Language, Culture, and Identity in Italy (taught in Italian)

(4 Credits)

What we call Italian today—the language of media, government, education, and public life—is only one variety among many spoken throughout the peninsula’s history. Local dialects and regional forms still play an important cultural role in literature, music, and film. Recent immigration has also introduced numerous additional languages into Italy’s linguistic landscape. Understanding this diversity is essential for effective communication. This course introduces students to Italy’s linguistic history and to key sociolinguistic concepts that explain language use today, making it an ideal complement to studying Italian as a second language. Topics include dialects and regional varieties and their changing functions; the evolution of Italian from Latin; historical debates over the national language; languages of religious minorities; the relationship between language, literacy, orality, and power; factors influencing linguistic change, such as education policies and standardization; and the language of the Italian diaspora, especially Italian-American. Materials will include literary texts, songs, films, and digital media. Italy’s linguistic variety is not unique: similar dynamics between a standard language and non-standard dialects occur worldwide, including in English-speaking countries. Students will be encouraged to draw on their own linguistic backgrounds and reflect on the sociolinguistic norms of their communities.