Abstract
Increasingly, contemporary Italian cinema reflects ironically on linguistic differences between Italians, a feature which serves as a pedagogical tool which offers spectators advice on how to express themselves. This article discusses some examples of this strategy drawing on contemporary comedies. It argues that contemporary cinema constructively reflects on language because it often focuses on the relation between norm and use, thus developing new expressive means.A reflection on the difference between descriptive and normative attitudes towards contemporary usage of the Italian language encourages audiences to tackle deep-rooted linguistic conservatism. At the same time, this type of reflection serves as a warning to speakers of the risks of arbitrary conclusions on language use. Film can thus act as a tool for language teaching for non-Italian speakers, and a good starting point for native speakers for critical reflection on how Italian is evolving. From a cinematic perspective, meta-linguistic interference momentarily breaks the fictional dimension and adds to the cognitive function of the film.
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