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Among the various relationships Leonardo Sciascia cultivated with Italian publishers, his connection with the Laterza publishing house in Bari stands out, notably due to its association with the publication of his initial venture into prose writing: Le parrocchie di Regalpetra. Drawing from this relationship, which has been recently documented through the publication of correspondence between Vito Laterza and Sciascia, my paper delves into the meticulous exchange between author and publisher. Specifically, it focuses on the editorial evolution of the work, examining various paratextual elements, ranging from the toponym chosen to signify the title, to the alignment of the title with the cover's iconography, and the overall layout of the mise en page. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper delves into the interplay between naming, Deep Time, and Deep Space (i.e., spacetime on a cosmogeological scale and from an evolutionary perspective) in the latest compositions by Italian poets Bruno Galluccio, Antonella Anedda, Andrea De Alberti, Lorenzo Vilei, Luigi Severi, and Franco Buffoni. I will examine the various strategies employed to evoke the incomprehensible depths of spacetime within poetic texts: firstly, the theme of the unnameable (explored by Anedda and Galluccio), followed by the anthropomorphization of evolutionary processes through the use of proper names like Lucy and Luca (as seen in De Alberti and Vilei's works). By comparing these compositions with other contemporary poetry collections, I will identify a recurring pattern, discernible in De Alberti, Anedda, Galluccio, and Enrico Testa's works (all published by Einaudi), characterized by alliterations and the compression of the macroscopic into the microscopic, accentuated by vast differences in scale. Lastly, I will highlight a distinct approach: the personification of celestial bodies and their names (referred to here as cosmonyms) by Buffoni and Severi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to delve into a relatively uncharted territory within scholarly inquiry: the realm of sound-symbolic literary onomastics. It meticulously scrutinizes 100 names and nicknames spanning from the 18th to the 21st century across diverse textual genres, with a specific focus on those found in children's language or texts, as well as dialect varieties. The objective is to establish a classification system for the names and nicknames of literary characters, facilitating the identification of their motivational factors, formation mechanisms, and predominant linguistic structures employed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The translation of proper names (PN) in literary works poses significant theoretical and practical challenges for researchers. This article presents a case study focusing on the comparative analysis of 13 different translations of the Lithuanian national poem Metai ('The Seasons') by Kristijonas Donelaitis, a seminal text in 18th-century Lithuanian literature that profoundly influenced the development of the literary language. The poem is notable for its extensive use of proper names. In this paper, a typology of PNs is proposed for translation analysis, categorized based on parameters such as authorship, intentionality, transparency of the PN in the source language, and the potential presence of equivalents in the target language. The findings indicate that translators' choices, while diverse, are influenced by the type of PN being translated. The efficacy of this analytical model could be further tested by applying it to translations of other literary works in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on translating the anthroponymic repertoire of Adam Mickiewicz's Polish national epic, Pan Tadeusz. The research examines how proper names and nicknames serve as essential lexical elements, fulfilling various functions such as character delineation and the transmission of identity and cultural values. The objective is to spotlight the strategies employed in translating these anthroponyms, illustrating how they influence the perception of Mickiewicz's poem in Italy and reflect broader trends in onomastic translation within the contemporary Italian literary landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper delves into the realm of onomastics within the context of migration by analyzing Shi Yang Shi's autobiographical novel, Cuore di Seta. Through the protagonist's journey from China to Italy, the narrative unveils the profound significance of names in the process of identity reconstruction, as experienced through memory. The Chinese onomastic system is carefully elucidated for readers, providing insight into its cultural nuances. Throughout the story, the evolution of the protagonist is mirrored in the evolution of his nicknames, which reflect both personal growth and societal challenges encountered along the way. As the protagonist grapples with conflicts between Confucian traditions and his dual identity as a Chinese migrant in Italy, the narrative chronicles his quest for self-discovery. Ultimately, he embraces his plural nature by employing the act of renaming as a symbolic gesture of acceptance and integration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to illustrate the evolution of the name 'Chominowa' within Polish collective consciousness. Initially mentioned in a poem by Zuzanna Ginczanka as the woman who reported the poetess to the Nazi authorities in 1942, this name gradually came to symbolize all Poles who collaborated with the German occupiers. Its evolution into an antonomasia reached its zenith in 2020 with the unveiling of Adam Rzepecki's art installation - a yellow neon composition featuring the name 'Chominowa'. The controversies surrounding this installation can be attributed to the tabooization of Polish collective memory, which often glosses over the darker aspects of history such as collaborationism, in an attempt to portray a purified national identity free from culpability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Analisi e Diritto is the property of Edizioni ETS s.r.l. