XXII Settimana Della Lingua Italiana at ILC is a success

The over 14,000 km distance between Italy and Australia was surely shortened during the XXII Settimana Della Lingua Italiana at the Italian Language Centre (ILC) on Saturday, 15 October.

Between history and facts relating to the Italian language, teachers, community members and authorities at the event also had the opportunity to navigate through the language’s evolution, communication in the digital age, and regional accents and dialects. 

The Week of the Italian Language in the World is an event held every year since 2001 in the third week of October. This year’s theme brought light to “Italian language and young people” – to explore how languages ​​and communication tools are evolving through the generations of digital natives.

Present at the event, Luna Angelini Marinucci, Consul of Italy for Queensland and the Northern Territory, stressed the deep connection between Australians and Italians tracing back to the 20th century.

“When we think about modern Australia, we are referring to people from Italy who arrived between the two wars and during the 60s. So Italians are part of this country.”

“I believe Australia is the most multicultural country for excellence, and in this context, it is natural that the new generation of Italians wants to learn Italian.”

There is great interest from Australians without Italian ancestry who are keen to study the language, according to the Consul.

“In bigger cities like Brisbane, Melbourne or Sydney, you can tell that Italy is everywhere: in restaurants, fashion and shops. There is a curiosity about Italy that will never die.”

Italian is the fourth most studied language in the world – there are more than 2 million students of Italian in 115 different countries worldwide, according to the 22nd edition of Ethnologue, published in 2019.

Acknowledgement

The runners-up who missed out on being selected for this year’s StuditaliA, a prize that rewards excellence in Italian studies in year 12, were honoured by the Consul at the event.

The inaugural Italian Language Week Award 2022, proposed by the Consul, awarded two Yr 12 students from Cairns State High School with four days of an Italian immersion experience in Melbourne.

Language evolves

During the event, Prof. Giovanna Amatruda showed how the young generations are influencing marketing and communication in Italy.

“We explored several aspects of the Italian language spoken by young people: the combination of dialects from different regions and the mix of English and Italian words, focusing on the language used on Social Media.”

Education and Training Officer at ILC, Rosella Dermedgoglou, mentioned the diverse audience and their willingness to explore the Italian culture.

“The presenter, Giovanna Amatruda, engaged the audience with a variety of activities, and the positive feedback received means we look forward to repeating the event next year.”

This fondness for the culture brought the primary Italian teacher Isabella Soto to the event as she sought to honour her family traditions.

“I started teaching Italian to honour my family as my mother was adopted by Italian immigrants who came to Australia after the Second World War. My Nonna couldn’t conceive a child, so she adopted an Australian daughter, and that was my mum.”

The Italian Consulate and ILC sponsored the XXII Settimana Della Lingua Italiana.