Sign languages use multiple articulators and iconicity in the visual modality which allow linguistic units to be organized not only linearly but also simultaneously. Recent research has shown that users of an established sign language such as LIS (Italian Sign Language) use simultaneous and iconic constructions as a modality-specific resource to…

This paper reports on a longitudinal ethnographic study of the language socialisation of a group of Moroccan adolescents who migrated to Italy in the late 1990s. The approach is based on the notion of language socialisation, which sees the process of acquiring a language as linked to that of becoming a member of a culture. The participants live in…

The atlas offers a cartography of language functions, quantitatively measured in vitality rates, for Western Europe. The atlas has three parts: vitality by language; vitality by domain; and vitality by country. Eighty-three minority languages are covered. Domains considered include: global; religion; schools; mass media; administration; courts;…

Although the Italian system of address pronouns is relatively complex, scant attention is paid to the issue in L2 manuals designed for English-speaking learners of Italian. After showing that Italian L2 manuals are not necessarily accurate in the limited detail they provide, we examine specifically the frequent claim that so-called informal…

Chronicles attitudes toward the spread of English usage in Italy during the twentieth century, focusing on the Americanization of Italian society. Finds two radically different reactions to the penetration of American culture: hostility and xenophobia during the first half of the century, and accommodation and acceptance after World War II. Also…