Psychological, emotional, linguistic and cultural changes following migration The case of Italian migrants living in English-speaking countries Alessandra Panicacci Department of Applied Lingusitics and Communication Birkbeck College, University of London Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 1 A te caro nonno Livio, che mi hai trasmesso l’amore per la conoscenza e la curiosita` di scoprire il mondo e a te, Momo 2 Declaration I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, it contains no material previously published or written by another person, except where explicitly defined in the acknowledgements, no material which to a substantial extent has been submitted for award of any other degree or diploma of a university or other institution of higher learning. Word count (exclusive of abstract, index, acknowledgements, appendices and bibliography): 97.805 words including footnotes Signed Date 3 Abstract The main argument of this dissertation is that languages and cultures overlap in the psyche of individuals. Participants are 468 Italian migrants residing in English-speaking countries. Specifically, the purpose is to investigate how language choice for expressing emotions, self-reported language dominance and self-perceptions when using the local language relate to migrants’ acculturation attitudes and personality. The analysis has been conducted using a mixed-method. Data has been gathered through a web-questionnaire and 5 follow-up interviews have been conducted in order to explore possible causes of statistical patterns. The web-survey was a combination of the Bilingualism and Emotions Questionnaire, the Vancouver Index of Acculturation and the Multicultural Personality Questionnaire. Findings confirmed that respondents’ linguistic attitudes towards Italian (L1) and English (LX) matched their orientation towards L1 culture and LX culture. Specifically, participants who reported frequent use of the L1 to express emotions and considered it a dominant language were strongly attached to L1 culture practices. Similarly, participants who reported regular use of the LX to express emotions and considered it a dominant language were strongly attached to LX culture practices. Statistical analysis indicated reciprocal effects between linguistic and cultural factors, where L1 and LX dimensions remained unconnected. Furthermore, migrants’ feelings of difference when using the LX were constrained by their sense of belonging to the LX culture. Personality traits differently linked to L1 and LX variables, where no trait was correlated with both. In particular, the traits Flexibility and Emotional Stability were negatively related to participants’ attachment to the heritage language and culture, whereas the traits Cultural Empathy, Social Initiative and Openmindedness were positively related to their attachment to the host language and culture. Reciprocal effects appeared between cultural- linguistic aspects and personality traits, illustrating the linguistic and cultural hybridity of migrants and their psychological changes following migration. 4 Acknowledgements The completion of a Ph.D. is a life-changing process, which I endured thanks to the unconditional support of many people. I would have never had the strength to sustain the practical and theoretical difficulties that made this path the most revealing of my life. In these five years I have learnt that a Ph.D. is a long-term project and requires you to be good at managing your time over long stretches. Often, it is hard to keep going when deadlines are far away in the future. I have learnt how to compartmentalise the job into a myriad of small tasks, and yet I was never hundred percent sure about what I was accomplishing. Sometimes I had the idea a Ph.D. is just a way to focus on something for a very long time. I spent countless hours staring at a wall, trying to conceptualise what was not clear in my mind and then I woke up plenty of times in the middle of the night with the right inspiration, desperate to write things down. I have learnt that it is tough to know when you are done. Likewise, it is normal to feel like you are not succeeding. There have been days when I felt successful, but only a few, and that is also because it is extremely hard to keep track of the actual progress. Having completed one percent of the job, on any given day, felt insignificant till I started to see where that piece fitted into the larger whole. Above all, I have learnt to fail. Indeed, for every small success I had at least twice as failures, flaws in something I had spent months working on. Now I know these reiterated failures are the essence of creating knowledge, and are therefore part of the whole process. First and foremost, I would like to thank Prof. Jean-Marc Dewaele, for his care over the past years. Certainly, he has been a crucial source of advice, encouraging me to present my research at international conferences, connecting me with established academics in the field and guiding me through