Language and Identity: Perceptions and Ideologies of Calabrese in Toronto

The Calabrese community of Toronto is one of the most robustly represented regional groups within the Italian diasporic community in Toronto and the GTA from its origins in the early to mid-20th century (Hagan & Rando 2007; Sinopoli 2003). Despite the size of the community, the Calabrese variety has been falling out of usage as the community shifts from multilingualism to English monolingualism across generations. It is crucial to study such speech communities as language loss becomes a potential reality (Nagy 2017). This paper is concerned with the relationship between language and identity as it pertains to the language attitudes of Italian-Canadians. Throughout this paper, I will address questions centralizing the linguistic features which index a Calabrese identity, the ways in which these markers serve to differentiate regional groups of Italians, and the interaction between language ideologies and attitudes towards regional groups. By addressing such questions, I aim to develop a deeper understanding of the community and their perception of regional language variation. In doing so, I will be contributing to ongoing documentation of regional varieties of Italian that are falling out of usage in the diasporic setting.