l s t a t u s i s closely linked to the micro- state's geographical and cul- tural connections with the Belpaese: being an enclaved state entirely surrounded by Italy, San Marino naturally shares many cultural and linguistic aspects with its larger neighbor. In Vatican City, located within Rome, Italian functions as the de facto official language; this usage is largely practical, given Vatican City's embed- ded location within the Ital- ian capital and the necessity f o r d a i l y a d m i n i s t r a t i v e , legal, and ceremonial activi- ties to be conducted in a lan- guage widely understood in its immediate environment. W h i l e L a t i n r e m a i n s t h e official language of the Holy See, the jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, Italian is more commonly u s e d f o r t h e s t a t e ' s d a i l y functions. We shouldn't forget that I t a l i a n i s a l s o s p o k e n i n p a r t s o f S l o v e n i a and Croatia, mainly due to historical events and territo- rial changes in the region. For centuries, these areas were part of the Venetian R e p u b l i c a n d l a t e r t h e A u s t r o - H u n g a r i a n Empire, where Italian was a s i g n i f i c a n t l a n g u a g e o f administration and culture. After World War I, Istria became part of Italy, further embedding the Italian lan- guage in the area. Although national borders have since c h a n g e d , t h e I t a l i a n l a n - guage remains a legacy in these places, recognized for its historical significance and maintained by Italian- speaking communities. L e t ' s m o v e a c r o s s t h e ocean and see who speaks Italian in the US, why, and where. As of the latest avail- a b l e d a t a , a p p r o x i m a t e l y 709,000 people in the Unit- ed States speak Italian at home. This figure reflects the pr esence of a signifi - c a n t I t a l i a n - A m e r i c a n community, particularly concentrated in states like New York, Connecticut and New Jersey. The Italian lan- guage in the US is largely attributed to the waves of immigrants who arrived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as well as the new waves of modern immigra- tion that have been charac- terizing the last couple of decades. Finding the specific num- ber of Italian speakers on the West Coast of the Unit- ed States is challenging, as detailed state-by-state lan- guage data often does not b r e a k d o w n t o s u c h specifics. However, we can get an approximate idea by looking at the Italian-Ameri- can population percentages in West Coast states: in Cal- ifornia, about 3.58% of the p o p u l a t i o n h a s I t a l i a n ancestry, translating into 1,388,956 individuals (the second highest number of Italian-Americans in a state, after New York); in Ore- gon, the percentage is about 3.67%, and in Washing- t o n , i t ' s a p p r o x i m a t e l y 3.2%. While these figures give u s a s e n s e o f t h e I t a l i a n - American community size, they do not directly translate t o t h e n u m b e r o f I t a l i a n speakers, as not all individu- als of Italian ancestry neces- sarily speak the language. Unfortunately, the number of Italian speakers in the US has seen a decline over the years, partly due to the nat- ural assimilation process over generations in immi- grant communities . But this s h o u l d b e t h e t o p i c o f a whole different article ... let u s j u s t s a y t h a t L ' I t a l o Americano, with its focus on the Italian language and its advocacy for language learning at all ages has been t r y i n g t o d o i t s p a r t t o ensure that more and more members of our community keep on speaking — or learn to speak! — our beautiful language. Language is more than a communication tool, it's a key part of identity for many a r o u n d t h e w o r l d . I n t h e United States, Italian is an integral component of the local heritage, thanks to the history of Italian immigra- tion, where in places like S w i t z e r l a n d , a n d m i c r o - states like San Marino and Vatican City, it is an official language for historical, geo- graphical, and practical rea- s o n s . P e r h a p s e v e n m o r e importantly, in every place where it is spoken, Italian not only connects different r e g i o n s b u t a l s o b r i n g s together communities with s h a r e d h i s t o r i e s a n d c u l - t u r e s , w h e t h e r t h e y ' r e i n Italy or spread across the globe. Italian is the official language of four countries but is widely spoken in many others (Photo: Edgars Sermulis/Dreamstime) Tracing the Italian language across borders and cultures FRANCESCA BEZZONE

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