30623 - Finnish Language (2nd cycle)

Academic Year 2018/2019

Learning outcomes

The students are expected to develop an extensive knowledge of linguistic and discursive structures of the Finnish language, in both synchronic and diachronic terms, and to be able to apply them profitably to textual analysis and translation.
Through practical exercises, their communicative skills (both active and passive) will progress towards the C2 level of the Common European Framework

Course contents

Finnish Language (LM)

This course aims at widening the knowledge and use of the Finnish language at an advanced level, through the analysis, the philological comment and the translation of different typologies of texts. The study of the most complex syntactic structures of the Finnish language will also be conducted above all through exercises of textual analysis. As to what concerns translation, exercises of critical analysis of existing translations will be combined with exercises of translation from Finnish to Italian. Part of the lessons will be in Finnish.

 

 

Finnish Literature 1 (LM)

Learning outcomes:

The student has a thorough knowledge of the history of modern Finnish literature, with particular reference to the relationship between literary texts and the historical, artistic and linguistic context. The student knows and uses practical methodologies for the analysis and interpretation of literary texts.

Course contents:

We will examine the most salient periods of Finnish literature. We will analyse, in particular, the short novels which constitute the trilogy Surmaava Eros (Eros the Slayer) by Aino Kallas (1878-1956). The analysis will focus on some specific themes presented during the lessons. We will refer to the survival of shamanic symbolism in written literature, particularly evident in the concept of life, understood as an initiatory and metamorphic journey. We will study the connections between the written literature and the oral tradition. As for the latter, we wil examine, in particular, some of the most significant Viena Karelian fairy tales, focusing on the Karelian narrative style and on the symbolism of the fairy tales.

Literary texts written in the original language will be analysed.

 

 

Finnish Literature 2 (LM)

Learning outcomes:

The student has a thorough knowledge of the history of modern Finnish literature, with particular reference to the relationship between literary texts and the historical, artistic and linguistic context. The student knows and uses practical methodologies for the analysis and interpretation of literary texts.

Course contents:

We will examine the most salient periods of Finnish literature. We will analyse, in particular, the short novels which constitute the trilogy Surmaava Eros (Eros the Slayer) by Aino Kallas (1878-1956). The analysis will focus on some specific themes presented during the lessons. We will refer to the survival of shamanic symbolism in written literature, particularly evident in the concept of life, understood as an initiatory and metamorphic journey. We will study the connections between the written literature and the oral tradition. As for the latter, we wil examine, in particular, some of the most significant Viena Karelian fairy tales, focusing on the Karelian narrative style and on the symbolism of the fairy tales.

Literary texts written in the original language will be analysed.

 

 

Finno-Ugric Philology 2 (LM)

Learning outcomes:

The student reaches the basic skills concerning pre-modern and ancient phases of at least three Finno-Ugric languages about their written, literary and non literary, tradition. Particular attention will be focused on traditions previous to and not expressed by written culture, on the heritage of customs and popular beliefs, on myths and fairy tales handed down orally.

Course contents:

We will study the Ugrians, the Finns and the Baltic-Finns (with specific reference to the Karelians), in the context of Finno-Ugric cultures. We will examine their languages from a comparative viewpoint with regard to neighbouring languages and we will underline those aspects which mainly characterize their cultures.

We will clarify the peculiarities of the world vision of the ancient Ugrians, Finns and Baltic-Finns (with specific reference to the Karelians), as reflected in their written and oral literature. We will analyse, in particular, the survival of shamanic myths and symbols in Hungarian, Finnish and Karelian literature.

In particular, we will examine in depth the Viena Karelian language, from a comparative viewpoint with regard to neighbouring languages, and the traditional Viena Karelian fairy tales, in the context of Finno-Ugric oral traditions. We will analyse passages in the original language.

 

Readings/Bibliography

Finnish Language (LM)

The specific texts which will be analysed will be provided to the students by the teacher at the beginning of the lessons.

During the lessons, the following manuals of reference will be utilized:

Gehring Sonja - Heinzmann Sanni - Päivärinne Sari - Udd Taija, Suomen mestari 3, Helsinki, Finn Lectura, 2013.

