116-073 Italian as She is Spoke

Note

Availability

Credit Points

Coordinator

Prerequisites

Completion of all second year Italian subjects; 37.5 points at either post-beginners or post-VCE sequence for 3rd-year. Admission to Honours in Italian for 4th-year.

Semester

Contact

Subject Description

The Advanced Language Studies component of this subject will focus on the phonological system and intonation patterns of present-day standard Italian; word order, theme and rheme, position of adjectives and other important areas of Italian syntax. The subject will be essentially a study of the structures of Italian, which will be contrasted with those of English in order to highlight the differences, rather than the similarities, of the two languages, with special reference to the role of Italian syntax vis-à-vis that of English intonation. The Varieties of Italian component will focus on a range of varieties of Italian in use today. It will examine the description of different types of Italian and discuss factors (e.g. regional, social, cultural and political) that may influence such variation. The course will also look at the role today of Italian on the world stage and the influence of other languages on different sectors of the Italian language. The subject is both descriptive and practical and is intended to assist students with a better understanding of Italian in its many contexts.

Assessment

Two 1-hour class tests, and two take-home assignments of 2000 words 3rd-year 3000 words 4th-year.

Prescribed Texts

Materials prepared by the department.