Lecture by Prof. Vera Gheno, Accademia della Crusca
18th Week of the Italian Language in the World: Italian and the network, networks for Italian
On the occasion of the 18th Week of the Italian Language in the World, whose theme this year is Italian and the network, networks for Italian, the Istituto Italiano di Cultura is pleased to host a lecture by Prof. Vera Gheno, who regularly collaborates with the prestigious Accademia della Crusca and the Zanichelli publishing company. Prof. Gheno will entertain a conversation with Prof. Antonia Rubino, Associate Professor at the Department of Italian Studies of the University of Sydney.
The lecture will examine the Italian language mainly in its relation to and its evolution within the new media: where does this new language come from, how is it evolving, what does it reveal about us but, most importantly, where is it heading to?
In recent years Italy has seen a very heated debate around issues related to the language. In particular, the attention of the public has been drawn towards the language used in social networks, which has been analysed with curiosity but sometimes also with suspicion. What are the main features of the Italian we encounter on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and WhatsApp? Why do many consider it, perhaps wrongly, a corrupt version of our language? And in general, where does the Italian language come from and where does it go? Through the analysis of social networks, Prof. Gheno will provide an insight into contemporary Italian, with its transformations, tics, idiosyncrasies, false myths and more or less justified fears that surround it.
Vera Gheno, author, sociolinguist specialized in computer-mediated communication and translator from Hungarian, has been collaborating with the Accademia della Crusca since 2000 (since 2012 she has been the manager of its Twitter account) as well as with the Zanichelli publishing house, working in particular around issues related to the Zingarelli Dictionary. She teaches at the University of Florence, where for several years she has been holding the Laboratory of Italian Writing within the course in Humanities for Communication. She has also held courses and masters in several other Italian universities. In addition to dozens of translations and several articles and essays, many of which can be consulted online, she has published for Franco Cesati publishing company (Florence), Guida pratica all’italiano scritto (senza diventare grammarnazi) (2016) and Social-linguistica. Italiano e italiani dei social network (2017). Her latest book, written with Bruno Mastroianni, is Tienilo acceso. Posta, commenta, condividi senza spegnere il cervello (2018, Longanesi).
The lecture will be in Italian.
Free entry. Limited seats.
Booking essential: www.eventbrite.com.au