Number 16, Fall 2022 Varia

IT:

I paratesti (prefazioni, lettere dedicatorie e lettere agli spettatori) dei libretti d’opera, specialmente quella comica del Settecento, sono un veicolo di ideologie linguistiche. Spesso, infatti, librettisti, musicisti e imprenditori teatrali sentivano l’esigenza di giustificare le proprie scelte di lingua, stile e drammaturgia, per es. l’uso dell’italiano o del dialetto, il livello sociale dei personaggi, l’ambientazione ecc. Il presente articolo indaga un corpus di 69 libretti comici napoletani poco noti dal 1707 al 1750 e delinea le caratteristiche testuali proprie delle prefazioni operistiche. Dal dibattito linguistico delle prefazioni emerge una particolare sensibilità drammaturgica e metalinguistica degli autori di questi libretti, di cui finora si sono occupati, cursoriamente, soltanto i musicologi e gli storici del teatro ma quasi mai i linguisti. I paratesti delle commedie per musica sono insomma un osservatorio prezioso per capire la complessa «macchina performativa» del teatro in musica (Maione, 2015: 11), così come si stava perfezionando nella Napoli settecentesca.

EN:

The paratexts (prefaces, dedication letters and letters to the spectators) of opera librettos, especially the eighteenth-century comic ones, are a vehicle of linguistic ideologies. Librettists, musicians and theater entrepreneurs felt often the need to justify their choices of language, style and dramaturgy, e.g. the use of Italian or dialect, the social status of the characters, the setting, etc. This article investigates a corpus of 69 little-known Neapolitan comic librettos from 1707 to 1750 and outlines the textual characteristics of operatic prefaces. From the linguistic debate of the prefaces emerges a strong theatre and metalinguistic consciousness of the authors of these librettos, which so far only musicologists and theater historians - but almost never linguists - have dealt with. In short, the paratexts of the musical comedies are a valuable observation point for understanding the complex «performative machine» of the musical theatre (Maione, 2015: 11), as it was developing in Naples in eighteenth-century.

IT:

L’articolo parte dalla scelta del Nuovissimo vocabolario Treccani di porre a lemma la forma femminile di aggettivi e sostantivi (ove pertinenti) accanto al maschile, senza gerarchizzazione tra le due forme, illustrando le discussioni e polemiche seguite a questo annuncio; nella seconda parte, si supera la prospettiva classicamente binaria, caratterizzante la lingua italiana, notoriamente dotata di due soli generi grammaticali, per parlare delle scelte linguistiche sperimentali, esterne alla norma linguistica, che circolano in Italia con lo scopo di designare persone di genere non conforme e gruppi misti, quindi composti di maschi, femmine e altre identità di genere. Viene illustrato il senso della sperimentazione, ma si accenna anche all’esistenza di possibili strategie alternative non per eliminare, quanto piuttosto per diminuire, nei testi, l’uso del maschile sovraesteso.

EN:

The article starts off with the description of the choice made by the Nuovissimo Treccani vocabulary to lemmatize the feminine form of adjectives and nouns (where relevant) next to the masculine, with no hierarchy between the two forms; it also aims to illustrate the controversies that followed the announcement. In the second part, the discussion moves outside of the traditional binary perspective that characterizes the Italian language, which only possesses two grammatical genders, listing and analyzing the experimental linguistic choices circulating in Italy for designating gender non conforming persons as well as groups of persons of mixed gender. After explaining the reasons that lead to these linguistic experiments, some possible alternative strategies are presented, which try to reduce the use of overextended masculine rather than eliminating it.

