Communicative strategies in the Italian of Igbo-Nigerians immigrated in Padova (Northestern Italy)

© Francesco Goglia

Today, the Veneto region (Northeastern Italy) has the third-largest immigrant population in Italy. The high number of foreign workers reflects a high demand for labour in the many small factories in the region. Igbo-Nigerians are among the largest immigrant groups in the city of Padova.

The majority of immigrants have no previous knowledge of the Italian language on arrival and learn it with little or no formal instruction. This situation makes second language acquisition in the immigrant context a perfect locus for the study of learners' communicative strategies and their linguistic manifestations in the Italian speech.

The Igbo-Nigerians are particularly interesting because the acquisition of the Italian language represents the addition of a fourth or fifth language in their linguistic repertoire. The Igbo language is the official language in the south east of Nigeria. In addition to Igbo, English and Nigerian Pidgin English are also spoken. Early education in public schools is in local languages, while secondary and university education are in English. All Nigerians who have received formal education after primary school are bilingual in English and another indigenous language, or even multilingual if they speak Nigerian Pidgin English and/or other indigenous languages (depending on the level of contact with other ethnic groups and family background).

In multilingual countries such as Nigeria, educated people who are fluent in English but whose first language is an African language such as Igbo or Yoruba, often use English words or sentences into their conversations. This linguistic behaviour is very likely to be replicated in the use of Italian.

Example 1

In the following excerpt informant B is telling the interviewer about the conditions in which immigrants live in Padova and how hard is to find an accommodation because Italians do not want to let houses to foreigners. On line 4 he uses the English verb generalize. The English verb is inflected thanks to the preceding Padovani 'Padovans'. There are no breaks or pauses before the use of the English verb, which shows that informant B is using the English insertion in a natural way as if it was inserted in the Igbo discourse.

Example 1

1	... c'è	immigrati	che	fa	sua	lavoro,
	there's	immigrantMPL	that	do3SG	hisFSG	jobMSG
	che	vivi	bene
	that	live2SG	well
2	pulito	a	casa,	c'è	un	gruppo...
	cleanPST	at	home	there's	aMSG	groupMSG
	altro	gruppo
	otherMSG	groupMSG
3	che	non	vivi	bene,	che	rotto,
	that	NEG	live2SG	well	that	breakPST
	dipende	persona,
	depend3SG	personFSG
4	ma	padovani	generalize.	(B-64)
	but	PadovanMPL

Example 1 Translation

1	... there are immigrants who do their job, who live in peace
2	clean at home, there is a group... another group
3	who does not want to live in peace, who break things, it depends on people,
4	but Padovans generalize

Example 2

In the next excerpt (2), informant C is telling the interviewer that she used to be part of a choir in Nigeria. Her proficiency in Italian is moderately good, taking into account that she had arrived in Italy only a year before the interview. I think this was due to the fact that she had no contact with other Igbo and shared a house with two Senegalese, with whom she was forced to speak Italian. In the example she asks me the Italian word for choir, thus flagging the use of the English word. She does not wait for my answer, however, but continues the conversation by providing the periphrasis che canta 'that you sing' for the previous word choir (line 3).

Example 2

1	C:	... quando	io	era	a	Nigeria,
		when	I	bePST	in	Nigeria

		non	so	cosa	chiama,
		NEG	know1SG	what	call3SG

2		sai	cosa	choir	no?
		you	know

	Int:	che
		what

3	C:	choir, choir.	Loro	che	canta,
			they	that	sing3SG

	Int:	ah, choir, choir, yah

	C:	Sì	perché	anche	io	canta
		yes	because	also	I	sing3SG

	Int:	canti?
		sing2SG

	C:	Sì	a	chiesa,	ma...	sempre	andare	là
		yes	in	church	but	always	go	there

		per	practice,
		for

4	Int:	per	fare	prove?
		for	doINF	rehearsalFPL

5	C:	Sì	sì
		yes	yes

6	Int:	Sono	molto	belli,
		be3Pl	very	niceMPL

	C:	Sì	sì
		yes	yes

	Int:	Sono	diversi	da	quelli	italiani...
		be3Pl	differentMPL	from	those	Italian

	C:	Sì
		yes

	Int:	sono	più	belli	che	italiani	secondo	me
		be3PL	more	niceMPL	than	Italian	for	me

