Demographics, Research, and Analysis
The John D. Calandra Italian American Institute continues with its project in demographics, research, and data analysis. The Italian Diasporas: Data Snapshot series provides information regarding a variety of characteristics related to the Italian diaspora. These summaries and more extensive reports answer questions such as:
What sets the Italian diaspora apart from those of other ethnic groups?
What distinguishes the Italian diaspora across the countries of immigration?
Are there significant differences in patterns of assimilation and acculturation for the Italian diaspora?
This month the Data Snapshot explores the study of the Italian language.
The Modern Language Association (MLA) has been monitoring rates of language study via enrollment in language classes since the 1950s. Although rates tend to rise and fall in relation to other factors, such as overall college enrollment, the 2000s saw a robust upturn in language study, reaching a peak in 2009. Since then, the trend has reversed, with current language enrollments reflecting dramatic falloffs. All of the once popular languages have declined, including French, German, Italian, and Spanish. Although the study of Korean has increased, Chinese has also seen smaller enrollments. This downturn seems paradoxical in a global economy that increasingly requires language skills.
The lowered enrollments are often attributed to the change in educational focus as the push for the STEM disciplines has increased. This is too simplistic, as other factors such as economic pressures and cultural attitudes are at play. After the Great Recession of 2008, funding for college study decreased, with the humanities taking the biggest hit in most cases. Add to this the increased reliance on technology, especially AI, for translation. Why learn a language when neural machine translators such as DeepL provide remarkably accurate results and real-time translation apps are readily available?
The concern is not solely communication. In studying a language much is gained beyond grammar skills. In the process of language learning, you become aware of a culture and nuances that highlight differences between cultures. These abilities are critical in a world where the fragility of coexistence must be continually negotiated.
Up to date information can be found through the MLA Language Enrollment Database
For previous Data Snapshots click here.