ROMANCE PHILOLOGY AND LINGUISTICS I
• Knowledge and understanding
Students must prove an historical-comparative knowledge of the evolution from Latin to Romance varieties that, regardless of whether they are national languages, official languages or dialects, get equal dignity, differentiated only by communication needs. They also have to know the dynamics of transmission of Medieval Romance Literature texts and be able to decode a critical edition.
• Applying knowledge and understanding
Students must prove that they have acquired the awareness of convergences and divergences between the Romance varieties related to a single mother tongue, Vulgar Latin. They will also have to know the main phonetic, morphological, syntactic and semantic characteristics that explain the evolution from Latin to Romance languages, and apply them to decode critical editions of medieval texts.
• Making judgements
At the end of the course of study, students will be able to clearly assess, beyond their own prejudices and their own cultural history, the productivity of linguistic richness, that does not mortify national languages. They will also have to understand how only the use of a rigorous philological method allows us to read medieval texts today.
• Communication skills
Students will show that they can manage the specialized language of the discipline, both linguistic and philological.
• Learning skills
Students will be able to grasp the complex dynamic of similarity and diversity of Romance languages among themselves and with respect to Latin, both in a diachronic and in a synchronic perspective. In this way it will be easier to them to acquire the knowledge of Romance languages, also through the analysis of critical editions of medieval texts in an historical perspective.
The first 6 CFU (Part I and II) have the same contents for L11 and L12 courses.
Part I:
- the most important stages of phonetic and morphosyntactic evolution from vulgar Latin to Romance languages
- oldest French, Spanish and Italian medieval texts: linguistic analysis
Part II:
- textual criticism: Lachmann's Method and the edition of medieval Romance texts
- philological and linguistic analysis of medieval Italian lyrics
The following 2 CFU (Part III) are reserved to L11 course.
- review of the critical edition of Dante's Rime by Domenico De Robertis
- the "book of songs": philological analysis and texts' commentary
Part I:
- Theoretical and methodological aspects:
• Classification of Romance languages
• Vulgar Latin and the origin of Romance languages
• Sources for the study of Vulgar Latin
- From Vulgar Latin to Romance languages:
• Elements of historical phonetics (vocalism and consonantism)
• Morphosyntax elements
- Linguistic analysis
• The most ancient texts written in Romance languages
Part II: Textual criticism
• Some aspects of manuscript tradition
• Diplomatic and interpretative edition
• What is a critical edition
• Lachmann's Method and its evolution
• How to read a critical edition
• Paraphrase, philological analysis, metric-rhetorical and linguistic commentary of some lyrics of "Scuola Sicialiana"
Part III: A remarkable critical edition: the Rime di Dante edited by D. De Robertis
• Methodological aspects
• Textual tradition
• Paraphrase, philological analysis, metric-rhetorical and linguistic commentary and a study on sources of some Dante’s lyrics, such as the so-called "petrose", the "sestina", the trilingual song "Ai faux ris".
I Parte
Ch. Lee-S. Galano, Introduzione alla linguistica romanza, Roma, Carocci, 2008
S. Asperti, Origini romanze, Roma, Viella 2006: cap. 4, Le lingue romanze: cronologia, ipotesi e modelli; cap. 6, Antichi testi romanzi.
Professor's slides
II Parte
P. Stoppelli, Filologia della letteratura italiana, Roma, Carocci, 2008, capitoli 1-5
V. Formentin, Poesia italiana delle Origini, Roma, Carocci, 2007, capp. 6 e 8
A. Fratta, Le fonti provenzali dei poeti della Scuola siciliana, Firenze, Le lettere, 1996
M.S. Lannutti, La letteratura italiana del Duecento. Storia, testi, interpretazioni, Roma, Carocci, 2009, pp. 13-27
P.G. Beltrami, La metrica italiana, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2011, in Glossario: assonanza; canzone; ballata, discordo, coblas capfinidas, singulars e unissonans; consonanza; decasillabo; décasyllabe; dialefe; dieresi; endecasillabo; enjambement; lassa; rima; rima derivativa; rima equivoca; rima grammaticale; rima interna; rima ricca; rima siciliana; settenario; sinalefe; sineresi; sonetto; stanza; strofa.
Professor's slides
III Parte
Dante Alighieri, Rime, edizione critica a cura di D. De Robertis, Firenze, Le Lettere, 2002
Dante Alighieri, Rime, edizione commentata a cura di D. De Robertis, Firenze, Edizioni del Galluzzo, 2005
Dante Alighieri, Vita Nuova, a cura di D. De Robertis, Milano-Napoli, Ricciardi, 1980
Dante Alighieri, Vita Nova, a cura di G. Gorni, Torino, Einaudi, 1996
P.G. Beltrami, La metrica italiana, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2011, dal Glossario voci: Rima rinterzata; Sonetto rinterzato.
Professor's slides available at the beginning of the course on the website of the Department of Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures.
Further readings:
P.G. Beltrami, La filologia romanza, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2017
M. Barbato, Le lingue romanze, Bari, Laterza, 2017
A. Stussi, Fondamenti di critica testuale, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2006
Enciclopedia dantesca in www. treccani.it
Lessons and exercises that will bring the student to:
- frame in a historical and geographical sense the illustrated phonetic and morphosyntactic changes
- apply theoretical concepts to practical examples (phonetic evolution)
- decode a critical edition.
For Part I there is an optional written in itinere test in preasentia ,with open and closed questions (obviously only if dispositions concerning Covid-19 will permit it).
Check of student preparation takes place:
- for Part I through the oral exam or the optional in itinere test
- for Parts II and III only through the oral exam.
The evaluation is always expressed in thirtieths. For L12 is applied the arithmetic mean of Part I and Part II; for L11, the weighted average of Part I, II and III. The in itinere test on Part I consists of a questionnaire with open and closed questions; the student will have 45 minutes to do it and test's score will be divided according to the importance of each question; if the student don't pass the test or he will accepted its score, he will repeat all contents at the oral exam. The score of the in itinere test is valid for all the exam sessions of the current academic year. Evaluation will cover only topics covered during the course, regardless of the planned program, which will be specified by the professor at the end of the lessons. Professor's slides are intended as a tool for selecting the topics within the indicated bibliography. During the oral exam there will be theoretic questions and short written exercises in which the student will apply learned concepts; the correct use of the specific terminology will also be considered.
Weekly office hour is available on the website of the Department of Languages, Literatures and Modern Cultures.
Non-attending students must contact the professor to get an individual program.