IT2LVS: One country, many languages. Linguistic variety and society in contemporary Italy

Module code: IT2LVS

Module provider: Languages and Cultures; School of Humanities

Credits: 20

Level: Level 2 (Intermediate)

When you'll be taught: Semester 1

Module convenor: Dr Chiara Ciarlo, email: c.ciarlo@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s):

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2024/5

Available to visiting students: Yes

Talis reading list: Yes

Last updated: 21 May 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

To prepare students for their Year Abroad in Italy, this module aims to explore the linguistic complexity of the Peninsula from a sociolinguistic perspective, focussing on the socio-historical events that contributed to the spread of Italian as a standard language and to the survival of regional dialects and minority languages, all of which are spoken in Italy today. The module also aims to introduce students to key sociolinguistic concepts and to techniques of sociolinguistic research, such as questionnaires, sociolinguistic interviews, transcription of recordings for conversation analysis, and linguistic landscaping fieldwork. Through a variety of assessment methods, including an oral presentation and discussion on the topics of the module and a research project, the module will familiarise students with techniques of oral assessment and independent study that they can use while preparing for exams in the Italian universities.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to:

1. Recognise and use appropriately relevant sociolinguistic concepts and terminology, such as: linguistic repertoire, dialect, variety and register, language competence, language continuum, code-switching and code-mixing multilingualism, minority language etc.
2. Identify and discuss key socio-historical events that have shaped the spread of the standard language and reduced the use of dialects and minority languages across time.
3. Describe and analyse variation patterns in the use of standard Italian, dialects and minority languages across regions and across generations.
4. Apply new methodological skills, which will enable them to design sociolinguistic interviews and questionnaires, to transcribe interviews and conversations, and to plan linguistic landscape fieldwork.

Module content

The module will explore the linguistic journey of Italians, from a people speaking different regional dialects to a nation unified by a standard language (through the two World Wars, internal and external migration, and other key socio-cultural events) where dialects are still spoken by many, and where new ethnolinguistic minorities have become part of the current linguistic panorama. Topics will include: the notion of isoglosses and language continuum, the so-called italiano popolare, the language of young Italians and the e-taliano. Using examples from studies on the linguistic situation of Italy, the module will introduce students to sociolinguistic research techniques, such as sociolinguistic interviews, questionnaires, transcription of conversations and planning of fieldwork on linguistic landscaping.

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

The module will be taught through a combination of lectures and seminars. Before each class, students will be given a reading task to carry out. During class, students will be encouraged to actively participate in the discussion and share their answers to the task and ideas in pairs, groups or in plenum. Some classes will involve fieldwork.  

Study hours

At least 10 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 40% to pass this module

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: https://www.reading.ac.uk/cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

To help them plan and design their research projects, students will be asked to produce a project proposal and a research tool (e.g. a questionnaire or a list of interview questions), on which they will receive feedback before they start their data gathering and analysis.

Reassessment

Additional costs