The course is addressed to those who aim at gaining a good knowledge of the varieties of Italian in order to work in the field of publishing and journalism.
Knowledge of Italian language with reference to its diachronic, geographical, social and contextual variations. The course will have a specific focus on the history of the language of journalism, from the birth of daily presses to the new media. Practice exercises (i.e. textual analyses).
At the end of the course, the student will be able to
- recognise the tradition of Italian morphosyntax and lexicon, highlighting their historical foundations and their evolution
- describe the architecture of the varieties of contemporary Italian
- recognise the distinctive features of varieties of Italian
- identify and recognise the distinctive features of the language of the media and in particular of journalistic language
- analyse texts of various natures and origins, including both printed and digital journalistic texts
- adapt one's communication to the context, improving one's functional literacy skills
Basic knowledge of Italian and its sociolinguistics.
Lectures; practice exercises.
Students who have valid certification of physical or learning disabilities on file with the University and who wish to discuss possible accommodations or other circumstances regarding lectures, coursework and exams, should speak both with the instructor and with Prof. Sara Dickinson (sara.dickinson@unige.it), the Department's disability liaison.
Brief outline of the history of the Italian language. The language of journalism in comparison with the various sectorial languages and in the more general framework of the history of Italian and its recent changes.
Reading and Bibliography for those who do attend classes:
- lecture notes
- reading material on Aulaweb
- R. Gualdo, La lingua dei giornali, Cesati, Firenze, 2025.
- R. Gualdo, L'italiano dei giornali, Carocci, Roma, 2017 (o edizioni successive).
- P. D'Achille, L'italiano contemporaneo, il Mulino, Bologna, 2019.
Reading and Bibliography for those who do not attend classes:
- C. Marazzini, Breve storia della lingua italiana, il Mulino, Bologna (all editions).
In addition, : C. Marazzini, Breve storia della lingua italiana, il Mulino, Bologna.
Ricevimento: The office hours for students takes place on Wednesdays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the lecturer's office, Via Balbi 2, DIRAAS Department, 3rd floor, room III.007. The office hours for students must always be arranged by e-mail with the lecturer (Manuela.Manfredini@unige.it). It is also possible to agree a remote office hours, on the Microsoft Teams platform, by sending an email to the lecturer (Manuela.Manfredini@unige.it).
MANUELA MANFREDINI (President)
February 2026.
Written paper and oral examination.
The oral examination will focus on the topics of the course. In addition to that, students will discuss a written paper to be delivered at least ten days before the examination date. Whereas the oral part of the examination will tend to ascertain the expository abilities and the correct use of the specific terminology, the written paper is intended to verify the ability to adequately articulate the investigation of a text and the formation of a critical judgment on its style.
Non attendants must write to manuela.manfredini@unige.it