Gehring Sonja - Heinzmann Sanni - Päivärinne Sari - Udd Taija, Suomen mestari 4, Helsinki, Finn Lectura, 2016.

Karlsson Fred, Grammatica finlandese. Fonologia, morfologia, cenni di sintassi, Milano, Hoepli, 2014.

White Leila, Suomen kielioppia ulkomaalaisille, Helsinki, Finn Lectura, 2001.

 

Useful readings:

Sessa Delfina, “Esperienze di traduzione della prosa finlandese in italiano”, in Paula Loikala (ed.), Lingua, cultura e letteratura finlandese in Italia, Bologna, Gedit, 2005.

Loikala Paula - Martin Sanna Maria, Repertorio dei verbi finlandesi, Bologna, Gedit, 2007.

 

Further bibliographical help will be supplied during the lessons.

 

 

Finnish Literature 1 (LM)

Kallas Aino, La sposa del lupo, transl. by Paola Faggioli, Milano, Sperling & Kupfer, 1934 (the text also includes Barbara von Tisenhusen).

Kallas Aino, Il pastore di Reigi, transl. by Paola Faggioli, Milano, Bompiani, 1941.

Loikala Paula, Finlandia. Storia, lingua, cultura, Roma, Aracne, 2013.

Moisseinen Hanneriina - Nieminen Markku, Sen synty ja muita Vienan hävyttömiä ja hulvattomia starinoita, Helsinki, Arktinen Banaani, 2005. (Three fairy tales chosen by the student.)

Nieminen Markku - Goldstone Edwina, Vienan satuja, Helsinki, Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura (SKS), 2004. (Three fairy tales chosen by the student.)

Rojola Lea (ed.), Suomen kirjallisuushistoria. Järkiuskosta vaistojen kapinaan, Helsinki, SKS, 1999, vol. 2.

 

The reading of the following essays/articles will be required:

Ferrari Giorgia, "Il cane bianco e l'anatra nera", in Carla Corradi Musi - Giorgia Ferrari - Sanna Maria Martin, Sciamanesimo e Settentrione, Roma, Aracne, 2014, pp. 101-153.

Ferrari Giorgia, "Le fiabe indecenti e divertenti di Viena. Eros ed educazione. Tre esempi", in Zsuzsanna Rozsnyói (ed.), Il dio Eros e l’uomo. Voci di cantori e narratori del mondo ugrofinnico, Roma, Aracne, 2016, pp. 75-103.

Kurvet-Käosaar Leena - Rojola Lea (eds.), Aino Kallas. Negotiations with Modernity, Helsinki, Finnish Literature Society, 2011. (Two articles chosen by the student.)

Martin Sanna Maria, "La belva umana. Il lupo nella poesia popolare e nella letteratura finlandese", in Carla Corradi Musi (ed.), Sul cammino delle metamorfosi tra gli Urali e il Mediterraneo. Dal mito alle trasformazioni sociali, Bologna, Edizioni CINE//SINE, 2013, pp. 72-79.

 

The reading of two of the following texts will be required:

Corradi Musi Carla (ed.), Lo sciamano e il suo ‘doppio’, Bologna, Carattere, 2002.

Corradi Musi Carla (ed.), Simboli e miti della tradizione sciamanica, Bologna, Carattere, 2007.

Corradi Musi Carla, Sciamanesimo in Eurasia. Dal mito alla tradizione, Roma, Aracne, 2008.

Corradi Musi Carla (ed.), Sul cammino delle metamorfosi tra gli Urali e il Mediterraneo. Dal mito alle trasformazioni sociali, Bologna, Edizioni CINE//SINE, 2013.

Corradi Musi Carla - Ferrari Giorgia - Martin Sanna Maria, Sciamanesimo e Settentrione, Roma, Aracne, 2014.

Ferrari Giorgia - Martin Sanna Maria (eds.), Sciamani, letterati e artisti. Dalla Lapponia al cuore dell'Europa, Roma, Aracne, 2016.

