Sociolinguistics of Italian
Academic Year 2022/2023 - Teacher: GIULIO SCIVOLETTOExpected Learning Outcomes
Acquiring basic concepts of sociolinguistics. Developing reflection on the variability of the Italian language. Developing awareness of the functions of a widespread behaviour in the Italian situation, also among young people, i.e. the alternate use of Italian, dialect and foreign languages in conversation and on the web (phenomena defined as code switching and polylanguaging).
2) Ability to apply knowledge and understanding
Acquiring the main techniques of sociolinguistic investigation in order to be able to carry out fieldwork. To be able to apply the acquired concepts and themes (e.g.: the varieties of Italian, the values of dialect on the web, etc.) to a given professional field. In other words, developing a sociolinguistic reading ability, which contributes to tackling problems and finding solutions to issues involving the use of language in a given field of work (e.g. adapting the variety of language used to prepare public communications of a company or activity, understanding the social meaning of the variety used by a given client, etc.).
3) Autonomy of judgement
Knowing how to interpret data of socially situated language use, in order to attain the capacity for personal and autonomous judgement, so as to be able to make 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 business 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 consciously 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 situational context, etc.).
5) Learning skills
Developing the basic learning skills that are necessary to undertake further studies with a high degree of autonomy (e.g.: to know diamesic variation in order to adapt one’s use of the language to a new social network, to know the trends in the re-standardisation of Italian in order to evaluate further particular innovations, etc.).
Course Structure
The course is structured in dialogical and frontal lectures, individual and group exercises, self-evaluative reflections concerning the several contents dealt with.
Required Prerequisites
Basic knowledge of the Italian language
Attendance of Lessons
optional course attendance
Detailed Course Content
A) Definition of Sociolinguistics: 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: 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; Communicative strategies: code switching and polylanguaging. Definition and functions.
Textbook Information
Berruto Gaetano, Prima lezione di sociolinguistica, Bari, Laterza, 2006 (189 pp.)
- 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.
- Berruto Gaetano, Sociolinguistica dell’italiano contemporaneo, Roma, Carocci, ( 2012 updated reprint (280 pp.) (except chapter 5).
- Alfonzetti, Giovanna, Parlare italiano e dialetto in Sicilia, Palermo, Centro di Studi Filologici e Linguistici siciliani 2017 (100 pp.)
Course Planning
| Subjects | Text References | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scope and postulates of sociolinguistics | Berruto, Prima lezione di sociolinguistica and slides |
| 2 | Linguistic repertoire and community | Berruto, Prima lezione di sociolinguistica and slides |
| 3 | Linguistic varieties | Berruto, Prima lezione di sociolinguistica and slides |
| 4 | Communicative compentence and communicative situation | Berruto, Prima lezione di sociolinguistica and slides |
| 5 | Social class, group and social network; age and sex; domain | Berruto, Prima lezione di sociolinguistica and slides |
| 6 | Prestige and attitudes | Berruto, Prima lezione di sociolinguistica and slides |
| 7 | Types of linguistic varieties | Berruto, Prima lezione di sociolinguistica and slides |
| 8 | Labovian variable and variant | Berruto, Prima lezione di sociolinguistica and slides |
| 9 | Standard language and dialect | Berruto, Prima lezione di sociolinguistica and slides |
| 10 | Diglossia and dilalia | Berruto, Prima lezione di sociolinguistica and slides |
| 11 | Techniques of sociolinguistic research | D'Agostino and slides |
| 12 | Italian sociolinguistic situations; the Italian repertoire (Berruto) | Berruto, Sociolinguistica dell'italiano and slides |
| 13 | Standard and neostandard Italian. Restandardization | Berruto, Sociolinguistica dell'italiano and slides |
| 14 | Regional varieties: regional Italian | Berruto, Sociolinguistica dell'italiano and slides |
| 15 | Diamesic varieties: written, oral and transmitted varieties of Italian | Berruto, Sociolinguistica dell'italiano and slides |
| 16 | Situational varieties: styles and special languages | Berruto, Sociolinguistica dell'italiano and slides |
| 17 | Social varieties | Berruto, Sociolinguistica dell'italiano and slides |
| 18 | Contact between Italian language and local dialect | Alfonzetti, Parlare italiano e dialetto in Sicilia |
| 19 | Code switching | Alfonzetti, Parlare italiano e dialetto in Sicilia |
| 20 | Polylanguaging in CMC | Alfonzetti, Parlare italiano e dialetto in Sicilia |
Learning Assessment
Learning Assessment Procedures
the first at the end of the lectures relating to module A, the second at the end of the lectures relating to module B.
a) the first test consists of open questions (definitions of concepts or phenomena covered by module A;
b) the second consists of 2 open questions and 10 closed ones based on the analysis of utterances containing features of the different varieties of Italian studied (standard, neo-standard. regional, formal, informal, written, spoken, etc.).
Those who have taken and passed both in-progress tests will only have to answer questions on the module C book, orally, at the time of the final examination. The mark for the in-progress tests is averaged with the mark for the oral examination. Anyone wishing to improve the grade for one or both of the in-session tests already taken may supplement the respective parts (module A and/or module B) in the oral examination. Those who have not taken the in-progress tests must take the final examination for the entire syllabus: one part will be written (like the in-progress tests on modules A and B, one part oral on module C.
XWritten test
XOral test
XPractical examination
For the assessment of the examination, account will be taken of the candidate's command of the content and skills acquired, linguistic accuracy and lexical propriety, as well as his or her ability to argue.