Italian Language Research Articles

When social provision became a bordering practice: The association ‘assistance to redeemed Italy’ and children’s welfare in Italy’s northeastern borderlands, 1919-1939

This article axplores children's welfare in Italy's northeastern borderlands after WWI. Using the case of a semi-public aid association “Assistenza all'Italia Redenta” (Assistance to Redeemed Italy), the author examines children's welfare before and after the installation of the fascist regime. She focuses in particular on preschools as a vital source of sociomedical and educational assistance to children in this mutlilingual and multiethnic region. But this assistance came with a quid pro quo, for children recieved it on condition that they learn the Italian language. The article thus explores how social welfare may be instrumentalized for nationalist purposes in borderland regions marked by cultural and national diversity.

Beyond Typologies: Early Modern Italian Town Halls in Comparative Perspective (14th-17th Centuries)

By challenging the traditional, typological, approach to the history of town halls, we aim to place Italian civic architecture at the center of a cross-disciplinary study focused, on one hand, on the uses and functions of these buildings, and on the other, on their cultural and identity meanings. The papers gathered in this special collection do not present a history of architectural models and persistencies, but rather one of continuous transformations, conversions, and adaptations, shaped by the material and symbolic functions that public buildings fulfilled, and often continue to fulfill, in the places where they were built.

LANGUAGE OF TOTALITARIANISM: NATIONAL LINGUISTIC POLICY IN FASCIST ITALY AND MILITARIST JAPAN

When it comes to creating a notorious ideology, in the hands of those in power, language becomes a tool for consolidating a nation. Fascist Italy and militarist Japan are prime examples of the use of language as a means of uniting people in the name of proclaimed “new” values and ideals. In the present article the authors provide a detailed analysis of language policy in both countries: from the initial desire to unite the inhabitants of the country with the proclaimed order under the aegis of a single nation by means of language, to open hostility to any manifestations of heterogeneity, in particular to regional dialects or dialectal variants of the literary national language, to an open struggle against loan words, even those that had already been firmly established or consolidated in the domestic language. The study attempts to trace what changes happened to Italian and Japanese languages when intransigent parties had come to power with their ideologies; to analyze to what extent the language policies of Italy and Japan in the 1st half of the 20th century are similar and to what extent they differ; and we also summarise the results of such restrictive language policies after the World War II resulted in the said politicians’ defeat.

‘The Most Beautiful Sound’: The Queer Nexus of Listening and Voice in the Early Modern Italian Convent

‘The Most Beautiful Sound’: The Queer Nexus of Listening and Voice in the Early Modern Italian Convent

Mastering the Art of Active Listening in Italian Language: Overcoming Challenges with Effective Solutions

The study investigates the development of listening skills in foreign language classrooms, emphasizing its importance as a core competency that naturally aligns with other language skills like comprehension and production. The motivation behind this research is the often overlooked focus on listening in teaching practices, where educators may mistakenly assume it will develop automatically through classroom activities such as lectures or reading exercises. This assumption can result in gaps in language acquisition due to the unique challenges posed by learning a foreign language. The research not only explores listening skills but also examines other key aspects of foreign language education, including student motivation, instructional materials, learning obstacles, and student interests. Conducted in Albanian schools as part of a project by the Faculty of Human Science at the University of Vlora and the Faculty of Foreign Languages at the University of Tirana, the study gathered data through questionnaires. The findings were then analyzed to propose potential solutions to the issues identified. Received: 12 July 2024 / Accepted: 31 October 2024 / Published: 05 November 2024

Latent tubercolosis infection in the migrant population: an Italian surveillance experience

