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A Beginner’s Guide to South Tyrol PART 1:
A
The Sprachgruppenzugehörigkeitserklärung or: Declaring your Linguistic Affiliation
week or so after we moved to (Yes, it took me a long time to type the word. No, I still South Tyrol in 2008, a man for the life of me can’t pronounce it) isn’t following a knocked on our door. My huslot of it, and I’m sure he just wants to tick his little box band Lorenzo hears the guy out, and get out of the crazy American lady’s house. But he and translates that he’s a cendoes his part for the Ladin minority, piping up to add the sus-taker of sorts. truly-absurd-for-me-yet-absolutely-essential-in-SouthI saunter back into the baby’s Tyrol third option: “Or, C. Ladin.” room, assuming it won’t take the guy long to count to Lorenzo, ever the appeaser, has the guy’s back: “Right, three. But a few minutes later, Lorenzo calls out: “You yes. Ladin. Which, honestly, makes just as much sense have to declare your linguistic group!” for you as the other two…” I call back, “Tell him I only speak I think about it. After a moment, I English. And a little Dutch!” triumphantly declare my language “It’s about cultural He comes to the nursery and says, group: “D. Other.” “Sweetie, it’s not what language There’s a lengthy and at-timesidentity, I conclude.” you speak. You have to decide slightly-heated discussion in diawhich linguistic group you belong lect. My poor husband has to deto.” liver the bad news: “Other isn’t a Now, I’m a cooperative kind of choice.” gal. I enthusiastically fill out customer-service surveys. Now I’m all up in arms: “How is there no ‘Other’?! What I always carry my tray of dirty plates to the rack at the if you don’t speak German, Italian OR Ladin?!” Autogrill restaurants. The guys are both looking at me with a mixture of pity But our apartment was full of boxes to unpack. Our and exasperation. Desperate to end it here and now, I daughter wasn’t sleeping. And I didn’t understand, ask Lorenzo: “What are you declaring?” back then, that proportional representation is integral Not a moment’s pause. “Italian.” to the fabric of South Tyrolean society: depending on This confuses me. “But you’re a native speaker of both.” which linguistic group you belong to, you either go to For him, it’s obvious. “But I feel more Italian.” an Italian or a German school, or you are accepted into “So it’s cultural identity,” I conclude, a bit smugly. “It’s public service jobs. not about language at all.” I didn’t care. I was annoyed, and the baby was crying. If only I hadn’t said anything. Another discussion breaks But I go out and say, “OK. Tell me my choices.” out between these two lucky men, for whom the quesLorenzo says, “A. German or B. Italian.” tion is a no-brainer. They know exactly where they beThe poor Sprachgruppenzugehörigkeitserklärung guy long. They intuitively understand the question’s logic
T H E L O C A L M AG A Z I N E
