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Cultural Assimilation of Sicilians in Monterey, Ca from 1914

Capstone Advisor: Rebecca Bales

Capstone Instructor: Juan Jose Gutierrez

By: Hyllery Hershberger

Social Behavioral Science Capstone Project

California State University Monterey Bay

Spring 2016

Monterey Sicilians pg. 1

Table of Contents

Figure 1. Sicilian purse-seiner owned by Erasimo Salvatore Lucido..................................2

Abstract................................................................................................................................3

I. Introduction..................................................................................................................................3

II. Literature Review........................................................................................................................6

Historiography................................................................................................................................6

Theory..............................................................................................................................................9

IV. Methodology..............................................................................................................................9

V. Data and Findings.....................................................................................................................12

VI. Analysis...................................................................................................................................15

Family............................................................................................................................................15

Language.......................................................................................................................................16

Assimilation..................................................................................................................................18

VII. Conclusion..............................................................................................................................19

Appendix: Phrases from Select Sicilian Sources, listed alphabetically................................20

Bibliography..................................................................................................................................27


Figure 1. Sicilian purse-seiner owned by Erasimo Salvatore Lucido.

(My maternal great grandfather, from family collection)


Abstract

This project examines the cultural assimilation of Sicilian immigrants into the

coastal town of Monterey, California after 1914. The Sicilian immigrant community in

Monterey is analyzed with particular attention to the role of family and Sicilian

language. The results find that the Sicilians in Monterey created interfamily relationships

and their own blend of language that helped build an independent community resistant to

assimilation until World War II.

I. Introduction

United States history is full of voyages across the Atlantic and hopeful immigrants

landing on the East Coast at the mercy of whoever happens to be there. The 1900s brought a new

wave of immigrants inspired by the promise of American success and self-determination. There

immigrant experience was diverse, but most of these immigrants were faced with a rigid process

of entry on Ellis Island in New York. Immigrants were faced with the knowledge that their

families might be split up, and even when they were legally accepted into the country, they often

faced the challenge of unemployment and adaptation to American society. The fundamental idea

that America is made up of ethnically diverse people and thrives upon it is based on this history

and these people who chose to migrate. Their assimilation into America involves cultural

blending, adaptation linguistically, and political citizenship among other factors of immigration

Even though immigrants of the 1900s were forced to enter through Ellis Island in New

York, many of them continued to migrate as far as California to find a place to call home. Such

is the case for a substantial group of Sicilians, who moved to the San Francisco Bay, and

eventually settled with their families in Monterey. These immigrants, who later became the heart


and soul of the sardine industry during the World Wars, were mostly fishermen looking for a

new, more fruitful life in the United States.

Sicilians have found prosperity as fisherpeople for centuries, through the ebbs and flows

of abundance and through countless developments in technology. Politically, Sicily has faced

many threats and successful conquests for its sovereignty from its early stages. Sicilian culture,

from language to diet, has always been a mixture of many regions because of Sicily’s central

geographic location in the Mediterranean. The beginning of the 20th century proved to be a

chaotic time in Sicilian history, from the rise of the mafia to the rise of Mussolini, which further

contributed to increased migration to the United States. Because of these constant hegemonic

forces, Sicilians are often known for being stubborn, prideful, and assertively ethnic. Although

Sicily is most closely associated geographically and politically with Italy, Sicilians often harbor

both a strong connection to being Italian and a passionate insistence of being primarily Sicilian.

It is this unique ethnic identity that makes this study intriguing and relevant.

Monterey Bay is an ecologically special region because of the deep sea trench that splits

it and brings an abundance of marine life that draws scientists to its shores from all over the

world. Throughout its history, Monterey’s wildlife also brought people seeking to profit from the

seemingly unending resource. This is precisely what happened when the Sicilians in Pittsburg,

CA, caught wind of plentiful schools of sardine in the bay. Monterey’s colorful history has had

its fair share of appreciation, from Junipero Serra’s missions to John Steinbeck’s Cannery Row,

but the role of immigrants in the central coast of California proves to be continually relevant

today.

This paper is focused on the Sicilian community that migrated to Monterey, California in

the early 1900s, and the generations after that held onto their Sicilian identity while they pursued


the American dream. The impact of this group of immigrants on the community around them

was tremendous. From 1915 to 1920, a large group of Sicilians made their way to settle in

Monterey and continue their livelihood as fisherpeople.1 When wartime expanded the Monterey

canning industry with government subsidies, the Sicilian men filled their lampara nets with

sardines as the women stayed on call to fill the cans whenever a load of fish came in. Although

this industry was not exclusively Sicilian, their knowledge of sardine fishing and their passion to

be fisherpeople created an interesting historical impact on Monterey for generations to come.

The Sicilian community was known for its solid interfamilial relationships, strong sense of ethnic

identity, and refusal to assimilate on anything but their own terms. The culture was rich and the

community was tightly knit as families migrated from Southwest Italy and established their own

home away from home on the Monterey Bay.

