FUNDAMENTALS OF LATIN LANGUAGE

The course aims to 1) provide students with a general understanding of Latin language and culture, with a primary focus on Latin civilization and literature in their historical and geographical development, on the cultural mediation processes already present in antiquity and their social and institutional management, as well as on the cultural and linguistic legacy of Latin in the construction of European identity; 2) translate this knowledge into practical intercultural mediation skills, by fostering the ability to recognize Latin roots within European and Mediterranean cultures and to consciously transmit this heritage in contexts of intercultural communication and interaction, enhancing both the differences and affinities between linguistic codes and cultural models.

By the end of the course, students will be expected to 1) possess a foundational knowledge of the historical spread of Latin across the world; 2) understand the impact of Latin as a language of culture, law, religion, and exchange, as well as its legacy in the Romance languages; 3) develop the ability to apply this knowledge to new contexts, recognizing Latin as a tool for cultural interpretation, useful for understanding texts, phenomena, concepts, and representations in modern languages and cultures.

These knowledge outcomes are intended to be the foundation upon which students will build skills: from knowing to knowing how. By way of example—purely indicative—students will be asked to apply their acquired knowledge to novel situations: for instance, to mediate between texts and contexts, demonstrating how a word, a myth, or a syntactic structure has travelled through the centuries and evolved into key elements of modernity (e.g. the reception of ‘Caesarism’, satire, popular theatre), or to interpret the legacy of Latin culture in the shaping of European and Mediterranean values, including for the purpose of fostering empathetic and informed communication between individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds (e.g. Roman imperialism; the treatment of conquered territories, etc.).

The course will be divided into three parts:

1)         Elements of Latin Language and Culture

Basic description of Latin phonetics, morphology, vocabulary, syntax

2)         The Legacy and Reception of Latin

Elements of the history of the language - Classical Latin and Vulgar Latin - Diffusion of Latin - Romania antiqua and Romania nova - Latin lexicon and European languages - Uses of Latin - the Latin of science - The Latin of the Church - Long-lasting Latin lexicon - Latin today

3)         Latin for a Intercultural Mediator 

Cultural mediation in the ancient Mediterranean – The reception of Romanitas in the medieval, modern, and contemporary periods – The geopolitics of Latin and its role in shaping a European identity

1)   1) Elements of Latin language and Culture

A.Traina, G. Bernardi Perini, Propedeutica al latino universitario, Bologna, Pàtron, 1995 (2 CFU)

2)     2)  Legacy and Reception of Latin

Françoise Waquet, Latino. L'impero di un segno (XVI-XX secolo), Milano, Feltrinelli, 2004  (2 CFU)

1)      Latin for a Intercultural Mediator

Nicola Gardini, Viva il latino. Storie e bellezza di una lingua inutile, Milano, Garzanti, 2016

M. Seita, Un cartaginese a Roma: il personaggio di Annone nel Poenulus di Plauto, in L. Bonato, E. Lusso, E. Madrussan (a c. di), Viaggiare. Percorsi e approdi di genti e saperi. Studi in onore di Gianni Perona, Torino, Harmattan, 2014, pp. 177-190  (2 CFU)