i-italy Magazine

June 2nd, 2008

Parlo, dunque sono

by Anthony Julian Tamburri*

As many now know, the future of the Advanced Placement Exam in Italian has been called into question. Contrary to the situation with French, German, and Spanish, we have lived fifty years without it. With the launching of the Advanced Placement Exam in Italian in 2005, we overcame an obstacle. Namely, an unintentional disadvantage to high school students who opted for Italian over the so-called canonical languages had been in play: those languages, we’ve been told, that were to have more currency within the greater United States collective consciousness.

An ad hoc committee for the AP in Italian met with the College Board this past January. At that meeting, we were informed of the low number of students who had taken the exam to date; and the financial consequences for the College Board were indeed significant. There has been growth, but the College Board launched the AP in Italian because higher numbers were expected. The upshot is that we all, together, need to do all we can to increase the number of students. To be sure, if more students take the AP Exam in high school, more students will populate advanced courses in colleges and universities.

According to a 2006 MLA survey, 77,350 students were enrolled in Italian at the college/ university level. Of these, 7, 593 (9.8%) were enrolled in advanced courses. With a steady flow of AP students from high school, this number would surely increase. This is simple math. But this will not happen alone. Matilda Raffa Cuomo, together with NIAF, OSIA, UNICO, the Italian government, and the AATI worked long and hard to get the AP Exam launched.

With this special edition of i-Italy, we need to look within ourselves as Italian language teachers, parents, members of the Italian and Italian/ American communities, and those of us who, simply, love all things Italian! We need to do everything possible to guarantee that the AP in Italian survives and, indeed, thrives for decades to come.

We need to get the word out; everyone must know of the AP Exam and its many benefits. We need to underscore the consequences of its cancellation. In a nutshell, we would be relegated to second-class citizenry in the world of language learning. In order to combat such a back-slide, all Italian and Italian/American organizations and associations need to join the struggle. We need to target local school boards; they should not make curricular decisions based on current trends. The study of Italian has grown exponentially at the college/university level since the 1960s, an increase of 600%. We need to let school boards know that the Italian and Italian/American communities will no longer remain silent. Italian is the fourth studied, spoken language in colleges and universities. Had Italian been available in many more high schools, how many more students would there be in college courses? The question may be hypothetical, but the situation is not. * Dean, John D. Calandra Italian American Institute, Queens College, CUNY , President, American Association of Teachers of Italian cont’d. page 2

Talking Italy

These days Italy is celebrating the 60th anniversary of its Constitution.

We at i-Italy have decided to offer our contribution with this special print issue dedicated to Italy’s culture and language.

For an online editorial and social network such as i-Italy, going to print is a special occasion. It is – if the parallel does not sound too impertinent – similar to the emigrant who returns to visit the old country. The smell of paper, the beautiful perfection of printed fonts – these things you cannot find in the online world. The Republic’s National Holiday seemed the ideal occasion for such a return.

This special issue contributes to a collective effort to promote the study of Italian language in the U.S., a primary means to reinforce the cultural and political identity of that vast nation we call Italian America. For a nation without a language is lost forever, unable to engage in what Robert Viscusi defines “authoritative discourse.”

With this in mind, we have gathered a most authoritative group of contributors: the highest representatives of Italy’s institutions in the U.S., top exponents of the Italian American community, prestigious academics, journalists, and writers. To each of them iItaly asked the same questions: Why Italian? How can we motivate American citizens – be they of Italian origin or not – to learn Italian?

And, why should we? We hope our special issue will stimulate curiosity and debate.

The language/identity issue is strongly felt – not only in the institutional and intellectual spheres but among the public at large.

In these past few weeks, we also proposed a discussion forum to our community members entitled “Studying Italian: Why and Why Not”.

The response was amazing, as dozens of people began to debate, recount stories, offer their experiences and judgments (www.iItaly.us). cont’d. page 11

by Giovanni Castellaneta*

A Borderless Language

Traditionally, for many students in this Country, learning Italian has been an attempt to “rediscover” and reconnect with their roots.

Language is a marker of identity. It is a political and social instrument that serves as the “glue” that binds groups and communities together. There are communities in the United States that are visibly bonded by language much more than others.

The examples that most quickly come to mind are the Hispanic and Asian communities. Language is central to their cohesion and they have in many respects superimposed it on American English, to the point that some law makers wanted to introduce legislation specifying English as the official language of the United States. This generation of Italian Americans must ensure that the coming generation, the 4th generation, has Italian as an equally strong cohesive force for their communities. Language is not only a form of communicating culture, it is the strongest element in preserving culture. I am thinking now of the Native American cultures, which, in losing their language, are in danger of losing their identities.

But the preservation of culture is not the only reason that makes learning a foreign language vital; equally important ones are the expansion of knowledge, understanding, and quality of life.

Learning a foreign language is a limitless tool of discovery and exploration of a different culture because language and culture are an inseparable whole: study of the former motivates and increases understanding of the latter in a virtuous circle. cont’d. page 2

*Ambassador of Italy to the U.S.

In this issue: Stefano Albertini, Maria Bartiromo, Ottorino Cappelli, Giovanni Castellaneta, Margaret I. Cuomo, Matilda Raffa Cuomo, A. Kenneth Ciongoli, Anna Luisa Depau, Josephine Gattuso Hendin, Fred Gardaphe, Katherine LaGuardia, Silvana Mangione, Andrea Mantineo, Dominic Massaro, Dacia Maraini, Mariuccia Zerilli Marimò, Eleonora Mazzucchi, Renato Miracco, Aniello Musella, Daniel Nigro, Berardo Paradiso, Rodrigo Praino, Letizia Airos Soria, Alexander Stille, Riccardo Strano, Aileen Riotto Sirey, Louis Tallarini, Joseph Sciame, Francesco Maria Talò, Anthony J. Tamburri, Robert Viscusi

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Photographs in this issue have been taken in Italy (Biblioteca Nazionale di Napoli), and in the U.S. (City University of New York)

The Editors: Ottorino Cappelli Fred Gardaphe Stefano Giannuzzi Letizia Airos Soria Anthony J. Tamburri Robert Viscusi email: editors@i-Italy.org

Giovanni Castellaneta

from page 1

It gives access to history, literature, music, customs, tradition, systems of beliefs and values and their development from the past to present times. Therefore, knowing another language is the way to develop understanding, open-mindedness and tolerance in the global world.

In addition, students may also be prompted to learn a foreign language by the prospective advantages and benefits to their future professional lives. Material borders are in some cases being overcome by virtual travel, but once across the border, communication becomes necessary.

The decision to study Italian is acknowledged to meet all these motivations and expectations, and we can see it in the following figures: After Spanish, French and German, Italian is the fourth most popular language in the United States, from kindergarten all the way through university, and its popularity is growing every year. From 1998 to 2006 there has been a 60 per cent increase in students registered for university classes in Italian. Recent surveys have revealed that in 2007 Italian was the foreign language most students wanted to learn. In 2008 it was in second place. This year, over 2,000 students have already registered with the College Board for the AP Italian exam, a net increase over previous years. These figures are complemented by the fact that Italy is second only to Great Britain as the major destination for study abroad programs.

Anthony J. Tamburri

from page 1

We need to set our sights on greater numbers. In 2007, the numbers for analogous languages were: Italian, 1642; Japanese, 1667; Chinese, 3260; German, 5397. In 2003, students who took the AP in German totaled 3,973; by 2007 it had increased significantly.

This, for sure, must be our goal. As we move forward with a community strategy, we also need to move forward with a professional plan. First, we need to inspire members of the future generation to look to the teaching of Italian as a professional goal. Second, we need to be sure that the means are available for high school teachers to attend workshops and seminars specifically targeted to the AP in Italian. Third, we need to secure the means for high school teachers to attend summer workshops in Italy. Other language teachers have the support of numerous organizations both here in the U.S. and in their countries of linguistic origin. Fourth, the local and national associations of Italian Studies, especially the American Association of Teachers of Italian and the Educational Offices of Italy in the U.S., need to conduct AP workshops for middle- and high-school teachers of Italian.

All of this inevitably speaks to an overall commitment on the part of the Italian and Italian/ American lay and professional communities with regard to Italian culture and its many facets. First and foremost, of course, is our language. If we do not know the language, we simply cannot access a greater part of that culture. Furthermore, for the children and grandchildren of those who spent weeks in steerage, a greater knowledge of Italian affords their progeny greater knowledge to the hows and whys such immigration took place. Namely, we can – indeed, should – take possession of our own ethnic patrimony in order to, in the end, enhance our own selfawareness.

Why Should We Study Italian?

Let’s pretend that neither the authors of this article, nor any of its readers have any Italian heritage. What good reasons are there for taking the time to study Italian?

The student of a language other than English learns to understand speakers of the target language – in this case Italian – as members of a society apart from American society, with its unique contributions and attributes.

Italian is the 4th most commonly studied language in American universities, and the numbers of students learning Italian increases each year.

When our non-ItalianAmerican friends and relatives think of Italians in the USA , what images arise? Perhaps a strong sense of family, wonderful music, outstanding cuisine? Are we still struggling with the inaccurate and devastating association with organized crime? Is there a stigma attached to being Italian?

