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The purpose of the present paper is to reconstruct De Mauro’s interest in sign languages by emphasizing how the perspective on language he offered is fundamental in describing sign languages, but also to recall his civic commitment. From the very beginning of the research in Italian Sign language (LIS) De Mauro supported early investigations and fought for a recognition of LIS and its acceptance on par with other languages. His direct and indirect influence both in the description of this language and in the affairs of the Italian deaf community appears evident even if still little known and recognized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines Giacomo Puccini's third and final part of Trittico, Gianni Schicchi, 1918 (libretto by Giovacchino Forzano). Since the opera is based on an episode mentioned in Dante's Inferno XXX 31-45, the paper analyses its direct and indirect references to the Divine Comedy. Considering this, the paper more globally reevaluates Puccini's relationship toward Dante and his works. Through an analysis of new documents, I suggest that the composer's valorization of the Dantean source material was more prominent than has previously been sustained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay proposes an interpretation of the "Cantico del gallo silvestre" in light of Giacomo Leopardi's knowledge of Hebrew. His study of the language of the Old Testament, his translations of its texts and the many notes regarding it in the Zibaldone offer the grounds to reinterpret both the operetta's title and its introduction as Leopardi's attempt to recreate his own sacred text, by means of a precise and focused linguistic imitation of the features identified as peculiar to Hebrew itself. Finally, to further understand the depth of the linguistic research accomplished, the paper offers a comparison between the "Cantico" and other Leopardi falsifications and apocrypha. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

E.T.A. Hoffmann (1776-1822) was proficient in the Italian language and frequently incorporated Italian characters into his works. In this paper, we will examine the names of Italian women in four stories that predominantly take place in Germany. While Hoffmann primarily employs Cratylic (speaking) names that appear to shed light on the characters' traits due to their transparent meanings, these names are not always genuine. Quite often, their meanings are deceptive, rendering them false (lying) names. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The extensive presence of names and toponyms in Alberto Arbasino's works makes it an ideal case study for exploring the significance of proper names and lists of names in literature. This paper aims to examine the role of names in Arbasino's work, starting with an analysis of the names found in the paratexts, such as titles, intertitles, indexes, and indexes of names. These names serve as structural elements that reflect the author's inclination towards classification and combination. Moving forward, I examine the role of names within the main text itself. By comparing them to the works of Proust, Flaubert, and Auden, it becomes evident that names in Arbasino's writing take on a dual nature, encompassing both seriousness and facetiousness. This duality allows his prose to oscillate between memoir and biting satire, as well as between self-portrayal and self-parody. This applies to various forms of his writing, whether it be prose, non-fiction, or hybrid works like Fratelli d'Italia. In conclusion, I offer some observations on the use of homonyms and synonyms in Arbasino's work, employing semiotic tools to analyze their significance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Bible contains numerous lists of anthroponyms, organized according to genealogical structures. This article specifically focuses on five of these lists, which include: 1) the genealogy of Cain, son of Adam, as described in the fourth and fifth chapters of Genesis; 2) the genealogy presented in the book of Chronicles, spanning chapters 1.1 to 9.44; 3) the genealogy of Jesus outlined in the Gospel of Matthew; 4) the genealogy of Jesus as recorded in the Gospel of Luke; and 5) the concise repetition found throughout the Bible: «I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.» The underlying question this text seeks to address is: what purpose do these extensive lists of anthroponyms serve in a text that is meant to convey a divine revelation? To explore this query, the article delves into two significant aspects of Judeo-Christian religions. Firstly, the prohibition on pronouncing the name of God, and secondly, the covenant of alliance between God and His people. These two aspects of the relationship between humans and God may appear contradictory. However, it is suggested that these lists of anthroponyms, which serve as the starting point of the research, may help reconcile this contradiction. The faithful, unable to directly invoke the name of God, can instead invoke Him through the names of His sons. This is because the 'Holy Spirit' is believed to have been infused by God into the spirit of Adam, and subsequently transmitted from one generation to another, dwelling within the spirits of those descended from Adam. The paper concludes by proposing the hypothesis that these extensive series of anthroponyms constitute the formula that enables the naming of the unutterable, representing an infinite periphrasis for the unpronounceable name of God. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to analyze the role of proper nouns in generating wordplays within French trench journals. Following a brief introduction to the corpus and the connection between proper nouns and wordplay, we present several examples to illustrate the frequent use of puns in these publications, intended to entertain and divert the soldiers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper delves into the intricate connection between names and identity in the migrant novel Fiamme in Paradiso by Abdel Malek Smari. Within the context of migration, the protagonist Karim undergoes a symbolic journey, adopting various identities, changing his name as a means of concealment during challenging times, and even being bestowed new names by Italian individuals. By examining this symbolic trajectory through the lens of onomastics, we aim to unravel the significance of names and naming in the migration process. Additionally, an interview with the author will provide further insights into the author's intentions and perspectives on the relevance of names in the novel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper delves into the significance of anthroponyms in Katja Petrowskaja's literary debut, Vielleicht Esther. Geschichten. In this book, the Ukrainian novelist writes in German about her family's history, engaging with postmemorial research that problematizes the processes of memory and identity construction. Proper names play a crucial role in Petrowskaja's exploration as she seeks to uncover her ancestors' history using scarce documents, fragmented recollections, and sparse notes. These proper names serve a primary documentary function, affirming the existence of individuals who have often been entirely erased from the annals of history. By analyzing Petrowskaja's writing and considering her unique approach to postmemorial discourse, which embraces her diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds, we observe how proper names assume a central position in her narrative journey through her family's history. She endeavors to uncover what might have been, delving into the realm of possibilities rather than focusing solely on what actually transpired. