La variazione lessicale nel Milione

The study aims to demonstrate the productivity of the concept of linguistic interference in the analysis of the lexical variation in the Devisement du Monde/Milione, with particular reference to Ramusio’s edition. First, linguistic interference has a textual utility and helps examine, from a different perspective, the problem of Ramusio’s sources. Secondly, the analysis of lexical variation serves for methodological purposes, since it shows not only the results of Ramusio’s action, but also the outcomes of linguistic interferences dating back to previous tradition. Finally, the wide variety of examples offers a pretext for more general considerations about the relationship between copy and translation, formal and content mistakes, monogenetic linguistic contact and polygenetic cognitive operations.