Abstract Background The Special Reception Center (“Centro Accoglienza Straordinario” or CAS in Italian) concept was born in Italy in 2014 to receive the large number of migrants arriving in Italy. There are around 3100 centres are in Italy, of which 200+ in Tuscany. Each Center’s objective is to support migrants’ social integration through Italian language and job orientation courses. On arrival at a facility, migrants undergo diagnostic and lab tests to highlight potentially infectious diseases; among these, tuberculosis is one of the most frequently encountered. Therefore, the objective of the study is to estimate the prevalence of Latent Tuberculosis Infections (LTBIs) among migrants hosted in CAS centers. Methods From May-December 2023, Amiata Senese, Val d’Orcia and Valdichiana Senese Public Health Unit staff, according to national and departmental guidelines, implemented a number of health surveillance protocols, with close attention to latent tuberculosis infection. This protocol includes the Mantoux TB skin test at the CAS: in case of positivity, subjects are directed to further exams (chest X-ray, TB-IGRA blood test, infectious disease specialist consultation) in order to implement a therapy. Results From May-December 2023, 259 migrants (241 males and 18 females) received the TB skin tests. Average subject age was 26. Pakistan was the most represented nation of origin with 130 migrants (50%), followed by Bangladesh (9.7%) and Ivory Coast (7.3%). 77 migrants showed a positive TB skin test result (29.7%): of these 56 (i.e. 21.6% of the migrants screened) were also positive to the TB-IGRA blood test and treated for LTBI. Conclusions The high prevalence of LTBIs found in the referenced CAS indicates the need to continue/extend these surveillance protocols. Implementing successfully this procedure requires the involvement of a range of professionals from the socio-health sector within a process necessarily coordinated by the Disease Prevention Department. Key messages • Screening and surveillance of infectious diseases among migrant population represent a major public health issue for European health systems. • Detection and treatment of Latent Tubercolosis Infections require a multiprofessional and integrated approach, coordinated by the Disease Prevention Department.

Domain embeddings for generating complex descriptions of concepts in Italian language.

In this work, we propose a Distributional Semantic resource enriched with linguistic and lexical information extracted from electronic dictionaries. This resource is designed to bridge the gap between the continuous semantic values represented by distributional vectors and the discrete descriptions provided by general semantics theory. Recently, many researchers have focused on the connection between embeddings and a comprehensive theory of semantics and meaning. This often involves translating the representation of word meanings in Distributional Models into a set of discrete, manually constructed properties, such as semantic primitives or features, using neural decoding techniques. Our approach introduces an alternative strategy based on linguistic data. We have developed a collection of domain-specific co-occurrence matrices derived from two sources: a list of Italian nouns classified into four semantic traits and 20 concrete noun sub-categories and Italian verbs classified by their semantic classes. In these matrices, the co-occurrence values for each word are calculated exclusively with a defined set of words relevant to a particular lexical domain. The resource includes 21 domain-specific matrices, one comprehensive matrix, and a Graphical User Interface. Our model facilitates the generation of reasoned semantic descriptions of concepts by selecting matrices directly associated with concrete conceptual knowledge, such as a matrix based on location nouns and the concept of animal habitats. We assessed the utility of the resource through two experiments, achieving promising outcomes in both the automatic classification of animal nouns and the extraction of animal features.

Italian versions of the optimal screening for Prediction of Referral and Outcome Yellow Flag (OSPRO-YF) and the Örebro Musculoskeletal pain screening questionnaire (ÖMPQ-21) and their short forms, in patients with low back pain: Cross-cultural adaptation, reliability and validity

BackgroundLow back pain (LBP) is a leading cause of disability worldwide. Early detection of prognostic factors using the Optimal Screening for Prediction of Referral and Outcome Yellow Flag (OSPRO-YF) or the Örebro Musculoskeletal Pain Screening Questionnaire (ÖMPQ-21) can predict improvement in pain and disability for patients with nonspecific LBP. ObjectivesTo translate and cross-culturally adapt the OSPRO-YF and the ÖMPQ-21 with their short versions into the Italian language and to test their measurement properties in patients with LBP. DesignClinimetric study. MethodsOSPRO-YF and ÖMPQ-21 were translated and administered to LBP patients with questionnaires on pain intensity, disability, pain self-efficacy, and pain catastrophizing. We evaluated test-retest reliability, measurement error, and construct validity. ResultsEighty-three patients with LBP were included. No floor or ceiling effects were reported. Test-retest reliability of the OSPRO-YF, the ÖMPQ-21, and their short forms were excellent. The measurement error analysis revealed a Standard Error of Measurement (SEM) of 6.7 points, a Minimal Detectable Change (MDC) of 18.6 points for ÖMPQ-21, a SEM of 2.3 points, and a MDC of 6.4 points for OSPRO-YF. The construct validity of the OSPRO-YF and ÖMPQ-21 and its 10-item short version was satisfactory and moderate. OSPRO-YF performed better than ÖMPQ-21 on all three measurement properties. ConclusionOSPRO-YF, ÖMPQ-21, and their short versions are reliable and valid for identifying ‘yellow flags’ in Italian patients with LBP, with the former generally performing better than the latter. Further research is needed to confirm their ability to predict outcomes in patients with LBP.

