This project presents the timeline of the Italian language through three generations. In other words, it is about the understanding of the Italian language if it is still alive in Italian-Canadian families or not. However, from the research, it is clear that the third generation is not speaking their native tongue, and this did not surprise me. I believe that the biggest reason is the society where we live because everyone wants to be accepted in it. We all want to integrate with society, and this means we have to speak and understand the language of that society. Immigrating and starting to live in a country where culture, language, tradition, and lifestyle are different is full of challenges. We immigrate for different reasons, but mostly in search of a bright future. The language, however, becomes one barrier between us and the society where we immigrate. We need to learn it in order to fit in that society, that means we need it to express ourselves when we visit doctors, we look for a job, we meet new people, and so on.Furthermore, children are also struggling in learning at school and in making new friends because of language.

I was 6 years old when I moved to Italy and making new friends was a challenge for me because I didn’t know how to communicate with them; I couldn’t understand their language and they mine. However, as time passed, I started to adapt to a new environment without knowing the fact that I was losing my own language. My parents didn’t feel good about this, but what they could do? My teachers told them to speak Italian at home in order to perform well at school because children speak their parent’s language. This is an issue for bilingual families because growing up with more than one language confuses children, therefore families often end up choosing the country's language where they live. Indeed, when a child is struggling at school, the first question that teachers often ask parents is: “What language do you speak at home?”.

One example of interviewed : “ Avevo 6 anni..molto difficoltà a enterare a scuola.. tutti alunni parlavano l’inglese e nessuno parlava italiano..... io mi ricordo da prima che ero ...io sono.. ho un personalità vivace da piccola sempre cosi.. la mia mamma mi chiamava tempesta... tipo non puoi immaginare.. allora a scuola non potevo essere se stessa perchè non capivo la lingua, però come avanzava il tempo,, ero piu aperta, meno faticosa e potevo participare a tanti eventi a scuola...”.  

Translation. “I was 6 years old…very difficult starting the school.. all students were speaking English, no one spoke Italian…I remember from the beginning I was…I am… I have an energetic personality since the childhood…my mother used to call me storm... you can’t image… but at school, I couldn’t be myself because I didn’t understand the language, but as the time passed, I was more open, less tiring, and I could participate at school’s events..”.

 Indeed, children experience a hard time at school, and start to feel sad and solitude because they couldn’t be as they are, couldn’t express themselves, couldn’t make friends, and so on.

I believe the second Italian-Canadian generation passed through these experiences and they don’t want to see their children in the same condition, and this could be one reason they speak English with them rather than in Italian.

When my parents noticed that I was losing my own language, they decided to spend every summer in my country, and this helped me to learn and keep interests in my culture and language. Therefore, I agree with the opinion of one interviewed who said: “we need to show our culture to our children so they become passionate and feel proud of it and this may push them to learn more about their language and culture.”.

However, every family has its own story, indeed, In Canada, some Italian-Canadian families still speak Italian at home, others do not speak, but they would like to learn it, and others do not speak it at all. Dr. Sandra Parmigiani, during a talk, mentioned that now many students with Italian background are taking Italian courses. She said that the 3rd Italian-Canadian generation wants to preserve their culture/language.
Through this discussion, I was curious about learning and finding out when the Italian/dialect was not spoken anymore at home and what factors influence the 3rd generation in learning Italian.