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the portrayal of significant anthroponyms in both the initial Italian translation (1968) and a recent retranslation (2022) of Witold Gombrowicz's short story titled "Biesiada u hrabiny Kotłubaj" (literally: "The Banquet at Countess Kotłubaj's"). Originally written in 1928, the story features proper names that conceal humorous puns, alluding to the characters' social background or containing polysemic, primarily erotic references. Through a comparative analysis of the two translations, we uncover the changes that have unfolded over half a century in terms of translation strategies, readers' preferences and competencies, and the role of translated texts within the target culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay highlights the longstanding tradition of associating members of academies with names that reflect their specific qualities and roles within the organization. This practice has been deeply ingrained in the life of academies since their modern reestablishment. Exploring the "institutional" history of academies within Italian literary culture is a valuable research endeavor that focuses on the significance of academic naming and its central role in defining identity. The paper particularly emphasizes a significant scholarly work from the early eighteenth century, Giacinto Gimma's Idea della storia dell'Italia letterata, which serves as a precursor to Italian literary history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Starting from the analysis of a cycle of sonnets neglected by criticism (Rime 126-130), this paper aims to demonstrate the meaning of the private themes in Bembo's lyrics with regard to the historical context of the first thirty years of the XVI century, in connection with the uncertainty generated by the Italian Wars as well as with the role of intellectuals and writers in Renaissance society. All of the texts are tied to a precise moment, the year 1526: the extremes of the sequence are two civic-political sonnets, addressed to Clemente VII and his datary Giberti, while the central texts are dedicated to the theme of friendship and to la Morosina's illness. The series appears particularly uneven, even more so because of its position just behind the ending of the amorous canzoniere and before the spiritual texts; however, the sonnets are bound together by the theme of fortune and history, in which is rooted Bembo's idea of the love lyric. The paper proves that this thematic thread hints at an articulated discourse about poetic autonomy, grounded in the Latin classics, which represent the true substrate of Bembo's poetry. The study of the sources and of the macrotext confirms the importance of Propertius and Horace in the Rime: specifically, in the Venusian poet Bembo identified a point of reference for the definition of the writers' position vis-à-vis power and for the idea of constructing a monumental work, capable of making eternal not only the memory of its author but also that of his friends, lovers, and lords who are involved in the verses; in Propertius, instead, he saw an example for the treatment of the amorous theme in poetic discourse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Starting from two recent publications on Theophilus Folengo, «O macaroneam musae quae funditis artem» and the tenth issue of the journal Quaderni folenghiani, the paper takes stock of the latest advances in Folengo studies and on new perspectives in this research field. Specifically, the article investigates the interpretations of Baldus and the studies of the different redactions of the macaronic poem, such as those by Mario Chiesa and Luca Curti, the latter of which focuses on the third redaction of the Macaronee. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the names given to theatrical characters representing «the parasite» in several vernacular translations of Plautus' comedies (reference is also made to works by Terence) and in a number of Neolatin and Italian comedies and tragicomedies between the sixteenth and seventeenth century. The first part looks at Greek and Latin sources, and the Humanistic and Renaissance developments of the name Pamphagus, while the second considers non-Italian works with diverse dramaturgical features, in order to illustrate the typological and onomastic differences of the characters, whose names naturally follow the outcomes of the articulated creative processes of reuse and adaptation of classical models to contemporary historical situations and events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper concerns one of Collodi's many reflexions on proper names and on the importance of their choice; in particular, the developments and consequences of the attribution of inappropriate names are analyzed here. Collodi made the inadequate name a recurring subject in many of his writings, a comic topos that was repeated and refined through the years. The Florentine writer satirized in particular names chosen to convey a racist message, as well as those whose choice was influenced by literary and melodramatic fashions, in contrast with more traditional names now considered unpleasant or even 'common'. Collodi hits out at such fads and artificial attitudes as found in the snobbery typical of the nascent bourgeoisie, in its attempt to rid itself of what might be seen as pre-unification provincialism. He even brought his own satirical vision to bear on embarrassing names at the very beginning of Pinocchio, with that amused, paradoxical onomastic decision made by Geppetto in endowing his puppet with a name chosen because, he says, he knew a family of Pinocchi where everyone was well-off and the richest among them was a beggar!. