The course aims at expanding and deepening the historical and linguistic knowledge that has already been acquired by the student in the BA course, mostly through text reading and linguistic analysis. In particular, the course aims at providing appropriate knowledge in three different areas: a) in historical grammar, illustrating the most significant phonetic and morphological developments in the transition from Latin to Italian; b) in the analysis and historical interpretation of peculiar linguistic features (at a graphic, phonetic, morphological and syntactic level) in Galileo and Machiavelli's language, through a sample of texts from their works; c) in the history of Italian language, retracing its most important phases, with particular reference to significant aspects and moments in the Italian linguistic debate through the centuries.
A thorough basic knowledge of Italian linguistic history as well as the debate on the language throughout the centuries and the evolution of the language represent essential and qualifying didactic elements for this MA curriculum degree classification, in addition to being essential requirements for all those who aim at a future professional access to the school system.

The programme is divided into three parts and each of them will address the following topics in the order indicated below.
1) Fundamentals of historical grammar: phonetic and morphological changes from Latin to Italian 
Phonetic changes: Latin and Italian vowels; stressed and unstressed vowels; the mobile diphthong rule; outcome of Latin diphthongs; anaphonesis; closed e and o in protony; deletion of final consonants; consonant assimilation; + iod consonant nexus; consonant nexus + l ; consonant voicing; general phenomena: prothesis, paragoge, epenthesis, apheresis, dicretion and concretion of the article, syncope, apocope, syntactic doubling; popular and erudite trait; doublets; the sources of spoken Latin.
Morphological changes: disappearance of neuter; disappearance of the cases system; the declension system simplification; gender and number metaplasms; derivation of Italian nouns from the accusative case; formation of articles; verbal morphology: main innovations in the passage from Latin to Italian; formation of present tense, future, past absolute, compound tenses, passive voice; formation of past participle and concordance of past participle in a diachronic perspective.
2) Galileo and Machiavelli's language: reading and linguistic analysis of texts from their works
Galileo: the Italian language choice; Sidereus Nuncius: reasons for choosing Latin; Lettere copernicane: reading and linguistic analysis of the first letter; Il Saggiatore: reading and linguistic analysis of 4 extracts on the debate against in libris philosophers; the long way to the publication of Dialogo; reasons and advantages of the dialogue genre choice; structure and characters of Dialogo; from Dialogo: reading and linguistic analysis of the preamble Al discreto lettore, of the final part and a selection of other extracts; Galileo's language: graphic, morphological and syntactic peculiarities; Galileo's modernity in terms of scientific terminology.
Machiavelli:  Machiavelli and the language of chancelleries; the language of "consulte e pratiche": the weight and presence of forms of spoken language; reading and linguistic analysis of extracts from Principe: graphic, morphological and syntactic peculiarities.
3) The history of Italian language and the debate on language through the centuries
The main steps in the historical development of the Italian language through the most important moments and issues in the linguistic debate, from the Middle Ages to current topics.
This part - recalling what has already been partially acquired by the students who passed the History of the Italian Language exam in the BA course - will be mostly self-taught through the study of the text indicated under number 3 in the bibliography. 

At the end of the course the student shall

- recognise and use the terminology and key concepts of Italian historical grammar in an appropriate way;

- know and be able to illustrate the most significant phonetic and morphological changes in the passage from Latin to Italian;

- know Galileo's figure and works, the reasons for his importance from the Italian language history point of view and be able to analyse his language , grasping its fundamental characteristics and interpreting them in a diachronic perspective(for attending students);

- be able to carry out a linguistic analysis of Machiavelli's texts, grasping their fundamental characteristics and interpreting them in a diachronic perspective;

- know the historical development of the Italian language and the related debate.

The teaching material prepared by the lecturer in addition to recommended textbooks (such as for instance slides, lecture notes, exercises, bibliography) and communications from the lecturer specific to the course can be found inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it

A seminar addressing the reading and linguistic analysis of some extracts from Machiavelli's  Principe contained in Scavuzzo's text indicated in the Study Texts is scheduled. This seminar (4 hours) will be held by Mr. Andrea Felici during the last week of the course, integrating the taught lessons hours. 
 

Teaching

Taught lessons and seminar.

Course books

1) G. Patota, Nuovi lineamenti di grammatica storica dell'italiano, il Mulino, Bologna, 2009. Only the following chapters must be studied: I, II, III and IV.
2) a. Galileo's texts  analysed during the course, which will be made available by the lecturer;  b. C. Scavuzzo, Machiavelli. Storia linguistica italiana, Carocci, 2003. Only pages 1-72 will have to be studied. 
3) C. Marazzini, La lingua italiana. Storia, testi, strumenti, il Mulino, Bologna, second edition, 2015. The entire text must be studied. 

Assessment

Oral exam.  Evaluation criteria will consider: a) knowledge of historical grammar phenomena illustrated during the course or dealt with in the study texts and the related terminology; b) capacity to grasp and describe the linguistic peculiarities of the indicated authors placing them in the right historical perspective and, more generally, the main linguistic phenomena that are present in an old Italian text; c) knowledge of the Italian language historical development and the related debate through the centuries; d) correct and effective presentation.

Disabilità e DSA

Le studentesse e gli studenti che hanno registrato la certificazione di disabilità o la certificazione di DSA presso l'Ufficio Inclusione e diritto allo studio, possono chiedere di utilizzare le mappe concettuali (per parole chiave) durante la prova di esame.

A tal fine, è necessario inviare le mappe, due settimane prima dell’appello di esame, alla o al docente del corso, che ne verificherà la coerenza con le indicazioni delle linee guida di ateneo e potrà chiederne la modifica.

Course books

1) G. Patota, Nuovi lineamenti di grammatica storica dell'italiano, il Mulino, Bologna, 2009. The entire text must be studied.
2) a. C. Scavuzzo, Machiavelli. Storia linguistica italiana, Carocci, 2003. The entire text must be studied.  b. Texts presented and commented in G. Patota's volume, Nuovi lineamenti di grammatica storica dell'italiano, il Mulino, Bologna, 2009: extracts from Boccaccio's "Decameron" analysed in  chapters III, IV and V, and texts included in chapter VI. 
3)  C. Marazzini, La lingua italiana. Storia, testi, strumenti, il Mulino, Bologna, second edition, 2015. The entire text must be studied.

Assessment

Oral exam.  Evaluation criteria will consider: a) knowledge of historical grammar phenomena illustrated during the course or dealt with in the study texts and the related terminology; b) capacity to grasp and describe the linguistic peculiarities of the indicated authors placing them in the right historic perspective and, more generally, the main linguistic phenomena that are present in an old Italian text; c) knowledge of the Italian language historic development and the related debate through the centuries; d) correct and effective presentation.

Disabilità e DSA

Le studentesse e gli studenti che hanno registrato la certificazione di disabilità o la certificazione di DSA presso l'Ufficio Inclusione e diritto allo studio, possono chiedere di utilizzare le mappe concettuali (per parole chiave) durante la prova di esame.

A tal fine, è necessario inviare le mappe, due settimane prima dell’appello di esame, alla o al docente del corso, che ne verificherà la coerenza con le indicazioni delle linee guida di ateneo e potrà chiederne la modifica.

Part 2 of the programme, as illustrated above, only applies to attending students.
For non-attending students, this part of the programme is modified in line with the indications provided in the specific section containing information for NON-attending students, under the item Study texts, 2).