Experience has demonstrated that the teaching of the Italian language, especially in the preadolescent and adolescent years leading to college (i.e., Middle School and High School years), is the key to changing the public’s perception of Italian and Italian-American culture.

Our own research in language learning over the past ten years indicates that foreign language learning is indeed the most effective way to understanding the culture and character of a country.

The Advanced Placement Program (AP) in Italian that is offered by the College Board in high schools nationally provides a chance for students to earn college credit for their study of the Italian language.

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Through the AP Program in Italian, students can fully appreciate idiomatic expressions, the nuances, and the significance of the spoken and written Italian language. By studying the history of Italy , and its many contributions to the world, American high school students develop a sense of admiration and appreciation for Italy , and Italians. The student can deepen that understanding of Italian language and culture with further study in college.

How do we contradict the media’s negative and degrading images of Italians and Italian-Americans? The most powerful and effective way is by learning the beautiful and expressive Italian language, reading Dante, Petrarca, Boccaccio, as well as more contemporary Italian poets and authors, including Luigi Pirandello, Carlo Levi, Giuseppe Tomasi Di Lampedusa, Leonardo Sciascia, Filippo Marinetti, Benedetto Croce, Dario Fo, Umberto Eco and many others.

Could there be music without the contributions of the Italians? Certainly the experience of opera as we know it would be impossible without the monumental contributions of Verdi, Puccini, Rossini, Donizetti, and Bellini, and many other composers. Italy’s famous opera singers, including Caruso, Pavarotti, Licia Albanese, Mirella Freni, Renata Scotto, Rosa Ponselle, as well as contemporary luminaries such as Marcello Giordani, Salvatore Licitra, Cecilia Bartoli, and so many others.

by Matilda Raffa Cuomo* & Margaret I. Cuomo*

Contemporary Italian musicians have offered their gifts as well, with the songs of Andrea Bocelli, Eros Ramazzotti, Zucchero, Massimo Ranieri, and other exciting performers.

There are countless, memorable contributions in the area of art from Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo to Modigliani and Giorgio de Chirico and others, and architecture, from Brunelleschi and Palladio to Renzo Piano and Paolo Soleri and beyond.

Italian scientists ranging from the ancient Romans, to Luigi Galvani (hence, “galvanize”), and Alessandro Volta (hence, “voltage”) to Nobel Prize winners including Golgi, Marconi, Fermi, Segre’, Levi-Montalcini, Giacconi, Capecchi, and many others, have significantly enhanced scientific knowledge and progress. Maria Montessori, the first woman physician to graduate from the University of Rome La Sapienza Medical School, created a methodology of education for young children that is recognized globally.

Italian cuisine is another significant contribution. We are fortunate to have the gracious Laura Maioglio of historic Barbetta Restaurant, the ebullient Tony and Marisa May at San Domenico Restaurant with its outstanding chef, Odette Fada, the gregarious Sirio Maccioni of Le Cirque, the dynamic Chef Michael Cetrulo of Piano Due, as well as the talented Lidia Mattichio Bastianich, Giada De Laurentiis, Mario Batali, and of course, Rachel Ray, and others who are some of the “superstars” of Italian cuisine in the USA. Italian fashion designers, including Armani, Benetton, Ferragamo, Fendi, Loro Pia-

na, Missoni, Prada, Valentino,Versace, Vittadini, and hosts of others, are global leaders in style and quality.

Italian jewelry designs by Buccellati, Bulgari, Roberto Coin, Damiani, Manfredi, and many more, shine in the finest stores globally.

The essence of what it means to be an Italian lies in the permanence and relevance of the vast Italian contributions to American society, and the global community. The Italian language connects us, as Americans, to that extraordinary heritage.

When we travel to Italy , we are humbled to hear wellwishers exclaim, “We are immensely grateful to the Cuomo family for creating such a positive image of ItalianAmericans!”

Our response to these sincere and generous Italians is, “We are eternally grateful to the Italians for offering us an exquisite language and a culture so rich and beneficial to the entire world.”

Matilda Raffa Cuomo is the Former First Lady of New York State, Chair of the Committee to Establish the AP Program in Italian, and Founder and Chair of MentoringUSA/ITALIA. Margaret I. Cuomo, M.D., is a member of the Committee to Establish the AP Program in Italian, a member of Princeton University’s Advisory Council for the Department of French and Italian, Chair of Lago del Bosco, the Italian Language Village, and a member of the National Advisory Board of Concordia Language Villages.

c/o J.D. Calandra Italian American Insitute Qeens College, CUNY 25w 43rd Street 17th Floor New York, N.Y. 10036 Telephone: (212) 642-2094 Fax: (212) 642-2030

PRINT EDITION Letizia Airos Soria, Managing Editor Eleonora Mazzucchi, Assistant Editor Daria Masullo & Giulia Prestia, Translations Fulvio Minichini, Photographs

June 2nd, a Day for National Synergy

by Francesco Maria Talò* National holidays are an important time for every country’s diplomatic and consular activities. In New York we try not to limit ourselves to festive occasions characterized by fine Italian food and drinks. We would like, in fact, to present to a discerning public a few examples of Italian excellence highlighting the quality of our culture, products, and tourist offerings.

For the fifth year, Italian institutions in New York have jointly extended an invitation to the event on June 2nd. Along with the Consulate, which coordinated the event, other participating organizations include the Istituto Italiano di Cultura, Istituto per il Commercio con l’Estero (ICE), and Ente Nazionale del Turismo (ENIT). On this occasion we were aware of the increasing necessity to present ourselves as part of a “national system.” We are truly dedicated to being team players because we have a common interest: to promote each aspect of Italy, making it known and loved not only to fellow Italians and ItalianAmericans, but also to an increasingly larger public. The issue of knowledge is fundamental.

We are aware of the exceptional inimitability of what Italy has to offer. Besides its many problems that we cannot deny, we have many more opportunities that come from our singular cultural heritage. What matters is not only sharing the richness of the culture that has amassed over the centuries but all of its modern vibrancy as well. We are committed to updating Italy’s image. We would prefer that an instinctive affection for our country be grounded in an informed appreciation of Italy as a major player in today’s global culture and economy.

From a collaborative point of view and with the ongoing objective of updating our image, this year we have decided for the first time to highlight two regions in Italy during our celebration on June 2nd. Sicily and Tuscany, along with their local institutions, and public and private organizations, have worked with us to showcase some examples of Italian excellence through the past, present, and future which embodies the theme of the June 2nd celebration this year in New York. We took our cue from two upcoming milestones in Italian and universal culture that have a special connection to these two regions: the 50th anniversary of the publication of the novel The Leopard by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa and the 150th anniversary of Giacomo Puccini’s birth. These anniversaries will not only ensure that the June 2nd event is interesting and enjoyable, but General Manager of the Metropolitan Opera Peter Gelb, will also receive an international award honoring Puccini. We will host a series of events spotlighting Sicily and Tuscany which will take place over an entire week thanks to a

collaborative effort with our partner institutions in New York such as the Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò at New York University.

The goal, therefore, will be to offer a complete and up-to-date image of these two regions.

With that in mind, I would like to announce a seminar that we will host at the Consulate on June 6th in collaboration with Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna in Pisa. The event will present innovations in surgical technology. We will also share the results of Italian medical research which has created exciting opportunities for investors in the technology sector. The seminar will be the first in a series entitled “Colloqui

newyorkesi di cultura scientifica italiana – Lynx 21” which will promote our continuous excellence in scientific discoveries and their fascinating implications from an economic point of view.

To understand, update, and share our culture. As “System Italy,” these are the features that we want associated with our national holiday that will take place over several days.

These are the same goals that inspire our daily work and, as I never tire of almost obsessively repeating, the primary tool we have to achieve those goals is our language. Understanding the Italian language is the most direct way to access our culture and develop an updated image of Italy that is free of stereotypes. This tool,

language, becomes a crucial objective for our culture. It is an objective but it is also an opportunity that is available to all – not only to the new generations of Italian-Americans who want to reclaim the fundamental richness of their own identity, but for all Americans in general. In fact, in a globalized economy and society, as well as in America, the knowledge of a second language represents a valuable commodity in the competitive job market. If learning a new language is a great gift, then why not choose the language of the country with the largest cultural heritage in the world and that today represents a large, modern, and industrialized economy? *Italian Consul General in NewYork

The Quaderni

by Renato Miracco*

As soon as I was appointed Director of the Italian Cultural Institute, one of my priorities had been to create continuity in the Institute’s activities both as a presence in the American cultural fabric and in the promotion of the Italian language.

Every event that we organize, as well as those organized with other museums, surely would have had more of an effect if they had been accompanied by a written catalog that could serve as a future reminder of the event. Here, the idea of creating the Quaderni of the Italian Cultural Institute’s exhibits was born. They would be divided in two sections: one section for art that paid special attention to our art exhibits and a literature section that highlighted the cultural contribution of several luminaries who gave lectures or book presentations at the Institute.

Toward this end, during the course of our building’s renovation I “discovered” several real treasures: interviews dating back to 1960 given by renowned authors such as Eco, Bassani, Ungaretti, Silone, Pasolini, Calvino – to name a few – that will soon be published by Charta, complete with drawings by contemporary artists both on paper and on compact discs.

