“No encuentro bien ser cien por cien suiza” – Language of Origin and Identity Claims among Third-Generation Teens in Switzerland

Author(s) : Rosita Fibbi, Chantal Wyssmüller

Source : https://www.unine.ch/files/live/sites/sfm/files/news/SE%20204%20-%20Fibbi_Wyssm%C3%BCller_No%20encuentro%20bien%20ser%20cien%20por%20cien%20suiza.pdf

Abstract:

US literature on language among descendants of immigrants acknowledges little room for bilingual or mixed language use. Assuming a contextual approach of integration dynamics, this paper, based on qualitative research, argues that functional multilingualism is a significant reality among grandchildren of Italian and Spanish immigrants in Switzerland. In a multilingual country and continent, knowledge of language “of origin” plays a crucial role in legitimizing their multiple identity claims, besides institutional affiliations, ancestry and place of residence. The stake of such a claim is not an ethnic identity, but rather a recognized belonging to the norm of their plural urban environment.