7	C:	Sì	qualche volta		c'è	altri	xxx
		yes	sometimes		there's	other

		di	chiesa	scrivo	invitation	no,
		of	church	write1SG

8		se	loro	c'è	una	festa	sua	chiesa
		if	they	there's	aFSG	partyFSG	theirFSG	churchFSG

9		chiedere	tu	viene	a	canta	là,
		askINF	you	come3SG	to	sing3SG	there

		capito	noi	c'è	canti...
		understood	we	there is	sing2SG

Example 2 Translation

1	C:	... when I was in Nigeria, I don't know how to say it,
2		you know what a choir is don't you?
	Int:	What?
3	C:	choir, choir. Those who sing,
	Int:	Ah, choir, choir, yah
	C:	because I also sing in church, I used to go there to do,
	Int:	You sing?
	C:	Yes, in church, but... I used to go there to practice,
4	Int:	To do rehearsals?
5	C:	Yes, yes.
6	Int:	They are very nice
	C:	Yes, yes.
	Int:	They are different from the Italian ones...
	C:	Yes
	Int:	They are nicer than the Italian ones, for me
7	C:	Yes, sometimes others xxx from churches write an invitation no,
8		if they have a party in their church
9		they ask us to go and sing there... you know we sing...

Example 3

In the following excerpt the preposition per 'for' is used to express the topic (per Jamaica 'for Jamaica' = It. sulla Giamaica 'about Jamaica'). When asked about life in Jamaica, speaker O answers first in English, fulfilling the task of content answering, but not that of speaking in Italian. He then restates the same sentence in Italian and it is in this sentence that per appears. Speaker O's preferred language is English, his whole interview being full of English insertions and alternations. It is not by chance that the occurrences appear in an excerpt of a speaker making frequent use of code-switching into English and Nigerian Pidgin English. Note in line 3 an instance of the existential c'è 'there's' with a possessive function.

Example 3

1	Int:	Com'è	la	vita	in	Giamaica?
		How	is	theFSG	lifeFSG	in	Jamaica
2	O:	Ehh, I don't have to say much about Jamaica,

	Int:	In Italian.

	O:	OK.

3		io	non	c'è	tanti	da	dire
		I	NEG	there's	a lot	to	sayINF
		per	Jamaica,
		for	Jamaica
4		solo	che	mi	piaci	come	paese,
		only	that	DAT	please	as	countryMSG
		ma...	(O-27)
		but

Example 3 Translation

1	Int:	How is life in Jamaica?
2	O:	Ehh, I don't have a lot to say about Jamaica,
	Int:	In Italian.
	O:	OK.
3		I don't have a lot to say about Jamaica,
4		only that I like it as a country, but...

Example 4

In the following example, I asked speaker F how often he hears from his relatives in Nigeria. He told me that his relatives often call him, because in Italy phone calls are expensive. In line 3, he uses the existential form c'è 'there's' to express possession. This is a general strategy which Igbo have to express possession in Italian and it is persistent even in more advanced speakers' speech. Speaker F also makes use of code-switching and other contact-induced strategies; note the use of the conjunction anche preceding the possessive sentence.

Example 4

1	Int:	è	tanto	costoso	telefonare	dall'
		Be3SG	very	expensiveMSG	phoneINF	from-the
		Italia	alla	Nigeria?
		Italy	to-the	Nigeria
2	F:	Ehm	qua	in	Italia	telefono
			here	in	Italy	telephoneMSG
		costa,
		cost3SG
3		anche	io	non	c'è	soldi
		also	I	NEG	there's	moneyMPL
		per	telefono.		(F-132)
		for	telephoneMSG

Example 4 Translation

1	Int:	Is it very expensive to call from Italy to Nigeria?
2	F:	Ehm here in Italy phoning is expensive,
3		and I do not have money to call.