The Quaderni will not only be in Italian but will naturally be translated into English because it is important to broaden the audience to include those who are part of the American cultural world. To translate from Italian also means – and which reminds me of a conversation with Eco – reinterpreting and readapting so that a foreign reader becomes a participant, while remaining faithful to the spirit in which the work was composed.

Speaking of language, I believe that Italian must re-appropriate its specificity.

For cultural, economic, and social reasons of course English, Spanish, and subsequently Chinese will be the languages of the future, but Italian must, and I underline must, be the language of art just as it is still the language of music. The history of our heritage is such that we Italians sh ould be the first to impose the use of our language onto the descriptions of artistic movements whose origins lie in Italy. The richness of language signifies cultural stratification and density of emotions which should be translated in such a way that Italian occupies a privileged position thanks to our artistic tradition. * Director of the Italian Cultural Institute of New York.

“About 20 years ago, I investigated when it was Italians stopped speaking Latin and began speaking Italian. I found a published graph which showed 2 parallel curves, one for Latin and the other for the Latin Vulgare, the local Latin. This became Italian. When Dante wrote in his local dialect, he gave Italian the necessary prestige to become the lingua franca of the Italian peninsula. As I stared at this graph, it occurred to me that I was the first generation of my family, after 3 millennia, who did not speak local Italian. As a scientist it also occurred to me that my brain, the shape of my mouth and throat, my vocal cords, all were adapted for the Italian language. I am thoroughly American and the acquisition of the language of my ancestors can only improve an understanding of my ancestral culture and of myself. A powerful argument for the utility of every American to learn Italian can easily be made. Italian is the modern language of art and music as well as science. The Italian language is the West’s connection with the distinction of its history. There is no other language which more directly connects with humankind’s 3000 year history of excellence.”

A. Kenneth Ciongoli, Chairman of the National Italian American Foundation

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The Editors: Ottorino Cappelli Fred Gardaphe Stefano Giannuzzi Letizia Airos Soria Anthony J. Tamburri Robert Viscusi email: editors@i-Italy.org

Reclaiming the Libretto

by Stefano Albertini* There is a championship that Italy wins every year. There is a place where 2 out of 3 nights Italy wins. There is a field where the lingua franca is Italian and if the champions aren’t Italian they still have to learn the language of Dante. It’s not soccer, but opera, which continues to echo our language throughout the world and encourage people of all ages to learn Italian, even if only to better appreciate the great operas of the greatest composers of all time.

In the American temple of opera, the Metropolitan Opera Theater of New York—an institution opera fanatics are grateful has been kept alive, even in difficult times—the great operatic traditions live on. In the next season, 16 of the 25 operas to be staged will be in Italian (even if from non Italian composers such as Mozart and Gluck). While there is great anticipation for the new productions and for performances from the most beloved singers in new roles, one thing we know for sure: this year too, once you’ve taken your seat in front of the little display that offers subtitles to the opera (another refined detail exclusive to the Met that we should be grateful for), you will be able to press the button until you find the desired language.

The sequence will be: English, Spanish (so far no surprises) and then… German. If you press the button again, the screen pauses and then the sequence begins again: English, Spanish, German… but no trace of Italian.

Now, here is a very simple proposal for the Met’s General Manager, Peter Gelb: why not offer, in addition to the English and the Spanish, the original language track of the libretto of the opera being staged? We’re not asking that Italian be permanently offered but that when an opera is in Italian, the original text would scroll on the screen giving the audience the opportunity to see in writing what it is they are hearing. I’m sure that many people would enjoy this opportunity even if they don’t speak our language fluently. It would be a philologically correct operation and a sign of respect for the deep interpenetration between word and music that is typical of opera. With the understanding that not every Italian libretto is a literary masterpiece (although Da Ponte’s librettos for Mozart certainly are) and that the subtitles at the Met are only a small issue in the extensive field of the promotion of the Italian language in the United States, I believe that, at least symbolically, it would be very meaningful to see the little red dots scrolling and forming the words “oh che gelida manina” instead of “Oh, solch eine kleine, frostige Hand!” over the immortal notes of Puccini. *Associate Professor of Italian; Director of Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò (New York University) "Language is at the very heart of culture. It is, at once, a means of cultural expression and preservation, a guide to cultural values. Unfortunately, I could not study Italian, having been raised in a period of time following the war when the study of the language of "enemy" belligerents was discouraged.

It was not until passage of the Civil Rights Acts of '64 that the opportunity to learn Italian came into vogue, and the statistics bear witness to a huge increase of interest in the language.

We must not allow it to wane.

Integral is maintenance of the AP program."

Justice Dominic Massaro, Justice of the SupremeCourt of New York New York , President of the American Society of the Italian Legions of Merit

The Language of Ugo, Alexander & Sam

Interview with Alexander Stille Author and journalist Alexander Stille is the San Paolo Professor of International Journalism at Columbia University. Stille’s father, Ugo, was a famed Italian journalist and director of Il Corriere della Sera.

An evening with Alexander Stille and his son Sam can turn into an important and endearing reflection on the relationship between father and son and its infinite nuances. The son of the great and unforgettable journalist Ugo Stille (born Mikhail Kamenetzky), an Italian-American with Russian origins, recounts memories of his relationship with his father and their link to the Italian language.

Alexander, himself a famous writer, journalist and professor at Columbia University, opens himself up with emotion recalling some specific, and at times difficult memories.

“Our father never taught us or spoke to us in Italian,” he begins.

Aware of the surprise that this statement could provoke, he adds, “I know, it sounds weird. He had a job that was focused on the relationship with Italy, in 50 years he wrote thousands of articles in Italian and no one in his family was able to read them…”

The air is full of emotion but it is eased by Sam Stille, three and a half yeas old, asking his dad what the carrots he is eating are called, and if they speak Italian or English. The lovely boy will not stop attracting my attention for the entire evening trying to speak in Italian, with a few sentences and some songs that I hadn’t heard in a long time – like “ma che bel castello, marcondinodirondella… San Martino campanaro, suoni tu … suoni tu”.

While Alexander speaks, I try and follow the memory and create an imaginary line that unites the three Stilles. Generational passages are the foundations of our lives. His tale unfolds as he tells the story of his father, forced to emigrate first from Russia, due to anti-Semitism, and then from Italy for the same reasons, when the Fascist regime enacted the racial laws in 1938. The past enters

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by Letizia Airos Soria the room we are in, amongst the books, magazines, toys, knickknacks, the Jewish chalice placed in a corner and a backpack full of papers laying on the floor. The past touches the present, the year 2008.

From the window you can see the north end of Manhattan and Broadway splitting into two. In 1941 the Kamenetzkys headed for the United States and that must have been the year Ugo Stille decided to never look back. But his son was able to change his mind, with his passion for learning a language and a culture.

“Yes, I studied Italian on my own, in different phases. When I was 17 I was lucky enough to do it in school, and then I went to Italy for a while on vacation.

I was in London, a relationship had just ended, and so I called my dad and said: I want to go to Italy, where should I go? I was taken in by an American woman and I found myself in an Italian and Anglo-Saxon environment that I found very beneficial…”

Alexander Stille’s relationship with Italy continues to grow more intense. After the ‘escape’ he returns to the United States and finishes his studies, but decides to study Italian more in depth thanks in part to an aunt who also spoke the language.

He returns to Italy looking for work, willing to do anything to be able to speak Italian in everyday life. From this moment on it is a crescendo thanks to school, work and a professional career.

“I started reading my father’s articles… I think he was happy. Even if he never actually told me – I had the distinct feeling that he was perplexed but pleased. I started to understand a lot more about his world. But he wanted it to be my decision, he never did anything to facilitate this reconciliation. And my sister doesn’t speak Italian.”

I try to understand why. Alexander is working on the story of his family and this is in part for him a very delicate reconstruction process.

It was the forties and Ugo Stille, like many other Italians who emigrated to the United States, decided to speak only English, abandoning the Italian

language in order to fully integrate himself into American culture: “Maybe in his story there are some affinities with the Italian-American Diaspora. But his journey was different. An Italian-American friend of mine told me that when she asked her grandmother: ‘where do we come from?’ She would answer, ‘we come from poverty, forget it.’” For Alexander Stille’s father it was another kind of poverty. The one tied to the absence of humanity. “My father was middle class, deeply tied to Italy, but he had to leave because he wasn’t welcome.

He had grown up as an Italian child, but wasn’t considered one.” Ugo Stille had a deep bond with the country, and after the tragedy of having to leave it “he chose to never look back, to marry an American, to never speak Italian with his children.”

And so, one of the most important figures in Italian journalism acquires Italian citizenship only when he needs to in order to become editor-in-chief of Corriere della Sera. “I think that my efforts to learn Italian helped him make peace with Italy. I tried to enter his world.”

And Sam? During our adult conversation Sam has promoted me to Italian sister. In a few hours he has told me all the Italian words he knows and has asked me to translate others.

“With him I try, as much as possible, to speak Italian sometimes. He listens to Italian CDs for kids, he has some books. I often take him to see people who speak Italian. But I think he also needs a full immersion. This summer we’re going to Italy and I’ll enroll him in an Italian kindergarten. Next year we will stay in Italy for six months. I think it will be important for him. When he comes back he will definitely have a base.”

