“ Being in the world and getting used to it ” is a thought linked to De Martino's conception of “being -there” as substance and incorporation of the World [1] . Inevitably linked to the post-essentialist philosophical current, it evokes the idea that man incorporates what external stimuli send back to his own cognitive-corporeal system; from the perspective of a reciprocity between the structure and superstructure of the multiple forces of production of a capitalist system, which manipulates social being, to paraphrase Marxist and post-Gramscian studies. Today we talk about the linguistic integration of foreigners in the integrated social hub of Palermo.
Linguistic Integration: Between Barriers and Social Distance
How does man manage to exist in the world ? Are he a passive subject, or are he capable of deconstructing the superstructure in which he is inserted ? What are the obstacles that an individual faces in the current geopolitical and international context?
The barriers that, par excellence, determine social distance, fragmented identities, and ethnocentric practices originate in places of collective memory, even before their physical and social origins. The lines of demarcation that mark processes of identity construction are revealed in the non- places cited by Marc Augé, which can be ordinary places where social actors engage in leisure time, but also places where they spend their daily lives (shopping malls, squares, subways, etc.). If the individual is ostracized by forms of social control upon entry into the multimedia and liquid society, to quote Bauman, the question to ask is: what are the existential barriers that determine the individual's anomie ?
To exaggerate the foreigner
The absence of rules and, conversely, an extreme form of normativeization determine an inevitable counterpart: a process of general social disintegration and exclusion.
For example, anchoring argumentative rhetoric to international regulations concerning the arrival of "foreigners" (be they political refugees, asylum seekers, etc.) is the emblematic demonstration of the ostracization process mentioned above. The barriers that determine who can be in the world and who cannot are multiple and refer to the right of burial evoked in Sophoclean tragic memories, between practices concerning the ius soli and the cemetery of the " different " [2].
Foreigners arriving in Italy face multiple barriers to entry, ranging from political identity, with regard to social status, to linguistic ones.
Arriving in places you've never been before and encountering linguistic and identity traditions different from your own is undoubtedly a challenging experience, triggering diverse behavioral responses, psychological distress, and processes of social exclusion. This is why it's important to implement an adequate linguistic integration plan.
Linguistic integration and hyperplaces
The hyperplaces a foreigner encounters are steeped in culture, symbols, connotations, and well-defined social spaces, requiring interpretations of interpretations, to use Peirce's words. This is why supporting migrants in linguistic inclusion processes is extremely important; to break down barriers and build bridges between cultures. Indeed, shedding one's own a priori categories and recognizing oneself, in the words of Saussure (understood as an "individual linguistic act" and, I might add, "indexical" because it is anchored to the socio-political context in which it is immersed), is an essential cognitive-communicative process for promoting the dialogical relationship that exists between individuals of different cultures and, consequently, the identity and social stability of foreigners.
Beyond barriers: linguistic integration of foreigners at the Integrated Social Center in Palermo with the "Scuola del Popolo."
The overcoming of linguistic barriers, which allows a complete integration of foreigners within the social fabric, is one of the objectives set by the operators of the Integrated Social Centre of Palermo [3] and of the Scuola del PoPolo, who, with the Italian language courses held by teachers and aimed at foreign citizens in search of a job opportunity and intent on entering the world of Palermo; provide linguistic, identity and social tools to the " seekers of hope ".
Learning a language isn't easy, especially if you come from distant countries and aren't familiar with the local dialect. For this reason, teachers at the Scuola del Popolo offer Italian lessons, enabling students to learn Italian at the EPYC (European Palermo Youth Centre) campus.
The first module of the Italian language course for foreigners concluded on July 6th. Classes, which began on May 16th and are held every Tuesday and Thursday from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., were attended by 14 students: five women and nine men of Ivorian, Nigerian, Tunisian, and Iranian origin. The course will resume on September 14th.
“ The objective – explains the new head of the Scuola del Popolo, Luigi Tinè, a former teacher, who held the lessons together with professor Ida Pidone, from Auser – is to ensure that the participants are prepared to take the B1 certification in Italian, in about a year and a half of course. And in any case all the students will acquire linguistic skills to be able to interact with the environment and relate independently. And this too is a secondary important objective ” [4].
The activities of the hub
The Center's integration activities are varied and aligned with its established objectives. Its staff strive to fulfill the mission that underpins the organization's very existence: " support to include ." A multifaceted approach accompanies migrants who seek assistance from the Center, including a counseling center to support foreign citizens who decide to invest in this city; an intercultural mediation service, with the assistance of specialized mediators, which ensures a fruitful understanding of the needs and requirements expressed by users, and a bridge between the cultures of the multiethnic Panormonte city.
Social assistance services covering all aspects of the inclusion process; a legal assistance desk, enabling foreign citizens to fulfill their obligations under the Italian legal framework, as well as identifying, on a case-by-case basis, the relevant legal and institutional regulations, in accordance with the foreign citizen's status ; psychological support, provided by the Center's psychologists, to address the many challenges faced by users; and special attention to the employment dimension, with a service covering career guidance and CV writing, to enhance dialogue with local businesses and foreign citizens.
Valeria Salanitro
- [1]The concept of incorporation (or embodiment) introduced into anthropological studies by Csordas, regarding the role played by the body in cultural and individual dynamics. Indeed, in each cultural context the body is the carnal locus of both symbolic projections and individual experiences. In short: "it defines the ways in which human beings experience the body in the world and produce its representation." See G. Pizza, Medical Anthropology: Knowledge, Practices, and Politics of the Body. Carocci, Rome 2005, p. 37.
- [2]To quote sociolinguist Vera Gheno: «Ours is a society normocentric, that is, which assigns to "normality" the idea of being superior, of being something desirable. There are normal people and there are "normal" people.different", who are in fact deviants, people who, for one or more factors, move away from the standard support". See V. Gheno, Words of a Different Kind. How Women Writers Changed the World, Mondadori, Milan 2023, p. 121.
- [3]The Integrated Social Hub of Palermo is located in via Pignatelli Aragona, 40. The Department of Family, Social Policies and Labor of the Sicilian Region coordinates the Integrated Social Hubs project: support and orientation projects for non-EU citizens regularly residing in the regional territory, spread across each of the 9 Provinces of the Island. The activities of the Hubs started in 2022 within the macro-project of Su.Pr.Eme. Italy, in turn financed by AMIF – Emergency Funds (AP 2019) of the European Commission – DG Migration and Home Affairs. In 2023, the activities of the Hubs were continued with “More Supreme" under the PON Inclusion ESF 2014 – 2020 in favor of Immigrants". The Palermo Center is operationally managed by Asante Onlus, an association that has been working for years in the reception sector, first of all for unaccompanied foreign minors (MSNA) and now for adults included in the extraordinary reception process (CAS). Visit the website for more information: https://polosociale.netsons.org/it/.
- [4]Interview given to the newspaper “Il Mediterraneo24” at following link