Types of play behavior in the expression of the category of relations in the English and Italian languages

The article offers a comparative analysis of the semantic and pragmatic characteristics of the types of play relations in the linguistic world view of non-closely related languages. It involves identifying similarities and differences in the play expression of the category of relations in English and Italian languages. The purpose of the study is a more detailed understanding of the category of relations in the behavioral aspect based on lexemes expressing the concept of play in unrelated languages. The relevance and theoretical novelty of the linguistic analysis of play relations is due to the lack of comparative studies on this issue based on the material of the Italian and English languages in the behavioral aspect. We introduce the concept of observer: the subject of perception and interpretation (ObserverP) and the subject of perception (ObserverA), as an interpreter of types of play relations as a linguistic research tool. The result of the study of the types of play relations is the analysis of lexical units as markers of play behavior in the semiotic and axiological aspects. Analysis of the definitions of lexemes of the compared languages, recorded in dictionaries, showed that, depending on the type of play relations, certain differences appear in the axiological aspect, and, subsequently, manifest themselves in the contexts. In Italian language, a negative assessment is much less common than a positive one when deciphering the semiotics of play behavior. In English language, playful relations reflect the intentions of transferring real behavioural actions into the play; in Italian language, they embellish real behavioral actions. A comparative analysis of language material makes it possible to clearly identify and demonstrate similarities and differences in the understanding and expression of play behavior using material of non-closely related languages.

Investigating the plurilingual profiles and linguistic repertoires of student language teachers: issues of SLA, multilingual assessment, and the role of L2 Italian in a localized Greek context

Abstract Plurilingual competence or repertoire of languages refers to all individuals being potentially plurilingual. As plurilingual competence and language repertoires are individual, assessment modes targeted to the individual and localized to the context should be encouraged. This study explored and depicted the plurilingual profile of Italian Studies students (and thus student language teachers) in the Greek context through various modes. The role of the Italian language in this localized context was also explored and the language trajectory was attempted to be de-picted qualitatively. The instruments used were the Language Passport, the DIALANG diagnostic test, the ECML ‘Self-evaluate your language skills’ tool, a plurilingual portrait (to make the language repertoire visible), and a short personal written narrative. It is mainly a qualitative study, and instances of multi-method research are also present. Moreover, the whole procedure contributed to incorporating plurilingualism and multiculturalism into language teacher education for student Italian language teachers in higher education.

National differences in gambling-driven stock trading behavior: evidence from a simulated trading game

There are significant differences in real-life gambling behavior between Germany and Italy. Contemporary theories suggest that these differences in individual preferences would translate to differences in trading behavior. We elicited trading behavior from participants of both Italian and German language groups using a stylized hold-or-trade scenario distributed via a survey. Additionally, we collected data on their self-stated gambling preferences. Our findings confirm the existence of large and significant differences in gambling consumption, problem gambling, and trading behavior between the two nationalities. Furthermore, we observed that gambling preferences explain most of the national differences. This suggests that established factors of financial decision-making play a more prominent role in explaining national differences in trading behavior than any latent cultural factors.

Representation of Cultures in Local Italian Language Textbooks for Chinese Universities: A Diachronic Content Analysis

ABSTRACT This study explores the evolving landscape of cultural representations within locally produced Italian as a foreign language (IFL) textbooks in the Chinese educational context. Employing a diachronic content analysis, three distinct textbooks spanning different chronological periods (1972, 1991, 2022) were scrutinised to discern the nuanced evolution of cultural representations. Findings reveal a notable transformation in emphasis, shifting from an initial spotlight on source culture towards an increasing prominence of target culture across successive textbooks. What is more, a consistent emphasis on cultural products, cultural practices, and cultural persons (this latter following Moran, 2009), with an emergence of cultural perspectives in the latest textbook, aligns with an evolving understanding of culture in the domain of foreign language teaching. The observed dynamics, evident through both explicit and implicit representations, underscore the multifaceted relationship between educational priorities, socio-historical contexts, and cultural representations in language textbooks.

