L0056 - GERMANIC PHILOLOGY I

courses

ID:

L0056

Duration (hours):

36

CFU:

SSD:

FILOLOGIA GERMANICA

Located in:

PESCARA

Url:

Course Details:

MODERN LANGUAGES, LITERATURES AND CULTURES/CORSO GENERICO Year: 2

Year:

2025

Course Catalogue:

https://unich.coursecatalogue.cineca.it/af/2025?co...

Date/time interval

Secondo Semestre (15/02/2026 - 25/05/2026)

Course Objectives

Cianci: By the end of the course students will be able to: (1) frame the main phases of Germanic–Romance contact in Italy from a historical and linguistic perspective; (2) apply philological and linguistic criteria to identify, describe, and date Germanic elements (lexical, onomastic, and toponymic); (3) discuss stratification and attribution issues (e.g., distinguishing Lombard vs. Frankish influence; comparison with other Romance areas);

Di Paolo: The module aims to develop skills in analyzing language contact applied to Alpine Germanic minorities. By the end of the course, students will be able to: 1) understand contact linguistics mechanisms and apply them to concrete cases; 2) analyze sociolinguistic phenomena of Walser communities (bilingualism, diglossia, language erosion); 3) recognize and describe lexical, morphological, and syntactic interference phenomena between German and Romance languages; 4) analyze original dialectal texts identifying archaic and innovative features; 5) design teaching interventions for minority language protection or conduct independent linguistic research.

Course Prerequisites

students should have basic knowledge of Germanic Linguistics and Philology.

Teaching Methods

The course includes lectures, guided analysis of original dialectal texts, and workshop activities. Students will work in groups to develop: A) a language teaching manual project for a minority language; B1) a comparative analysis of dialectal materials from different Walser communities; B2) an etymological analysis of selected lexemes. Workshop activities promote active learning and the development of independent research skills.

Assessment Methods

Assessment criteria – oral exam (0–30) – ready-to-paste (EN)
The final assessment is an oral exam graded on a 30-point scale. The grade is determined according to the following criteria and weights:

Content knowledge and conceptual accuracy (40%)
Solid command of the historical and linguistic frameworks; correct definitions; understanding of contact and stratification phenomena.

Analytical skills and methodological application (30%)
Ability to apply philological/linguistic criteria to data and examples (lexicon/onomastics/toponymy; dialect material; texts), providing justified classifications, attributions and (when relevant) dating.

Terminology and argumentation (20%)
Appropriate disciplinary terminology; logical coherence; ability to build an argument and respond to follow-up questions.

Clarity of presentation and critical autonomy (10%)
Clear, well-structured answers; meaningful connections across topics; ability to synthesise and compare cases.

For attending students: assessment also takes into account active participation in lab activities and the related outputs (short papers, projects, presentations). These contribute to the final grade within criteria 2–4 (methodological application, argumentation, critical autonomy and clarity).
For non-attending students: the oral exam is based on the required texts and study materials included in the course reader prepared by the instructors, with particular attention to theoretical understanding and the ability to apply concepts to examples discussed during the exam.
Pass threshold (18/30): essential knowledge and a minimum ability to apply concepts to guided examples.
Honours (lode): consistently outstanding performance across all criteria, with strong critical autonomy and methodological confidence.

Texts

Course reader prepared by the instructors (materials provided during the course and made available on the University platform). Additional bibliography for further study will be indicated during lectures.

From Goths to Walser: Germanic Languages and Cultures in Italy

Course Language

Teaching in Italian.International students may ask for: - a recap of the main topics in English (or in German) during the lessons; - explanations of the main topics in English (or in German) during devoted office hours, - a different Bibliography in English (or in German).International students may also take the exam in English.

More information

Students are encouraged to actively participate in class discussions. Teaching materials will be made available on the e-learning platform. For further information, contact the instructor via email.