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Feminist culture has been intensively dealing with the semantic density and profound anthropological value of Greek tragedy, offering several critical interpretations and creative rewritings. This paper analyzes two writers that belong to different phases of feminist theory: Hélène Cixous, philosopher, writer and translator, represents the so-called theory of sexual difference and dealt with Aeschylus’ Oresteia from various perspectives, shared in Arianne Mnouchkine’s revolutionary mise-en-scene. Kae Tempest stands for contemporary post-feminist queer thinking: the recent Paradise is an innovative re-interpretation of Sophocles’ Philoctetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building on an insight by Kenneth Dover, this paper proposes a comparative reading of the finale of Aeschylus’ Eumenides and that of Aristophanes’ Frogs: in both texts, a torch-lit procession accompanies a character (the Semnai in the tragedy, Aeschylus in the comedy) who must ensure the well-being of the city. In this performative, structural, dramaturgical and thematic similarity, we find Aristophanes’ intention to revive not only Aeschylus as a character, but also Aeschylus as a playwright, espousing a qualifying point of his ideology, the call for the city harmony. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyzes Pier Paolo Pasolini’s Medea (1969), starting from a comparison with Pasolini’s different drafts and with Euripides’ hypotext. The analysis highlights the fundamental opposition between two antithetical civilisations – one, from which Medea comes, archaic, ‘barbaric’, defined by sacredness and ritual; the other, to which Medea arrives, marked by rationality and the negation of the sacred. This duality deflagrates in Medea’s dreams, Pasolini’s true great innovation with respect to the monologues of Euripides’ tragedy: Pasolini’s Medea arrives at the project (which is also desire) of revenge through contact with the Sun, a figure to which Pasolini gives much more space as the fulcrum of the eternal circuit of death and rebirth, and who makes vengeance somewhat human, guiding Medea towards the re-appropriation of her own roots and of the archaic civilisation from which she had distanced herself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to reconsider and reassess the character of Deianeira in Sophocles’ Trachiniae. Despite her bashful and elusive personality, she ranks among Sophocles’ heroes and heroines standing out as noble characters, who are totally committed in achieving their goals, and are destined for isolation, mistake and self-punishment. Beyond the forces at work in other tragedies, such as the inescapability of the fate and the illusory nature of human condition, Women of Trachis is characterized by the power of eros in its most devastating, brutal, and even wildest aspects. Such violent power, even in the form of sexual assault, struck and persecuted Deianeira from her early age, causing deep trauma. Not only does she yearn for the distant and innocent age when she was a girl, but she also seems anchored there due to some traits of her character. One feature makes her special among the tragic heroines. Her tragedy is full of grief but does not go through rage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The defence of Athens by king Erechtheus against an invasion led by Eumolpus, son of Poseidon and commander of a Thracian army, was the theme of Euripides’ Erechtheus, staged around 420 BC and preserved only in fragments. In this paper, I suggest that there were two versions of the invasion myth, and that in Erechtheus Euripides made use of both. The poet retains the central idea of the original myth, namely that the city’s salvation was due to a female figure. In the myth it was the altruistic suicide of the parthenos Aglaurus, in the tragedy the decision of queen Praxithea to sacrifice her own daughter. From the more recent version of the myth Euripides draws the combination of the conflict between mortals with one between gods (Poseidon challenges Athena as the patron goddess of the Athenians; Eumolpus’ attack is motivated by his intention to replace Athena with Poseidon). From the recent version of the myth Euripides also takes the motif of the three dead daughters: the suicide of a parthenos, present in the original myth, is extended to the two girls not immolated by Praxithea, and Aglaurus’ heroic motivation is transformed into a sentimental one (the two girls want to follow their dead sister). The heroine Aglaurus serves Euripides as a model for his Praxithea (as saviour of the homeland and as the first priestess, instituted by Athena herself) and for the suicidal sisters. Staged after the first decade of the Peloponnesian War, therefore, Euripides’ Erechtheusthematises the fact that war – any war – involves everyone, even women, even girls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper offers an analysis of a passage of act 2 of Vincenzo Bell)ini’s Norma, tracing it back to Seneca’s Medea (ll. 932-3, 949-50). By means of a comparative reading of different treatments of Medea’s myth, the paper shows how the different narrative, ethical, and characterological context of Bellini’s Norma radically changed the specific and dramatic meaning of Medea›s original lines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with a long-standing critical question: how close are Senecan tragedies to the rest of Seneca’s corpus, especially his philosophical prose? The question will be answered with a special focus on the role of logos, or ratio, within the tragic action: are Seneca’s characters rational? Or are they totally controlled by passions? By means of an analysis of some of Seneca’s main characters – Medea, Clytmaestra, Atreus, Phaedra – the paper argues for a dramatic opposition between ratio – and voluntas – and passions, and it aims to demonstrate that this same opposition is central to Seneca’s whole philosophical production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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]

