ОСОБЛИВОСТІ ЗАСВОЄННЯ ІТАЛІЙСЬКОЇ МОВИ В КУЛЬТУРНОМУ СЕРЕДОВИЩІ ЇЇ НОСІЇВ

Abstract

The article touches upon the issue of integration of foreigners into another language and cultural environment on the example of Ukrainians who come to Italy for work. The theoretical basis of the article is works by Ukrainian and foreign scholars on linguistic and culture studies, psycholinguistics, psychology, methods of acquiring a foreign language, translation studies. Besides, the focus has been upon close interrelation between the knowledge of a foreign language and the ability to understand and adapt to a new culture and mentality. On the basis of the modern relevant theories the process of learning a foreign language is compared with acquisition of a native language by a child. The practical basis of the article is the author’s observations of the process of interlanguage and intercultural communication between Italians and Ukrainians in different everyday situations and the quality of acquisition of the Italian language and culture by the latter. In this research the everyday communicative situations include family and interpersonal relations, the spheres of cooking and housekeeping, the attitude to religion and work. With the help of illustrative examples from real communication the article highlights a certain similarity between Italian and Ukrainian characters and world perception, and the absence of considerable differences between the Italian and Ukrainian language systems, which facilitates a fast integration of Ukrainians into the Italian language and cultural space. Also, for illustration, we have highlighted phonetic, lexical, and grammar parallels between the Italian and Ukrainian languages. Ukrainians who have lived in Italy for quite a long time are fluent enough in the Italian language. However, if they do not approach studying of the language professionally their speech lacks grammatical correctness and vocabulary diversity. Hence, we have made conclusion that just staying in a foreign environment is not sufficient for a high-standard command of a language. For this purpose, one needs to make corresponding strong-willed efforts and to apply the language on all the levels of communication. At the end of the article we have singled out a range of issues for further research and development of the aforementioned topic.