This paper examines language and family as influences on Sicilian assimilation from the

beginning of the 20th century through a social history lens. My research question is: how did

Sicilian culture, through language and familial relationships, affect how these Sicilian

immigrants related to their community and culturally assimilated? I attempt to answer this by

assessing the Sicilian immigrants in relation to the average assimilation model. Assimilation is

referred to as the process in which immigrant individuals or groups transition by merging

culture, behavior, identity, and allegiance into a new society. A concept of how the Sicilians

culturally transitioned is formed by using historical documents and accounts.

Carol McKibben’s work with Sicilian identity that used interviews with people of the

community contributes to my exploration of the Sicilians as a culturally resilient immigrant

community. Peter Cutino’s accounts of the community serve as primary sources. Milton

1 Carol Lynn McKibben. Beyond Cannery Row: Sicilian Women Immigration, and Community in Monterey, California 1915-99. Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 2006, 15-16.


Gordon’s cultural assimilation model and Basil Bernstein’s class and sociolinguistics theory are

the framework I use to analyze the Sicilian incorporation into and development within the

community of Monterey.

II. Literature Review

This section will briefly address various academic works that provide context and

theoretical frameworks for this project.

Historiography

This historical topic requires an understanding of the larger historical themes and

concurrent events of the time period. Both Donna Gabaccia and Linda Reeder’s examinations of

the social atmosphere of Sicily that caused migration to America provides international context.

Gabaccia specializes in Italian immigration in her numerous works, and examines the tumultuous

political developments and peasant militance at the turn of the 20 th century in Sicily.2 Reeder

studies the same time period, but instead emphasizes the educational attainment of Sicilian

women, usually due to the migration of men, leaving the women with greater responsibility and

independence.3 John Dickie’s Cosa Nostra: A History of the Sicilian Mafia also explains the

political gridlock of this time with grueling details of the corruption growing in Sicily.4

For a regional perspective, Carolyn Sotka and Stephen Palumbi’s The Death and Life of

Monterey Bay: A Story of Revival and Connie Chiang’s Shaping the Shoreline: Fisheries and

Tourism on the Monterey Coast are two extremely relevant sources. Sotka and Palumbi’s

ecological history of Monterey Bay goes back to the beginnings of environmental exploitation in

2 Donna R. Gabaccia. “Migration and Peasant Militance: Western Sicily, 1880-1910”. Social Science History 8 (1). Social Science History Association, 1984, 68. 3 Linda Reeder. “Women in the Classroom: Mass Migration, Literacy and the Nationalization of Sicilian Women at the Turn of the Century.” Journal of Social History 32, no. 1, 1998, 106.4 John Dickie. Cosa Nostra: A History of the Sicilian Mafia. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 2004, 124.


California’s history. They take the reader through the otter fur trade, whale hunting, abalone

overfishing, and the rise of sardine canneries in Monterey, California. Sotka and Palumbi also

weave the stories of influential people as the canneries mark the bottom of the ecological

degradation of the bay. Ed Ricketts, John Steinbeck, and Julia Platt are all given particular

attention in this book and are contextualized among the political and academic happenings of

their time.5 This book is good background for my project because it both contextualizes the

sardine fishing of the Sicilian community and describes various other immigrant communities

throughout Monterey Bay history. Chiang’s book explores the same history of Monterey Bay,

but with a focus on the ecological repercussions of tourism and canneries. Her work is very

informative, as she reiterates the intricacies of the Sicilian community that McKibben describes,

from explaining the class differences and village rivalries between San Vito Lo Capo,

Marettimo, and Isola Della Femmine Sicilians to the Santa Rosalia Festival.6

Carol McKibben’s book, Beyond Cannery Row: Sicilian Women Immigration, and

Community in Monterey, California 1915-99, is specifically devoted to this group of Sicilians in

Monterey and a history of Monterey Bay from the perspective of Sicilian women. Her book is

the foundation from which this project hopes to develop. McKibben analyzes the Sicilians’

process of occupational ethnicization and community building in Monterey. She argues that it

was usually initiated and nurtured by the women of the family through organized gatherings and

community events. McKibben describes how the Sicilian women of Cannery Row were

exceptional in many ways. An atmosphere that revolved around familial relationships and being

there for your community was part of the Sicilian culture, and it was essential to the sardine

industry. The book uses many accounts from women who worked in the canneries and 5 Carolyn Sotka and Stephen Palumbi. The Death and Life of Monterey Bay: A Story of Revival. Washington, Covelo, London: Island Press, 2011, ch. 5-7.6 Chiang, Connie Y. Shaping the Shoreline: Fisheries and Tourism on the Monterey Coast. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2008, 87-89.


illuminates the nuanced position of the Sicilians within their community as they both fought for

prosperity and clutched onto their heritage. McKibben supports this with references to her

extensive interviews with Sicilian women from the community, which can serve as primary

accounts of the Sicilian experience.7 Her work analyzing the Sicilian community through a

gendered lens is extremely useful in understanding their cultural assimilation for this research. It

gives a foundation of recent cultural assimilation studies that this project hopes to expand upon

and reinforce.

