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The paper deals with intergenerational variation in syntactic and functional patterns of code-switching (CS) between Italian and the Sicilian dialect. The research is based on two kinds of data: (i) a corpus of spontaneous spoken language, recorded, transcribed and then submitted to conversation analysis (Alfonzetti, 1992; 2012); (ii) a written corpus of e-mails, text messages, posts in social networks, etc. The main purpose is to show that the occurrence of a particular switching strategy largely depends on sociolinguistic factors interacting with age (language proficiency; sociosymbolic values and communicative functions of the two languages; speakers' attitudes, etc.). This issue is extremely important both from a sociolinguistic perspective (age-related differences in CS are a key to understanding an ongoing language shift) and from a theoretical one (comparing CS patterns between the same two languages within the same community but across different age-groups helps to establish the relative role of sociolinguistic vs syntactic factors underlying CS).

The paper deals with the role of dialect among young Sicilian speakers. After a brief overview of the conditions of local dialects in Western Europe, I will discuss the main results of research carried out by means of different methodological approaches and types of data: (i) self-evaluative data elicited through questionnaire; (ii) a corpus of spontaneous spoken language; (iii) a written corpus of e-mails, text messages, posts in social networks, etc. The study shows a strong functional specialization of the dialect in young speakers’ repertoire, above all of those living in towns and with a high sociocultural background, who use it almost only in joking or to strengthen aggressive speech acts. In electronic media young speakers use a lot of polylanguaging, mixing their own language and dialect with bits of foreign languages and of other regional dialects. This style aims at expressing a multiple identity, made of both local, national and globalized components. The dialect thus acquires an important communicative function within the repertoire of young semi-speakers, whose competence of this code is extremely reduced.

After a brief description of the two previous Special Issues on Italian sociolinguistics (appeared both in the International Journal of the Sociology of Language in 1989 and 2011), a general overview of the main trends of today’s Italian sociolinguistic research is given. It is maintained that a relevant portion of linguistic research carried out in Italy during the last few decades falls almost entirely within the boundaries of sociolinguistics. Then an outline of the most relevant aspects of the Italian sociolinguistic situation is sketched, in order to highlight the main issues dealt with in Italian sociolinguistic studies. Much attention is paid to the Italian repertoire and to the studies focusing on the various dimensions of variation in the Italian language: i.e. the ongoing process of restandardization; the regional, social and functional varieties; spoken varieties of Italian; bu also historical sociolinguistics, linguistic policy, language and gender and so on. The paper will then give a brief summary of the various papers of the present Special issue.