“They should work the way we do”. The discursive construction of Chinese and Italian cultural identity

Authors

  • Amelia Manuti University of Bari – Bari – Italy
  • Roberta Fraccalvieri University of Bari – Bari – Italy
  • Giuseppe Mininni University of Bari – Bari – Italy

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15448/1984-7726.2015.1.20577

Keywords:

Cultural psychology, China, Italy, Discrimination, Labor market, Discourse analysis

Abstract

The Chinese migration is one of the most important migratory flows in the international scene, both for the number of people involved, and for the large and varied number of countries chosen as a destination, including Italy. The present study aimed to study the intercultural dynamics that could arise from the encounter between native (Italian) and immigrants (Chinese), being the Chinese, one of the largest community in Italy. In this vein, the main aim of the study was that of analyzing the relationship between the Chinese and the Italian culture in the south of Italy. Participants were five Italians and five Chinese workers, managers and/or managers of a sample of small and medium-sized enterprises in Bari and in its surroundings. A semi-structured interview was administered as to investigate the interpretative repertoires that both cultures adopt to make sense of work as well as to interpret their reciprocal relationship in the labor market, especially in terms of economical competition in times of crisis. Diatextual Analysis was used as to interpret the data collected. Results showed a difficult integration between the two cultures, especially as for their cohabitation in the labor
market.

 

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“Eles deviam trabalhar como nós”.
A construção discursiva da identidade cultural chinesa e italiana

 

A migração chinesa é uma das mais importantes vagas migratórias na cena internacional, tanto pelo número de pessoas envolvidas como pela quantidade elevada e variada de países escolhidos como destino, incluindo a Itália. O presente estudo visa estudar a dinâmica intercultural que pode resultar do encontro entre nativos (italianos) e imigrantes (chineses), sendo os chineses, uma das mais numerosas comunidades na Itália. Nesse sentido, o principal objetivo do estudo reside em analisar a relação entre a cultura chinesa e a italiana no sul de Itália. Os participantes foram cinco italianos e cinco chineses trabalhadores, gerentes e/ou gerentes de uma amostra de pequenas e médias empresas localizadas em Bari e nos arredores. Uma entrevista semi-estruturada foi administrada para investigar os reportórios interpretativos que ambas as culturas adotam para que o trabalho faça sentido e também para interpretar a sua relação recíproca no mercado de trabalho, especialmente no que se refere à competição económica em tempos de crise. A Análise Diatextual foi usada para interpretar os dados recolhidos. Os resultados mostraram uma integração difícil entre as duas culturas, especialmente no que se reporta à sua coabitação no mercado de trabalho.

 

Palavras-chave: Psicologia cultural; China; Itália; Discriminação; Mercado de trabalho; Análise de discurso

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Published

2015-05-08

How to Cite

Manuti, A., Fraccalvieri, R., & Mininni, G. (2015). “They should work the way we do”. The discursive construction of Chinese and Italian cultural identity. Letras De Hoje, 50(1), 131–137. https://doi.org/10.15448/1984-7726.2015.1.20577

Issue

Section

Tecnologias, procedimentos de pesquisa e aplicações à linguagem e à comunicação numa perspectiva psicolinguística