Languages of Calabria: Calabrese, Italian, and All the Others. A talk by Emeritus Professor Joseph Lo Bianco, AM, (University of Melbourne)

 

Tuesday 24 March 2026, 6.30-8pm

CO.AS.IT., 199 Faraday Street, Carlton

Free event. Registration essential below

 

 

What do Calabrians speak? Do they speak something called Calabrese? Is Calabrese a dialect of Italian or is it a language? What is a language and what is a dialect? When you go to Calabria it seems like there is a different dialect in every village. Is this true? In this talk I will give an overview of communication in Calabria, using maps and some sample speech to introduce the complex world of communication in Calabria. The language situation of Calabria reflects the remarkable and tumultuous history of the region, and it should be a source of pride and interest to us all. Our ways of speaking reflect the history of Calabria which has been at the cross-roads of life in the Mediterranean for centuries. I will also discuss national and regional policy towards the languages of Calabria, for example, is there a law about languages? What is the situation in schools and the media? Do people feel pride in Calabrese, does it have its writers, poets, and singers? And I will also introduce the ‘islands’. Not physical islands, but cultural islands, three amazing areas where Greek, Albanian and Occitan are spoken. How fascinating is that?

  

Joseph Lo Bianco is Emeritus Professor in language and literacy education at the University of Melbourne and a specialist in language policy studies. He has been awarded the Order of Australia for his work on language, in 1998, by the Governor General of Australia, and in 1999 the title of Commendatore dell’Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana by Italy. His parents migrated to Australia from Melicuccà, provincia di Reggio Calabria in 1950 and 1953, and he was born in Myrtleford Victoria in a farming community. Joe, as he likes to be called, has had an international career working on language issues in many parts of the world. In 2025 he was granted the title of Calabrese of the Year by the Australian Calabrese Cultural Association.