Endangerment of Italian Language in Villages
A study was performed in two villages in Italy that was conducted by an experimenter by the name of Naomi Nagy. This experiment measured how much of the native language was and was not spoken in two main Italian villages. Nagy first took a survey through the two villages (only one family of six opted out of taking the survey because they were not originally from the village). This survey was made up of three questions, and Nagy did not allow the participants to know why the survey was being conducted. The first question asked “How many participants in your household are fluent in both English and Italian? Also, list how many family members are in your house.” The second question stated, “Who taught …show more content…
What these participants didn’t know was that Nagy was collecting data and doing an experiment to see how much of the native language was being spoken. After gathering data, Nagy reported only 3.1% of Italy's population could fluently speak the Italian language accurately only after the European country merged in 1861 (Nagy, 2011). Nagy found in her study that less than ¼ of the two villages combined speak the native language of Italian as well as a second language. “Only 3.1% of Italy's population could speak the Italian standardized language properly when the nation unified in 1861, centered mainly in northwestern Italy” (Nagy, 2011, Results Section, pg 8). Cultures are changing every generation and older generations are not passing down their native language making it …show more content…
The Italian public school system now requires a foreign language class starting in the first grade, which is usually English. Parents are frantic for their children to learn English well, realizing the importance in the world economy as well as the child’s future. Some Italian schools even bring in English and British teachers. Lowell High School in Italy is a perfect example of the endangerment the Italian language is facing. “Lowell has taken all Italian classes and has transformed over to full English for more performance” (McCarthy, 2005, pg 11). The reason behind this new change is to provide children an opportunity to thrive. This is in direct comparison to schools with English as their first language. These schools have the option to chose Italian as one of thirteen different language electives. One of the reasons English is taught in other countries so early is because it is the dominant language of the internet (Baugh, 1976). It makes sense that for a child or adolescent to thrive and prosper in the world, English is necessary. To be successful and competitive in future economies, one cannot thrive without the knowledge of that language. Access to more jobs globally, requires language and other cross-cultural skills. Students must adapt to the global
A study was performed in two villages in Italy that was conducted by an experimenter by the name of Naomi Nagy. This experiment measured how much of the native language was and was not spoken in two main Italian villages. Nagy first took a survey through the two villages (only one family of six opted out of taking the survey because they were not originally from the village). This survey was made up of three questions, and Nagy did not allow the participants to know why the survey was being conducted. The first question asked “How many participants in your household are fluent in both English and Italian? Also, list how many family members are in your house.” The second question stated, “Who taught …show more content…
What these participants didn’t know was that Nagy was collecting data and doing an experiment to see how much of the native language was being spoken. After gathering data, Nagy reported only 3.1% of Italy's population could fluently speak the Italian language accurately only after the European country merged in 1861 (Nagy, 2011). Nagy found in her study that less than ¼ of the two villages combined speak the native language of Italian as well as a second language. “Only 3.1% of Italy's population could speak the Italian standardized language properly when the nation unified in 1861, centered mainly in northwestern Italy” (Nagy, 2011, Results Section, pg 8). Cultures are changing every generation and older generations are not passing down their native language making it …show more content…
The Italian public school system now requires a foreign language class starting in the first grade, which is usually English. Parents are frantic for their children to learn English well, realizing the importance in the world economy as well as the child’s future. Some Italian schools even bring in English and British teachers. Lowell High School in Italy is a perfect example of the endangerment the Italian language is facing. “Lowell has taken all Italian classes and has transformed over to full English for more performance” (McCarthy, 2005, pg 11). The reason behind this new change is to provide children an opportunity to thrive. This is in direct comparison to schools with English as their first language. These schools have the option to chose Italian as one of thirteen different language electives. One of the reasons English is taught in other countries so early is because it is the dominant language of the internet (Baugh, 1976). It makes sense that for a child or adolescent to thrive and prosper in the world, English is necessary. To be successful and competitive in future economies, one cannot thrive without the knowledge of that language. Access to more jobs globally, requires language and other cross-cultural skills. Students must adapt to the global