Sociolinguistics of Italian
Academic Year 2023/2024 - Teacher:
Giovanna Marina ALFONZETTI
Expected Learning Outcomes
According to the Dublin descriptors, the Course
intends to pursue the following aims:
1) Knowledge:
Acquire basic concepts of sociolinguistics;
Develop reflection on the variability of the Italian
language;
Develop awareness of the functions of different
languages in the urban linguistic landscape.
2) Ability to apply knowledge and understanding:
Acquire the main techniques of sociolinguistic
investigation in order to be able to carry out field research.
3) Autonomy of judgement:
Knowing how to interpret socially situated language
use data, in order to attain the ability to make personal and autonomous
judgements, so as to be able to operate a critical reflection on social,
ethical or professional issues (e.g.: evaluating the linguistic behaviour used
by or towards a minority, judging the value of the variety of Italian used in a
commercial communication, etc.).
4) Communicative skills:
Knowing how to apply sociolinguistic knowledge to one’s
own communicative competence, to master the use of socially situated language,
and to know how to interact in a conscious manner and communicate effectively
(e.g.: respecting stylistic norms when writing an email, knowing how to adapt
the diatopic markings of one’s speech to a given context.
5) Learning skills:
Developing basic learning skills that are necessary to
undertake further studies with a high degree of autonomy (e.g.: knowing
diamesic variation to adapt language use on a new social network, knowing the
tends.
Course Structure
The course is structured in dialogical and frontal lectures, individual
and group exercises, self-evaluative reflections concerning the several
contents dealt with.
Attendance of Lessons
Attendance is not compulsory
Detailed Course Content
A)
Definition of Sociolinguistics
(3 ECTS):
scope, postulates and methods; linguistic repertoire and community;
communicative situation and competence; social class, group and social network;
types of linguistic varieties; standard language and dialect; linguistic
prestige; opinions and attitudes, diglossia and dilalia; sociolinguistic
variable.
B) The
sociolinguistic repertoire of contemporary Italy (3 ECTS): the sociolinguistic situation in contemporary
Italy: Italian, dialects, and minority languages; historical development of the
use of Italian and dialects; the “architecture” of Italian; restandardisation:
literary standard and neostandard; diatopic varieties: Regional Italian;
diaphasic varieties: registers and language for specific purposes; diamesic
varieties: written and spoken Italian; diastratic varieties: “italiano
popolare”.
C) Techniques of sociolinguistic research; The linguistic landscape (3 ECTS). Definition,
functions and analysis.
Textbook Information
A) Berruto Gaetano, Prima lezione di sociolinguistica,
Bari, Laterza, 2006 (189 pp.)
B) Berruto Gaetano, Sociolinguistica
dell’italiano contemporaneo, Roma, Carocci, (ristampa aggiornata)
2012 updated reprint (280 pp.)
(except Chapter 5)
C)
1) D’Agostino Mari, Sociolinguistica dell’Italia
contemporanea, Il Mulino 2007:
Chapter I: Storie (pp.
13-22),
Chapter 3: L’Italia
contemporanea, pp. 51-66.
Chapter 11: Progettare una ricerca,
pp. 215-235.
2) Alfonzetti, Giovanna, Vuciata
kitchen market. Il dialetto nel paesaggio linguistico sicilianom
Centro di Studi Filologici e Linguistici siciliani 2023 (200 pp.)
The scheme of all lectures and other materials
will be found on STUDIUM
Please remember that in
compliance with art 171 L22.04.1941, n. 633 and its amendments, it is illegal
to copy entire books or journals, only 15% of their content can be copied.
For further information on
sanctions and regulations concerning photocopying please refer to the
regulations on copyright (Linee Guida sulla Gestione dei Diritti d’Autore)
provided by AIDRO - Associazione Italiana per i Diritti di Riproduzione delle
opere dell’ingegno (the Italian Association on Copyright).
All
the books listed in the programs can be consulted in the Library.
VERSIONE IN ITALIANO