IT20410 - HISTORY OF THE ITALIAN LANGUAGE

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

have an insight into the development of the Italian language from its origins to the present day;
be aware of the main aspects of the process of development from Latin into Italian;
be aware of the main debates on the Italian 'language question'.

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