And who knows what it will mean for Sam, when he’s older, to read his grandfather’s columns in Italian. His grandfather who would never have imagined that it would be through that language – the one that he didn’t want to pass on to his son Alexander – that he would be able to reach his grandson, his grandson Sam.

c/o J.D. Calandra Italian American Insitute Qeens College, CUNY 25w 43rd Street 17th Floor New York, N.Y. 10036 Telephone: (212) 642-2094 Fax: (212) 642-2030

PRINT EDITION Letizia Airos Soria, Managing Editor Eleonora Mazzucchi, Assistant Editor Daria Masullo & Giulia Prestia, Translations Fulvio Minichini, Photographs

Nel mezzo del cammin...

by Dacia Maraini*

Language, Literature & Italian American Identities

by Fred Gardaphe*

Take a look at the way Italian is used in the fiction by Italian /American writers and you’ll learn something about the culture and the role the language plays in fashioning ethnic identities. The tension in the search for identity of Italian Americans has always been a dominant theme in Italian/American fiction. Jerre Mangione has said that he wrote to create a third world, one in which he could feel he belonged. This cultural tension is reflected in the use of the Italian language by Italian/ American writers and surfaces when we compare the way Italian words are presented individually by the more recent writers and in connected sentences and phrases by their predecessors.

When that tension eases as Italian Americans lose the Italian language it creates a significant loss of one of the means of being identified with and connected to Italy. Think of the family as sentence and the individual as the word and you will have a clear picture of how Italian/American literature reflects its culture. To become American is to be dispersed, to move quickly and fragmented, to emphasize the individual in society. To become Italian suggests that we remain integral, move slowly, and maintain the solidarity of the sentence, like the Italian used by the earlier Italian American writers. If Italian identity comes from name only, then individuals are nouns, disconnected from time and heritage in search of interactions in order to build and maintain cultural identities.

In the novels published between the years 1930 and 1955 the appearances of the Italian language are numerous.

These were mostly written by children

of immigrants such as Garibaldi LaPolla, John Fante, Pietro di Donator and Joe Pagano. The amount of Italian found in these early novels suggests that these authors were very close to the Italian language.

During the Middle period, from 1955 to 1980 we begin to see a slight decrease in the number of appearances of Italian language in the fiction of Italian Americans. Here we can still locate a connection between writers such as Mari Tomasi, Mario Puzo, Ben Morreale, and Helen Barolini.

It is during the Contemporary Period, 1980 to the present that we begin to witness a sharp decline in (in fact a near abandonment of) the use of Italian language by Italian/ American authors. Most significant is the absence of complete sentences.

A common characteristic of this group of writers is that the use of Italian is nearly restricted to fragments and single nouns.

Here writers such as Tina DeRosa, Tony Ardizzone, and Kenny Marotta represent the disintegration of the Italian language in Italian American fiction.

Along with the decrease in the number of appearances of Italian language in the Italian American novel, there has also been a decrease in the quality or sophistication of the word usage as the Italian/American novel has developed. Italian American writers, up to Helen Barolini, show a greater frequency in the use of complete sentences.

Earlier generations of Italian/ American writers used Italian in their lives and thus were more likely to use it in their writing. Later generations

had heard the language and it became a part of their memory, but that memory is fragmented and shows us in pieces the Italian part of the Italian American experience. The literature produced by a culture is also the preserved memory of that culture.

Good literature helps the individual understand him or herself better, because it connects them to the collective memory of humanity.

Reading becomes a way of knowing the self. Fiction, by its very nature creates myth, and the greater distance the author is from the Italian language, the more likely it is that the immigrant experience will be heroically or mythically presented.

What does this mean for writers of the next generation? Will their Italian/ American characters become more mythic as the details fade? And what does this mean for the readers of the next generation? Will their search for an ethnic identity begin or end with the myth?

While Italian/American literature can help Italian Americans find their culture and strengthen their identity through stories, we need to understand what this use/or non use of Italian language in fiction does to the reader. If language transports culture, then loss of it could halt the progression of a culture. When a language is lost, we seek other means by which to identify with our ancestral heritage, and one of the ways is through the arts. An increase in the use of Italian by our writers could result in a renewal of an identity with Italy. * Distinguished Professor of Italian American Studies, Queens College, CUNY/Calandra Institute

“Nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita,/ mi ritrovai in una selva oscura (Midway upon the journey of our life,/ I found myself within a dark forest).” This powerful beginning could be enough to fall in love with the Italian language. With its musicality, its verbal intelligence, its expressive force.

In this time of globalization, when every identity is called into question, provoking fear and a sense of danger in people, we must ask ourselves: what is it that makes us Italian? Is it the tricolor flag? I would have to say no: it’s a very nice flag, but flags don’t say much about a people. Maybe religion? No, because the Catholic faith exists in other countries and that’s not what distinguishes us as Italian. Maybe it’s our territory then? It’s certainly an important piece of land, but borders can be fleeting and are redrawn many times after a war is lost or won.

What really sets us apart as a people, with our own history and identities, must be the Italian language. A language that was formed through great literature, such as The Divine Comedy, Orlando Furioso, The Decameron, the poems of Leopardi and Pascoli, The Malavoglia, Reeds in the Wind, and other works that have kept us company and that taught us how to think and speak in our language.

Recently, I must admit, Italian has grown more vulgar: because of how it’s used in mass communication, and because of the constant, senseless absorption of English terms from the world of technology. Machines speak English? And those who believe they dominate machines feel the need to cram their Italian with English words.

The fact that I’m against the introduction of foreign words into our beautiful language does not mean that I am opposed to learning foreign languages. On the contrary, I believe that English is the language of exchange in today’s world and must be learned well. I think that learning Spanish, French, Arabic or Chinese well, can help one move in the world of globalization.

But beware of losing sight of one’s own language, because it is with that that we express our autonomy and our identity.

As far as foreigners are concerned, I see that Italian—which has fortunately remained undamaged from colonial expansionist projects—mother of a memory that remembers great movements of innovation like the Renaissance, the Risorgimento and the Resistance, is perceived as a tool for understanding the past, as well as for the friendly and conversational communications of the present.

It is not just my profession as a writer that brings me to this deep, affectionate and caring relationship with the Italian language. It is the understanding that we exist in so much as we speak and grow a language, written and spoken, full of historical memories and elaborate planning for the future. I don’t want to fall into rhetoric—that’s not me—but the love for one’s own language, I believe, is an essential aspect to feeling like citizens of a country and its destiny. Where our beautiful language will go, so will our destinies as Italians. That’s why I think it’s necessary and important to study it, take care of it, practice it with loving attention and infinite respect. *Award-winning novelist

“In order to preserve our cultural being, not only for us but for our children as well, we must know and promote the language, culture, traditions and art of our ancestors. Unfortunately Italians in America, and elsewhere in the world, have done a poor job in preserving, teaching and promoting the Italian language, culture, traditions and the knowledge and history of Italian art history. This is exactly why we work so hard at the Columbus Citizens Foundation to promote the Columbus Day Parade and Columbus Celebration in New York.”

Louis Tallarini, President of the Columbus Citizens Foundation

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The Editors: Ottorino Cappelli Fred Gardaphe Stefano Giannuzzi Letizia Airos Soria Anthony J. Tamburri Robert Viscusi email: editors@i-Italy.org

Italian Fit to Print

by Andrea Mantineo* Italians arrived in the United States at the end of the 1800s during the first major wave of immigration and found themselves in the midst of a dramatic and life-altering experience. Mostly illiterate and coming from the small towns in Southern Italy, they did not understand the language and customs of America and were compelled to live in Little Italies.

This led to their marginalization which was aggravated by the fact that the majority of Italian immigrants were unskilled laborers and were forced to accept menial jobs. Italian immigrants’ close proximity to each other allowed them to strengthen connections to other communities and form local parochial associations and mutual aid societies. At the same time, being so far from their homeland heightened their nostalgia and increased their need for news from relatives and friends who remained in Italy.

This hunger for information, at a time when it took over a month for mail to cross the Atlantic, was the core reason why the first newspapers were founded in New York and in other cities with established Italian communities such as Philadelphia and Boston. Il Progresso Italoamericano, founded in 1880 by Carlo Barsotti, began as posted billboard announcements. Later the newspaper played a major role in keeping alive immigrants’ interest in Italy and it became a central connection point between the various community associations in America.

Throughout its highs and lows, Italian immigration was always supported and championed by Il Progresso and Il Corriere d’America, run by Luigi Barzini Sr. After the Second World War, a new wave of immigrants arrived in the United States, better prepared and more open to the challenges of the new world. This ensured, along with advances in technology and communication, a continuous flow of news between the two shores. It also increased the hunger for information in the hearts of the Italians in America that Il Progresso, radio, and TV did not succeed in satisfying. In 1988, with the culmination of a dramatic crisis faced by Il Progresso Italoamericano, we decided to publish America Oggi. We were driven by the necessity to continue the work – that of journalists, typographers, and administrators – that we had done for decades, but with the awareness that the Italians in America needed a newspaper written in their language that would inform them on a daily basis and in an impartial manner.

