Italian Lexicography: Italian dictionaries as educational tools

The aim of the course is to give information on the current situation of Italian lexicography, which after its revival in the eighties, has now reached new and important goals. Thanks to socio-economic and cultural factors the Italian language has become more used among the masses, a change that has brought about many innovative effects on the language with the new changes now registered and codified in dictionaries. As a result, traditional Italian language which in the past was mostly reserved for high level written usage is now spoken with a large variety of usages which require new approaches in the teaching of the language and, in a more general sense, in the field of linguistic education. The course will also lead the students to reflect on the usage of dictionaries as didactic instruments taking into consideration the problems that students face in consulting them.

Required texts: T. De Mauro, Guida all’uso delle parole, Roma, Editori Riuniti, 2003, XII edizione; A. Corda, C. Marello, Lessico. Insegnarlo e impararlo, Perugia, Guerra Edizioni Guru, 2004.
Other readings will be suggested during the course.