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Dec.26/04 - Jan.2, 2005 |
7 - Italian language studies threatened
La bella lingua still in demand in universities and high schools despite cuts
By Antonio Maglio
Originally Published: 2003-03-09
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Gabriella Colussi
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Twin brothers Cosmo and Damiano Femia were born in Toronto to Calabrese parents from Siderno. They are going to get degrees in Sociology and Italian at York University. They not only speak excellent Italian, but also excellent Calabrese, which they do not consider a "minor" or "secondary" language. "It's a patrimony," says Cosmo, "because like every language it carries with it an ancient culture. The Calabrese culture existed even before the Greek arrived and founded their colonies, which would eventually become Magna Grecia."
Damiano chimes in: "Italian is the lingua franca of Apulians and Friulians, Venetians and Calabrese, Lombards and Latians, Piedmontese and Sicilians, allowing every one of them to communicate with the rest. If it didn't exist, Italy would be a Babel of dialects. But precisely because it is the language unifying all Italians, regardless of their origins and dialects, it's the synthesis of all the cultures of the country. Italian is a special language, and it must be studied abroad. If dialects could also be studied, that would be even better. The linguistic reality of Italy is unique, as much as its culture."
In Canada, however, the high schools are having a hard time; the need to balance the budgets (after the wastage of richer years) led the governments to cut education. The government of Ontario cut especially deep, and secondary schools now stop at Grade 12. As if that was not enough, a theory declaring the superiority of technical subjects (especially those linked to the business world) over humanities is gaining acceptance. Languages are a part of humanities. As a result, in addition to cutting secondary school by one year the boards are cutting courses in French and Spanish, and Italian, of course.
"What saddens me," says Cosmo Femia, "is that these cutbacks are received with resignation. Languages, any of them, really enrich people. Here, people think that the only richness is a fat bank account. So, they toss real richness into the trash."
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