Caminhos da memória: investigando padrões de identidade e manutenção linguística do italiano falado em Serra Alta-SC

Abstract

This study investigates patterns of linguistic identity and the processes of maintenance and shift of Italian spoken by descendants of immigrants in the urban [U] and rural [R] areas of Serra Alta, Santa Catarina, Brazil. Although language change in bilingual contexts has been widely studied, the analysis of local Italian varieties has not yet been systematically explored. The research seeks to answer the following central question: what are the patterns of linguistic identity in Serra Alta, considering the data on the maintenance and/or shift of spoken Italian? To this end, five specific objectives were defined: (i) to examine linguistic variation in the town from a diatopic perspective; (ii) to identify, within the diasexual (gender) dimension, whether there are differences in language maintenance or shift between men and women; (iii) to describe linguistic variation according to the diagerational dimension; (iv) to analyze the influence of the diaphasic dimension on the maintenance or shift of Italian varieties spoken in the region; and (v) to investigate the intergenerational transmission of Italian as a mother tongue within the family context. The study is grounded in Pluridimensional and Relational Dialectology (Thun, 1996, 2005, 2009, 2010), considering five analytical dimensions. For data collection, a questionnaire adapted to the local reality was developed and complemented with research instruments from Lara (2017), Krug (2004), and Steffen (2007). Eight bilingual informants were interviewed in each area. The analysis revealed a predominance of Portuguese, especially in the urban setting, while Italian shows greater vitality in rural areas. The [õw]/[õ] variant was identified as a linguistic marker associated with contact between Portuguese and Italian. The findings also highlight that women, particularly in rural areas, play a central role in both preserving and transforming linguistic practices. Intergenerational transmission of Italian occurs sporadically, marked by affective bonds, whereas Portuguese has consolidated itself as the main language of socialization for younger generations and the sole official language of the locality.