Twenty years later we can declare with pride that we won our bet. America Oggi has continued in the steps of Il Progresso Italoamericano and the other publications that have preceded it, becoming an irreplaceable companion for those who are deeply interested in everything having to do with Italy. To succeed in publishing a successful newspaper is undoubtedly a great satisfaction. But the greatest satisfaction comes from the realization that the daily work of so many contributes in fundamental manner to the promotion of the Italian language and culture.

Mass media in a foreign language, whether it is print, radio, TV, or websites, is essential in America to maintain an ethnic group’s interest in its own language, culture, and traditions, and to prevent it from becoming blended into the “melting pot,” which up until a few decades ago, one would look to as an example of an ideal American society. Fortunately this is no longer the case, but for the Italian community which for decades has seen the diminished flow of immigration, a daily Italian newspaper plays a double role. On the one hand, it serves to inform its readers about everything that happens in Italy and Europe that they otherwise could not learn from the American mass media. On the other, it allows them to keep alive their language, culture, and traditions. This is America Oggi’s mission, and together with its website and Radio ICN, we intend to continue and develop it further in the future. *Editor of America Oggi, the only Italian-language daily published in the U.S. every day of the week

A Conversation with Robert Viscusi

Language as a Strategic Imperative

by Ottorino Cappelli Robert Viscusi is one of the foremost critics of Italian American literature and culture, and the president of the Italian American Writers Association. He is is Professor of English at Brooklyn College, CUNY, and Director of the Ethyl Wolfe Institute for the Humanities.

In a seminal article that appeared in 1990, entitled “Breaking the Silence”, you noted that Italians in America had been deprived of their own language and thus, reduced to silence, had failed to develop their own discoursive power.

Accordingly, you indicated three “strategic imperatives” for the Italian American community, the first being that of reagining their language. The historical context of your appeal was the aftermath of the Bensonhurst ethnic disorders involving Italian Americans and African Americans.

Could you briefly recall that moment and the reasons of your appeal about the political-cultural need of an Italian American bilingualism?

“At the end of August 1989, U.S. news media filled up with stories about the murder of Ysuf Hawkins, showing protest marches at the site of the crime in Bensonhurst and featuring the loud, crude, and angry responses of people who lived in the neighborhood, many or most of them Italian Americans. The news media did not interview any public intellectual with an Italian name. Why was this? I wondered. How had Italian Americans been reduced to violence and dumbshow as their only means of public expression? I offered as a theory that Italian Americans had lost the ability to speak seriously in public about or problems (to engage in what I called authoritative discourse) when they gave up the ability to speak, read, and write Italian. This had severed any living connection with Italian American history, any living connection with other peoples of Italian descent, whether in Italy or in any other parts of the world”.

Language was the first of your “strategic imperatives”, the other two being narrative and dialectics. To gain capacity of authoritative speech the Italian American community needed to be both bilingial and bicultural. What is the relationship between language and culture? Why can’t an Italian American culture just “speak English”?

“Italian American culture without the Italian language loses its connection with the rhetorical, political, and philosophical traditions of Italian culture. The lack of living connection with Italian discourse goes further than any other single factor to explain the apparent inability of Italian America to represent itself adequately in the market of cultural exchange that constitutes the public sphere in the United States. If what calls itself Italian is restricted to food, music, fashion, film, and gangsterism, then the representation of things Italian and Italian American will find it hard to rise into the sphere of authoritative discourse – that is, either to articulate effectively what it has meant, does mean, and can mean to be an Italian in the world, or else to represent persuasively the thoughts and purposes of Italians in the United States. When Italian Americans “just speak English” they silently submit their histories and their collective interests to the hegemonic order of Anglo-American culture, which has a place for Italian Americans as such among the silent and the marginalized. This of course does not mean that Italian Americans have made no social or political progress in the United States, but it does mean that often this progress has of necessity implied the sacrifice of any articulated understanding of their own specific histories, either as Italians or as Italian Americans”. cont’d. page 7

“I've felt handicapped my whole life, not speaking Italian. It would make me happier to speak Italian, especially when I travel to Italy. When I go there I'd like to be recognized as an Italian.

The language connects you in a stronger way to the culture. It would really be advantageous for Italian Americans in particular to learn Italian.”

Aileen Riotto Sirey, Co-founder and Chairwoman of the National Organization of Italian American Women (NOIAW)

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c/o J.D. Calandra Italian American Insitute Qeens College, CUNY 25w 43rd Street 17th Floor New York, N.Y. 10036 Telephone: (212) 642-2094 Fax: (212) 642-2030

PRINT EDITION Letizia Airos Soria, Managing Editor Eleonora Mazzucchi, Assistant Editor Daria Masullo & Giulia Prestia, Translations Fulvio Minichini, Photographs

A Matter of Publicity Interview with Joseph Sciame

by Eleonora Mazzucchi Joseph Sciame has been an active promoter of Italian culture for several years. Among the manifold organizations he is affiliated with, he is a former National President of the Order Sons of Italy in America, and is currently director on the board of the New York City Italian Heritage and Culture Month and Vice President of Community Relations at St. John’s University.

from page 7 In 1990 your appeal quickly became a manifesto for political-cultural action, a call to arms. What has been accomplished in the 18 years that have followed since? What, in your opinion, remains to be accomplished?

And, in particular, is language still a “strategic imperative” for the Italian American “nation”?

“What has been accomplished? Italian Americans have continued to open new discoursive spaces – the Italian American Writers Association and Malia, a Collective of Italian American Women are two leading examples. Many colleges and universities now teach courses in Italian American literature, film, and other forms of cultural expression. The Journals VIA and Italian Americana have continued to provide for the discussion of historical and cultural issues.

The central question of my essay – how to develop Italian American discoursive authority by opening full access for Italian Americans to the study of Italian language and culture – has begun, but only begun, to be addressed. More students are studying Italian in secondary schools and colleges. This is good, but it scarcely begins to address the catastrophe of linguicide that took place during the Second World War. How can this be done?

1. Encourage the study of Italian in American schools and universities. The AP Exam in Italian, recently instituted, is a powerful stimulus to the institution of curricula in Italian in the United States. It needs to be supported at every level, from local civic associations to the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.

2. Encourage Italian Americans and other Americans to study Italian in Italy. There is no better way, almost no other way, to develop the substantial bilingual American/Italian community that can advance the work of cultural recovery that is basic to the development of Italian American discoursive authority.

3. The work of cultural recovery must go forward both in English and in Italian. The study of Italian American and Italian cultural, economic, and political history are basic to the Italian American wish to have direct access to the sources of their discoursive authority. The project, now under way, to translate Francesco Durante’s monumental anthology Italoamericana: Storia e letteratura degli italiani negli Stati Uniti 1880-1943, is a major step forward in expanding Italian America’s knowledge of its own history.

As someone who works within a university, do you see a difference between the level of interest in Italian among high school-age kids and college kids?

“The involvement at St. John’s University, where I work, is high. There’s an enrollment of over 400 students in Italian. I also see involvement at younger levels, in an out-of-classroom environment. In other words, there are elementary school children who study Italian after school. As for high schools – many of them offer Italian, but need to make more publicity efforts. Italian classes would only benefit from higher enrollment. It’s just a question of publicity. The earlier the kids enroll and start learning Italian, the better. Honestly I think it’s a win/win situation.”

Have you ever studied Italian?

“I myself have never studied Italian. It just wasn’t offered; the choice was between French and German. My parents grew up in families that spoke Sicilian dialects, but I am a product of my generation, where unfortunately it wasn’t common to learn a second language. I even studied Latin and Greek at one point, but never Italian.”

Why do you think it isn’t a standard second language in American education?

“Many people, even years ago, were pushing for Italian in schools, and it never worked. But they were never really banded together and there was a cost problem. Indeed, the excuse I always heard was that there wasn’t the money to hire enough teachers. And then to make matters worse, when teachers were hired, they weren’t Italian speakers. French and Spanish teachers would be brought in. Now, however, we’re a united front working to promote the Italian language.

Mr.Tamburri, for one, has been making huge efforts toward this.”

Why do you think promoting the language has always been more difficult than promoting the culture?

“It’s true, Italian American organizations have always promoted the cultural part, but not so much the language. For instance, the Italian Heritage and Culture Committee that I work on has always been a big success with its yearly cultural themes—we just did Garibaldi and we’re going to do Meucci next. But culture really goes hand in hand with language. And now, actually, there’s a program that offers both. In New Hyde Park, right on the borders of Queens, there are Saturday courses under the auspices of the Aurora program, that teach young kids Italian and Italian culture at the same time.”

As for the AP Program?

“We must keep PRing it. There’s increased interest, starting from a young age, but you can’t see results in just two years if students aren’t in the pipeline.”

“The Italian language is clearly a tool for contact and communication with Italy. In ICE's case, this means contact with businesses in Italy. Last year ICE actually offered a special program, that included the Italian language, to young, talented Americans who were given opportunities in the Italian fashion world. These were FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology) and RISD (Rhode Island School of Design) students who in their last year of school, were flown to Italy where they created runway clothes as their sort of final thesis. They studied Italian, although some knowledge of the Italian language was a pre-requisite, and Italian culture.”

