“We Simply Lack the German-Speaking Children in This City”: Ethnolinguistic Categorization in Preschools in South Tyrol, Italy

Abstract

Ethnolinguistic groupness has been institutionalized in the Italian province of South Tyrol in the form of three recognized “language groups” (Italian, German, Ladin) structuring the province’s institutional apparatus, including its three separate school boards. In this context, tensions over the kinds of ethnolinguistically categorized children attending particularly German-language education have repeatedly flared up. In our paper, we draw on ethnographic research in German-language preschools and explore how teachers, parents and ethnographers position themselves and others in ethnolinguistic terms. We show that the institutionalized association between “German” as an ethnolinguistic category and as language of instruction engenders hierarchizations and gatekeeping mechanisms that produce a need for families who cannot position themselves as “German” to legitimize their children’s enrolment in these institutions. We argue that these mechanisms attempt to uphold the ethnolinguistic foundation of German-language preschools and avoid dealing with its clash with the democratic ideal of inclusive education.