Polonia in Italy: Heritage Language and Its Intergenerational Transmission

The paper aims to present the status of the Polish language in Italy and the role it plays in the linguistic profiles of its users with a particular attention to its intergenerational transmission. The issue is presented in relation to the last six waves of Polish emigration in Italy with reference to two criteria: a socio-historical and the family criterion. Both of them determine two aspects of the presence of Polish language and culture abroad: the public and the private. The author’s analysis of the Polish-Italian linguistic contact is interdisciplinary, focusing on the role of language as a crucial component of Polish immigrants’ identity, as well as a tool for the expression of emotions. The concept of heritage language is applied to current linguistic situation in the milieux of the Polish community in Italy. Particular attention is paid to factors supporting and impeding the transmission of Polish as heritage language. The considerations are supported by selected publications on the subject, by the results of the author’s own research on Polish-Italian bilingualism, along with the results of surveys conducted among parents of Polish community schools in Italy in recent years.