The analysis of several regionalisms of German origin from two neighbouring localities in Bukovina – Frătăuții Vechi and Costișa – offers a clearer picture of their history in the context of socio-economic evolution. Unlike works with broader objectives, observing the linguistic facts in smaller areas highlights the stages of transformation at the level of form or meaning. Language samples are based on direct contact with speakers within an extended period, and this explains the attestation of still unknown words, such as craval ‘noisy, scandal’, durc ‘entirely, completely’, glanțpapir ‘sandpaper’, hurhaus ‘depraved house’, țacumpac ʻ[to be] immediately at [someone’s] disposalʼ. The term durc is noteworthy not only because it comes from a particle but also as it preserves different meanings. It should be noted that the inventory of terms does not entirely overlap in the two neighbouring localities and that there are significant differences in meaning and form. A clarifying example is the term fană, with the etymological meaning ‘flag’ in Frătăuții Vechi in 1965, but absent today; instead, the term is in use in Costișa, but with a different meaning, i.e. ‘fanion, boundary sign’ or ‘scarecrow’. At the phonetic level, the variants șuflad(ă) (in Frătăuții Vechi, including people who originated here but later settled in Costișa) and șuflag (in Costișa) are noteworthy. The stability of the variants shows that the change (“evolution”) of the final consonant from -d to -g (by changing the place of articulation) did not occur during the loanword existence in Romanian but when the word was borrowed. The reference to the dialect of the German colonists made it possible to accurately indicate the formal evolution in the case of the noun chervai/ chirvai, explaining it through the dialectal form Keerwei and not from the literary form Kirchweih. At the semantic level, one could observe that the loanword could evolve towards a synonymous opposition in relation to the term it competes with (e.g., șuflă ‘shovel with a rectangular tip’ vs lopată ‘shovel with a round tip’) or that it could preserve either the primary meaning, or the familiar one (e.g., danț ‘dance’ in Frătăuții Vechi, but ‘quarrel, scandal’ in Costișa). The semantic changes based on the syntagmatic structures from which the borrowed terms originate are also present: e.g., ganț ‘new’ from the phrase ganz neu (“completely new”), ștoc ‘new’ from the phrase neu, aus dem Stock (“new, [taken] out of stock”). A monographic approach to the entire linguistic area of Bukovina or only to its southern area (from Romania) could provide various frameworks for better understanding its linguistic phenomena and various features of social life in this area.

Ion Băieșu’s plays are an inexhaustible source of joviality, harmoniously combined with a severe satire of contemporary society and the analysis of the spatial arrangement in his texts opens another perspective on his theater. Insufficiently explored and sometimes reduced to an easy humor that places him on the borderline between grotesque comedy and buffoonery, Băieșu constantly offers us the spectacle of worlds that close and open according to his will, revealing multiple meanings. That is why, starting from the philosophy of closed doors, which marks the destiny of man in the communist society and continuing with the possible opening, expression of a chance of rehabilitation, my article tries to emphasize that Băieșu's theater remains a metaphor of human being’s pendulum between being and having, between being able and being denied. Moreover, as demonstrated by the analysis of the play The Healer, or as rendered in Chițimia, the intermediate space no longer offers the possibility of escape. It imposes an incriminating transparency or suffocates by invading the other's universe. The opening in between could have been a chance in a universe that could have a touch of the natural, the normality that they have long dreamed of. On the contrary, it also means contamination, sickness, the aggression of the outside that floods the inside. Subjected to this pressure, the human being finds himself wandering in a confused and absent world. The closure creates another drama, that of Queen Lear, who finds herself rejected by her daughters and unable to find her way into their hearts. The opening in between could have been a chance in a universe that could have a touch of the natural, the normality that they have long dreamed of. Thus, starting from the mathematics of any well delimited space, the arrangement of geometric lines in literature is realized according to the same principles of the search for balance, for the inner harmony of the figure, which requires a laborious and clear demonstration.

