Italian, Ukrainian or Russian? Language and identity in Crimea

This paper presents the results of fieldwork conducted among the small Italian minority living in Kerch, a coastal town in Crimea, between 2012 and 2013. After introducing the socio-historical background and the current situation of the minority, it presents and discusses the attitudes of members of the community towards the different languages which constitute their linguistic repertoires. The research builds on Bourdieu's theoretical approach to symbolic (linguistic, social and cultural) capital and on analyses and conceptualisations of linguistic identification in Ukraine and Crimea. Analysed data generate a picture of language use and attitudes within a minority group in the Crimean pluralistic environment, where individuals may feel allegiances and commitments to different ethnic communities and to different languages simultaneously.