Rozsnyόi Zsuzsanna (ed.), Il dio Eros e l’uomo. Voci di cantori e narratori del mondo ugrofinnico, Roma, Aracne, 2016.

 

Further bibliographical help will be supplied during the lessons.

 

 

Finnish Literature 2 (LM)

Kallas Aino, La sposa del lupo, transl. by Paola Faggioli, Milano, Sperling & Kupfer, 1934 (the text also includes Barbara von Tisenhusen).

Kallas Aino, Il pastore di Reigi, transl. by Paola Faggioli, Milano, Bompiani, 1941.

Loikala Paula, Finlandia. Storia, lingua, cultura, Roma, Aracne, 2013.

Moisseinen Hanneriina - Nieminen Markku, Sen synty ja muita Vienan hävyttömiä ja hulvattomia starinoita, Helsinki, Arktinen Banaani, 2005. (Three fairy tales chosen by the student.)

Nieminen Markku - Goldstone Edwina, Vienan satuja, Helsinki, Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura (SKS), 2004. (Three fairy tales chosen by the student.)

Rojola Lea (ed.), Suomen kirjallisuushistoria. Järkiuskosta vaistojen kapinaan, Helsinki, SKS, 1999, vol. 2.

 

The reading of the following essays/articles will be required:

Ferrari Giorgia, "Il cane bianco e l'anatra nera", in Carla Corradi Musi - Giorgia Ferrari - Sanna Maria Martin, Sciamanesimo e Settentrione, Roma, Aracne, 2014, pp. 101-153.

Ferrari Giorgia, "Le fiabe indecenti e divertenti di Viena. Eros ed educazione. Tre esempi", in Zsuzsanna Rozsnyói (ed.), Il dio Eros e l’uomo. Voci di cantori e narratori del mondo ugrofinnico, Roma, Aracne, 2016, pp. 75-103.

Kurvet-Käosaar Leena - Rojola Lea (eds.), Aino Kallas. Negotiations with Modernity, Helsinki, Finnish Literature Society, 2011. (Two articles chosen by the student.)

Martin Sanna Maria, "La belva umana. Il lupo nella poesia popolare e nella letteratura finlandese", in Carla Corradi Musi (ed.), Sul cammino delle metamorfosi tra gli Urali e il Mediterraneo. Dal mito alle trasformazioni sociali, Bologna, Edizioni CINE//SINE, 2013, pp. 72-79.

 

The reading of two of the following texts will be required:

Corradi Musi Carla (ed.), Lo sciamano e il suo ‘doppio’, Bologna, Carattere, 2002.

Corradi Musi Carla (ed.), Simboli e miti della tradizione sciamanica, Bologna, Carattere, 2007.

Corradi Musi Carla, Sciamanesimo in Eurasia. Dal mito alla tradizione, Roma, Aracne, 2008.

Corradi Musi Carla (ed.), Sul cammino delle metamorfosi tra gli Urali e il Mediterraneo. Dal mito alle trasformazioni sociali, Bologna, Edizioni CINE//SINE, 2013.

Corradi Musi Carla - Ferrari Giorgia - Martin Sanna Maria, Sciamanesimo e Settentrione, Roma, Aracne, 2014.

Ferrari Giorgia - Martin Sanna Maria (eds.), Sciamani, letterati e artisti. Dalla Lapponia al cuore dell'Europa, Roma, Aracne, 2016.

Rozsnyόi Zsuzsanna (ed.), Il dio Eros e l’uomo. Voci di cantori e narratori del mondo ugrofinnico, Roma, Aracne, 2016.

 

Further bibliographical help will be supplied during the lessons.

 

 

Finno-Ugric Philology 2 (LM)

Corradi Musi Carla, I Finni del Volga, Parma, Studium Parmense, 1981.

Corradi Musi Carla, I Finni, Parma, Palatina, 1983.

Corradi Musi Carla, I Baltofinni del Sud-Est, Parma, Palatina, 1990.

Corradi Musi Carla, Sciamanesimo in Eurasia. Dal mito alla tradizione, Roma, Aracne, 2008.