Copyright of Nuova Rivista di Letteratura Italiana is the property of Edizioni ETS s.r.l. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper aims to explore the political and ideological power relationships in Aristophanes’ Knights, the comedy which tackles the problems of a feeble democracy (literally ‘people power’), easily manipulated by demagogues, through an allegorical identification with a private house and its owner. Demos, an old Athenian, finds himself deprived of the government of his house by Paphlagon, a treacherous and overbearing slave, just as, in Aristophanes’ eyes, the Athenian people were currently stripped of their sovereignty by a demagogue having the unmistakable features of Cleon. Liberation from such slave-demagogue is only possible by replacing him with someone even worse, who adopts Paphlagon’s same weapons – flattery and slander – in an even more radical way. This paper fully investigates the rhetorical and discursive mechanisms triggered by the close agones between Paphlagon and his antagonist, which disclose the illusory nature of democracy. Moreover, it offers an in-depth analysis of the even more ambiguous and complex issue of the restoration of both family and state. As long as individual and social happiness – i.e. the final goal in Aristophanic comedies – is concerned, it would not be conceivable to rely on the worst of the two opponents. The dramatic action thus involves a radical transformation of Demos himself, who recovers his sovereignty thanks to a miraculous rejuvenation through a space-time shift that entails a return to the glorious past of Athens during the Persian wars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Nuova Rivista di Letteratura Italiana is the property of Edizioni ETS s.r.l. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Nuova Rivista di Letteratura Italiana is the property of Edizioni ETS s.r.l. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