This study also incorporates primary sources from the Sicilian community. Peter Cutino’s

memoir-style novel, Monterey: A View from Garlic Hill, informed me of other specific

characteristics of the Sicilian community. He tells various stories of growing up in one of the

most prominent Sicilian fishermen families in Monterey. His experiences range from attending

Catholic school to the language barriers that his Sicilian-speaking mother faces to learning how

to fish with his father.8 His intimate story about what it meant to grow up in the community also

provides me with ample examples of the use of Sicilian phrases in real world contexts. Although

it is limited to one man’s perspective, Cutino’s text is an inside view of how the Sicilian

community functioned. As a primary source, Cutino helps explore familial relationships and

language in the Sicilian community.

Petra Prescher’s text, Identity, Immigration, and First Language Attrition, serves to

present the connection between immigrant identity and their mother tongue, which is a focus of

this study. Prescher’s subject is specifically the attrition, or the deterioration of, a first language.

He examines second and third generation immigrants, whose grandparents often abandoned,

voluntarily or forcibly, their native language through a case study of German migrants in the

7 McKibben, 8-9.8 Peter Cutino. Monterey: A View from Garlic Hill. Pacific Grove, CA: Boxwood Press, 1995, 62.


Netherlands. Peter Cutino’s accounts give this study examples of the Sicilian experience, while

Petra presents an exemplary theoretical analysis of how language and identity can be connected

for immigrants.

Theory

Basil Bernstein and Milton Gordon’s academic work informs this project with regards to

theory. In order to analyze the role of language on the Sicilian immigrant community, I will refer

to Bernstein’s idea that culture and language are dependent factors; specifically, that culture

causes language, and thus seeking universality in language is futile. By this, Bernstein means

that all language is dependent upon situation and other factors such as social class. This speaks to

the differences between Italian and Sicilian dialects, and is very applicable to this community of

Sicilians in Monterey.

Gordon’s book, Assimilation in American Life, outlines seven stages of cultural

assimilation which will aid the way this project views the process of assimilation. The

assimilation of Sicilian immigrants in Monterey, outlined by historical documents and secondary

accounts, will be assessed in relation to these steps of assimilation. The chronological steps of

assimilation are: changing daily customs, institutional participation, large scale intermarriage,

self-identification, absence of discrimination, absence of prejudice, and civic equality. Gordon’s

work with assimilation is a bit outdated, as it was written in 1964, but it still provides the

foundation for assimilation theory for many social theorists, and will be useful in analyzing the

case of the Sicilian immigrants in Monterey.

IV. Methodology

This project is a product of my family heritage and my curiosity for local history. One of

my favorite byproducts of studying history is physically looking at a location and wondering


what it looked like hundreds of years ago. Another one of my favorite things is talking to older

people and hearing their stories. I find that they always surprise me with what they have

experienced, how they reflect on it and seamlessly find their place in our world today. My great

uncle, Vincent Belleci, was the youngest of three siblings born into the Sicilian community in

Monterey that I study in this work. I have had the honor of talking to him about his life

throughout my childhood and hearing from my aunts and uncles about the Sicilians that first

came to fish for sardines in the bountiful Monterey Bay.

When I took a class about the environmental history of California in my first semester

here at CSU Monterey Bay, I realized that history is told from many different perspectives. We

studied ecological degradation in the Monterey Bay, from the overfishing of otters to whales to

abalones to sardines. Although it was my prideful Sicilian family that had partook in overfishing

the sardine of Monterey, I took interest in how they culturally came together as a community,

and the obvious connection to my family made me keen to learn more. I did my final project for

that class about the Sicilians in Monterey, and I gladly used it as an excuse to talk to my Uncle

Vince and other family members to hear stories about working on Cannery Row and families

that depended on the opening and closing of fishing season.

I transferred to CSU Monterey Bay as a third year college student and was asked to think

about a Senior Capstone topic almost right away. I wasn’t very confident in my knowledge of the

historical discipline, so I didn’t immediately land on this topic for my Capstone. I toyed with

more anthropological topics, as I felt that pursuing something involved with my own heritage

was biased or unprofessional. But as I continued my Social Behavioral Science education, I

experienced the very opposite. It seemed that some of the best work occurs when there is a


strong connection tor and background knowledge of a topic. So as I started my final year here, I

settled on the topic that intrigued me and kept me motivated to learn.

My first project about the Sicilians provided me with some basic understanding of

historical Cannery Row, some key works about sardine fishing in Monterey, and the beginnings

of how the Sicilians existed within their community. Carol McKibben’s book was the most

helpful source I found because of its historical structure, analysis of aspects like gender and

class, and its specific focus on the Sicilians of Monterey. From her book, I found the sources she

had used and got an idea of where I could look for further research.

