116-466 The Story of Italian

Completion of 37.5 points of Italian at intermediate or post-VCE level for third year. Admission to the postgraduate diploma or fourth year honours in Italian for fourth year. European studies students wishing to enrol in this subject would normally have completed 37.5 points of European studies at second/third year, see Prerequisites.

This subject begins with a study of the history of the language, which describes 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. The 'dialectology' section of the subject involves 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 post-classical 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.