Un estudio sobre el deterioro del italiano hablado en la comunidad italiana en la ciudad de México

Abstract

This paper focusses on the speech of first generation Italian inmigrants in Mexico City with the object of investigating how their native language is affected by the contact with the Spanish tanguage. The data for this study were taken from guided interviews to the subjects and analysed according to the model of language attrition proposed by Seliger & Vago in their First Language Attrition (1991). The results show that in the subjects of this study copying is the most frequent category; followed by meaning extension. Finally; a comparison is presented with the data from a previous stage of our research; in which 15 teachers of Italian as a foreign language; all native speakers; were studied.