the production of a couple of papers and to the final completion of this thesis. Beyond his supervisor’s duties, I want to thank him for his constant optimism – a vital source of psychological support, as well as his blunt criticism, patience and friendly approach, which directed me towards the right decisions. With all these qualities, he managed to transform my confused independent thinking into a more concrete research attitude, 5 helping me becoming a researcher with both the good amount of curiosity to venture new projects and solid theoretical skills to stay grounded. Amongst the people I am scholarly most grateful to, I would like to mention Prof. Aneta Pavlenko, Dr. Ożańska-Ponikwia, Dr. Jan Pieter van Oudenhoven, Prof. Karen van der Zee, Prof. Batja Mesquita, Dr. Verònica Benet-Martínez and Dr. Rosemary Wilson whose ideas largely inspired this dissertation. Special thanks go to Dr. Jozefien De Leersnyder, Dr. Andrew Ryder and Dr. Resnik for their assistance and friendly interest in my ideas and support in developing new projects. I would also like to thank the School of Social Sciences, Philosophy and History for funding my research during these years, as well as many important conferences I had the chance to attend to. I also mention with warm appreciation the Sarah and George Bancroft Charity Trust for part- funding my Ph.D. All my fellow Ph.D. students at Birkbeck College willingly provided invaluable feedback and support, in particular Dr. Ruxandra Comanaru, Louise Rolland, Pernelle Lorette, Xuemei Chen, Hannah Marie, Dr. Liana Pavelescu, Kamaal Ahsan Majeed, Sharona Moskowitz, Elena Dey, Areej Alawad, Miho Kito, Dr. Ariadne Loutrari, Dr. Kate Hammer, Dr. Oleksandra Shaitan, Dr. Franco Zappettini, Dr. Takako Inada, Barbara Gross, Dr. Susan Samata, Dr. Jennifer Watson and Virginia Grover. They all have provided a stimulating environment in which to exchange ideas and discuss progress thoroughly. I am also grateful to the Applied Linguistic staff for being extremely patient with me, especially Prof. Li Wei, Dr. Tom Morton, Dr. Lisa McEntee-Atalianis and Prof. Zhu Hua. I also thank Sophie Banbury, Kevin Smith and Robin Wright for the administrative support, Jane Halstead for funding advices and Sarah Lee for helping me with research regulations. Furthermore, this work would not have been possible without the priceless contribution of all participants and interview candidates to whom I am extremely grateful for their time and insights. I equally thank the participants of my pilot studies who have been a productive source of 6 inspiration. Last but not least, thanks to my proofreader for being extremely interested in my project, helpful and professional. Behind a Ph.D. there is also a lot of psychological and financial struggle. This is why I am very grateful to my several employers over these years, as they all granted me flexible working hours and time off to present my research in the UK, Ireland, Spain, Italy and Portugal. I would have never been able to cope with three jobs and a Ph.D. without the necessary flexibility. In particular, I want to thank Lebara Limited for providing a valuable source of funding for my research. Nevertheless, all my colleagues from my current jobs and previous ones have always been extremely understanding and patient in helping me to organise my tight daily schedule. In particular I want to mention Clemens Fäh, Mara Martuzzi, Tanja Heldstab, Karin Weber, Mariam Lepage, Rebecca Edwards, Sarah Aird, Beth Scott and Tony Wallman for organising my working shifts around my study requirements and for being sympathetic. I owe a substantial debt of gratitude to Dr. Bene Bassetti, for giving me the chance to work at different research projects. Her trustful support helped me developing precious skills. I am thankful to my parents, whom I am not sure understand this ‘Doctorate thing’ but they always allowed me to pursue any adventures, including this one. Special thanks go to my cousin Fabio, my uncle Carlo and, above all, my grandmother Cinzia who always valued my achievements and always admired my audacity. Finally, this thesis would never have come into being without the unfailing support of all my beloved friends across the world. Throughout these years they have been the ones who really encouraged me, inspired me and heartened me like a real family. I want to thank Simone, Lynn, David, Irene B. and ‘Samantha’, Dan, Nicole, Napo, Giulia, Checca, Gianlu, Pizzo, Mara, Patrick, Mancio, James A., Livia, Mara, Maurizio, Diego, Valerio, Alessandro, ‘Enzo’, Selica, Abel, Amy, Elena, Antonio, Ilaria, Ciaran, Vica, Mauro, Monica, Clemens, Jacqueline, Irene C., Srdjan, Augusto, Awal, Mariam, Sabrina, Simon, Remko, Arline, Aaron, Ludovica, Andrea, ‘Pieri’, 7 Valentina, Katherine, James R., Mari, Daniela, Seneca, Catena, Pippo, the Heldstab family, Max, Zoe, Beppe, Beatrice, Jacopo, Francesca, Donata, Rachel, Karin, Tania, Angela C., Cencio, Erica, Elvira, Anna DM., Ema, Anna A., Angela N., Martinha, Eugenio and Michael.