Refining my own original research question was difficult, because of the thorough and

meticulous work of McKibben. I have always been interested in sociolinguistics, so

incorporating that element into my research questions made my project aim more distinguished

from McKibben. However, as I do not speak Italian or any version of it fluently, I knew that I

would have to go about analyzing the role of the Sicilian language on the assimilation of these

immigrants in a creative way. I struggled to find sources that informed me of the Sicilians’

language, but my familial resources and a memoir by a second generation Monterey Sicilian

named Peter Cutino became instrumental in this part of the project.

The role of family is included in my project because of the overwhelming evidence of

family and community building I found throughout my reading and experience. It seemed that,

like McKibben, I was fascinated with the way that the Sicilians seemed to prioritize communal

identity and support. The Sicilian women’s passion for their work in the canneries and religious

institutions makes their accounts lively and intriguing.9 I also initially wanted to include a

question about the role of religion in the Sicilians’ assimilation, because institutions like the

Italian Catholic Federation were another essential way that they maintained their traditional

9 McKibben, 36.


culture and got their immigrant community together. However, I decided against including that

part in an effort to better focus my research.

As I gathered and read sources that McKibben cited in her book, I began to form an idea

of the existing work about the region of Monterey and studies of Sicilians. From there, I

interviewed family members and found what I could about Sicilians and their language. At this

point, it was essential to read up about sociolinguistic theory and immigrant language attrition

theories. I found sufficient information on immigrant language theory in Petra Prescher and Basil

Bernstein’s works.

Finally, I decided that evidence of Sicilian dialect attrition could be accessible through

qualitative data. I collected a glossary of Sicilian terms from second and third generation sources

so that I could attempt to discern whether they are colloquial, Sicilian, or common Italian to

better elucidate the role of language on the community. Peter Cutino was my main source of

phrases from first and second generation immigrants, and my extended family is my source for

third generation.

V. Data and Findings

The data collected for this project has been diverse, ranging from immigration census

data to individual perceptions within the Sicilian community.

Historical accounts of Sicily and Ellis Island reflect the general assimilation theory of

Milton Gordon and illustrate some common forces and experiences in historical American

immigration. In Dickie, Reeder, and Gabaccia the 20th century Sicilian American immigration

model is set, reasoning that Sicilians left their homeland for economic prosperity in the first two

decades of the twentieth century, often as fishermen, and often bringing the rest of the family in


subsequent years. The resulting Sicilian groups all over America had vastly different assimilation

experiences, as exemplified in the exploration of New Orleans Sicilians, and Dickie’s history of

the Sicilian Mafia prevalent on the East Coast.

From the origins of Sicilian American migration, we find internal and external sources of

data about the community of Sicilians that settled in Monterey. Chiang, and Palumbi & Sotka

comment on the Monterey Sicilians as they participated in the ecological degradation of

Monterey Bay through the overfishing of sardines. Gloria Lothrop presents another outsider

opinion by exploring the larger topic of Italian-Americans in California.

While the aforementioned sources have informed the project on background and the

community of Monterey, a few key sources painted an intricate picture of what it was like to be a

Sicilian in Monterey since 1915. Both McKibben and Cutino were the most intimate sources of

data on this particular group of immigrants. McKibben’s book was written with data from

hundreds of interviews with members of the Sicilian community, and describes the unique

history, culture, and experience of this group with detail that is essential to this study. Cutino

serves as a crucial primary source from within the community; the accounts of his life give

specific examples how language and family functioned within the community. The attached

glossary of Sicilian phrases includes all of the language used in Cutino’s book, and is mostly

spoken on a boat as he learns the fishing trade the Sicilians were so well-known for.

Oral and written accounts of the Sicilian lifestyle describe the group as prideful and

boisterous, explaining that the Sicilians spoke their language in the workplace even if they were

the minority in canneries.10 As later generations described it, the families would get together each

week and speak their language in the kitchen, as they cooked, ate, and socialized their children to

do the same. When the point came that it was advantageous to learn English for economic

10 McKibben, 38.


success and assimilation was unavoidable, the Sicilians did what they had to do.11 But whenever

they could, they would pepper words, phrases, and stories upon any young person who would

listen. The Sicilians also took pride in speaking their native tongue in the home and the

workplace.12 Their language was more than a connection to their homeland, but a way to

continue their unique sense of self and deepen their interfamilial bonds.