Corradi Musi Carla - Ferrari Giorgia - Martin Sanna Maria, Sciamanesimo e Settentrione, Roma, Aracne, 2014.

Nieminen Markku - Goldstone Edwina, Vienan satuja, Helsinki, Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura (SKS), 2004.

 

The reading of two of the following texts will be required:

Corradi Musi Carla (ed.), Lo sciamano e il suo ‘doppio’, Bologna, Carattere, 2002.

Corradi Musi Carla (ed.), Simboli e miti della tradizione sciamanica, Bologna, Carattere, 2007.

Corradi Musi Carla (ed.), Sul cammino delle metamorfosi tra gli Urali e il Mediterraneo. Dal mito alle trasformazioni sociali, Bologna, Edizioni CINE//SINE, 2013.

Ferrari Giorgia - Martin Sanna Maria (eds.), Sciamani, letterati e artisti. Dalla Lapponia al cuore dell'Europa, Roma, Aracne, 2016.

Rozsnyόi Zsuzsanna (ed.), Il dio Eros e l’uomo. Voci di cantori e narratori del mondo ugrofinnico, Roma, Aracne, 2016.

 

The reading of one of the following texts will be required:

Corradi Musi Carla (ed.), Figlio del Sole. Poesie scelte, Parma, Tipo-Lito Tecnografica, 1978.

Corradi Musi Carla, Shamanism from East to West, Budapest, Akadémiai Kiadó, 1997.

Rozsnyói Zsuzsanna (ed.), Re Barbaverde. Favole popolari ungheresi, Ferrara, Tosi, 2000.

 

In order to widen the study of the Karelian culture, we recommend the following (optional) readings:

Nevalainen Pekka - Sihvo Hannes (eds.), Karjala. Historia, kansa, kulttuuri, Helsinki, SKS, 1998

(in particular, the following essays:

Leskinen Heikki, "Karjala ja karjalaiset kielentutkimuksen näkökulmasta", pp. 352-382;

Nieminen Markku, "Vienan Karjala", pp. 277-291).

 

Further bibliographical help will be supplied during the lessons.

 

 

Teaching methods

Frontal lessons by the teacher, lessons in seminar form and exercises.

Assessment methods

Finnish Language (LM)

The assessment of knowledge and language skills acquired by the students is divided into two different phases, one of an oral and the other of a written character, placed in reciprocal diachrony. The written exam is a prerequisite for access to the oral test.

The exam is designed to test the effective acquisition of language skills, such as reading comprehension, listening comprehension, writing and speaking skills, as well as the meta-linguistic, analytical and translational skills conveyed during the lessons.

The written test is aimed at assessing writing skills. It consists of a grammar test and an exercise of translation from Finnish to Italian language. The written exam is a prerequisite for admission to the oral exam; a minimum score of 18/30 is required for suitability.

The oral test is aimed at assessing comprehension, production and analytical skills. It consists of the reading and the analysis of a text in Finnish language. Students must demonstrate the acquisition of knowledge assimilated during the course.

Both tests will be structured on the basis of the topics treated in the lectures and in the bibliography (which will be integrated during the lessons).

The final grade will consist of the average of the votes of the written and oral examinations. A thorough and wide knowledge of the topics covered and the mastery of linguistic expression will be assessed as excellent (28-30), while a more mechanical and/or mnemonic capacity of synthesis, non-articulated analysis skills and correct but not always appropriate language use will be evaluated as positive but not with a high grade (23-27). Fragmentary and superficial knowledge of the topics treated, a scarce analytical and expressive ability will be rewarded with a pass mark or just above a pass mark (18-22). Learning gaps, failure in analysis and non-appropriate language will be negatively evaluated.

