Where Is Italian Spoken In The USA?
Whether you want it to be or not, the world is a diverse place. It is populated by people of different ethnicities. We all have our differences, and that’s what defines us. The level of diversity varies from one region to the next. Some countries are more diverse from the start because they are home to people of all kinds. While some have become diverse with time because of immigration, humans could not have remained confined to one place. They had to move places in order to survive. Although each country has its own resources today and the need to move to a different place is not the same, people still immigrate to different locations for a better future.
Immigration to the US and Its Effects:
The US is not only known for being the superpower of the world, but also for the American Dream that has attracted many people to its soil. People of poor and struggling countries see it as an opportunity to escape their situation and make a better life for themselves. Those living in warzones also turn to the US for the protection it offers its citizens. The country itself has welcomed immigrants with open arms in the past. Although the policy has changed in recent years due to the threat of terrorism, many people still apply for US immigration every year.
Due to a large number of immigrants, the culture of the country cannot be defined by one example. Even the languages spoken in the country differ greatly from one another. English continues to be the official language, but it is not the only one spoken in the country. There are various regions in the US where immigrants have formed their own communities. You will not overhear English in such areas.
Where is Italian Spoken in the United States?
Movies aren’t lying when they show Italians from Sicily arriving in the US and establishing their lives in this country. Although the immigration of the Italians began in 1880, many of the early immigrants went back to their homelands eventually. But in the last century, the majority of the immigrants decided to stay in the US. Their generations are still living in America. In the early days, the Italians lived in close-knit communities. These became known as Little Italies and were established in various cities, including Chicago, Boston, and New York City. In these communities, only Italian was spoken by the people.
The use of the language declined during World War II when it was discouraged. The government confiscated the properties of Italians, and various periodicals were shut down. Although the language did recover from this, it is not spoken by all the Italian immigrants in the US today. Only 708,966 Italian Americans speak their language at home. This is half the number of total Italians living in the US. And unfortunately, less than seventy thousands of these speakers are below the age of seventeen.
Despite all that, Italian is the eighth most spoken vernacular in the US today. Communities of Italian speakers can be found in Chicago, Miami, New York City, Philadelphia, St. Louis, and Buffalo.
Is Italian a Dying Language?
Plenty of languages are spoken in Europe, but we hear the least about Italian. English is known all over the world, so is Spanish. German has also become quite popular due to the country’s economic growth. French has always fascinated people due to its rich culture. But Italian is not as well-known as its neighbor languages, which is why people think that it is a dying language. But in truth, it is still a very useful vernacular and quite far from being at risk of becoming extinct. It is not even endangered. It is not widespread, so it might not be as worth learning as Spanish is, but it is still a pretty interesting vernacular.
It may be difficult for some of us to comprehend this, but diversity is great for our world. It is better to bond because of our differences than our similarities. Because of being different, we can help each other out with various things. If all of us only knew how to grow crops, we would be living a life of limited experiences. In order to make sure we can live peacefully in a diverse world, we must learn to respect those around us. And learning about their languages is one way of doing that.
