Language of my Choosing by Anne Pia sampler
Where do I truly belong? This is the question Anne Pia continually asked of herself growing up in the Italian-Scots community of post-World War Two Edinburgh. This candid, vibrant memoir shares her struggle to bridge the gap between a traditional immigrant way of life and attaining her goal of becoming an independent-minded professional woman. Through her journey beyond the expectations of family, she discovers how much relationships with other people enhance, inhibit and ultimately define self. Yet – like her relationship with her own mother – her ‘belonging’ in her Italian and Scottish heritages remains to this day unresolved and complex.
Where do I truly belong? This is the question Anne Pia continually asked of herself growing up in the Italian-Scots community of post-World War Two Edinburgh.
This candid, vibrant memoir shares her struggle to bridge the gap between a traditional immigrant way of life and attaining her goal of becoming an independent-minded professional woman.
Through her journey beyond the expectations of family, she discovers how much relationships with other people enhance, inhibit and ultimately define self. Yet – like her relationship with her own mother – her ‘belonging’ in her Italian and Scottish heritages remains to this day unresolved and complex.
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language <strong>of</strong> <strong>my</strong> choosing<br />
Author’s Note<br />
this book evokes a period in time. It is a first-hand<br />
account <strong>of</strong> life in one immigrant family and a portrayal <strong>of</strong><br />
the changing Scottish Italian community in Edinburgh over<br />
a forty-year span. Together with English, the rich dialect <strong>of</strong><br />
Viticuso, which I spoke with <strong>my</strong> grandmother, was a mother<br />
tongue and I have <strong>of</strong>fered some insights into the relationship<br />
<strong>of</strong> Italian Scots with that language. I hope that I have both<br />
paid tribute to that raw language <strong>of</strong> intimacy and humour<br />
and encouraged others to own and be proud <strong>of</strong> that fine<br />
legacy.<br />
As I write, universal concerns about immigration and<br />
the movement <strong>of</strong> people dominate world politics. I explain<br />
from <strong>my</strong> experience <strong>of</strong> racism after World War Two, that<br />
integration is <strong>of</strong>ten painful and challenging with regard to<br />
family and social relationships; and how the exclusion <strong>of</strong> one<br />
group <strong>by</strong> another dominating culture can breed a potentially<br />
dangerous counter <strong>of</strong>fensive. It leaves many <strong>of</strong> us affected <strong>by</strong><br />
it, dislocated, damaged and disoriented.<br />
This is <strong>my</strong> story about finding <strong>my</strong> identity through<br />
<strong>my</strong> gradual distancing from the background <strong>of</strong> loss and<br />
alienation that I grew up in. It is a tale <strong>of</strong> strength, self-belief<br />
and optimism.<br />
<strong>Anne</strong> <strong>Pia</strong><br />
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