Aniello Musella, Director of the Italian Trade Commission (ICE) in New York.

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The Editors: Ottorino Cappelli Fred Gardaphe Stefano Giannuzzi Letizia Airos Soria Anthony J. Tamburri Robert Viscusi email: editors@i-Italy.org

Two Lives Through Italian Culture

Interview with Baroness Mariuccia Zerilli Marimò

by Letizia Airos Soria Baroness Mariuccia Zerilli Marimò founded the Casa Italiana Zerilli Marimò at New York University in honor of her husband, industrualist and intellectual Guido Zerilli Marimò. She is a philanthropist who presides on the boards of many important cultural institutions.

In her gorgeous apartment facing Central Park, in a warm and refined atmosphere, it’s hard to imagine that the Baroness Zerilli Marimò can find the time and the motivation to dedicate herself so fully to promoting Italian culture. Her life could certainly be calmer and at the same time full of her personal passions: her family, music, literature, and art.

But that is not how it turned out. In1987 Mariuccia Zerilli Marimò decided to purchase a brownstone in Greenwich Village and establish the “Casa Italiana Zerilli Marimò,” a center for the promulgation of Italian Culture and headquarters for Italian Studies at New York University. She did this in memory of her husband, Guido, an industrialist, writer and diplomat.

“When I lost my husband I wanted to do something to continue the work I had always done with him: promote culture. I’ve been coming to the United States since 1950. And for the past 20 years I’ve been working here. I married a man that was a great industrialist but also a great intellectual. I always had the passion to create new cultural initiatives.

That was my education, I married very young and I lived to work for this.

After I lost him, I discovered that here in New York there wasn’t an Italian Center. And so I sold my large apartment in the center of Milan to create the Casa Italiana.”

I ask her how the Italian world in America has changed in all these years… “It’s been long time since the end of the phenomenon of segregation of Little Italies. Now Italian-Americans live everywhere, and have important jobs, even within the institutions. To do this they had to pay a high price, the loss of their mother tongue. Now finally there is talk of reclaiming Dante’s language here as well, and there are two main ‘schools of thought’.

One school says it is necessary to learn the language first because through language, culture is better absorbed. But since this represents a great difficulty for many people, others say: what if we put this effort towards learning the culture first? Not through first-hand experience, obviously, but through excellent translations. Both approaches are great if they can reach the goal…

I know the joy of reading a text in the original language is unparalleled, but for many people who grew up speaking English, it will take a long time before they are able to enjoy Dante in the original language. So we can start by learning the culture first to enjoy this amazing richness. We are all happy when more people get to know our literature, our poetry.

Italian was for centuries the language of the elite; let’s not forget what Erasmus of Rotterdam said ... that all intellectuals we know are Italian…”

With the intention of encouraging the promulgation of contemporary Italian fiction in English-speaking countries the “Casa Italiana” and the Department of Italian at NYU instituted a literary prize that seeks to create constant and direct connections between Italian authors and publishers and the American audience. The winning work will be translated and published.

“There was a generation in America for which Italian was the language of the enemy. Now Italian is no longer ostracized. Publishers, however, want writers that are sure best sellers, and now there are translations of important Italian authors here, but we have to promote the new ones too…”

And what does the Baroness say to a parent that is unsure about having their child study Italian?

“Italian is a language that formed the culture of the Western World. It is a great pleasure to enjoy this culture first hand, getting closer to the spirit of the masters. And someone who learns Italian has the basis for all Latin languages, to approach the classics.”

But there is still little investment in Italian culture… usually there is more inclination to fund research and science…

“I know, that’s why I started the Casa Italiana. And that’s why the work that the oldest Italian-American club, ‘Tiro a segno’, does is also important: years ago they gave 500,000 dollars to NYU for the teaching of Italian American history and culture.

Italian Americans worked very hard to preserve their values, and it’s time for the third, fourth generations to demonstrate that, for example, great Italian-American literature exists. These things come from teaching those who will go on to teach. Italian Americans today more than ever are repositories of Italian culture in the United States. We need to teach them to be proud of this culture.”

Once again, as I look at her, always intent on defending culture, I ask her why she does it and continues to do it. And again, her answer leaves me speechless: “It is a need that I have, a continuation of what I did with Guido. It is a tribute to an extraordinary man. My wish is that both he and I can continue to live on through the Italian culture in New York.”

Gaining an Extra Gear

by Silvana Mangione* If it is true that in the U.S. the acquisition of knowledge is a consumer good, how can we motivate students of any ethnicity to choose Italian as a second language? We will try to give several responses. Italian is the language of reclaimed identity for those third, fourth, or successive generations of Americans of Italian descent. This is true, but it is not enough. Nostalgia and lack of confidence in oneself, in one’s own “ubi consistam”, are not sufficient justifications, and moreover, they refer to only one ethnic group within a population of three hundred million Americans.

Italian is the language of culture, art, music, history, and law. Yes, but this is also not enough, because all of these beautiful things can be learned from texts in different languages. Italian is the language of the most beautiful game in the world: soccer. Yes, but Americans, despite their creation of a strong group of soccer moms, have not yet submitted to the collective insanity of goleadors and the subtleties of the game. Italian is the language of the country that – according to Americans – has the most refined sense of lifestyle, fashion, design, and food. This is also true, but not enough. It is still not enough.

But why, then, should American students learn Italian? We will try to give another reason that is not often cited. From a linguistic point of view, Italian is a concise (or “synthetic”) language while English is an analytic one. With the conjugation of verbs and the endings of nouns, in Italian there is no need to constantly use personal pronouns and possessive adjectives so that the listener understands what is being said. Therefore, in studying Italian, we give our mental faculties a differently structured way of thinking, a different tool with which to solve problems and find solutions. Our brains gain an extra gear. One could argue that Spanish and French also have a similar linguistic structure. Certainly, but they do not have the sound, harmony, and musicality of the most beautiful language in the world. Spanish has the hard and inhaled sounds of castanets and nobility. The French language explodes its grandeur through the nose and throat. This is not so for the Italian language, which sings of the beauty that surrounds it, the beauty that Italy created without interruption from prehistory until today. Italy is the only country in the world that has never stopped producing masterpieces, which amount to over 60% of the world’s total according to the U.N.’s statistics. And perhaps Italy would not have succeeded if the progression from Latin to the language of Dante Alighieri and Umberto Eco was not accompanied by a gradual, continuous choice of the sweeter, more lyric, or more onomatopeic sounds for its new vocabolary.

Our language has even succeeded in absorbing words imposed by centuries of invasions, returning them to the people who conquered us and reclaiming them in our own speech.

These reasons are never mentioned, but they are perhaps most important in the Italianization process which is intent on accumulating culture not as dry knowledge, but as understanding of oneself and of one’s own “becoming,” in a world that is increasingly less conscious of an individual’s value and more vulnerable to second-rate forms of individuality. *Vice Secretary General of CGIE (General Council for Italians Abroad) for Anglophone countries

“Learning Italian is important because first of all, it is my heritage. Knowing the Italian language is an integral aspect of understanding our culture and values.

Additionally, Italy plays a vital role in the global economy and communication can be facilitated when language is not a barrier.”

Maria Bartiromo, business news anchor for CNBC, and managing editor of "Wall Street Journal Report with Maria Bartiromo”

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c/o J.D. Calandra Italian American Insitute Qeens College, CUNY 25w 43rd Street 17th Floor New York, N.Y. 10036 Telephone: (212) 642-2094 Fax: (212) 642-2030

PRINT EDITION Letizia Airos Soria, Managing Editor Eleonora Mazzucchi, Assistant Editor Daria Masullo & Giulia Prestia, Translations Fulvio Minichini, Photographs

The Languages of Sardinia

by Rodrigo Praino

For this issue of i-Italy, we chose Sardinia to highlight one of the regions in Italy. Sardinia’s individuality is reflected in its natural beauty, history, art, but also in its language. The residents, in fact, are very often bilingual in both Sardinian and standard Italian. The local language is used mainly in familiar and informal situations, while standard Italian is used in public, in business, and of course, in writing. Institutions have approached this issue with great resolve and concern. And so, we have a few questions for Anna Luisa Depau, Sardinian Minister for Tourism, Artisan Arts, and Commerce.

A number of years ago, a law was passed to safeguard the Sardinian language. We asked Minister Depau if this is at odds with the use of the Italian language or if it demonstrates a step towards a healthy relationship between the two.

“There is no conflict between the Italian and Sardinian languages. It represents, as you mentioned, a step forward. The Autonomous Region of Sardinia passed a law which created a framework for the protection of Sardinian culture, with specific protection for the language. It refers back to law 26 enacted on October 15, 1997 for the promotion and enhancement of Sardinia’s culture and language.

Today, with respect to the Sardinian language, there is a synergy between state law 482/99 that deals with public administration and regional law 26 that deals with cultural projects, as well as the media and educational initiatives.”

How important is it to preserve the Sardinian language in a world that is increasingly globalized?

“I would say that it is strategic. It was confirmed in 1992 with the approval of the Carta Europea delle Lingue which created new perspectives in Italy.

