The interplay of dialect and the standard in anonymous street dialogues: Patterns of variation in northern Italy

Abstract

In this article we provide a quantitative view on the relationship between standard and dialect in Italy. In Italian sociolinguistics, the concept of dilalìa has been used to account for this kind of linguistic repertoire. This notion will be addressed as the main theoretical frame to our investigation on code choice. Italian sociolinguistics and dialectology so far have come to apparently contradictory results about the standard–dialect relationship and the vitality of dialects. On one side, the main post-war trend shows a fall in the number of dialect speakers (especially the young and the less educated); on the other, we are witnessing a change from above in attitudes and beliefs regarding dialects. We carried out an empirical study in the northwest of the country employing the method of rapid and anonymous street interactions. Our focus being on code choice, we wanted to know what factors affect the presence of dialect, making use of multivariate analysis.This research was part of a larger national project (Cofin 2002–2003) directed by Gaetano Berruto (University of Turin) with the title “Lingua e dialetto in Italia all'inizio del Terzo Millennio” (National language and dialect in Italy at the beginning of the Third Millennium) and involving the universities of Neaples, Lecce, and Rome. Both authors took part in the research unit of Turin. Although the research and the analysis of the data have been conceived and undertaken by both authors, Alessandro Vietti wrote “The results” and “Gender-based-variation” sections while all other parts were written by Silvia Dal Negro.