Il dialetto di Campobasso è su per giù come il nostro dialetto: Neapolitan as a Linguistic Identity Marker in Transnational Migration

The paper discusses the concept of extra-linguistic reference variety that has been investigated through an analysis of the role of the Neapolitan dialect which has been used as symbol of identity by migrants of non-Neapolitan heritage. This case study is based upon studies on Italian immigration in three English cities. The paper focuses on how southern Italian migrants (re)construct their linguistic identities, starting from a comparison with the Neapolitan dialect and the Neapolitan culture. The qualitative case study shows that even for non-Neapolitan migrants, Neapolitan is not merely a prestige variety, but also has a symbolic value that evokes an ideological orientation towards it among speakers of other language varieties, thereby becoming a point of reference for new (socio)cultural identities and sub-communities within the Italian communities abroad.