“De tormentas en el lenguaje”: gli affanni identitari di Ceuta e Melilla

The present paper aims to shed light on the linguistic contacts that take place in the Spanish offshoots of Ceuta and Melilla. The two cities, considered essential outposts in the colonial configuration of the then glorious empire, were subsequently incorporated – through a dubious juridical form – into the Spanish societal landscape. Their adhesion to the European concert had then expanded the space of interconnection between migrations, cultures and languages. In order to accurately analyze the linguistic and socio-political peculiarities of Ceuta and Melilla, it is necessary to start from the history of their identities, marked by the image of the fences, once built to defend them from invaders, today to stem the phenomenon of migration. The defensive barriers, in fact, have not hindered the transit of new expressions and linguistic forms, subsequently incorporated into the register of native speakers. What was the result of these encounters? Moreover: what is the impact on the already problematic Spanish identity issue? We intend to answer these questions, in attempt to describe – with clarity and disenchantment – the image of a nation in constant evolution, poised between its ancient pains and its aspirations for the future.