McKibben cites the Santa Rosalia Festa as evidence for the community’s fierce

attachment to Sicilian culture, as non-Sicilian Italians admittedly felt left out of the event.13 The

sense of pride in the community led them to hold on to their traditions strongly and keep the

family together at any cost. McKibben compares their strict Sicilian self-identification to other

immigrant industrial workers who primarily identify as workers, whereas the Sicilians identified

themselves primarily as Sicilian, then fishermen.14 Their sense of community was so strong that

interfamily gatherings were “obligatory”, and as the women describe it: “. . . this work of kinship

meant endless but requisite visiting of in-laws and relations . . . visiting people, bringing food,

going to homes and them coming to see you.”15 These Sicilians had hesitation to marry outside of

their community, which gave them a reputation of ethnocentricity. This is an important

characteristic because it limited assimilation into broader culture and created a highly resilient

and economically motivated community. 16

In order to organize the linguistic data collected from primary sources, I created a chart of

the terms mentioned, the English translation (whether stated clearly or interpreted from context

and/or outside research), a pronunciation guide when applicable, and a comparison to the

11 McKibben, 9412 McKibben, 38. Cutino, 62-81. 13 McKibben, 103.14 McKibben, 51.15 McKibben, 52-6316 McKibben, 57-58.


common Italian prose if available. The source column includes a page number when available, or

the name of my family member who provided the data. The chart is attached as an appendix, and

is listed alphabetically. The data from this chart is collected from two family members who were

close to second generation Sicilians, and experienced the last tidbits of the traditional language

spoken by Sicilians. For this reason, they were only exposed to some phrases, nicknames, and do

not speak Sicilian fluently. This is contrasted by the phrases catalogued from Cutino’s stories,

transcribed straight from his own writing. The nature of language and memory makes this data a

very rough representation of the Sicilian experience. However, it also demonstrates the

assimilation of Sicilians and attrition of their language in later generations.

VI. Analysis

Family

As McKibben explains, this group of immigrants was unique in its self-identification as

primarily a fishing community. Even as the rest of the Monterey community pushed against the

rise of the canning industry on its shores, the Sicilians asserted the idea that Monterey was a

fishing town by establishing the Santa Rosalia Festival, by Sicilian men bringing and building

lampara equipment, and by Sicilian women flooding the floors of canneries at whatever hour the

catch came in.17 The strong willed Sicilian women made big family decisions included real estate

investments and marriage arrangements.18 As immigrants, the Sicilians could have come from

Ellis Island and spread along the West Coast to make a living catching whatever fish were

desired in the market. Instead, the Sicilians stuck together when sardines were discovered in the

Monterey Bay. The women in the community emphasized interfamilial relationships in

17 McKibben, 103, 36.18 McKibben, 53, 68


describing the time period because they felt a responsibility to support each other as women and

as Sicilians within Monterey. They moved from Pittsburg as a community of Sicilians in family

units, shipping lampara nets they used to catch sardines in the Mediterranean, and refusing to

assimilate by anything but their own terms.19

Language

The distinction between Italian and Sicilian language is more important than most people

realize; Sicily’s history is full of external occupations and unwelcome authorities.20 The case of

Monterey Sicilians is even more curious as it adds yet another geological twist and set of cultural

influences. Various accounts explain that at first, the Sicilian community spoke their language

most of the time, at work and home, but further into the 20th century, second and third generation

immigrants relied on their elders to continue to speak Sicilian in the home.21 So far, the data

gathered has supported the idea that this particular Sicilian community used language as a way to

hold on to their roots, as would be expected of an immigrant community, but also that the

particular situation in Monterey inherently affects the Sicilian dialect.

Bernstein’s theory would suggest that the language spoken by the Sicilian immigrant

community became changed from their home tongue once their social structure changed in

Monterey, and the new context of their lives caused new meanings and a language based on their

new shared experiences. Although the social relationships between family members might have

stayed the same, the methods of socialization within the new community changed the

communicative coding with which the Sicilians previously operated. Furthermore, entering into a

new culture where one’s native tongue is foreign and one might feel pressured to acclimate to the

main language, the native tongue becomes a secretive, restricted code which changes the 19 Silver Harvest. Monterey Savings and Loan Association, Monterey, Calif. 1979. Film. Monterey, Calif: The Association. url:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b00vNnmQQZU20 Cutino, 50.21 McKibben, 124. Cutino, 62-81.


accepted social situations where your identity is accepted or suppressed. As I examine the second

and third generation Sicilians, native language use seems to diminish, and the relationship

between the Sicilian community and its language becomes more complex.

I would argue that if social class affects language, then this Sicilian group of immigrants

lived within a distinct dialect of their native tongue, unique to Monterey and regardless of

regional origin in Italy, which was created in Monterey and exists only in the area. Cutino’s

phrases reflect that while the changes may not be huge, there are small changes in colloquial and

technical terms at least between Italian and Sicilian. By researching using common translation

software, the Italian way to say certain phrases and comparing them to the phrases from Cutino’s

accounts, we can at least get a feeling that Bernstein’s theory holds some truth. With research, I

have found that the term figghiu, while used in multiple ways, seems to be a strictly Sicilian

word. The word appears in Cutino’s book, in my family’s memory of Sicilian terms, and in an

online library that defines Sicilian terms, while it is not recognized in any common Italian

software, even with alterations in spelling and pronunciation.

Although all of the terms in the attached appendix have yet to be catalogued this

extensively, there are similar situations with other terms mentioned in Cutino, which suggests

that the Sicilian dialect could have further separated this Sicilian community from would be

fellow Italians.

