The course in General Linguistics provides an introduction to the theoretical and methodological foundations of the scientific study of languages and language. The teaching focuses on the following topics: the fundamental properties of human language; the main levels of linguistic analysis (phonetics and phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics); the criteria for the classification of natural languages based on genealogical and typological bases; the dimensions of linguistic variation; the study of Italian dialects within the Romance linguistic framework.
The course intends to provide the most important theoretical and practical tools that are necessary for a linguistic analysis of words, utterances and verbal interactions in Italian and the main European languages. Particular attention is paid to phonetics and phonology, morphology and word formation processes, syntax, semantics, pragmatics, typology and (historic and contemporary) language variation.
The basic aim of the course is to provide students with the main principles of general linguistics and the theoretical and technical knowledge required for the different levels of linguistic analysis
At the end of the course, students will be able to:
Following the 12 cfu course, students will also be able to:
The course does not require specific prerequisites.
Lectures.
6 CFU
Language and languages: the nature of linguistic signs; the fundamental properties of human verbal language; the origin of language; structuralism and generativism.
Linguistic typology: genealogical classification of European and world language families; morphological and syntactic typology; linguistic universals.
Phonetics and phonology: the vocal apparatus; phonemes, allophones, and phonemes of Italian; phonetic/phonological transcription; minimal pairs; major phonological phenomena; syllables; suprasegmental features.
Morphology: types of morphemes; decomposition of words into morphemes; morphological processes (inflection, derivation, composition, and other processes).
Morphosyntax: inflectional classes; gender; agreement.
Syntax: valency; types of phrases; analysis of sentences into immediate constituents; constituent order; representation of sentence syntactic structure using tree diagrams; transformation rules.
Lexicon and semantics: meaning and reference; analysis of meaning into semantic features; lexical relations; mental lexicon; dictionaries; lexical stratification; special languages.
Pragmatics and information structure: mplications and presuppositions; presupposition and assertion; given/new and theme/rema; speech acts and conversational maxims
Sociolinguistics and synchronic variation: the main dimensions of variation in natural languages (diastratic, diafasic, diatopic, diamesic); language, society, and identity.
Diachronic variation: linguistic reconstruction and Indo-European; phonetic, phonological, morphological, syntactic, and semantic changes; major mechanisms of linguistic change; grammaticalization and reanalysis.
12 CFU (in addition to the above topics):
Foundations of Romance Linguistics: the historical-comparative method applied to Romance languages; the Latin-Romance transition; typology and classification of Romance languages.
Italian Dialects: Standard Language and Dialects; Dialects in Italy; Bilingualism and Diglossia; Panorama of Italian Dialects; Classification Criteria and Isoglosses; Main Structural Features.
Ligurian dialects: the main features of Ligurian dialects.
VOICES OF LIGURIA. DIALECT FIELD RESEARCH AND EXPERIMENTAL PHONETICS
Field research: survey methodologies and questionnaire composition.
Experimental phonetics: a brief introduction to phonetic analysis tools.
Investigation essay: exercises with interviews
Non-attending students will replace this section with the following thematic core:
VOICES OF LIGURIA. VOWEL AND CONSONANTAL QUANTITY IN LIGURIAN DIALECTS
ATTENDING STUDENTS
12 CFU
NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS
Non-attending students will replace the chapter on acoustic phonetics and the exercise with the following readings, which will be uploaded onto AulaWeb:
Non-attending students are kindly requested to contact the teacher (who is also available for online group office hours, see office hours) at least two months before the scheduled examination date.
Additional in-depth readings (not mandatory for exam preparation) and materials for exercises will be indicated during the lessons and on AulaWeb.
Ricevimento: By appointment: in person at the Linguistics Department (Via Balbi 4, third floor); alternatively on Teams (Ricevimento Filipponio; code: wq0pve3). In addition, from 29 September to 24 November, every Monday after 5 p.m., in person or on Teams. In any case, please contact the teacher by writing to lorenzo.filipponio@unige.it
LORENZO FILIPPONIO (President)
GUIDO GIOVANNI BORGHI
ROSA RONZITTI (President Substitute)
LORENZA BRASILE (Substitute)
IRENE DE FELICE (Substitute)
First semester: September 29th 2025.
Second semester: February 2026.
The timetable for this course is available here: EasyAcademy
The exam worth 6 CFU consists of an oral test.
The 12 CFU examination consists of an oral test. Both attending and non-attending students can take an intermediate oral test on the first-semester programme in December 2025, January 2026, and February 2026. This test is optional; otherwise, all students can take the full exam starting from the Summer 2026 session.
Erasmus students not proficient in Italian may request a substitutive bibliography, and take the examination in English, French or German.
The examination will assess the student's knowledge of the general linguistic topics covered during the course and acquired through individual study of the texts listed in the examination bibliography. In particular, the ability to classify and analyse forms at the phonetic/phonological, morphological, morphosyntactic, syntactic, semantic and pragmatic levels and to identify their lines of change and variation will be assessed.
In the case of 12 cfu examination, the ability to outline the main characteristics of the transition from Latin to Romance languages, of Italo-Romance dialects in the Romance landscape and of Ligurian dialects in the Italo-Romance landscape will also be assessed, with particular regard to the phonetic and experimental issues presented during the final part of the course.
Students with disabilities or DSAs are reminded that in order to request accommodations for the exam, they must first enter their certification on the University website at servizionline.unige.it in the "Students" section. The documentation will be verified by the University Services for the Inclusion of Students with Disabilities and the DSA Sector (https://rubrica.unige.it/strutture/struttura/100111).
Then, at least 10 days before the date of the exam, an email must be sent to the teacher with whom you will take the exam, including in the knowledge copy both the School's Teacher Referent for the Inclusion of Students with Disabilities and DSA (Prof. Elisabetta Colagrossi: elisabetta.colagrossi@unige.it) and the above-mentioned Sector. The email should specify: the name of the teaching; the date of the request; the student's last name, first name and roll number; the compensatory aids and dispensatory measures considered functional and required.
The contact person will confirm to the lecturer that the applicant is entitled to request adjustments the examination and that these adjustments must be agreed upon with the lecturer. The lecturer will reply to say whether the requested adjustments can be made. Requests should be sent at least 10 days before the date of the examination in order to allow the lecturer(s) to assess the content. In particular, if you intend to make use of conceptual maps for the exam (which must be much more concise than the maps used for study), there will not be the technical time to make changes if the submission is not made in time.
For further information on the request for services and adaptations, please refer to the document: https://unige.it/sites/unige.it/files/2024-05/Linee%20guida%20per%20la%20richiesta%20di%20servizi%2C%20di%20strumenti%20compensativi%20e_o%20di%20misure%20dispensative%20e%20di%20ausili%20specifici%20Maggio%202024.pdf
