document | Education and Neapolitan Mother Language : Problems and Opportunities

A ll'accasione d' 'a Jurnata 'Nternazziunala d' 'a Lengua 'e Tata, chist'anno care 'a vintiquattresima, comme Accademmia Napulitana p' 'a lengua e 'a curtura napulitana, vulimmo scrivere coccosa 'ncopp' a ccomme s'hadda fà lezziona ausanno tanta lengue e nnu'ssulo chella nazziunale. Chesto nuje facimmo comme Accademia Napulitana p' 'e ccriature 'e Napule.

The 24th edition of International Mother Language Day will focus on the theme ‘multilingual education - a necessity to transform education’.

Multilingual education based on mother-tongue facilitates access to and inclusion in learning for population groups that speak non-dominant languages, languages of minority groups and indigenous languages.
In this document we deal about problems and opportunities of a Neapolitan language education in Italy. We wish to contribute to the IMD 2023 reporting the work of the Accademia Napoletana for Neapolitan children in cooperation with academicians from all over the world.

As Accademia Napoletana, international scientific group to preserve Neapolitan Language and Culture, we work in cooperation with associations, groups, researchers, to claim this situation. Our project “Nuje” (we/us, in English) is for the entire Neapolitan community in Italy and all around the world, in partnership with any minorized communities that suffer our or similar problems of discrimination.

Teaching activities, conferences, publications on magazines, juridical review, also in Neapolitan, social campaigns in Neapolitan language are also our focus to preserve and defend our heritage as our cultural, linguistic, human rights.
As the Neapolitan Academy, in Italy, for example, we have promoted the teaching "from the road to the balcony" (using Neapolitan language ) during the lokdown in the pandemic period and through university cooperations at the abroad for example with Prof. Karla del Carpio who deals with the Tsotsil community of Mayan origin, we recall for example the publication reported by the UNESCO's Digital Library of our work: "Preserving and Promoting Minority Languages: The Neapolitan and Tsotsil Linguistic Communities", in which this cooperation and on-site activity is highlighted. An international cooperation such as with the Red Internacional de Investigadores de Lenguas, Literatura y Educación (UNACH, México).
We have also realized the first Neapolitan language and culture course in accordance with the CEFR recognized by the Municipality of Naples in 2017 and European projects of intercomprehensive/multilingual teaching at the I.C. 72nd Palasciano school of Naples, as well as cultural and linguistic consultancy activities to social and promotional campaigns in Neapolitan language.

Recently in a publication of the Linguapax Review ('O Nnapulitano, lengua scarpesata, dô cinemma â ficiscionna, December 2022) we analize Neapolitan language and their speakers thought movies and fictions denouncing the problems above. Several times we have reported this unsustainable situation to the local authorities of the Campania region and to various Neapolitan intellectuals but unfortunately without any response. However we have to continue our work with respect above all for Neapolitan children and women. and their mother tongue. This article on the occasion of the IMD 2023 wish to highlight the previous problems and confirm our work.

Massimiliano Verde, president of the Accademia Napoletana to Neapolitan language teaching and preserving.