Assimilation

Gordon’s first step is an acculturation of daily customs, from language acquisition to

dress, which I argue is an interesting factor in the case of the Sicilian immigrants in Monterey.

These Sicilians were able to bring their own knowledge of sardine fishing to Monterey from their

homeland, making the acculturation of daily customs less of factor for them. Gordon claims that


the next step is large scale entrance into clubs and institutions; the group becomes involved in the

larger community. For the Sicilians, this was exemplified with organizations like the Italian

Catholic Federation and community celebrations like the Santa Rosalia Festa. Marital

assimilation is named the consequent step. It was not until the World Wars and a rise in distrust

of Axis countries, it is said, that this Sicilian community made a point to marry outside of their

ethnic and religious circles to prove their patriotism. The family was an important part of Sicilian

culture, and accepting someone into the family was not taken lightly.

Self-identification is the fourth step of assimilation in Gordon’s theory. As McKibben

explains, these Sicilian people self-identified as Sicilians before all other demographic aspects of

themselves, which is one of this group’s distinctive features. The way that these immigrants

thought of themselves as fisherpeople and Sicilians before cannery workers or Americans causes

their assimilation to be unique. The rest of Gordon’s steps are not as applicable to this study, as it

focuses on the beginning of their migration, before the full attrition of their language. I would

also argue that the remainder of Gordon’s steps are not necessary to the assimilation of

immigrant communities.

VII. Conclusion

With the general Italian American immigrant experience noted, the story of the Monterey

Sicilians is surely distinguished by its occupational ethnic identity and its resistance to

assimilation through the interfamilial community and language.

Most immigrants can be distinguished by language, and immigrant language attrition is a

relevant subject in immigration today. However, the case of the Monterey Sicilians has its own

interesting factors. Similar to other immigrants, the Sicilians in Monterey used their language as


a tool to connect to their heritage, to build walls from assimilation, and to feel comfortable in

their new space. But as the community went through a few decades of settlement into Monterey,

language became a concrete way to nurture interfamilial relationships, a dialect unique to

Monterey, and a way of making their young aware and proud of their part in Monterey’s history.

The familial relationships of Monterey Sicilians emphasized a responsibility to uphold

cultural traditions and build a community together, as fisherpeople and as Sicilian-Americans. As

McKibben argues, the community fused their identity with fishing culture in an amazing way,

and the role of women in building relationships and a lasting community was monumental.

Appendix: Phrases from Select Sicilian Sources, listed alphabetically

Sicilian Phrase

English Translation

Usage Comparison to Italian

Source Notes

(mu) kifithu What are you doing?!

semi-exclamatory Rosalie

acuda si va de bordu

watch out, we are going into the wind

warning while fishing Cutino 77

adduma, e chiuda

on and off reffering to turning the light off and on while fishing

Cutino 80

aduma a stuffa e cucinamu

light up the stove and let's cook

Cutino 85

Agghiu garlic nickname Cutino 54alura all right, then, in context of fishing Cutino 93


facemmu un calata

we'll lay out the net

amari in the ocean in context of fishing with lampara

Cutino 79

amari ava giddi

ready to dump the munzati overboard

in context of fishing with lampara

Cutino 79

amma fatti un viaggiu

we are going on a voyage

statement from father about the fishing trip

Cutino 70

ammu iettata la cima in terra

cast the line ashore

words of wisdom/ proverb

Cutino 85

anno nuovo, vita nuova

the new year calls for a new way of life

philosophical statement*

Cutino 73 *as Cutino describes it

arrisbigghiari!

wake up! command Cutino 88

arrivo it arrived Cutino 81aspetha wait in context of fishing

with lamparaSimilar in Ital. Cutino 79

aspitattu u minutu

wait a minute in context of fishing Cutino 82

athuna in context of fishing with lampara

Cutino 79

baccalaru bad word* Cutino 70 *as Cutino describes them

bastardu bad word* Cutino 70 *as Cutino describes them

beatu cu pasa u tempu

blessed are those who pass the time

statement to friend Cutino 73

bonu sira/ matina

good night/ morning

greeting Cutino 69

bonu, bonu, arratti di u mari

good, good, get away from the ocean

Cutino 132

ca sunu! figlio mio

I'm here! my son

Cutino 110

cani non mangi cani

dogs don't eat dogs


Cutino 88

Carretta wagon nickname for Aiello family

Cutino 54

ceceri chickpeas food. Used to determine french in hiding

Cutino 50

cha munnu novu va tagghiata e ali

it's a new world, I am going to cut his wings

father talking about son Cutino 88

cha troppu assai calamari!

there is too much squid!

in context of fishing Cutino 90

che beisognu un altro supra a lytha

another man needs to be on the lytha



che besogna minnis

we must make "tits"

in context of fishing with lampara. ie of squid in the net

Cutino 82

che un palla de pesci!

it might be a ball of fish


chi che? what's there? father asking shipmate Cutino 77chistu rizza-- mongo un coppa neggu

that net is not even a small scoop

in context of fishing teasing other fishermen

Cutino 87

chiu luntanu se stenichia le pedi quanto linzolu e teni.

as far as the foot can be put in the sheet is as much as it can hold


Cutino 84

chiummu! the lead line! command from captain Cutino 80commare best friend McKibbe

n 41companilismo village loyalty in relation to specific

village in Sicily that one originated from.

