La lingua italiana in Africa in epoca (pre)coloniale

Africa is one of the least studied areas of the world in relation to the Italian language. Unlike the contexts of Italian emigration abroad, very little research focuses attention on the colonial linguistic dynamics of the Italian presence in Africa in past eras. In an attempt to fill this gap, this contribution aims to trace the evolutionary stages related to the spread of Italian in Africa before and during the colonial period. The research shows that while in the precolonial period the Italian language played a prestigious role, in the colonial context it took on the profile of an imposed language. And while in other colonial contexts it was the indigenous population, out of protest or ill will, that created simplified idioms based on the language of the colonizers, Italy’s linguistic experience in the Horn of Africa reveals instead that it was the Italians who created a pidginized variety.