Language
Santa Cristina Gela is bilingual, its inhabitants proficient in Arbërisht and Italian but they also well understand Sicilian. However, the local dialect of Arbërisht is undergoing attrition with children learning Arbërisht as their first language and being more confident using Arbërisht, then by school leaving age are more comfortable with Italian and are able to express a wider range of concepts in Italian. This is furthered by the lack of media or schooling in Arberisht.
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“A president, however, must stand somewhat apart, as all great presidents have known instinctively. Then the language which has the power to survive its own utterance is the most likely to move those to whom it is immediately spoken.”
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