Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of figures
- List of contributors
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- 1 Language diversity in the USA
- 2 Language contact in the USA
- 3 Native American languages in the USA
- 4 Spanish in the USA
- 5 Chinese in the USA
- 6 Tagalog in the USA
- 7 French in the USA
- 8 Vietnamese in the USA
- 9 German in the USA
- 10 Korean in the USA
- 11 Russian in the USA
- 12 Italian in the USA
- 13 Arabic in the USA
- 14 Portuguese in the USA
- 15 Polish in the USA
- 16 Language policy in the USA
- Notes
- Media resources related to the top twelve non-English languages in the USA
- References
- Index
12 - Italian in the USA
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of figures
- List of contributors
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- 1 Language diversity in the USA
- 2 Language contact in the USA
- 3 Native American languages in the USA
- 4 Spanish in the USA
- 5 Chinese in the USA
- 6 Tagalog in the USA
- 7 French in the USA
- 8 Vietnamese in the USA
- 9 German in the USA
- 10 Korean in the USA
- 11 Russian in the USA
- 12 Italian in the USA
- 13 Arabic in the USA
- 14 Portuguese in the USA
- 15 Polish in the USA
- 16 Language policy in the USA
- Notes
- Media resources related to the top twelve non-English languages in the USA
- References
- Index
Summary
Introduction
Italian Americans constitute one of the earliest and most important immigrant communities in the USA, with their presence felt around the country both culturally and economically. Today, Italian ranks ninth among the non-English languages spoken in the USA, with nearly 800,000 persons still using it as their home language. Although the number of US speakers of Italian has been continuously declining (as shown in Table 1.1), interest in the Italian language and culture has been rekindled by recent changes in Italy's public image in the USA as well as by increased opportunities for contact with Italy through travel and the global media.
Although most Italian Americans moved out of “Little Italy” communities in the 1950s, Italian neighborhoods in many cities are still significant sites for the transmission and enactment of cultural traditions throughout the generations. Italians are often considered a primary example of an immigrant community that successfully left behind the poverty and the social stigma experienced by the early settlers (Alba 2000). In fact, as we will note below, the median income and educational attainment of Italian-Americans today are equal or superior to the national average, and their degree of adaptation to US society has been extraordinary. Nonetheless, Italian-Americans are still a very distinct community with their own traditions and moral values and a strong attachment to their culture.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Language Diversity in the USA , pp. 195 - 205Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2010
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