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The world of Hoffmann's fairy tale, The Strange Child, is divided into the spheres of everyday life and the Supernatural. Whereas the names of the first sphere are well-chosen, normal ones, supernatural beings either have no names at all or have names which are in some way uncanny. According to Freud 'the uncanny' is related to strangeness. In this paper I analyze first the names of the everyday world and subsequently those of the supernatural sphere. I show that the most uncanny name of this tale, Pepser, fits in with Freud's theory that the uncanny is that class of the terrifying which at first glance looks like something long known to us, something familiar. Another aspect of the uncanny is that it is a quality of something that ought to have remained hidden and secret and yet comes to light. This quality too can be identified in the name Pepser. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many characters in Theodor Fontane's novels bear inadequate names, i.e. names indicating a contradiction with a particular feature of the character in question. Such a contradiction may be based on his/her physical appearance, behaviour or profession. Onymic inadequacy can be either semantically motivated or dependent on the socio-cultural background. In the first case, inadequate names are meaningful names («speaking names» or redende Namen) pointing to a quality the literary character does not possess. In the second case, inadequate names are antithetic and consist of a sophisticated first name and an ordinary surname. The present paper deals with the coinage and function of thirteen inadequate names of characters in Fontane's novels Irrungen, Wirrungen, Frau Jenny Treibel, Effi Briest and Der Stechlin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The character of Juduška, the protagonist of The Golovlyov Family (1880), a novel by Russian writer Saltykov-Ŝedrin, is an interesting example of renaming. Juduška is not, in fact, only a nickname (made up of the name Juda, Judah, and the term duška, 'pleasant, gentle person'), tainted by suggestions of duplicity, deception and betrayal; it almost immediately becomes the name that designates his identity. Juduška conceals the original Porfirij, a solemn, royal pre-name, an allusion to the colour purple, an alienating name, and is completed by a second epithet, krovopivuška, 'leech'. This paper aims to investigate the functional relations between the names of Porfirij-Juduška, his actions and his destiny in the microcosm he represents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper outlines the Neapolitan-Friderician School of Linguistics, focusing on the establishment of the subject as it was first taught in Italian universities and, in particular, at the University of Naples. A brief profile of all lecturers who taught linguistic subjects (i.e. Comparative Languages and Literatures, Grammar or Comparative History of Classical and Neo-Latin Languages, Sanskrit) is provided, tackling their main research interests; where significant, pupils who brought forward research in the spirit of the School are also listed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among the linguistic societies of the XXth century, Giacomo Devoto’s Circolo Linguistico Fiorentino represents one of the most longeval, rich, and peculiar institutions of its kind. Based on the fundamental values of dialogue, mutual tolerance, and cultural liberalism, from 1945 onwards it would have gathered national and international scholars between the most influential of their time, pursuing its activities up to the present day. This paper aims to reconstruct the history of this institution, tracing it back from the original idea proposed by Carlo Alberto Mastrelli, and to analyze its fundamental dynamics and cultural heritage, considering oral testimonies and unpublished documents1 from a particular session held by Tullio De Mauro in 1963. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a synthesis of the most significant paths and problems of research in Italy, in the second half of the twentieth Century, seen through an autobiographical testimony. We speak of internal changes, due to the evolution of methodologies: the renewal of tools and methods, after the autarchic parenthesis of the first half of the Century; the intrusion of information technology into the organization and analysis of linguistic data; the openness to the problems of a rapidly changing society, with the sociolinguistic approach; the contrasts and mediations between structuralism and historicism. But we also speak, at the same time, of the brakes and conditioning to research by external factors, mainly attributable to a strong management of power and the consequent downsizing of the role of free research, accompanied by the deleterious subordination of research to logic of the market. Finally, the autobiographical perspective highlights the central role of Tullio De Mauro in the renewal of linguistics studies in Italy and in the stubborn persistence of a democratic and inclusive vision even in times of democratic crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an overall picture of the linguistic studies carried out at the Istituto di Glottologia of the University of Pisa, from the middle of the 20th century to the present day. Tristano Bolelli is regarded as the leading figure of the Pisan studies. He worked from an early age to develop linguistic research at the University of Pisa with an original and broad vision, and an eye toward the future. Bolelli taught three generations of linguists in Pisa, whose profiles are synthetically drawn here with reference to their main research areas. Over time, the Pisan linguistic studies have shown both continuity in the study of historical change in Indo-European languages together with the deepening of topics connected to the different theoretical frameworks which have recently emerged. Those who trained in Pisa, and have subsequently become University Professors, adopted Bolelli’s scientific approach, characterised by a great meth- odological rigour, a true hallmark of the Pisan linguistic studies. Additionally, the breadth of the Pisan scholars’ research fields clearly demonstrates the other distinctive feature of Linguistics in Pisa: great freedom in making choices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims at describing the magisterium and the scientific legacy of Walter Belardi (1923-2008), professor of historical linguistics at Napoli-Orientale first (since 1956) and then at Roma Sapienza (1964-1998). After recalling the scientific relationship between Belardi and his teacher Antonino Pagliaro (1898-1973), the article focuses on Belardi’s research trajectories, from Indo-European to Iranistics, from general linguistics to classical and romance studies. The article reviews the profiles of Belardi’s many pupils across essentially three generations of professors, all of whom focused on themes inherited from their master. These were explored primarily in light of the common philological-textual approach that is typical, more generally, of the so-called “Roman school of linguistics”. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]