ABSTRACT

The pivotal role of Hip Hop music in identity formation processes of youth of migrant background has been established in many countries. Yet this issue has not been explored in the Italian context. In this paper, I present preliminary findings from a broader doctoral research project that investigates how Italian youth of African descent employ Hip Hop discursive practices to negotiate and build a sense of cultural identity that responds to the marginalisation and racialisation they face in Italian society and challenges the idea of Italy as a demographically and culturally homogeneous country. Through Critical Discourse Analysis of song lyrics and semi-structured interviews, I have found that Afroitalian rappers construct their cultural identities through a complex and ongoing process of transculturation, where elements from different cultural backgrounds interact in their artistic production and are modified thereby. Language choices play a major part in the identity-construction process. The analysis reveals the prevalence of translanguaging practices in the songs. Afroitalian rappers employ their linguistic repertoires as integrated systems where languages are not treated as separate entities but blended together on multiple levels. The act of translanguaging, I argue, is a marked choice involving discourses of identity.

摘要

嘻哈音乐在具有移民背景的年轻人的身份形成过程中具有举足轻重的作用。然而，这个问题尚未在意大利的背景下进行探讨。在本文中，我提出了一个更广泛的博士研究项目的初步发现，该项目研究了非洲裔的意大利青年如何利用嘻哈话语实践来谈判和建立一种文化认同感，以回应他们在意大利社会和挑战中所面临的边缘化和种族化问题。意大利是一个人口和文化上均一的国家。通过对歌曲歌词的批评性话语分析和半结构化访谈，我发现非洲裔说唱歌手通过复杂而持续的换文化过程来构建其文化身份，来自不同文化背景的元素在其艺术作品中相互作用，并因此而被修改。语言选择在身份建构过程中起着重要作用。分析揭示了歌曲中翻译语言实践的普遍性。非洲说唱歌手将其语言库用作集成系统，在该系统中，语言不被视为单独的实体，而是在多个层次上融合在一起。我认为，翻译的行为是涉及身份论述的明显选择。非洲说唱歌手将其语言库用作集成系统，在该系统中，语言不被视为单独的实体，而是在多个层次上融合在一起。我认为，翻译的行为是涉及身份论述的明显选择。非洲说唱歌手将其语言库用作集成系统，在该系统中，语言不被视为单独的实体，而是在多个层次上融合在一起。我认为，翻译的行为是涉及身份论述的明显选择。