New Language, a New World

Nancy C. Carnevale is an associate professor of history at Montclair State University.

Winner of a 2010 American Book Award from The Before Columbus Foundation."Outstanding from start to finish. . . . The author displays exceptional range and depth in exploring not only the interior world of Italian American life, but also the intersections of this group's story with that of other immigrant communities and with society as a whole. . . . Highly recommended."--Choice "A must for Italian American scholars."--Altreitalie "Carnevale takes a fresh and intriguing approach by focusing on an issue to which historians have devoted surprisingly little attention."--Journal of American Ethnic History"By focusing on the everyday linguistic practices of ordinary immigrants, Carnevale's study is truly path-breaking, opening new ground in the study of immigrant language usage. Refreshingly original and enormously stimulating."--Donna Gabaccia, coeditor of American Dreaming, Global Realities: Rethinking U.S. Immigration History "In A New Language, A New World, Nancy C. Carnevale does something that historians have long claimed that they would do, but in fact never did: she takes language seriously. Carnevale focuses on the language world of Italian immigrants in the United States and examines in intricate and intimate detail how language shaped them and structured their encounter with America."--Hasia R. Diner, author of Hungering for America: Italian, Irish and Jewish Foodways in the Age of Migration