This course is designed to introduce students to the major features of the sound system of Italian and to related issues in Dialectology and Historical Linguistics. The course will also focus on changes occurring in today's spoken Italian, in Italy and beyond, drawing from a variety of sources and media.

On satisfying the requirements of this course, students will:

1. have the knowledge and skills to recognize, discuss and analyse the main characteristics and varieties of what constitute the wide spectrum of Spoken Italian today from a variety of texts;
2. have gained knowledge of the historical development of Italian dialects and Standard Italian and methodologies;
3. gather and classify samples of spoken Italian from different media;
4. apply their competence to describe linguistic patterns in samples of spoken Italian and critically connect them to their social cultural and media context;
5. express themselves appropriately and accurately orally and in writing

2,000 word research project (50%). Students will undertake a project in a chosen area in consultation with the lecturer; presentation (20%) and at-home class exercises totalling no more than 1,000 words (30%).

13 one-hour lectures; 13 tutorials and 7 seminars

ITAL2006 Continuing 2