Okay, so what's going on? What's happened?

Okay, so the post you have all been probably just wanting to read. Now that you have had the opportunity to get a brief history lesson on the origins of Italian, the origins of Sicilian, the differences, similarities, and battle between what is a language and what is a dialect, we can finally discuss what is going on. As I mentioned in the last post,
I want to sort out, setting aside academia and linguistics and get a grasp as to why Sicilian is accepted as a dialect and not a language. I want to see the changes Sicilian has made culturally and politically, and the results of these changes. I had the opportunity to communicate with Sicilians via the Internet and ask probing questions. I wanted to know what is going on and how does technology play a vital role into this whole mess of "dialects versus language."

To help me explain what has been going on over the past generations up to this point, I spoke with five different Sicilians who are still currently living in Sicily. All of the people I spoke with were between the ages of 17 and 27. Both males and females were asked the same questions. They all have had the opportunity to experience the current changes after being told what the situation use to be like. There was no one over the age of 30 that could be found in the chat room. I had to go by what I was told assuming it was true and accurate. Who better to ask than someone expereincing the changes, right?

I asked specific questions to get a sense of what is going on and where technology falls into the topic of Sicilian as a dialect. The actual conversation is in its own post for those who are interested to see the questions and the general response I received from most of the people I spoke with. The complied results are in English and Sicilian.

Since its origin, Sicilian has mostly been contained within Sicily. If heard outside of Sicily, it is because of people moved to a different region or migrated north. Sicilian, as a whole and compared to Italian is seen as a dialect used by those who come from a lower class. Sicilian is seen as a dirty way of speaking Italian, used by those who are uneducated. If someone uses Sicilian, they are stereotyped as uneducated, dumb, someone with a lack of capital in a lower class. This is the cultural stigma that is placed on the Sicilian and has always been the case.

The first question was, what "language" was spoken in the house when growing up? All answered quickly with Sicilian. However, there was some variation for those who either have children or, have family members who have young children. For example, those who have children currently growing up in the home will speak to their children in Sicilian, but their children will respond in Italian. If the child does not respond in Italian, the parents have to find a way to "remind" their child that they do not want them speaking Sicilian, but still want them to know the language, err, dialect. Parents will do this for many reasons.

The first reason is that the education system, even in Sicily is formed around speaking only Italian. All of the people I spoke to told me that there was no Sicilian allowed in schools. If children were caught speaking in Sicilian, they were punished in multiple ways ranging from a slap on the wrist to letting their parents know of the situation. Educators, even if they speak in Sicilian in their own personal time strive to get children away from speaking Sicilian and rely on Italian.

This really makes me think of Lessig's models of governance. I can't say it falls exactly under law because there are no actual imposed rules set that tell people, no, you can not use Sicilian and if you do here are the consequences. This type of governance would most likely fall under norms-social conventions and architecture or code.

It is difficult for education institutions to control the act of using Sicilian, but institutions do make an effort. These institutions are trying to shape children to the cultural norm that is set by central and northern Italy, to use Italian with as little variation possible.

With regards to architecture and code, I would equate materials, such as books, reading, signs, to architecture and code. Within the institutions Sicilian will not and can not be found in any writting, books, materials, or signs. This architecture makes it easier to change and shape the norms of this different society and culture.

So, I later asked, even if Sicilian is not allowed in school, did children still use it? Not everyone agreed nor had the same response. Most of the people I spoke with told me it depended on a few factors. The factor it depended on was if they were approached in Sicilian, they would respond in Sicilian, but if the conversation was started in Italian, then they would respond in Italian. Then, there were those that said they always just spoke in Sicilian and did not care, and then there was one that said regardless, he would speak in Italian when at school to avoid problems with administrators. However, everyone agreed that they only time Sicilian would be used, is if the teacher or an administer was not around like in transition to classes or at recess.

As we have talked about many topics in Global Studies 551, there seems to be a lot of "top-down" control going on here. The government and the education system is imposing that Italian be used instead of Sicilian, and do not allow children to use Sicilian in the school system. Doesn't anyone think if there was no such imposed rule and allowing people to speak freely, would there be this strong division among Italians? Italy for years struggled to become unified. Many monarchies were dissolved and instead of kingdoms and empires, Italy finally became Unified as one republic. Telling people how they should or should not speak creates a division of power, creates a division amongst people, and ultimately creates a new form of racism. Yes, its true, racism!

Race, although all born in the same country (Italy) is still an issue. There is a great divide between Sicily and Italy. As mentioned multiple times throughout the entire post, Sicily is seen as dirty, uneducated, poor, resource sucking state of Italy. Adding a completely different sounding version of Italian to where it sounds like its own langauge, and well, now we have an issue. The northerners for the majority are not to liking to southerners, and the only problem the south has with the north, is that they are not accepted because of the way southerners are viewed and judged!

