Why do we sound like different people in different countries? After my cousin noticed how differently I speak to my friends in Milan, I started paying attention to the way my voice, humour and behaviour change between Italy, Dubai and the US. Maybe changing with our surroundings doesn’t mean we’re being different people. Maybe it reveals how much of who we are is shaped by the cultures, languages and people around us.

This is probably the question I keep coming back to. We often talk about languages as if some are naturally more important than others. English is a global language, some languages are considered useful for business or international communication, while others are described as rare or endangered. But useful to whom, and important according to what?

I came across Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò at NYU while looking through some university programs and events connected to Italian culture. I was expecting to find the usual things: Italian literature, cinema, art, maybe Dante or Renaissance history. Instead, I found an event about something much more familiar to me: Italian food. The event, called Why Bragga-don’t-cio?!, looked at how Italian culture and cuisine have evolved through the Italian diaspora, particularly in the