Mother Tongues and Other Reflections on the Italian Language by Giulio Lepschy (review)

Abstract

1068 Reviews giorno, and ones produced furtherafield, such as the Canadian L'arvista dl'academia, concentrating mainly on Piedmontese linguistics through the medium of the dialect. In Canada too, as well as in the United States, apart from the rich selection of more traditional periodicals, we have those devoted to Italo-Canadian and Italo-American culture: ltalian Canadiana, ltalian Americana, and Voices in ltalian Americana. A small criticism: I feltthe need for a full index of all the periodicals mentioned. University College London Laura Lepschy Mother Tongues and Other Reflections on theltalian Language. By Giulio Lepschy. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. 2002. x+148 pp. ?15. ISBN 0-80203729 -1. Mother Tongues and Other Reflections on the ltalian Language is a collection of six scholarly essays by Giulio Lepschy, including the contents ofthe Goggio Public Lec? tures which the author delivered at the University of Toronto in the autumn of 2000. In his elegant though unpretentious style, Lepschy analyses some fundamental issues in the history of the ltalian language and culture. In Chapter 1 Lepschy considers the notion of 'mother tongue' vis-d-vis that of 'li? terary language' in both diachronic and theoretical terms. Before becoming a mother tongue, ltalian existed for centuries as a literary language. Lepschy compares its his? tory with that of Latin and Hebrew, and raises a number of interesting questions on the birth and death of languages, and on the concept of native competence. Chapter 2 is concerned with linguistic variety in Italy, the surprising vitality of the dialects, and possible future developments in the light of recent changes in ltalian society and culture. The author addresses the controversial issue ofthe legislationon the protection of the minoranze linguistichestoriche. Even though the practical consequences of this legislation remain to be seen, Lepschy expresses a hope that itwill contribute to help the communities concerned and to spread information on their culture. The much-discussed topic of italiano popolare is revisited in a historical perspec? tive in Chapter 3. For decades popular ltalian was unitary in its aims, though not in its features, which were principally derived from the only idiom mastered by native speakers of dialect. Lepschy points out how the influence of the mass media, in the last fiftyyears, has resulted in the rise of a truly unitary and popular code: the everyday language ofthe whole population. In Chapter 4, a proposal is put forward on a relatively obscure aspect of ltalian phonology, secondary stress, in the light of the correlation between the structure of lexical compounds, main and secondary stress or prominence, and the neutralization (or lack thereof) of the phonological opposition between mid-high [e]~[o] and midlow [s]~[d]. Probably the most compelling theme ofMother Tongues is Lepschy's passionate de? fence of the relatedness of literature and linguistics. In the opening pages the author declares: 'It is my belief that, although the two approaches, the linguistic and the literary, are distinct, they can only gain from being linked, and in some cases they inevitably suffer from being kept apart' (p. 3). This belief finds its most eloquent and convincing expression in the final two essays. Chapter 5 is a lucid and detailed analysis of La Veniexiana, a Venetian play which the author considers to be 'in many ways the most striking [. . .] ofthe ltalian Renaissance' (p. 93). The uncovering of a crucial linguistic detail sheds new light on the role of the female characters in the play: the women are those who take the initiative, and thus the traditional gender roles are turned upside down. Only specialist knowledge of Old Venetian has allowed the discovery of this detail, and, as a consequence, the appreciation of the true cul? tural significance of the play. Lepschy's reinterpretation of La Veniexiana is inspired MLR, 99.4, 2004 1069 by a comment by Carlo Dionisotti, one of the greatest Italian literary and linguistic scholars of all time. It is to this figure that the author dedicates a superb memoir (the final chapter), combining personal and professional detail, and expressing great admiration for an extraordinary scholar and an uncompromisingman. Both the student of Italian and the specialist in linguistics or literature will find this book highly...