92978 - Italian Linguistics and Lexicography (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course the student is aware of the methodological grounds of Italian linguistics and of the historical evolution of the Italian language. He /She knows the structures of the Italian language and in particular the Italian lexical structures. The knowledge of the fundamental phases of the history of Italian lexicography and the ability to use modern lexicographical methods will be consolidated, examining the vocabularies from a structural and historical point of view.

Course contents

Towards Dante 2021

In view of the seventh centenary of Dante's death (2021), the first module will deal with the language and style of Dante's vulgar works, by underlining their substantial continuity (measurable in the strong stability index of the phonological and morphological structures) between Dante's Florentine language and modern Italian. The analysis will concern in particular on the lexicon, paying attention to the history of words and the processes of formation and stabilization of the Italian vocabulary. The attention will be focused on the relevant presence (highlighted by important studies of past and present decades) of linguistic elements that derive from Dante's works in the process of formation of our language. The emphasis will be on the words created by Dante (or introduced by him for the first time in the language) derived from the repertoire of his time which, following sometimes unexpected paths, have become integral parts of contemporary Italian.

Taking into account the history of words and the conversion and stabilization processes of the Italian vocabulary, the tools of Italian lexicography will be consolidated in the second part of the course, by examining the dictionaries from a structural and historical point of view (from the first dictionaries to the contemporary ones); furthermore new methodologies relating to the realization of modern dictionaries from computerized corpora will be studied.

In particular, it will be highlighted how Dante's work is used in dictionaries, from the first edition of the Vocabolario degli Accademici della Crusca in 1612 to today.

For non-native Italian speakers, the course requires an excellent knowledge of the Italian language.

Readings/Bibliography

References for the 12 CFU exam

1. Teaching materials available on the e-learning platform of the course.
2. Short essaies or entries of the Enciclopedia dell’italiano (<www.treccani.it) which may be indicated on the e-learning platform of the course.
3. Paola Manni, La lingua di Dante, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2013.
4. Tullio De Mauro, La stratificazione diacronica del vocabolario di base italiano, in Lino Leonardi and Marco Maggiore (edd.), Attorno a Dante, Petrarca, Boccaccio: la lingua italiana. I primi trent’anni dell’Istituto CNR Opera del Vocabolario Italiano (1985-2015), Convegno internazionale (Firenze, 16-17 dicembre 2015), Ales­sandria, Edizioni dell’Orso, 2016, pp. 45-52.
5. Valeria Della Valle, La lessicografia, in Luca Serianni and Pietro Trifone (edd.), Storia della lingua italiana, vol. I, I luoghi della codificazione, Torino, Einaudi, 1993, pp. 29-91, only §§ 1, 2, 3, 4 (pp. 29-43).
6. Claudio Marazzini, L’ordine delle parole. Storia di vocabolari italiani, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2009, from chap. III La Crusca e la lessicografia del sec. XVIIonwards (pp. 127-)
7. Lexicographic material available on the e-learning platform of the course.

Non-attending students shall use the following texts instead of those specified at point 1:

1. Gianfranco Contini, Esercizio d'interpretazione sopra un sonetto di Dante, in Idem, Un’idea di Dante, Torino, Einaudi, [1947] 1976, pp. 21-31.
2. Francesco Sabatini, Un ponte tra l'età di Dante e l'Unità nazionale, in VV. AA., Una lingua e il suo Vocabolario, Firenze, Accademia della Crusca, 2014, pp. 9-16 (free download: http://www.edizionidicrusca.it/download2/PDF/564_453.pdf )

References for the 6 CFU exam

1. Teaching materials available on the e-learning platform of the course.
2. Short essaies or entries of the Enciclopedia dell’italiano (<www.treccani.it) which may be indicated on the e-learning platform of the course.
3. Paola Manni, La lingua di Dante, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2013.
4. Tullio De Mauro, La stratificazione diacronica del vocabolario di base italiano, in Lino Leonardi and Marco Maggiore (edd.), Attorno a Dante, Petrarca, Boccaccio: la lingua italiana. I primi trent’anni dell’Istituto CNR Opera del Vocabolario Italiano (1985-2015), Convegno internazionale (Firenze, 16-17 dicembre 2015), Ales­sandria, Edizioni dell’Orso, 2016, pp. 45-52.

Non-attending students shall use the following texts instead of those specified at point 1:

1. Gianfranco Contini, Esercizio d'interpretazione sopra un sonetto di Dante, in Idem, Un’idea di Dante, Torino, Einaudi, [1947] 1976, pp. 21-31.

Teaching methods

Lecturers and seminars.

Assessment methods

All students (attending and non-attending) can take an intermediate test at the end of the first module.

The exam will consist of a written test containing five open-ended questions: structured answers will be required in response to the first two questions (maximum score: 10 points each), three questions will require a short and targeted response (maximum score: 4 points each). All the questions will have the objective of verifying the comprehension and the knowledge of the course contents, they will require the critical elaboration of the main topics covered by the course and will refer to the bibliography.

The final grade will be given in thirtieths as the result of the sum of the scoring obtained from each answer (scores 31 and 32 correspond to the high distinction, cum laude) and will be based on the verification of the course contents and of the knowledge of the assigned bibliography; the ability to elaborate the contents in a critical way, the correct use of a specific lexicon, the good exposition, the application of learned topics to real cases will be part of the global evaluation.

Teaching tools

All students could use the materials made available online by the teacher.

Office hours

See the website of Chiara Coluccia