In-between identities: A sociolinguistic analysis of the community of young Italians living in London

Pepe, G. 2018. In-between identities: A sociolinguistic analysis of the community of young Italians living in London . in: Coutinho, M.A., Guilherme, A., Teixeira, J. and Carvalho, B. (ed.) Grammar and text: Selected papers from the 10th and 11th Fora for Linguistic Sharing Newcastle upon Tyne Cambridge Scholars Publishing. pp. 122-140

Chapter titleIn-between identities: A sociolinguistic analysis of the community of young Italians living in London
AuthorsPepe, G.
EditorsCoutinho, M.A., Guilherme, A., Teixeira, J. and Carvalho, B.
Abstract

The present paper introduces an original perspective on a sub-community recently formed inside the Italian community of London. The 2008 economic crisis caused a large migratory flow from southern European countries to the United Kingdom that deeply affected London. Thousands of young Italians have chosen London as favoured destination, leading to a repopulation of the community of Italians living in this city. Quite separate from the generation of Italians who migrated in the UK after World War II, the last arrivals show specific sociological characteristics which allow us to classify them in a sub-community, named ‘Community of Young Italians Living in London’ (CYILL) for the purposes of the present paper. Linguistically, CYILL has not yet been explored. The article explains some linguistic features developed by CYILL members and CYILL members’ linguistic attitude and behaviour. For the project, a small group of young Italians agreed to be recorded in a wide range of situations. As a result, a qualitative analysis of spontaneous speech was conducted. Interviews were carried out to explore participants’ ideas and values. The paper focuses on the language mixing phenomena participants realise and the metaphorical meaning attributed to those realisations. Through the analysis of extracts of participants’ conversations, I suggest some reasons for the use of language mixing phenomena, by evaluating the possible metaphorical meaning of these phenomena through the presentation of interviews’ segments.

KeywordsLinguistic Identity, Migration, Language Mixing Phenomena, Community of Practice, In-group Talk
Book titleGrammar and text: Selected papers from the 10th and 11th Fora for Linguistic Sharing
Page range122-140
Year2018
PublisherCambridge Scholars Publishing
Publication dates
Published01 Feb 2018
Place of publicationNewcastle upon Tyne
ISBN9781527505681

Related outputs

Multilingual practices in a disavowed community: The case of new Italian migrants in London
Pepe, G. 2020. Multilingual practices in a disavowed community: The case of new Italian migrants in London. PhD thesis University of Westminster School of Humanities https://doi.org/10.34737/qzxvz

Performing new identities: the community language of post-crisis Italian migrants in London
Cacciatore, F. and Pepe, G. 2019. Performing new identities: the community language of post-crisis Italian migrants in London. National Identities . 21 (5), pp. 507-526. https://doi.org/10.1080/14608944.2018.1505840

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