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]

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 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 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]

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]

The paper analyses Vittorio Gassman’s and Luigi Squarzina’s Tieste, staged in Roma in 1953. By means of personal memories, epistles, and chronicles of the time it pieces together the fundamental moments and the cultural background leading to the staging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyses the reception of Seneca’s works and biography in 13th- and 14th-century Padua, focusing especially on the role played by Lovato Lovati and Albertino Mussato. It argues that Mussato was pivotal in the reception of Seneca as a tragic poet. Both Mussato’s Senece vita et mores and Ecerinis emphasised Seneca’s worth as an author of tragedies, starting a new rise of the fortune of Seneca’s plays. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyses the onomastic variations of the main characters of El cielo árido, a novel by Emiliano Monge. During the course of the novel, the protagonist - Germán Alcántara Carnero - changes his name with the changing of the events that he becomes involved in; at the same time and with similar dynamics, the names of men and women whose existence is linked to that of the protagonist also change. For the creation of these names - which we might call 'biographical' - Monge resorts to audacious univerbation procedures, leading to fanciful syntagmatic names. By analysing these names, the paper will identify the morphological and motivational processes that led to their formation, as well as their translation in the Italian version of the novel (Cielo arido). On the basis of the peculiarities that emerge, the analysis will highlight how Monge's naming processes configure, within the fictional onomastics, a sui generis typology of 'speaking names': namely descriptive names that vary with the changing of the events and roles in which the characters are involved, and therefore narrative names (or narrative allonyms), which replace and alternate with each other and distributed functionally throughout the narration so as to amplify the reader's empathic processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Analisi e Diritto is the property of Edizioni ETS s.r.l. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper deals with a Greek item which played an important role in at least three domains: philosophy, rhetoric and grammar: autoteleia, which is traditionally translated by completeness and which is regularly present in the various and traditional definitions of sentence, always supposed to be 'complete in itself'. The paper browses through a lot of occurrences of the Greek terms belonging to the lexical family of autoteleia, mainly the adjective autotele:s, which were conceptualised first in philosophy by the Stoics to caracterize the logical proposition. It appears that more than completeness, autoteleia means autonomy and self-sufficiency of a proposition. It is exactly what is at stake in the grammatical use of these terms, particularly in Apollonius Dyscolus' works, where it appears that, far from being a fuzzy idea, the notion of self-sufficiency plays a precise and essential role in the syntactic description of the sentence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper conducts a comparative analysis of Aristophanes' last extant play, Wealth, and Bertolt Brecht's The good person of Szechwan (1940). Both Chremylos and Shen Te cope with a similar problem, the relation between ethics and wealth: why do good people strive, whereas unjust people get richer and richer? In both plays, the question has to do with gods, and with an economic form of theodicy: if the gods exist, why are just people poor? In The good person, Shen Te tries to observe the gods' commandments, but finds out that those commandments are at odds with the economic structure of the world; in Wealth, Chremylos needs to replace Zeus with Ploutos - the god of wealth - in order to re-establish the correct relationship between justice and money. The two plays, thus, share a fundamental materialistic approach towards religion and theodicy. However, the paper will try to show that they come to quite opposite conclusions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sophocles' pious attitude towards gods and religion is a scholarly commonplace, leading the vast majority of scholars to an optimistic interpretation of Sophoclean theodicy. However, it must be observed that gods' intervention is frequently shown as ambiguous, or even openly questioned. This paper offers a general reassessment of Sophocles' theodicy, by means of a close reading of several passages from the Sophoclean corpus. Particular attention will be paid to Ajax: the paper will show that Athena's argumentative and discursive role in the dialogue with Odysseus is comparable to that of Agamemnon, the most discredited character in the whole play. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Nuova Rivista di Letteratura Italiana is the property of Edizioni ETS s.r.l. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

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 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]

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]

The paper, given at the Dioniso conference in 2020, on the occasion of the sixtieth year of INDA conferences, reviews the salient moments in the tradition of the conferences organized by INDA (Istituto Nazionale del Dramma Antico) in Siracusa, since 1960 through 2020. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper aims at analysing the treatment of time throughout Aeschylus’ Oresteia, showing that the trilogy contains a much higher number of infractions of linear time. The chain on killings within Agamemnon’s genos is explicitly shown by Aeschylus as potentially infinite – which is a major threat to the dramatic meaning-making of the trilogy. The finale of the play will try to offer a solution to this ideological and dramaturgical problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with Aristotle's definition of arthron in the XX chapter of the Poetics. This definition has always been considered as an unsolvable dilemma. Starting with a detailed analysis of the Greek text, and of the various attempts to make sense of it, the paper attempts to read it in an innovative way. The XX chapter of the Poetics is not a classification of parts of speech, as it is usually considered; we have to read it in light of Aristotle's biological program. Arthron (as well as syndesmos, syllabé) are biological terms. In linguistics as well as in biology arthron is thus a 'joint': it has nothing to do with the 'article' in later grammatical sense. In this light, the paper offers a new textual conjecture for the first example of arthron in the Poetics. [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]

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