The newly launched app MovIT – Moving Italian(s) examines how Italian evolves in the context of emigration and global digital connectivity. It was developed by a team of researchers from the University of Bern, two Belgian universities, and one in Italy.

Italy’s history is shaped by emigration, which has given rise to a now globally networked Italian-speaking diaspora. What does Italian sound like in their world? And how is it changing compared to the Italian-speaking cultural sphere? These are the questions addressed by the project MovIT – Moving Italian(s) which systematically records and analyzes the development of the Italian language using a smartphone app that can be used all over the world. This is of particular interest at a time when migration from Italy has increased again since the 2008 financial crisis, and affordable telephony and digital communication platforms make it possible to remain closely connected with the Italian-speaking cultural sphere.

The MovIT project team includes researchers from the Institute of Italian Language and Literature at the University of Bern, KU Leuven, the Free University of Brussels, and the University of Turin. The project is supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) and the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO).