Module Identifier IT20410  
Module Title HISTORY OF THE ITALIAN LANGUAGE  
Academic Year 2001/2002  
Co-ordinator Dr Elisabetta Tarantino  
Semester Intended for use in future years  
Next year offered N/A  
Next semester offered N/A  
Pre-Requisite (Normally) Eligibility for entry to Level 2 Italian.  
Course delivery Lecture   11 Hours (11 x 1-hour lectures)  
  Seminars / Tutorials   2 Hours (2 x 2-hour seminars)  
Assessment Continuous assessment   Essay 1,500-2,000 words.   30%  
  Exam   2 Hours written examination   70%  

Learning outcomes


At the end of this course, students should

Brief description


This module will provide a survey of the development of the Italian language from its origins to the present day. The course will examine the position of Italian within the Indo-European family of languages, the main developments in the transformation from Latin to "Italian", the recurrence of debates on what should constitute the Italian language (questione della lingua) across several centuries, and the influence of writers like Dante Alighieri and Alessandro Manzoni on the making of the language.


Finally, the course will touch briefly on the consequences of all this in the present linguistic make-up of Italy.

Reading Lists

Books
** Recommended Text
A. L. Lepschy and G. Lepschy. (1991) The Italian Language Today. Routledge
Martin Maiden. (1995) A Linguistic History of Italy. Longman
** Reference Text
B. Migliorini. (1984) The Italian Language, tr. T.G. Griffith. Faber
B. Migliorini. (1995) Storia della lingua italiana. Mondadori
B. Migliorini - I Baldelli. (1979 or 84) Breve storia della lingua italiana. Sansoni