For the first time six Germanic languages (Danish, Dutch, German, English, Norwegian and Swedish) are being taught together, multilingually and plurilingually, in 30-hour courses and in seminars. This paper provides a description of the course’s structure and of its methodological underpinnings, as well as a walkthrough of two didactic units, with their relative exercises, so that readers can do IC lessons with their own students. During the course, students reach an A2 level in each language in receptive skills, as well as vocabulary and grammar. As no materials existed to teach these languages together, all activities were created by the authors. Each day focuses on a different language, with plurilingual follow-up exercises. Lessons are scaffolded by applying concepts from diverse methodological fields; from among these, the authors have identified eight elements as essential for creating effective Germanic IC courses. We provide a module of activities related to Art and one based around National anthems & European values for readers to implement. Participants also learn to manage plurilingual conversations: interactions wherein each participant speaks their own tongue. Termed Interproduction, these activities involve multilingual games and role plays in different settings; students acquire new strategies to successfully communicate and solve problems with speakers of languages they do not know. The role plays are enacted in the native languages of the participants, which are commonly not Germanic languages; past sessions have included speakers of such diverse languages as Bulgarian, French, Hungarian, Hebrew and Bengali. IC broadens learners’ fields of action. In these courses, languages which they had previously thought of as distant or inaccessible became approachable, learnable and doable. Thus, countries which they had previously not taken into consideration, after the IC course became viable: for Erasmus, for travel, and for work. Furthermore, the Germanic IC courses promote Europe’s linguistic diversity. As all language systems are equally prized, English becomes no longer students’ lingua franca, but one communicative tool among many at their disposal. Finally, throughout the course, participants break down their biases and misconceptions about other languacultures, jointly forging a future that is inclusive for all people.

Romeo Lovera (1861–1922) holds a prominent place in the renewal of modern language teaching in Italy between the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when he embraced and spread the ideas of Wilhelm Viëtor, Otto Jespersen, and Paul-Edouard Passy, the proponents of the “direct method”. A translator and author of textbooks for teaching various languages (Italian, German, French, Modern Greek), he was able to consistently apply the new techniques only in the three volumes of his Corso di francese a base intuitive (Intuitive French Course) which are still the subject of in-depth analysis by experts and historians of French language pedagogy. He also wrote a Grammatica della lingua rumena (Grammar of the Romanian Language), which, despite the errors and imperfections in the text, achieved a surprising success (three editions and two reprints). However, he deserves to be remembered for his intense efforts to promote Romanian culture in Italy, a culture with which he became acquainted during a stay in Brăila, where he spent two years teaching French at the “Nicolae Bălcescu” Scientific High School.

Theatre plays a central role in the life and work of Benjamin Fundoianu, also known as Benjamin Fondane, permeating every phase of his literary production. Despite this persistent and passionate interest, Fundoianu’s theatrical production in the Romanian language remains largely unpublished. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive overview of his theatrical activity in Romania, highlighting the key creative moments: from his early works to theatrical criticism and experimentation with avant-garde theatre. In his early phase, Fundoianu devoted himself to translating and adapting theatrical texts, such as the play Funigeilor, inspired by Legenda Funigeilor by Iosif and Anghel, as well as to creating three original plays: Revista «cahalandala», Spitalul Israelit, and Tăgăduința lui Petru. Simultaneously, he engaged in intense theatrical criticism, characterized by a polemical and incisive style through which he denounced the structural deficiencies of Romanian theatre at the time: the fragility of its dramatic and scenic tradition, the limitations of its technical resources, and the superficial engagement between actors and audience. Nevertheless, his writings also express admiration for authors such as Caragiale and Ronetti-Roman. As highlighted by critic Mircea Martin, Fundoianu’s theatrical vision is structured on three levels: a critical assessment of the contemporary theatrical scene, a personal conception of theatre, and a concrete program of action. The latter materialized in the autumn of 1922, in Bucharest, with the foundation of Insula, an avant-garde theatre project inspired by Jacques Copeau’s Théâtre du Vieux Colombier. The group’s goal, outlined in its programmatic manifesto, was to “purify” theatre through a reform focusing on three elements: the audience, the repertoire, and the actors. The productions staged by Insula were divided into three main categories: classical theatre, modern theatre, and original works. Despite its ambition and innovative approach, Insula was short-lived, hindered by financial difficulties and the growing antisemitism of the time. Following the project’s failure, Fundoianu moved to Paris, bringing with him his last play in Romanian, Festinul lui Baltazar. In France, his theatrical production shifted towards philosophical themes, influenced by his encounter with existentialist philosopher Lev Shestov. Finally, this study reflects on the meaning Fundoianu attributed to theatre, identifying a profound parallel between his poetic and dramatic works. The author himself described his plays as dramatic poems, advocating for a theatre that, in its essence, would be genuinely poetic.