Digital Stories and Inclusive Cultures at School: A Research Study in an Italian Primary Multicultural Classroom

This study explores the effectiveness of digital storytelling in enhancing communicative competence—encompassing both linguistic and narrative skills—and fostering inclusivity in a multicultural primary classroom in Genoa, Italy. The quasi-experimental intervention spanned four months and involved eight lessons designed to engage students from diverse cultural backgrounds, particularly those with migratory backgrounds. Pre- and post-intervention assessments were conducted to evaluate linguistic proficiency, narrative competence, and educational inclusion. The results from the Italian language proficiency test demonstrated that second-generation students typically performed at the B1 level, while students with more recent migratory backgrounds scored lower. However, narrative competence showed notable improvements among A2+ level students, who outperformed their peers in certain dimensions despite linguistic challenges. Observational rubrics used throughout the intervention revealed increased classroom inclusivity, active participation, and cultural exchange. Despite limitations related to the sample size and intervention duration, the findings suggest that digital storytelling can significantly enhance communicative competence and promote a more inclusive classroom environment. Future research should investigate the long-term effects of digital storytelling on multilingual classrooms and its broader applicability.

Attitudes towards English language learning in higher education

The paper analyses the attitudes and beliefs of English language learners at the higher education level, including their motivation for learning English as a second language. The testing tool used for evaluation is a modified questionnaire adapted from a research paper that examined the students` attitudes towards learning German and Italian languages (Kovač and MršićZdilar, 2017) which was originally based on the questionnaires used to explore attitudes towards foreign language (MihaljevićDjigunović 1998,Boonrangsri et al. 2004,Zainol et al. 2012, Burgos & Perez 2015). The sample includes undergraduate students at the Faculty of Science, University of Split, who learn English as part of the elective course English for Specific Purposes within their respective study programme syllabi (Information, Physics, Information and Technology or Biology and Chemistry). The proposed research paper aims to examine how the students perceive English language learning and how they assess its importance for their further professional development and what motivates them for English language learning. As indicated in the above-mentioned research paper, students’ attitudes towards learning a foreign language are one of the basic factors which influence learning success. Their significance was recognised by foreign language teachers, while numerous studies have emphasised various aspects of their significant role in the successful mastering of a foreign language. Therefore, this study may contribute to a better understanding of why students in Croatia learn English and what may additionally motivate them to improve their proficiency and fluency. / Keywords: motivation, learning, beliefs, higher education, English for Specific Purposes

Mental health and the Covid-19 pandemic: main topics published in Portuguese and Italian on Twitter

Aim: Analyze published topics about mental health and the Covid-19 pandemic in public posts in Portuguese and Italian on Twitter. Methodology: Study of qualitative, cross-sectional approach, developed from the analysis of public Twitter posts in Portuguese and Italian language about mental health and the Covid-19 pandemic. The data were extracted, transcribed and the content were analyzed from Thematic Analysis. Results: A total of 430 Twitter posts were analyzed and five categories were created: Diverse criticisms about behavior and public policies; Restrictions and privations; The (in)attention to mental health care; Burnout, exhaustion, and emotional overload and Impact of the pandemic on education. Conclusion: The analyses showed impacts in different spheres of life of Twitter users in both countries, mainly in aspects related to mental health care in the virtual environment.

Tracce d’uso del pronome dimostrativo espletivo nelle varietà d’italiano vernacolare fiorentino e pistoiese

This research into the expletive demonstrative pronouns consists of a comparison between the varieties of Italian language in Florence and Pistoia and the dialect of Salerno. The linguistic analysis points out the use of this pronouns like extra-phrasal elements with explicative semantic function. They are used only during the conversations, but not in the monologues. unlike the expletive pronouns in the non-pro-drop languages like English, French and Northern Italian dialects, in which these pronouns are expressed in both situations. The form quello, I have observed in the varieties of Italian Language of Florence and Pistoia, as well as chello/chillo I have observed in the dialectal variety of Salerno, correspond to the expressions il fatto è che.../sta di fatto che… In italian language spoken in Florence and Pistoia the expletive demonstrative pronoun quello is exclusively used in the initial position of the main clauses, otherwise in the dialect of Salerno it can occur also in the causal, temporal and completive clauses, in which the expletive demonstrative pronouns occupy the subject (or topic) position between the complementizer and the verb and they are used with explicative semantic function and their use is optional and limited to the conversation.

