Cultivating Ethnicity Through the Language of Origin: the Third Generation of Italians and Language and ‘Culture of Origin’ Courses in Switzerland

Author(s) : Nicole Chatelain, Francesco Arcidiacono

Source : https://ijse.padovauniversitypress.it/2018/3/8

Abstract:

This study examines the motivation of the third generation of Italian

immigrants in Switzerland to (re)learn Italian through a language and culture

of origin education program. The goal of this program was to ensure continuity

of education in case of the student’s return to his/her home country. Today,

the third generation of Italians in Switzerland are considered “appreciated”

foreigners. Their origin, nevertheless, exposes them to a public discourse which

values multilingualism, while the familial linguistic heritage has not necessarily

been passed down to them by parents. The present paper analyses eleven

interviews and one focus group conducted with different actors of Italian school

(current students, students of the second generation, and supervisors) after two

exploratory classroom observations. The goal is to identify the extent to which

the process of ethnicity is connected to the individual and a social motivation

to (re)learn Italian within a French speaking community. The results show that

learning practices of the third generation fall into the paradigm of symbolic

ethnicity, highlighting the belief that the knowledge of the language of origin

will enhance integration in every linguistic region and increase the chances of

accessing the labour market. Participants are cultivating this bilingualism and

considering it for their descendants, which indicates a discrepancy with the

second generation.

Keywords:

italian language, Swiss multilingual education policy, third generation,

cultural heritage, inter-generational transmission