Modification and maintenance: Language among school‐children of Italian background in South Australia

Abstract

The paper investigates the linguistic systems of children of Italian immigrants in Australia. It is concerned to establish their patterns of linguistic usage, and the extent of their mastery of the standard form of Italian and the various Italian dialects. Evidence is also reviewed in relation to the claims that have been made for the emergence of a new linguistic form labelled as ‘Australitalian’. Data is presented from five different studies conducted in South Australian secondary schools. These show the decline in usage of Italian, except to ethnic elders; the tendency to use mixtures of Italian, dialect and English forms in such discourse; and the positive desire on the part of many students to maintain and develop their Italian linguistic system. Educationally, these findings suggest the need for Australian schools to teach Italian to students of Italian background as a living language, and to ensure that every opportunity is given to master its literary forms.