Okay, so let us get back to questions to help understand some of these issues. The next big question I tackled was, if either of the people I spoke to, who live in Sicily were to use Italian, when would it be and why? The answer was mostly the same across the board. The general idea was they would use Italian if talking with people who commanded respect such as lawyers, doctors, an elder, or someone important/successful in the community like a Jewelry store owner. When I asked why, what is the difference if you all come from Sicily, why change? Everyone knows people have this idea in the back of their head that Sicilian is considered to be used by lower society, and no one wants to be judge as someone of a lower society. Okay, that is understandable, but then why bother to use a form of a language if you know ahead of time that you are judged by the way you speak?

Well, let me tell you, this got some people a little peeved. The idea is that the way they speak, Sicilian, it is their culture, their history, but even more important, part of their identity. The way Sicilians talk, their "language" plays an enormous role and is a huge piece of the pie that makes up Sicilians. It is what makes Sicilians unique. They all agreed this is what makes them "Sicilian" and not just "Italian". Their argument is that people in Rome speak differently just like people from Naples but no one says the way they speak is wrong and uneducated, so why is Sicilian not okay to use without being judged?

I tried to explain to them to look at the history of Sicily. From my own knowledge from taking history and cultural classes on Sicily and Italy, Sicily has always been an agricultural state. Sicily never really had the chance to industrialize like the north of Italy due to the lack of financial resources, and the quick growth of farming. Northern Italy is more well known for capital, banks, and having the first huge economic boom in Italy. Sicily just seemed to always lag behind. Even though Sicily had the first university and was first to get education in gear, Sicily is still seen as a parasitic state of Italy. The economy as a whole is not doing well, similar to America, and many in the north blame Sicily's lack of industrialization and lack of capital as a state for the sluggish economy. Sicily has never really had the chance to not be seen as anything but below societies (the north) standards.

Sicilians use the same argument for not changing the way they speak applies to when they travel outside of Sicily. I asked if they would speak strictly in Italian, even if it was amongst themselves when traveling outside of Sicily. Everyone responded, only if they were speaking to someone they did not know personally for the only purpose of being completely understood, not for the idea that Sicilian is a lower class form of Italian. Notice how I did not use the word "language." Everyone tried to stay away from defining Sicilian as another "language." Sicilians do not want to define the way they speak as a different language. They have a hard enough time fitting in with the rest of the state.

The hardest question that I asked everyone was if they thought that Sicilian, as a "language" was slowing dieing and being eradicated? Or, worse yet, will Sicilian just eventually vanish? Some, for pride reasons said no, it's not dieing at all and will always be around. Others were more realistic to say that slowly they believe Sicilian will eventually only be found in print and movies that already in some form of circulation. At this point though, no one thought the entire form of Sicilian was dead, just in the forms in which they use it. Here is where technology comes into play.

Even from just sitting in a chat room, without having to interject, respond, or even let people know I was really there, something interesting was going on. People who knew Sicilian were using it, even if there were others who were using Italian. It seemed as if even though Sicilian is supposed to be this "lower form" of communication, no one seemed to care. It was like all judgment was gone. There was no telling if someone who was using Italian knew Sicilian or the other way around. People who spoke in Sicilian only carried on conversations with those who responded in Sicilian and the same went for those in Italian. I did notice though that if there was criticism, it was about the topic of discussion, not for using Sicilian over Italian. There are no modes of governance or control over what form of the Italian is acceptable.

Those who use Sicilian are using it in in a digital way without worry. Using it online is a way to preserve the culture, and the "language." Many that I spoke with felt that the digital form of Sicilian will be all that is left with printed books, filmed movies, and recorded music. However, one mentioned what would it matter though if all Sicilian becomes is a form of writing because languages and forms of language are learned from passing it down by word of mouth. Meaning, if all Sicilian becomes is a form of writing, how can it survive if generations can't understand it? One chatter made a good point, if they do not use it in a verbal form, then there is a slim chance it will be carried on. Some think by the time their children have grandchildren, they will not have the opportunity to learn Sicilian.

So, I raised one more question, was using the Internet a form of preserving Sicilian, freely using Sicilian amongst non Sicilian speakers without feeling judged, and why?

The people that I spoke with did not feel concerned with being judge in everyday life, and especially when using the Internet and using Sicilian in their back and forth conversations. Everyone thought it was a way to help preserve their identity and their culture. They understand that as time moves along Sicilians are slowing accepting the changes to be a more unified republic and help eliminate race issues associated with being Sicilian due to the way they speak, but obviously at a cost. They feel they can reduce this "cost" by finding a way to use Sicilian without limits, without control, and without judgment. The Internet is a place where Sicilian can always be used without limits. There are no boundaries, no judgment, and certainly a way to spread the Sicilian culture.