Abstract
Very little research, if any at all, has been conducted on the ancestral language retention of Italian-Canadians during World War Two. The aim of this research study was to compile a body of literature that would begin to support the notion that World War Two Italophobic policies inflicted by the Canadian government on the Italian-Canadian community could have negatively affected the intergenerational transmission of the Italian language in Canada, 1935-1947. In order to introduce the topic, a 'boxed-in' literature review was conducted by compiling research on Italian-Canadians during the war that spanned many topics. By grouping the material into specific themes, a structure for Italian lingusitic suicide began to emerge. Two sections on theoretical perspectives and oral histories precede an analysis of three interviews conducted in the Greater Toronto area that serve to bring reality and correlational evidence to the literature review.
Highlights
prominent Little Italy's across the nation
Italians became a threat to the Canadian government
the government launched a widespread campaign against Italian-Canadians which saw the arrest and internment of thousands
Summary
The Italian community in Canada is a large and vibrant one, with prominent Little Italy's in cities from the shores of Nova Scotia to the coast of British Columbia. Despite the success of Italian cultural life in Canada today, the Canadian government has not always been accepting of Italians. One result was the devastation of the lives of many Italians in Canada, the majority of whom faithfully swore allegiances to their adoptive country. Canadian immigration policy made clear that Southern Europeans were far from desirable immigrants, and coupled with Mussolini's halt on emigration to racist countries that treated Italians as inferior beings, Canada saw very little migration of Italians across its borders in this decade (Clifford, 1988). Other major Italian centers in cities throughout the country were steeped in italianita and respected the fascism that brought them together as a community. Despite simultaneously maintaining allegiances to Canada, many Italian-Canadians found themselves facing the wrath of the Canadian government and their Anglo-Canadian neighbours after June 10, 1940 (Ramirez, 1988)
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