HISTORY OF THE ITALIAN LANGUAGE - II

The course is part of the Bachelor Degree in Humanities (Lettere), curriculum of Antiquity and curriculum of Science of the literary text and communication.
Aim of the course is to provide students with a basic knowledge of the external linguistic history of Italian, from the Origins (transition from Latin to Romance, earliest written records in Italian vernaculars) to the Contemporary Era, with special regard to the most relevant periods of the linguistic codification (the Trecento, the "questione della lingua" in the 16th century, the 19th century, the national diffusion of written and oral Italian after 1861). The achievement of these objectives will enable students to apply autonomously the methods and tools of the history of the Italian language to the historical-linguistic analysis and contextualization of texts written in Italian vernaculars and the Italian language, in any of its varieties, between the Middle Ages and the 20th century.

1. Knowledge and comprehension:
1.1 to be acquainted with the most relevant events of the external linguistic history of Italian, from the Origins until the present, with special regard to the periods of the linguistic codification and the so-called "questione della lingua";
1.2 to know and comprehend the main phenomena of internal evolution of the Italian language, on an orthographic, phonological, morphological, lexical and syntactic level.
2. Capability of applying knowledge and comprehension:
2.1 to orientate oneself in the periodization of the history of Italian, by proving able to place the main protagonists (writers, grammarians, linguists, etc.) within the historical-geographical context they belong to;
2.2 to be able to contextualize linguistically a text in an Italian vernacular and in the Italian language, in any of its varieties.
3. Judgement ability:
3.1 to be able to evaluate critically the different positions in the century-long debate known as "questione della lingua", by recognizing elements of continuity through time (such as Classicism, Florentinism, Anti-Florentinism, etc.);
3.2 to be able to judge the editorial choices concerning language.
4. Communicative abilities:
4.1 to be able to communicate the specific characteristics of the history of the Italian language, by connecting them with the political, social, literary and cultural history of Italy and Europe;
4.2 to make use of a convenient scientific terminology by analyzing texts, notably the texts read and commented upon in the classes.
5. Learning abilities:
5.1 to be able to study critically the reference texts, by hierarchizing information and allowing notions to interact mutually.

Students are expected to have already attended the course History of the Italian language I. They will not be allowed to enroll for the exam if they have not taken History of the Italian language I. The final result of History of the Italian language (12 credits) will be the average of the evaluation of the two exams.

The course will be mainly devoted to a general overview of the main events of the history of the Italian language, starting from its origins (via the transition from Latin to Romance and the emergence of the earliest written records in vernacular) until the present. Particular attention will be paid to the most relevant periods of the codification of Italian and to the so-called “questione della lingua”.

Claudio Marazzini, La lingua italiana. Profilo storico, 3a ed., Bologna, il Mulino, 2002.
Notes taken during the classes.
Handouts that will be available on Moodle.

Students will have to pass an oral exam of 20-30 minutes. During the exam, students will demonstrate their knowledge of the subjects that have been illustrated in the lessons and that are described in the reference texts.

oral

The instructor is responsible for ensuring the authenticity and originality of all examinations and coursework. In cases of suspected academic misconduct, an additional on-site assessment may be required during the exams, which may differ from the standard format.

Evaluation system:
28-30L: the student masters the topics presented in the course and in the assigned readings; he is capable of hyerarchizing information and makes use of a convenient scientific terminology;
26-27: the student has a good knowledge of the topics presented in the course and - to a lesser extent - in the assigned readings; he generally succeeds in hyerarchizing information and is familiar with scientific terminology;
24-25: the student does not always know thoroughly topics presented in the course and in the assigned readings; his oral exposition is clear, although concepts are not always expressed through a convenient scientific terminology;
22-23: the student has a mostly superficial knowledge of the topics presented in the course and in the assigned readings; his written exposition is not always clear and generally lacks scientific terminology;
18-21: the student has a very superficial knowledge of the topics presented in the course and in the assigned readings; his written exposition is confused and does not resort to scientific terminology.

Frontal lectures. Although the course is not conceived as a seminar, feedback from students will be constantly solicited, according to an interactive and dynamic idea of teaching.