116-076 The Story of Italian

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

History of the language: this segment will describe the development of the Italian language since its Indo-European origins; the linguistic situation in Roman Italy, the fragmentation of Latin and the genesis of present-day Italian dialects. The subject will also focus on the questione della lingua and the ascendancy of Tuscan/Roman. Dialectology: this segment will contain an introduction to the study of one regional dialect. On completion of this subject, students should have acquired a basic knowledge of the structures of Latin to the extent that they are reflected in present-day Italian; a knowledge of the development of Italian from postclassical Latin to the language spoken in contemporary Italy, and the reasons for that development; and a basic knowledge of the structures of one major Italian dialect.

Assessment

Two take-home assignments equivalent to 2000 words for 3rd-year 3000 words 4th-year, and two hours of class tests.

Prescribed Texts

• S Lanuzza, Storia della Lingua Italiana. Newton.