Naslov
Language Maintenance of a Minority within a Minority: The Position of Italians in a Continental Croatian Rural Setting

Autori
Šimičić, Lucija

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Poglavlja u knjigama, znanstveni

Knjiga
Italian Communities Abroad: Multilingualism and Migration

Urednik/ci
Di Salvo, Margherita ; Moreno, Paola

Izdavač
Cambridge Scholars Publishing

Grad
Newcastle upon Tyne

Godina
2017

Raspon stranica
125-144

ISBN
1-5275-0339-9

Ključne riječi
Italian minority, Croatia, Ciglenica, language maintenance, language and migration

Sažetak
The Italian minority is one of twenty-two officially recognized minorities in Croatia protected by relevant national laws. Although it makes up merely 0, 42% (N=17, 807) of the total population (Census 2011), it is also one of the best protected minorities in the country. Its distribution is quite unbalanced, however. Over 90% of all Italians in Croatia live in the Istrian County and Rijeka region, while the remaining 10% are dispersed in several other counties. In some of them they form quite dense, albeit small, communities. The aim of the paper is to analyze the way in which the Italian minority, as one of apparently best protected minorities, has nonetheless remained invisible and unprotected in some places for various reasons, both objective as well as subjective ones. Besides, the paper deals with the effect of this paradoxical position on ethnolinguistic sustainability of such communities. The study is focused on the Italians in the continental part of Croatia, who are considered non- autochthonous even though they migrated to Croatia in the 19th century. Their migration was caused primarily by economic motives, which was reflected in their specific acculturation strategies. Today their legal tretment is both the outcome of their allegedly illegitimate history, but also presents one of the factors limiting their linguistic maintenance. The fieldwork was carried out in the village of Ciglenica in the region of Moslavina by adopting the ethnographic approach which included the analysis of both in-depth interviews and observation of linguistic practices of community members. Regardless of the recognition of Italian minority in Croatia de iure and despite their strong sense of specific ethnic identification, the community under study is faced with a number of difficulties in their efforts to maintain linguistic and cultural identity. In this process, linguistic practices and specific communication strategies often play a crucial role in identity construction of members of this Italian community.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Filologija

POVEZANOST RADA