HISTORY OF ITALIAN LANGUAGE - 13317

The course aims to illustrate the most significant moments and issues in the history of the Italian language from its origins to the present day. Particular attention will be paid to:

• the literary experiences (Dante, Manzoni) that have most influenced the formation and unification of Italian;
• the debates on the "questione della lingua" with reference to the 16th, 19th and 20th centuries;
• the contribution of lexicography to the definition of a language model and the study of Italian.

The various moments in the history of the Italian language will always be approached starting from the reading and commentary of texts; this will make it possible to combine historical contextualisation with the analysis of the language and its varieties in a synchronic and diachronic perspective. The commented texts will be the subject of examinations for the students attended.

Bibliography for attending students:

• Texts commented in lectures and uploaded on the course elearning page;
• Giovanna Frosini (ed.), ‘Storia dell'italiano. La lingua, i testi’, Salerno, Roma 2020;
• Luca Serianni, ‘Parola di Dante’, il Mulino, Bologna 2021.

N.B.: The reading of Serianni's volume may be substituted by participation in the cycle of Dante readings organised in the second semester by the University of Bergamo's LLCS Department. The programme of the readings will be available in January on the page of the RiTratti Research Group: https://dllcs.unibg.it/it/ricerca/strutture-ricerca/gruppi-ricerca-dipartimentali/ritratti-ricerche-tradizioni-testuali

Bibliography for non-attending students

• Giovanna Frosini (ed.), ‘Storia dell'italiano. La lingua, i testi’, Salerno, Roma 2020;
• Luca Serianni, ‘Parola di Dante’, il Mulino, Bologna 2021.
• Giuseppe Polimeni, ‘Il filo della voce. Indagini sul pensiero linguistico di Manzoni e sui ‘Promessi sposi’’, FrancoAngeli, Milano 2020.