In 1999, in fact, Parliament approved law 482 which includes Sardinian in the “minor historical languages” recognized within the E.U. alongside Catalan, Croatian, Occitan, Provençal, Friulian, Griko, and Albanian. This enforces article 6 of the Republican Constitution which 50 years earlier affirmed protection for minor languages.”

At the same time, how important is it for Sardinia’s residents to speak correct standard Italian?

“Naturally, it is very important. Sardinians speak correct Italian and many have the privilege of knowing another language, an ancient one that is directly connected to the traditional life of shepherds and farmers.”

How much can a local language enrich a young person’s life?

“A lot, especially when knowing the language means getting closer to traditions, history, and the ancient culture of our island.”

As for tourists, how important is it to share Sardinia’s cultural distinctiveness, particularly its language, with those who visit?

“We believe that this is also important, above all because Sardinian culture includes its language, and it is part of what makes Sardinia a striking and unique area. A tourist may leave and then return to our island because here he or she can participate in the most ancient folk traditions, savor our cuisine, and only here can he or she hear a vibrant language that is deeply rooted in the social fabric.”

by Berardo Paradiso*

Often this “transmission” to tourists happens through music and folk songs. There are several initiatives which Sardinia is preparing to launch in the U.S. A large-scale promotion of Sardinian music is planned for September and i-Italy is involved. Can you share something about this with our readers?

“There are various programs that are being organized by the Region for the American public beginning next fall. The Council will be the main sponsor for the new edition of the New York Film Festival and on that occasion, we will present an important concert of Sardinian music and a film in the Sardinian language.”

A New Cultural Frontier

English has long been the language of the business world, but in order to work in the international marketplace, being multi-lingual is becoming increasingly important. This is the reason why we at IACE (Italian American Committee on Education) www.iacelanguage.org believe that the approach early in life to a foreign language is essential. IACE, founded in 1975, is still around because it was created to promote a beautiful ‘product’ called “Italian Language and Culture”. Today we have almost 38,000 students in public and private schools of the tri-state area learning Italian from the first grade to senior year of high school. Italian culture and heritage are present in every single aspect of the American life, food, fashion, music, research, and engineering.

The only way to preserve and extend the ties between the two great countries of Italy and America is by teaching American children and adults how to speak Italian. Knowing another language gives the means to explore and penetrate another culture, its politics, its cuisine, its music, its literature, its ways of living and thinking. Connecting with people in their native language not only enriches relationships, but allows one to better understand their outlook on different subjects. There is more at stake than just the mechanics of putting together words to convey a message: instead of the barrier of a back and forth translation, one can immediately be on the same wavelength.

To develop a better and more trustful relationship with Italy, speaking Italian can be even more important than it is in other European countries, because almost every Italian has a relative, close or distant, in America, and for that reason Italians love America. Our relation is so strong and goes so far back that Americans chose an Italian, Amerigo Vespucci, to name their country! Nobody should be afraid to speak a foreign language. More so, some feel that a little bit of an accent may give a person a refined or sophisticated touch! (While that may be true, accent is like alcohol: too much can be a liability!). And when people in Italy see you try to speak their language, unembarrassed to make mistakes, they are more likely to attempt to communicate and help you. There are one thousand reasons why everyone should learn Italian. I want to concentrate here on one, the business aspect. There are many Italian companies in the USA searching for people with specific attributes and who can communicate in both languages.

The opportunities are in industries such as bikes & motorcycles, cars, helicopters, books, ceramics, cinema, food & wine, gifts & house wares, home furnishing, jewelry, machine tools, the eyewear industry and the fashion industry. Nowadays Milan has become the center of fashion, with names like Armani, Gucci, Roberto Cavalli , Dolce Gabbana, Versace, Ermenegildo Zegna , Geox, Ferragamo, Valentino, Max Mara, Missoni, to name the more important ones.

The tourism industry: more than 5 million Americans visited Italy in 2007. Florence is still the most visited city in the world. Let us repeat here that Italy is one of the seven most important world economic powers, and, with its 60 million inhabitants, it exports almost 28 billion dollars a year to the U.S. I am sure that a new generation of entrepreneurs, with a better knowledge of the Italian language and a better understanding of the Italian culture, will be able to reach new horizons and accomplish more sooner.

On the lighter and more leisurely side, knowing the Italian language allows one to enjoy and participate so much more in touring or visiting the country, its amazing cities, churches, museums, or even in ordering from the menu in a restaurant! All of this does add a dimension to one’s social interaction and traveling experience, and does make it easier!

There is much more awareness today that speaking a second language is no longer superfluous or a luxury reserved to the few. Studies show that in the near future, half the populations in the civilized world will speak a second language. Learning one or more foreign languages not only extends one’s experience of the world, but it also deepens and expands the vocabulary and grammar of one’s own mother tongue, as well as the structure of one’s own mind. *President of IACE (Italian American Committee on Education)

A few words on how tourism and the study of a language go hand in hand to create a singularly stimulating vacation...

"Student and youth travel is the fastest growing major market in the travel industry. It represents over 20 percent of the total North American travel market.

Youths and adults who travel to Italy want to be able to communicate; they see how European travelers speak more than one language and are stimulated to learn. Traveling means enrichment, experience. In Italy there are several schools for foreign students, it is an opportunity to speak, read and write Italian in a fun way.

Attending classes during the day and interacting with locals the rest of the time means not only learning the language but also experiencing the culture and participating in every day life."

Riccardo Strano, Director for the U.S. and Canada, ENIT ( Italian Government Tourist Board)

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The Editors: Ottorino Cappelli Fred Gardaphe Stefano Giannuzzi Letizia Airos Soria Anthony J. Tamburri Robert Viscusi email: editors@i-Italy.org

“Segno” italo americano

Interview with Josephine Gattuso Hendin

by Eleonora Mazzucchi Award-winning author Josephine Gattuso Hendin is a former Guggenheim fellow and is currently Professor of English and Tiro a Segno Professor of Italian American Studies at New York University.

Professor Gattuso Hendin, how has NYU embraced the field of Italian American Studies?

“NYU and the Department of Italian Studies have welcomed Italian American Studies, both officially and in terms of student response. Each spring I teach the course, “Italian American Life in Literature,” to our undergraduates. The course attracts students majoring in English, Italian, Cinema Studies, History, Dramatic Writing and many other fields. They are not all of Italian heritage but all have an interest in knowing more about Italian American history, art, film and fiction. Italian American distinction in filmmaking, and the use of Italian American culture in film, spur many students from the Tisch School of the Arts to take the course.

There is widespread student involvement across disciplines.

My focus is on Italian American fiction and film as it interacts with mainstream writing. The course begins with “classic” texts such as Pietro Di Donato’s Christ in Concrete, but extends through beat poetry and memoir, contemporary fiction and poetry, and ethnic postmodernism, concluding with Don DeLillo’s Underworld. My aim is to show the prevalence and power of Italian American art, and the shapes our assimilation took during our long history in the United States. I also use Italian American films at each stage – including documentaries, classic films, such as The Godfather, clips from films by Martin Scorsese, and relevant depictions from television – to convey current forms of stereotyping and visual self-expression. Students are enthusiastic about the course and the demand for it is very great. In addition, the Tiro A Segno Foundation’s ongoing generosity funds Visiting Fellowships for scholars in Italian American Studies from other institutions and fields to come to NYU to offer courses for graduate students in Italian Studies and non-specialist undergraduates. This is invaluable. It brings additional courses to NYU in Italian American history, literature, or sociology, or cinema studies that enable us to expand our offerings. Additionally, the Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò at New York University provides extensive cultural programs.

How does Italian language figure into your work?

“The course I teach and my own scholarship focuses on the impact and interaction of Italian American writing within American mainstream writing and therefore stresses literature written in English. However, many of the concepts taught throughout the course are best expressed in Italian phrases, proverbs and ideas conveyed through the use of Italian. Many of the students understand Italian from their families, but many of Italian heritage do not and have not grown up with Italian-speaking parents. The course actually inspires them to elect Italian as the language they study in college and many have become minors in Italian as a result of the course.

I use some of the Italian folktales compiled by Italo Calvino and translated into English to illustrate Italian storytelling styles and to establish a baseline for their development in ItalianAmerican writing. Many of the students who have Italianspeaking parents or relatives are so entranced by them that they hunt for the Italian version of the folktales for the perfect gift for their families. The students whose Italian is fluent and/or are majors in Italian Studies often become engaged in identifying affinities between ItalianAmerican and Italian literature.”

What are the difficulties anAmerican oran ItalianAmerican would face in studying Italian?

“NYU is a great venue for the study of Italian. In addition to the intensive and lively courses in Italian language we offer, we have an outstanding program in Florence utilizing La Pietra, the magnificent villa and gardens donated to NYU by Lord Harold Acton. Students can study there during the summer or enroll for a year abroad and avail themselves more fully of the cultural offerings of Florence and the opportunity for immersion in speaking Italian on a 24/7 basis. The obstacle Americans face in learning Italian is, of course, the lack of such an opportunity for immersion in speaking and hearing Italian, a problem that causes students who may have a solid grasp of grammar and a reading knowledge of Italian to lack fluency in speaking. Italian Americans often have that problem too, but added to it may be a defensiveness about having picked up Italian pronunciation or phrasings from relatives who may be two generations away from the way standard Italian is currently spoken in Italy. I think there is also shyness about sounding “incorrect,” or knowing only their parents’ dialect, or even embarrassment at sounding unsophisticated that makes Italian Americans unwilling or diffident about taking the social “risks” involved in learning how to speak more fluently. We should all get to spend a year in Italy to solve that problem!”

