essay

Politeness and languages in contact: Italians in Toronto

their languages, literature, and lives: proceedings of the 20th annual conference of the american italian historical association, chicago, illinois, november 11-13, 1987 • Staten Island, N.Y. • Published In 1990 • Pages: 43-50

By: Vizmuller-Zocco, Jana.

Abstract

This study describes the development of a unique variation of the Italian language called 'italiese' among the Italian Canadian inhabitants of Toronto, Canada. This language may be classified as a kind of koine used by people from different dialect backgrounds, the dialects of which are '…stripped of their phonetic, grammatical and lexical peculiarities, injected with a good dose of English and put on a skeleton of Italian grammar' (p. 43). In this article the author illustrates the reciprocal influences that languages exhibit when in contact with one another in the use of italiese in the expression of greetings, etiquette, and apologies.

HRAF PubDate

2000

Region

North America

Sub Region

Regional, Ethnic and Diaspora Cultures

Document Type

essay

Evaluation

Creator Type

Unknown

Document Rating

4: Excellent Secondary Data

Analyst

John Beierle; 2000

Field Date

no date

Coverage Date

not specified

Coverage Place

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Notes

Jana Vizmuller-Zocco

Includes bibliographic references (p. 49-50)

LCCN

90083301

LCSH

Italians--Canada