FR:

Le Jura, le canton de formation plus récente, possède une histoire sans pareil dans le contexte helvétique, qui se reflète sur tout ce qui concerne la langue. Aux politiques de soutien à la Francophonie, d’un côté, et au patois jurassien, de l’autre, s’ajoute la présence de régionalismes à tout niveau du système linguistique. Ainsi, en nous interrogeant sur la perception que les locuteurs jurassiens ont de cette variété, nous menons une enquête par le biais d’un questionnaire administré en ligne. Nous interprétons les données quantitatives obtenues selon des concepts de base de l’étude des représentations linguistiques – « sécurité linguistique » et « insécurité linguistique » –, ainsi que du modèle « centre-périphérie ». La contribution vise à faire émerger ce que les répondants pensent du concept même de « français standard » et des marques régionales de leur parler : les déprécient-ils ou, au contraire, en sont-ils fiers en tant que symboles identitaires ?

EN:

Jura, the most recently formed canton, has a history which is unique in the context of Switzerland and this is reflected in everything related to the language. In addition to the policies in support of Francophonie, on the one hand, and the Jura dialect, on the other, there are regionalisms at every level of the linguistic system. Thus, by delving further into the perception that Jurassian speakers have of this variety, we conduct a survey through an online questionnaire. We interpret the quantitative data obtained according to the basic concepts of the study of language representations – “linguistic security” and “linguistic insecurity” – as well as the “centre-periphery” model. The contribution aims to highlight how the participants feel about the concept of “standard French” and the regional marks of their way of speaking : do they depreciate them or, on the contrary, are they proud of them as symbols of identity ?

FR:

S’intégrant au sein d’une recherche plus vaste sur les discours, les représentations et les vécus entourant l’alphabétisation en Acadie, ce texte propose de mettre en lumière l’une des caractéristiques les plus saillantes du traitement médiatique (et plus largement public) de cette question : sa dépolitisation discursive. De fait, la question de l’alphabétisation telle qu’elle est envisagée par les principaux médias acadiens est marquée, depuis son apparition à la fin des années 1980, par des motifs discursifs récurrents et interreliés qui concourent à la dépolitisation de la question, à savoir : un diagnostic consensuel sur la gravité de la situation, un examen médicalisant des causes et des conséquences, une réponse sociale essentiellement fondée sur des actions caritatives et enfin un discours qui pose la littératie non pas comme une habileté sociale mais comme un élément de bien-être individuel et collectif.

EN:

As part of a larger research project on discourse, representation and experiences surrounding literacy in Acadia, this paper highlights one of the most salient characteristics of the media’s treatment of this issue: the depoliticization of discourse. The principal Acadian media has analysed literacy, since the issue first came to public attention in the 1980s, in ways that contribute to the depoliticization of the issue, namely a consensual diagnosis of the seriousness of the situation, a medicalized diagnosis of the causes and consequences, a social response essentially focused on charitable actions, and finally, a discourse that posits literacy not as a social skill but as an element of individual and collective well-being.

FR:

À l’automne 2021, le pronom neutre iel est intégré au Dico en ligne Le Robert. Cet ajout a suscité plusieurs réactions dans la francophonie, notamment au Québec, mais principalement en France. Face à cette controverse, le Projet porc-épic, qui s’intéresse au traitement lexicographique des emplois polémiques de l’actualité, s’est penché sur la question. Dans quels contextes est utilisé iel ? Est-il fréquent dans l’usage ? Y a-t-il d’autres pronoms neutres qui sont employés ? À partir d’un corpus littéraire, l’analyse sémantique du pronom et l’étude des articles des dictionnaires sur iel, nous proposons une description lexicographique qui tire avantage de l’espace numérique et qui défie les limites imposées aux dictionnaires traditionnels.

EN:

In the fall of 2021, the French neutral pronoun iel was integrated into the online version of Le Robert dictionary. This addition provoked several reactions among French-speaking regions, particularly in Quebec, but mainly in France. In the face of this controversy, the Projet porc-épic, which is interested in the lexicographic treatment of controversial uses in the news, looked into the question. In what contexts is iel used? Is it frequently used? Are there other neutral pronouns that are being used? Using a literary corpus, the semantic analysis of the pronoun and the study of dictionary articles on iel, we propose a lexicographic description that takes advantage of the digital space and challenges the limitations imposed on traditional dictionaries.