A Goal for the La Guardia Fourth Generation

Interview with Katherine LaGuardia

by E.M.

Dr. Katherine LaGuardia is an accomplished physician and granddaughter of three-term mayor of New York, Fiorello LaGuardia. She upholds her grandfather’s legacy as co-founder of the Fiorello H. LaGuardia Foundation. The Foundation fosters health, environmental, and cultural projects between the U.S., Italy and Brazil (among other countries). It recently honored Mayors Michael Bloomberg of New York and Letizia Moratti of Milan for their efforts towards improving environmental conditions in their respective cities.

Dr. LaGuardia, what is your personal relationship with the Italian language?

“I speak very little Italian. Really, I speak Portuguese. I have a strong cultural belief in my family and language, but came to Italian late in life. My 20-year-old daughter, on the other hand, spent her junior year of high school in Italy, through the School Year Abroad program. It sends kids all over the world, including China and India, but for my daughter, Italy was the obvious choice. I identify with being Italian, my husband is Italian American, and in my family we embrace Italian culture. My daughter is fluent in Italian now.”

You must be really proud of her for having learned it so quickly.

‘In general, my husband and I are enormous advocates of learning a second language early on. If a child learns another language it opens up these language centers in the brain and will make it easier for him or her to pick up another language later on. My daughter has spoken Portuguese since she was a child because we were living in Brazil.”

Why do you think Italian hasn’t been a popular a linguistic choice, like French and Spanish, especially for Italian Americans?

“I’ve never understood why Italian has never been accepted into the American curriculum. It probably has to do with this “cultural inheritance” issue, of walking away from the generation that came here from Italy. For instance, my husband’s father understands Italian but doesn’t speak it”.

It’s all the more special then that your daughter decided to learn Italian.

‘I know! She’s a fourth-generation great-granddaughter of immigrants that came to Ellis Island. The point is, in this era of globalization, the more languages you know the better. Her study of Italian has made me even more interested in learning the language, because I’m very dependent on her when we go to Italy! I really think studying Italian is an important issue.”

How is your Foundation involved with promoting the study of Italian?

“Our foundation really works to create relationships with Italy. When I said I was dependent on my daughter when we go to Italy, I was referring to many business trips we take there together. We have an office in Cortona, Italy, and partnerships with major Italian foundations. We’re in the process of formalizing a program with SYA (School Year Abroad), the organization my daughter studied with, and the Italian Consulate. Graduates of SYA in Italy who have managed to learn Italian at a proficient level will be able to get internships at Italian consulates around the country. Sometimes the graduates lose their Italian after a while, and I think this will create a wonderful incentive and help them maintain the language.”

“I have some personal experience in my inability to learn Italian, especially at my advanced age! The Italian language is really related to the culture. Italian families have been here a long time but their knowledge of language and culture is diminishing. The language brings a connection to that heritage we're so proud of, but sometimes don't fully understand. I'm trying to make my granddaughter learn while she still can.

On my end, I'm learning with Rosetta Stone [a language learning software]. It helps you learn a lot of vocabulary, but isn't necessarily good at teaching you how to use it.

I am also involved in promoting the Italian language in a larger sense. I'm on the board of the ILICA (Italian Language Inter-Cultural Alliance), and we've been making efforts to help save the Italian AP Program.”

Daniel Nigro, FDNY Chief of Operations on 9/11

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c/o J.D. Calandra Italian American Insitute Qeens College, CUNY 25w 43rd Street 17th Floor New York, N.Y. 10036 Telephone: (212) 642-2094 Fax: (212) 642-2030

PRINT EDITION Letizia Airos Soria, Managing Editor Eleonora Mazzucchi, Assistant Editor Daria Masullo & Giulia Prestia, Translations Fulvio Minichini, Photographs

Talking Italy from page 1 We offer this special issue in English in order to reach all those Americans who either have some Italian ancestry or love all things Italian – but have no command of the language. This is also why i-Italy.org, our online editorial network, is mainly in English with an Italian-language section.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, over 15 million American citizens reported Italian as their first ancestry in 2000, yet only one million were able to speak Italian.

Furthermore, the 2005 American Community Survey found that Italian was spoken by only 800,000 people, two-thirds of whom over 65 years of age. Among younger Americans (age 5-17,) only 55,000 speak Italian. Clearly, the ability to speak Italian is decreasing rapidly in the U.S. due to generational turnover and the modest diffusion of Italian among the youth.

All this tells us that something must be done to revive the study of Italian among the youth, before it is too late. i-Italy is trying to contribute to such an effort. This special issue is one step, and it is interesting to note that several of our contributors are the living products of the problematic, linguistic

history of Italian America. Fiorello LaGuardia’s granddaughter Katherine, and Joseph Sciame, a former President of the Order Sons of Italy in America, tell us they didn’t have the opportunity to study Italian when they were younger; Justice Dominic Massaro was raised in a period when “speaking Italian would have been like speaking the language of the enemy.” Aileen Riotto Sirey, Chairwoman of the National Organization of Italian American Women, has felt “handicapped” her whole life, not speaking Italian. And Daniel Nigro, FDNY Chief of Operations on 9/11, points to the heart of the matter: without the language, Italian Americans confront a heritage they “are so proud of, but sometimes don’t fully understand.”

Another step is the community discussion about “Studying Italian” that we just launched on our social network. It is gratifying to see how many points of contacts there are between the authoritative comments included in this special issue and the thoughts and opinions expressed by i-Italy’s ordinary users. Just go to www.iItaly.us and search under “Discussions and Viewpoints”. You will find a long thread about the Italian-language issue, with dozens of posts.

The home page of i-Italy www.i-Italy.org

Italy in New York: All the Events at Your Fingertips On June 2nd, i-Italy is launching a new information service in collaboration with the Consulate General of Italy in New york. It will contain a centralized calendar of all Italian events in New York and a Commercial Guide for business operators.

Institutions, orgaizations, and private individuals will be able to propose their own events for the calendar; a dedicated team will examine the suggestions and approve their publicaton.

The service is supported by the Italian Embassy, the Consulate General of Italy in New York, the Italian Trade Commission, the Italian Government Tourist Board, the Italian Culural Institute, and the Italy-America Chamber of Commerce.

Second, third, and fourth generation Italian Americans, from all walks of life and from all over the U.S., are sharing their experiences with Italian language: their wish to know the language to better connect with their heritage; their frustration at the obstacles they encounter; their proposals to improve the situation.

But there is much more that i-Italy can do.

We are planning a series of multimedia presentations where excerpts from classics of Italian fiction and non fiction will be read by professional speakers, with pictures and animations in the background. The original text and the English translation will also be provided as learning assistance tools. The first of these presentations is being prepared as we write, and will be dedicated to Italy’s National Holiday; it will introduce the first 12 articles of Italy’s Constitution, its “Fundamental Principles.”

Through our daily activity, we shall assure that as many articles as possible be translated into Italian – both to make ourselves ever more accessible to Italians in Italy, and to offer our American readers yet another tool to practice their language skills. We shall also extend this bilingual approach to our WebTV and WebRadio experiments, which we are launching alongside our Magazine. We are also making every effort to facilitate the creation of a bilingual, cross-cultural social network in our community website, involving people who live on both sides of the ocean.

The results of our first months of existence are encouraging: with almost 140,000 pageviews, and over 23,000 “absolute unique visitors” (a 500 per cent increase in six months,) i-Italy is growing daily. Our regular contributors now include not only 40 or so professional journalists, academics, and public intellectuals, but also about 500 active members of our social network, who air their

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opinions, exchange views, and engage in lively discussions. To date, they have activated 74 forums and 27 discussion groups, and they have shared 247 videos, 269 audio files and 1844 photos. It is a lively, rapidly growing community, and this is the very richness of i-Italy.

To be ever more successful, i-Italy needs two things. First, we need human resources, people – especially young people – who are willing to work with us on a voluntary basis to make i-Italy a success: young journalists, writers, photographers, and video-makers; and we need of course, translators and editors to help us keep our promise of an Italian American bi-lingualism. We are being helped greatly by the John D. Calandra Italian American Institute of Queens College/ CUNY, which is providing us with office space and has just circulated a call for internships at iItaly among CUNY students. Internship are also forthcoming from NYU, thanks to the support of Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò. We are getting proposals for “online internships” from throughout the U.S., from Seattle to Florida!

The second thing i-Italy needs is financial support – so that all these energies that we are mobilizing may form a reasonable expectation to be somehow rewarded after a period of voluntary work. To this end, we have created a not-for-profit corporation, Italian/American Digital Project, Inc., and we have applied for tax-exempt status under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, so we’ll be eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions. We therefore end this note with an appeal to all prospective sponsors, donors, and advertisers who can help i-Italy live and grow. We like to believe that we need them at least as much as they need us!

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