McKibben 59-60

compari buddy* describing a friend GT: Eng- "cronies"

Cutino 69 *meaning extrapolated from context

comu mai? how could you? dialogue with father Cutino 62comu stu bastimentu unna unfunnu?

how come that boat is not under water?

in context of fishing teasing other fishermen

Cutino 87

conegia horn in Santa Rosalia festival

Cutino 56

copu de sangu bad word* Cutino 70 *as Cutino describes them

cosa de nenti it's probably nothing

Cutino 93

cu sape pono ysitti dinta e scogghiu

who knows, it's too soon, perhaps they are in the rocks

talking about finding squid to catch

Cutino 77

cucci daddis cookies with figs and dates

Cutino 164

cumpagnu di bordu

shipmates describing companions on boat

Cutino 67

dujhi cute while pinching child's face

Rosalie

e pedi sempri ava essiri asciuttu

your feet should always be dry

Cutino 168

fa cu se do it like this in context of fishing Cutino 82fa festa to have a

party/celebrateCutino 57

fa prestu! do it fast! in context of fishing Cutino 83faccia de gani bad word* Cutino 70 *as Cutino

describes themferma! stop! command Cutino 77


figghiu de buthano

bad word* Cutino 70 *as Cutino describes them

figghiu me Poor little thing used sympathetically Rosalieforza giuvainotti!

harder, young ones!

command from captain Cutino 80

forza! harder! command from captain Cutino 80frabbica exaggerator nickname Cutino 53giramo. . . a taliarisi nautra vota!

we'll turn around and take another look!


grabbies Little grubs Talking to children Katherine Rosalie- “grappies”

ho mettimodi pronti

get ready statement from father on boat

Cutino 78

ho varca ranni

hey, big boat greeting at sea Cutino 73

ho! guardia la rizza

warning while fishing Cutino 76

iddi e unu onu pietusa-sembri riguardu cosi ce sunu

he is a man to be very sorry for-always writes about things that are useless.

in reference to Steinbeck

Cutino 119

io sta vanu a schola stamatina

I am going to school this morning

Cutino 132

io vuliri sbarazzari thuthi

i would get rid of all of them

Cutino 121

Isola delle Femmine

Island of Women

geographic place Cutino 49

laidu chiusa It is overcast comment about the perfect fishing weather

Cutino 65

lampa amari put the lamp in the water*

command to drop the submarine light overboard


lampa! command from captain Cutino 81lampara net sardine fishing term Cutino 39lytha barge sardine fishing term Cutino 40mamaluku bad word* Cutino 70 *as Cutino

describes themManatzu big hand nickname Cutino 54mangia futa de rosa

Eat fast with cheer

celebratory Katherine

mano diritti, mano mongo

right and/or other hand

directional Cutino 72

marso sheko boat builder nickname Cutino 53matutsame Oh dear used dramatically Rosaliematza padri kill his father nickname Cutino 53megghiu essiri allura mali

better to be alone than with


Cutino 118


cumpagni bad companionsmegghiu un cani vivu de liuni un mortu

better a live dog than a dead lion.


Cutino 82

Mensu Culu half-ass nickname/ bad word Cutino 54/70

mensu testa bad word* Cutino 70 *as Cutino describes them

Menzo Pena half penis nickname Cutino 54menzu-scuddu half-dollar nickname Cutino 53mettiri in cach they put me in

jail.Cutino 125

Millia porcu million pigs nickname Cutino 54minka bad word* Cutino 70 *as Cutino

describes themmolla let go the net command/ chant on

boatCutino 78

Morte alla Francia Italia anela

Death to the French is Italy's cry

historic term related to the Sicilian Vespers. Referred to as an acronym for mafia

Cutino 50

munzati middle of lampara net that bunches up


Cutino 79

muttiri pronti get yourself ready

Cutino 93

nescino? will they come out?


Cutino 77

nespoli kumquat food Cutino 66nnarreri reverse directional command Cutino 79nun ti pir tu giudici

it's not for you to judge

Cutino 121

ora semo pronti a coppare

we are ready to scoop the squid


Orazio fari spaccari dintra u elica

Orazio is going to be ground up in the propeller

Cutino 123

pari ca unna cosa differenti!

there seems to be something different!


pesci grossu manciari pesci nicu

the big fish eat the small fish


Cutino 118

Pethuso hole nickname for Compagno family

Cutino 54

pica a pica u ventu campia maestrale

little by little the wind is shifting to the north-west

statement while fishing Cutino 75

Pinna Oru pen of gold nickname Cutino 54Ponsa Ricco rich stomach nickname for family Cutino 54


b/c they wore money belts

porta mi amari

take me fishing dialogue with father, pleading

Cutino 62

portisti un scupetta?

did you bring a gun?