Unilateral versus bilateral stapes surgery: A comparative study on auditory outcome and quality of life

Otosclerosis is a well-known disease which mainly affects middle-aged female patients, causing conductive or mixed hearing loss. Diagnosis is essentially made through a complete audiometric battery testing, while treatment substantially relies on stapes surgery.In this study, we analyzed audiometric and Quality-of-Life data from 33 patients in order to refine the surgical indications (unilateral versus bilateral stapes surgery) and assess the best technique (stapedotomy versus partial stapedectomy) and timing of treatment. The original questionnaire OTOS, in the Italian language, was administered to all patients.In this study, most of the patients were female (18/33), with a mean age of 53 years old. Both surgical techniques appear to be effective with no significant difference in post-operative Air Bone Gap. OTOS questionnaire appeared to be effective in assessing quality of life in patients treated by stapes surgery. Post-operative QoL appeared to be similar in bilaterally and unilaterally operated patients, suggesting that a contralateral intervention after effective surgery should be undertaken only if expressly requested by the patient.

Challenging large language models’ “intelligence” with human tools: A neuropsychological investigation in Italian language on prefrontal functioning

The Artificial Intelligence (AI) research community has used ad-hoc benchmarks to measure the “intelligence” level of Large Language Models (LLMs). In humans, intelligence is closely linked to the functional integrity of the prefrontal lobes, which are essential for higher-order cognitive processes. Previous research has found that LLMs struggle with cognitive tasks that rely on these prefrontal functions, highlighting a significant challenge in replicating human-like intelligence. In December 2022, OpenAI released ChatGPT, a new chatbot based on the GPT-3.5 model that quickly gained popularity for its impressive ability to understand and respond to human instructions, suggesting a significant step towards intelligent behaviour in AI. Therefore, to rigorously investigate LLMs' level of “intelligence,” we evaluated the GPT-3.5 and GPT-4 versions through a neuropsychological assessment using tests in the Italian language routinely employed to assess prefrontal functioning in humans. The same tests were also administered to Claude2 and Llama2 to verify whether similar language models perform similarly in prefrontal tests. When using human performance as a reference, GPT-3.5 showed inhomogeneous results on prefrontal tests, with some tests well above average, others in the lower range, and others frankly impaired. Specifically, we have identified poor planning abilities and difficulty in recognising semantic absurdities and understanding others' intentions and mental states. Claude2 exhibited a similar pattern to GPT-3.5, while Llama2 performed poorly in almost all tests. These inconsistent profiles highlight how LLMs' emergent abilities do not yet mimic human cognitive functioning. The sole exception was GPT-4, which performed within the normative range for all the tasks except planning. Furthermore, we showed how standardised neuropsychological batteries developed to assess human cognitive functions may be suitable for challenging LLMs’ performance.

Manuscript Poetics: Materiality and Textuality in Medieval Italian Literature by Francesco Marco Aresu (review)

Manuscript Poetics: Materiality and Textuality in Medieval Italian Literature by Francesco Marco Aresu (review)

The Semantics of Happiness and Joy in the Italian Language

Abstract A number of contemporary researchers have proposed considering happiness and joy as distinct phenomena and theoretical constructs. However, there is as yet insufficient information regarding whether the theoretical and empirical arguments for distinguishing happiness from joy also apply to folk representations of these concepts. This work presents two studies in which Italian speakers performed a free-listing task asking them to list words semantically equivalent to the Italian words felicità (happiness) (Study 1) and gioia (joy) (Study 2). A comparison between the two studies revealed that the Italian concepts of happiness and joy had 49 lexical items in common, 32 of which related to emotions. Interestingly, 11 of the latter ranked in the top 10 cognitive salience indexes obtained from both Study 1 and Study 2. It is argued that the semantic similarities between the two words examined – felicità and gioia – should not overshadow the meaning nuances distinguishing them.