Language policies and oficial warnings for Italian emigrants at the beginning of the 20th century

Abstract

The present work focuses on the analysis of official documents issued by the Comissariato Generale dell’Emigrazione, an Italian state agency created with the objective of providing information to the subjects of the mass emigration. The texts to be considered will be Avvertenze per chi emigra negli Stati Uniti dell’America del Nord (1902), Avvertenze popolari per gli emigranti, intorno alla legge sull’emigrazione (1902) and Avvertenze per l’Emigrante Italiano. Although they are presented as instructional manuals, they behave as prescriptive texts that urge emigrants to preserve their link with the land of origin through the preservation of “the mother tongue”. This study questions the conception of “Italian language” that is inscribed in the manuals. It is enunciated in the singular number, without observing the varieties that were spoken by the concrete subjects. In this way, it is possible to consider this conception of language as an abstract and agglutinative construct that erases specific differences and provides defining features capable of granting transferable and transmittable identity to the emigrant’s offspring. Therefore, this research allows identifying the contradictory orientation of the linguistic policies developed by Italy and Argentina to deal with the consequences of the Italian mass immigration to that South American country.