Speakers' attitudes on Piedmontese: A case for Vitality Re-assessment

In this research I present the results of a survey carried out among speakers of Piedmontese, a regional language of Italy, to assess its vitality in terms of speaker numbers, domains of use, intergenerational transmission and speakers' attitudes. After illustrating the methodology adopted for the survey, I compare the survey results with the vitality assessment of Piedmontese currently available. I show how the discrepancies can be interpreted, and then argue for the need for a finer.grained instrument for vitality assessment, one that places proper emphasis on signs of revitalisation and less stress on intergenerational transmission.