The goal of the Italian Language Foundation is to enhance awareness and understanding on the part of Americans of Italian heritage that the only way Italian language will continue to grow and expand in the U.S. is by encouraging the study of Italian by diverse ethnic and cultural groups. Statistically, over 30 percent of students of Italian at the high school level are Latinx students. This number will certainly continue to increase. -Margaret Cuomo, President, Italian Language Foundation
By: Margo Sorenson
I don’t remember my very earliest days of living in Madrid with my U.S. Diplomatic Corps family — I was only 3 months old when we moved there.
Spanish quickly became my second language, thanks to my encouraging parents and my dear nanny, Felisa, who came to Madrid from Galicia to watch over and care for me for many years.
Growing up for three years speaking two languages was not a problem, because I knew nothing else; it was the way life was for me and my young friends in the Diplomatic Service. I spoke English with my parents and Spanish with Felisa and everyone else. My parents later related how, at age one-and-a-half, I was speaking English with them, while looking at a picture of family friends from the States.
When Felisa walked into the room, I said to her, switching languages immediately, “Mira, Felisa! Niños!” It was natural to be immersed in Spanish culture, because it surrounded us and embraced us. Felisa was a wonderful influence and helped my parents navigate the new culture (to me, it was all I knew).
Felisa also encouraged my parents to read to me “El Cid Campeador” and “El Gato Con Botas,” and I remember being completely fascinated — the stories were compelling. Taking flamenco lessons in a white, ruffly dress with red polkadots is one of my favorite memories as a toddler.
As luck would have it, and as is typical in the Diplomatic Service, my father was given a new post in Napoli, Italy, so, after three years in beautiful España, we packed everything up and moved to a brand-new culture and language, thankfully, along with dear Felisa and her cousin Sophia, also from Galicia. To me, at age three, nothing much changed. The people I loved were still with me. We brought everything with us, including Spanish treasures such as our copero (china cupboard), a chest carved with Queen Isabella’s and King Ferdinand’s images, a wall tapestry embroidered with “Dios Bendiga el Pan de Nuestro Hogar,” a Spanish lace table cloth, and a Toledo blade, all of which are still in the family. My favorite was the coffee table with its handmade tiles, beautifully-decorated with Spanish scenes; I still have two of the tiles displayed in our home.
Yes, Italian was a new language, but, to me, it wasn’t extraordinary at all to use different words in different languages to express the same concept. For Felisa, the transition was almost seamless. Because she already spoke both English and Spanish, adding Italian was not difficult for her. So, I spoke English with my parents, Spanish with Felisa and Sophia, and Italian with my friends and everyone else. The languages, as you probably know, are similar in many ways, and the cultures also share many similarities.
As Frank del Olmo, assistant to the editor of the Los Angeles Times, wrote, “Indeed, there are many similarities between today’s Latino newcomers and the Italians who stepped ashore in New York around the turn of the century. Both are from deeply religious, principally Roman Catholic cultures. Both tend to have very strong family ties and very large extended families that provide a network of personal support.”
Felisa found she enjoyed Italy and she could feel at home there; it was not a huge culture shock for her. Of course, for me, our mutual Spanish was a bond that lasted until she passed away in her seventies. To this day, hearing the sounds of spoken Spanish evokes for me sweet memories of Felisa, and it is a bond that spanned decades. She came to the U.S. with us four years later, married a Louisiana Cajun, adding French to her other languages, and she and her husband even visited me, my husband, and our two daughters when we lived in Hawaii.
When I returned for the first time to Spain as an adult, with my husband and our two daughters, I rediscovered other similarities between Spain and Italy: the flora and fauna of the Mediterranean climate, the venerable castles and picturesque villages, and the artwork and the use of colors. I suddenly realized why the color pairings of blue and yellow always lifted my spirits — they were everywhere in Spain, in the beautiful tile work, vases, and dishes. It was a special homecoming to the joyful colors of my childhood in Spain and in Italy.
Now, living in Southern California, I enjoy trying to use my Spanish, and after I apologize, “Lo siento. Mi español no es bueno,” it is fun to sometimes hear people say politely (and probably not all that truthfully 😉), “No, no! Es bueno!” Because I learned Spanish before age seven, when, according to linguistics experts, phoneme contraction sets in, my accent still seems to be passable, and I think that is what makes people smile—even more than hearing my fumbling attempts with vocabulary and verb conjugations. Yes, of course, I still mix up Spanish and Italian sometimes, and it’s truly funny which situations bring forth each language. I am eternally grateful for my multicultural upbringing and treasure the linking of my Spanish and Italian languages—and those precious memories
Author of over thirty traditionally-published books for young readers, Margo Sorenson spent the first seven years of her life in Spain and Italy, devouring books and Italian food and still speaks (or tries!) her childhood languages. Her most recent Adult/Young Adult novel, SECRETS IN TRANSLATION (Fitzroy Books, October 2018), takes place in Positano, with heroine Alessandra, whose being able to speak Italian helps her to feel at home in Italy, once again, and discover a dark conspiracy threatening those she loves. www.margosorenson.com
Make a Pledge and join Italian Sons and Daughters of America today.