Cutino 126

premu signali describing position of lampara net to captain

Cutino 80

prestu hurry* command Cutino 79 *meaning extrapolated from context

Problema qui tu pensi sunu chiu granni veramenti suno chiu nichi

Problems you think are big are really small

statement from father Cutino 62

puttanes whores insult McKibben 50

putzale bottom of net sardine fishing term Cutino 39qu giuvini, ne giuvini

they are getting younger and younger

Cutino 86

respetto deference given to boat owners McKibben 66

Ruggia Pethuso

rusty hole nickname Cutino 54

scannagghia measure the depth

in context of fishing with lampara. ie of squid in the net

Cutino 82

Sempre Avanti

always ahead nickname Cutino 54

sempri vidi cosi a luthanu, poi vidi comagu cu si!

always look at things from a distance, you see a better view that way

Cutino 168

sensa muddari don't drop it warning/ command while fishing

Cutino 79

si, ora sta funni ova

yes, right now they are making eggs.


Cutino 77

skiffu skiff in context of fishing with lampara

Cutino 79

spaccari occhi bad word* Cutino 70 *as Cutino describes them

sta attentu watch out in context of fishing Cutino 82sta ca! stay here! in context of fishing Cutino 82sta fazunnu un tazza di cafe

I am making a cup of coffee

statement from uncle Cutino 66

stanno venno! they are coming!

encouragement/excited exclamation

Cutino 81


statza piece of lampara net


Cutino 78-80

sti gistianni sunu piducchiusi

these men are lousy

Cutino 121

stieko bad word* Cutino 70 *as Cutino describes them

stringi minni! squeeze it tight! in context of fishing Cutino 83sucareddu adorable adj describing

something cute/adorable (children)

Rosalie

suci guess who nickname Rosaliesuno iddi! it is them! talking about finding

squid to catchCutino 77

talia nuautri vincirmo

take a look, we beat them

referring to pulling more line than the other side of the boat

Cutino 81

talia! allura nuautri semu pronti a spaccata nostra culu iddi stannu fonnu na festa

look! while we are getting ready to break our ass they are having a party.

lamenting about situation

Cutino 76

talia, senti, e de impara

look, listen, and learn

in context of fishing, father to son

Cutino 82

tasi dintra enter in inviting into home Cutino 66thesta de gutsa

head of a squash insult Ital: testa de zucca

Rosalie

thintha/u someone who stirs up trouble

nickname Rosalie

thu sii tuccari u funnu

you know- i touched the bottom

Cutino 123

thuta rutta all broke up nickname Cutino 1ti piaciunnu cosci?

do you like thighs?

in context of looking at naked women

Cutino 66

tiata winch man, pull up the net.


tira! pull! command from captain Cutino 81tu arrisbigghiari troppu matina

you woke up too early this morning

Cutino 132

tu sempri travagghiari comu lu cani

you always work like a dog

Cutino 168

tu toppo giuvini

you're too young

uncle talking to nephew

Cutino 81

u gaddina no puru morte u stanu spinnari

the chicken is not dead yet and they're plucking

Cutino 127


e pinna its feathersu lo skiffu infunno se va!

the skiff is going to go down!


u lupu pu pedi i pili ma mai suo vezzi.

the wolf can lose its hair but never its habits.


Cutino 84

u mari! u vinticeddu di mari!

the ocean! the breeze from the ocean!

Cutino 118

u quartara spaccatu campa anura pa cent' anni

a crock that is cracked lasts for a hundred years


Cutino 87

u tempo po tranni u vini guannu varrili e chinu

the time to ration the wine is when the barrel is full


Cutino 118

un quitho one quarter referring to net being 1/4 out of boat

Cutino 79

un saccu vacante non po sta addittu

an empty sack will not stand up alone


Cutino 85

Uncle Orazio sempri curriri comu 'npazzu! sempri cha cunfusioni!

Uncle Orazio always runs amuck. Always there is confusion

Cutino 121

unna giustizza?

where is the justice?

lamenting about situation

Cutino 76

unni sono e calamari?

where are the squid?


veni ca, auita me.

come here, help me.*

From uncle while fishing


vidi ci cha la marca

see if there are any marks


vincirmo! let's beat them! encouragement Cutino 80Visnnu Mari near the ocean song name Cutino 59Vittallu Panzatza

Bert with the big stomach

nickname Cutino 54

vostru frati amari havi iuti!

your brother has gone to the sea!

Cutino 122

vucatu row, ie with oars*

terminology on boat GT: Ital verb "vogare". OS: "Vucata – sf. Colpo di remi."

Cutino 71 *meaning found with research. colpo de remi=stroke of the oars


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