 

 

Finnish Literature 1 (LM)

Assessment of knowledge of the analysed themes of written and oral Finnish literature consists of an oral examination, which may be preceded, depending on the student's request, by written reports. After an initial series of lectures, with regular frequency (approx. six times), the student can choose to write a report (of approx. 8 pages), accompanied by bibliographical notes, on a theme of the course, agreed in advance with the professor. The report, written in accordance with the criteria of correct expression, after being corrected by the professor, is presented and discussed by the student during the class, led by the professor. (We will consider the possibility to collect the different reports written by the students in a sort of "dossier" of the course [editing exercises].) The assessment is based on an oral examination in order to assess the critical knowledge of the topics and texts under examination taken together, the knowledge of the bibliographic material, the capacity for analysis and synthesis and the modalities of expression of the student. An excellent mark will be given to the student who shows a full knowledge, a deep critical reworking of the topics, an adequate capacity for analysis and synthesis and a high level of mastery of expression. A discrete mark will be given to the student who shows general mnemonic knowledge of the discipline, sufficiently developed synthetic and analytical skills expressed with a correct but not entirely appropriate language; some learning gaps, non-appropriate language and minimal knowledge of the examination material will lead to a sufficient mark. Serious learning gaps, non-appropriate language and insufficient knowledge of the topics considered in the course will be negatively evaluated.

 

 

Finnish Literature 2 (LM)

Assessment of knowledge of the analysed themes of written and oral Finnish literature consists of an oral examination, which may be preceded, depending on the student's request, by written reports. After an initial series of lectures, with regular frequency (approx. six times), the student can choose to write a report (of approx. 8 pages), accompanied by bibliographical notes, on a theme of the course, agreed in advance with the professor. The report, written in accordance with the criteria of correct expression, after being corrected by the professor, is presented and discussed by the student during the class, led by the professor. (We will consider the possibility to collect the different reports written by the students in a sort of "dossier" of the course [editing exercises].) The assessment is based on an oral examination in order to assess the critical knowledge of the topics and texts under examination taken together, the knowledge of the bibliographic material, the capacity for analysis and synthesis and the modalities of expression of the student. An excellent mark will be given to the student who shows a full knowledge, a deep critical reworking of the topics, an adequate capacity for analysis and synthesis and a high level of mastery of expression. A discrete mark will be given to the student who shows general mnemonic knowledge of the discipline, sufficiently developed synthetic and analytical skills expressed with a correct but not entirely appropriate language; some learning gaps, non-appropriate language and minimal knowledge of the examination material will lead to a sufficient mark. Serious learning gaps, non-appropriate language and insufficient knowledge of the topics considered in the course will be negatively evaluated.

 

 

Finno-Ugric Philology 2 (LM)

The assessment of the acquired knowledge about the Finno-Ugric cultures consists of an oral interview, which may be preceded, depending on the student's request, by written reports with critical analysis. After an initial series of frontal lessons, with regular frequency (approx. six times), the student can choose to produce a written report of approx. 6 pages, accompanied by bibliographical notes, about a theme of the course, agreed with the professor. The report, which must meet the criteria of correctness of expression and adequate reworking of the student, after being corrected by the professor, is presented and discussed on the part of the student during the class, led by the professor. (We will consider the possibility to collect the different reports written by the students in a sort of "dossier" of the course [editing exercises].) The assessment is based on the interview, which is designed to test the skills of analysis and synthesis of acquired knowledge, overall personal reworking and adequate exposition. The student's ability to learn from the sources and from bibliographic material crucial information for understanding the specificity of the Finno-Ugric cultures both in a diachronic and in a synchronic perspective and in a comparative point of view will be assessed in particular. An excellent mark will be given to the student who shows a broad knowledge of the discipline, a deep critical reworking of the topics, a high level of mastery of expression and the use of appropriate specific language. A discrete mark will be given to the student who shows general mnemonic knowledge of the discipline and sufficiently developed synthetic and analytical skills expressed with a correct but not entirely appropriate language; some learning gaps, non-appropriate language, minimal knowledge of the examination material will lead to a sufficient mark. Serious gaps in knowledge, non-appropriate language and uncertainty in using bibliographic material offered during the course will lead to a negative assessment.

Teaching tools

Online materials and audiovisual support will be used (movies and videos in the original language and original audio materials included).

Office hours

See the website of Giorgia Ferrari