Language contact, variation and change across the Italian communities of Bedford, Peterborough and Loughborough in the post-Brexit era

Abstract

In the wake of previous research about the Italians in the uk (Balirano & Guzzo, 2011; Guzzo, 2014; Di Salvo, 2012), the present contribution investigates the multi-layered relationship between migration, identity and linguistic diversity in England and starts questioning the complexities of self- and otheridentification as well as belonging of members of a heritage community in the uk in light of a more overt rise of anti-immigration sentiments since the eu referendum. The analysis draws upon a corpus consisting of a set of 12 ethnographic interviews, collected by means of audio recording as well as qualitative data elicited by means of a questionnaire survey distributed to second and third generation Anglo Italians of Bedford, Peterborough and Loughborough from July to December 2017. Data are analyzed by using a combination of variationist sociolinguistics and deductive content analysis; comparable data from previous research are used to contrast the present corpus. The findings provide mixed and multi-layered behaviors which act as a reflection of their identity construction as well as throw light on their level of integration.