On the Relation Between Attitudes and Dialect Maintenance (Sicilian and Venetan) in Italy

Abstract

Italian dialects, especially in the south of Italy, have been stigmatised for a long time. Despite more recent revalorization, dialect speakers may still have negative attitudes towards their own variety as a result of internalized prejudices. By comparing Sicilian and Venetan, two of the most spoken dialects in Italy, this study aims to investigate what attitudes dialect speakers have towards their dialects, how these relate to their self-reported language use and how both relate to objective proficiency in the dialect and in standard Italian. We conducted an online survey containing questions on attitudes, dialect use and a build-in yes-no vocabulary task for the dialect and standard Italian that was completed by 56 Sicilian and 135 Venetan users. We chose to compare Sicilian and Venetan because these are two dialects that are comparable in speaker numbers but at least traditionally differ in their prestige, with Venetan enjoying more positive attitudes than Sicilian. The results showed overall positive attitudes for both groups and highlighted the dialects’ importance for identity while compromising its perceived value for functional purposes. Moreover, the two groups differed with regard to the interaction between dialect attitudes, use and proficiency. While positive attitudes towards Venetan were linked to its active use, positive attitudes towards Sicilian were expressed by participants with lower proficiencies or who do not use the dialect actively. The revalorization of the dialects in Italy is thus happening under different circumstances, with potential implications for future language use and dialect maintenance.