Research into intercomprehension (IC) began in the last century, at the very same time as significant paradigm shifts in education took place, particularly in language didactics. This is why we propose first of all a retrospective look at the development of IC in Romance languages over the last decades. The specific German context is outlined, because it is characterised by the specific feature that Germanophone learners approach the Romance languages via French. Therefore, their resources include the experience of learning the foreign language French, which distinguishes them from Romance native speakers. Some general aspects and reflections on IC as a learning approach and as a practice of plurilingual communication will help to circumscribe and frame the scope of the following discussion, at the same time highlighting the imperative and compelling need for a holistic and transdisciplinary orientation when working around the subject of IC. In many respects, IC is confronted with issues which are by no means new, and which the approach has to deal with despite the very positive advances that can be observed in very different contexts. The achievements in practice are very diverse and justify a long-term commitment, and this applies for the manifold educational settings. Bearing this in mind, our contribution will address the question of successful practices and (old) issues and challenges that have in fact arisen since the approach was first conceived. It is not only the repeatedly emphasised advantages and added value that ultimately persuade the general public with learners, teachers and decision-makers to change their viewpoints and, in consequence, their practices and decisions. In our many years of experience, it is most likely their own (learning) experience that leads to a mindset change and a new orientation.

The subject of the present research is interproduction training in a Workshop on Intercomprehension in Romance Languages. In particular, it analyses the results of some ‘simplification’ exercises of texts written in Italian, reworked by Italian-speaking students in a pan-Romance language interproduction perspective, it proposes extracts of written interactions in which the students are given the task of writing taking care of interproduction and examines the results of a final written interproduction test of the Laboratory. All this allows an initial assessment of the activities and their impact on learning interproduction strategies.

Frameworks describing competences acquirable through intercomprehension highlight a close link between the development of intercomprehension competences and the acquisition of transversal competences. In the context of multilingual communication, speakers activate metacognitive, strategic, collaborative, relational, risk assumption and risk management skills transferable to professional and private contexts. Starting from this observation, in the academic year 2022/23 a course on intercomprehension between Romance languages was included in the “Transversal Skills” project of the Teaching and Learning Center of the University of Verona, aimed at promoting the acquisition of useful skills in the younger generations from an interpersonal and occupational point of view. The course aimed to lead learners to insert unexpected linguistic-cultural behaviors into shared frames of meaning to interact effectively in multilingual and intercultural contexts and collaborate productively in synchronous and asynchronous online work contexts, respecting times, roles and group objectives. After illustrating the concepts of “competence” and “soft skills”, the intervention will present the characteristics of the course and the methods of delivery and will focus on the research methodology adopted (survey of the perception of the skills gained by the students, analysis of written interactions, final diary), the qualitative-quantitative analysis conducted on the data collected and the methods of detecting the traces of maturation of the skills investigated.

Digitalization of old and pre-modern works is essential for preserving our literary identity and heritage. As such, INTELLIV expands on the previous INTELLIT project focused on modern Romanian literature. The web platform includes four components: the Chronology of Old Romanian Literature (DCLR), the Encyclopedia of Old Romanian Literature (ELIV), the Fundamental Texts of Old Romanian Literature (TLRV), and the Cartography of Old Romanian Literature (HLRV). Our methodology involves data preprocessing, indexing, and storage using Elasticsearch and a relational database for authentication, logging, and storing HLRV information. The platform ensures public access to data visualizations, whereas restricted editing access is provided to authenticated users. As such, the outcomes include the development of a web platform for data visualization and editing, as well as a chatbot to interact with the DCLR and ELIV corpora dynamically.

During the last 30 years there have been numerous attempts to include intercomprehension within formal contexts. If the space that can be carved out in the university environment is more flexible, the curricular inclusion of intercomprehension in high school continues to meet with resistance, despite the fact that Italian language education has always been attentive to the multilingual dimension, for historical and socio-political reasons. This gave rise to the idea of fostering familiarisation of secondary school students with the intercomprehensive approach by carrying out a course of intercomprehension, during the school years 2020-21, 2021-22 and 2022-23, in two different secondary schools in Italy, namely a Technical Institute in the province of Brescia and a High School in Belluno, involving third, fourth- and fifth-year pupils, for a total of 5 classes and 95 students. The action was accompanied by a qualitative data collection in order to investigate the evolution of the students' awareness. This was monitored through the administration of anonymous surveys or through questions in anonymous applications (Wooclap) at three different stages of the course: before the beginning, half-way and lastly at the end of the exposure to intercomprehension. The data were triangulated with what emerged from the field notes and with the data collections carried out with the teachers. In this paper, particular consideration will be given to the portion of qualitative data collected in the three experiences that allowed for the manifestation of evidence regarding the change in students' awareness of foreign languages as a result of the course, often leading to an increase in their motivation or openness to studying them. In spite of the limitations of the research in terms of differences in context and recipients, clear similarities emerged in the action that intercomprehension has on the students' beliefs and the openness it creates towards languages unknown to them, thus acting favourably on motivation and creating strong engagement.