84647 - Italian Linguistics and Dialectology (LM)

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, the student will know the methodological grounds of the linguistic history and dialectology, with particular reference to the literature. He/she will be familiar with the historical development of the Italian language, with the proposals of regulation of the language and the consequences on the literacy. The student will own the main useful tools for evaluating a literary text and will be able to analyze a document, relating it to the cultural, geographic and linguistic context in which it was produced. He\she will also be able to analyze the methods of dissemination and receipt of a literary document, in an interdisciplinary perspective.

Course contents

The program is divided in two parts:
1. An institutional part (nearly the first 10 lessons)
2. A monographic or "research" section (the following lessons)

1. Firstly, the student will be taught to properly use the linguistic tools (dictionaries, grammars, histories of the language and dialects). Then, a short description of the structure of the Italian in the contemporary world and in the historical/geographic development will follow. In this part of the course, the geographic perspective of the Italian language and of the literature will be faced, with a description of the ancient vulgar and of the contemporary dialects. The purpose of this section is to give a main line of discussion to students. The length of this part of the course will depend on student needs and it will up to students to complete their competences with manuals recommended in the bibliography.

2. At the beginning of the second part of the course, various texts (in particular, literary texts) will be analyzed. Indeed, examination of texts still remains a fundamental exercise for reaching a full understanding of the message. Then, some readings will be proposed, in chronological sequence, starting from the medieval productions that document the formation of the Italian language. The relationships of the medieval productions with the Latin first, with the foreign languages then, and with the vulgar and the regional dialects, will be examined in deep. The regional literacy and the texts written in dialects will part of the proposed readings. The philological perspectives, that is problems related to the dissemination of texts, will be taken into consideration, even though they do not represent the fundamental topic of the course.

Readings/Bibliography

Students may choice readings and bibliography, according to his/her knowledge and skills and according to the level of attendance in the course. In general, students not attending or minimally attending the course (for which the readings presented in the lessons are not in the exam schedule) should study an extra book, with respect to attending students. Attending students, on the other hand, will have in their exam schedule topics faced during the lessons. Indicatively, attending students have to study three books and all topics presented in the course. Not attending students have to study four books (among all books listed in the following). It is possible to choose among different chapters in different books.

Obviously, the evaluation of the competence and of the preparation of the student will be based not so much for the number of studied books, as for the ownership of the specific skills and the ability of using these skills in a proper way.

For a first approach to the Italian linguistic, students may choose among one the following references:

1. M. Dardano, Nuovo manualetto di linguistica italiana, Bologna, Zanichelli, 2017;

2. A. Sobrero, A. Miglietta, Introduzione alla linguistica italiana, Bari, Laterza, 2006 (II, capp. 1-7);

3. L. Serianni, G. Antonelli, Manuale di linguistica italiana, Milano, B. Mondadori 2011 / Pearson, 2017 (capp. 1-2, 6-9);

4. F. Marri, R. Lugaresi, S. Rizzardi, Riflessioni sull'italiano, Bologna, Dupress, 2008 (capp. 1-5).

   
   The knowledge of the language is useful if integrated with an historical grammar, like one the followings:

1. P. D'Achille, Breve grammatica storica dell'italiano, Roma, Carocci, 2001

2. G. Patota, Nuovi lineamenti di grammatica storica dell'italiano, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2007

For an in-depth analysis of the geography of the vernaculars, the student should be able to consult, when needed, the following reference:

G. Rohlfs, Grammatica storica della lingua italiana e dei suoi dialetti, Torino, Einaudi, 1966-69

Among all histories of the language, students may choose among one of the following references:

1. B. Migliorini, Storia della lingua italiana, Firenze, Sansoni / Milano, Bompiani-Rizzoli, 1960 / 1994;

2. M. Durante, Dal latino all'italiano moderno, Bologna, Zanichelli, 1981;

3. V. Coletti, Storia dell'italiano letterario, Torino, Einaudi, 1993;

4. C. Marazzini, La storia della lingua italiana attraverso i testi, Bologna, il Mulino, 2006;

5. R. Tesi, Storia dell'italiano, Bologna, Zanichelli, 2005-2007;

6. R. Cella, Storia dell'italiano, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2015.

For vernaculars, we refer to the following small manuals:

1. G. Devoto - G. Giacomelli, I dialetti delle regioni d'Italia, Firenze, Sansoni, 1972 (Bompiani, 1994);

2. C. Marcato, Dialetto, dialetti e italiano, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2002

Small manuals listed above should be completed with the following encyclopedia:
I dialetti italiani. Storia struttura uso (a c. di M. Cortelazzo, C. Marcato etc.), Torino, Utet, 2002.

Regarding interference of the dialects with the “standard” language, we refer to:

1. N. De Blasi, Geografia e storia dell’italiano regionale, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2014

2. T. De Mauro, Storia linguistica dell'Italia unita, Bari, Laterza, 1979, capp. III-IV, appendici 24-30, 57-63;

3. T. De Mauro, Storia linguistica dell'Italia repubblicana, Bari, Laterza, 2014, cap. IV.

General topics like historical linguistics and grammar, lexicology, dialectology and history of the language, may be also studied with reference to the following encyclopedia, available on line as well:
Enciclopedia dell'italiano (Roma Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana, 2010-11, 2 voll.).

Not attending or minimally attending students may complete the preparation for the exams considering the following references:

1. F. Marri, P. Franceschini, R. Terreni, Prove di lettura, Bologna, Archetipolibri/Clueb, 2011;

2. P. V. Mengaldo, Attraverso la prosa italiana, Roma, Carocci, 2008;

3. L. Serianni, La lingua poetica italiana. Grammatica e testi, Roma, Carocci, 2014 (useful also for an introduction to history and grammar)

Teaching methods

- Classroom-taught lessons, with the use of the LIM and online didactics materials.
- Reading, analysis, comments of texts, with particular attention to literary texts.
- Elaboration of hypothesis related to the edition and the interpretation of the texts, with the possibility for the attending students to participate actively.

Assessment methods

Oral exam. Criteria for evaluation are:
1 ownership of the disciplinary competence;
2 ability to face, to analyze and to solve new problems;
3 correctness and effectiveness of the style of exposition.

During the exam, the students will not be asked to repeat mnemonically the studied texts, but rather to apply the acquired linguistic competences in real texts.

Students may present (at least a week before the exam) a written personal research, agreed with the lecturer. This little thesis will not substitute part of the course, but will be discussed during the exam and evaluated by the lecturer.

Teaching tools

Everything is useful which helps reading and comprehension. Written documents, overhead projector, computer projector, LIM, blackboard and chalk. Audiovisual documents like videos and CDs.
For study at home, on-line material on the “Alma DL” and “IOL” websites.
However, the fundamental linguistic study consists of the analysis of written texts consulting large dictionaries that can mainly take place in libraries in students' home or at the university.

Related links and further information on the course:

http://www.sba.unibo.it/it/almadl
http://www.internetculturale.it
http://www.accademiadellacrusca.it
http://www.treccani.it

Links to further information

http://www.sba.unibo.it/it/almadl

Office hours

See the website of Fabio Marri