Ateneo - UPO

The Languages and Cultures course (60 hours, 12 ECTS) examines the theoretical dimension of the study of language in depth and combines the analysis of phenomena and linguistic data from, respectively, the point of view of Cognitive Linguistics and Historical Pragmatics. More precisely, it will focus on: (i) the fundamental principles of Cognitive Linguistics and their application to linguistic analysis from both synchronic and diachronic perspectives; (ii) the construction of dialogic interaction from a diachronic perspective.

Cognitive Linguistics II level

For students who attend the course:
1) Croft, W. and D. A. Cruse (2010). Linguistica cognitiva (edited by S. Luraghi). Roma: Carocci (chapters 6 and 7 excluded).
2) Luraghi, S. and L. Gaeta (2003, eds.). Introduzione alla linguistica cognitiva. Roma: Carocci (only chapters 7 and 8).
3) Any other content that will be uploaded on the platform DIR.
Non-attending students shall study, in addition to the material indicated above, also:
1) Bazzanella, C. (2014). Linguistica cognitiva. Un’introduzione. Bari-Roma: Laterza (pages 3–41 only).
2) Luraghi, S. and L. Gaeta (2003, eds.). Introduzione alla linguistica cognitiva. Roma: Carocci (a choice of one chapter among chapters 6, 9, 10, or 11).

Advanced Historical Linguistics
(1) Slides and all the other material uploaded on DIR.
(2) Chiara Fedriani e Maria Napoli, Pragmatica storica dell’italiano: ieri, oggi, domani. In Studi e Saggi Linguistici LXIII, 2, 2025 [available on DIR]
(3) Andrea Sansò, I segnali discorsivi, Carocci, Roma, 2020: only chapter 2 (Come nascono e si sviluppano i segnali discorsivi).
(4) For students who do attend the course: 2 papers to be chosen among those that will be made available on DIR. For students who do not attend the course: 3 papers to be chosen among those that will be made available on DIR.

(5) Chiara Fedriani and Maria Napoli. 2020. Se insegnare la legge di Grimm ti fa sentire un brontosauro. Un esperimento per una didattica partecipata. In: A. Sansò (ed.), Insegnare linguistica: basi epistemologiche, metodi, applicazioni, Atti del LIII Congresso della Società di Linguistica Italiana, Università dell’Insubria, 19-21 settembre 2019. Officina 21, Milano: pp. 131-146 (https://www.societadilinguisticaitaliana.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/009_Fedriani_Napoli_Atti_SLI_LIII_Insubria.pdf).
(6) Filippo Domaneschi, Introduzione alla Pragmatica, Carocci, Roma, 2014 [as an introductory reference manual].

The primary goal of the integrated course is to lead students to tackle at least the main issues, methodologies and challenges related with the investigation of language within the cognitive and historical-pragmatic perspectives in order to widen their understanding of the main cognitive and pragmatic mechanisms that influence language and linguistic change, and in order to be able to discuss about these topics with sufficient clarity and using appropriate specialized terminology.
A further, more advanced, aim is to develop students’ ability of applying theoretical and methodological principles to the analysis of phenomena, empirical data, and specific case studies.
Finally, didactic methods for teaching Historical and General Linguistics will be dealt with, taking the topics examined during the course of Advanced Historical Linguistics as a starting point.
The 12 credits to be earned are allocated as follows for attending students:
2.4 credits of taught and interactive instruction;
9.6 credits of individual study.
For non-attending students, the 12 ECTS consist entirely of self-study activities.

Students should have basic knowledge of general linguistics and historical linguistics.
Those who have never taken an examination in general linguistics and/or historical linguistics must contact the teacher (of the course in Advanced Historical Linguistics) in advance for a syllabus supplement, consisting of an introductory textbook. Fulfillment of these requirements will be preliminarily assessed during the examination.

The integrated course mainly consists of lectures. Interactive teaching is also included during the course. Students will be involved through the examination, discussion and presentation of linguistic data and case studies, in order to develop the ability to analyze language, the assimilation of didactic methodologies and communicative skills. Practical activities are included, based on online resources to explore the pragmatic, semantic and conceptual dimensions of language.
Study support materials, including all slides projected during lectures, will also be made available on the DIR platform (on the pages of the two courses).

Students with physical disabilities, learning disabilities or special education needs can request specific services and tools via the Staff Sviluppo e Coordinamento Carriere e Servizi alle Studentesse e agli Studenti, consulting the University webpage: https://www.uniupo.it/en/services/services-students-physical-or-learning-disabilities
Students with disabilities, learning disabilities or special education needs, once they have contacted the University Staff, can refer to the tutor in charge of the course to define the examination modalities, concerning academic aspects.

The final assessment for both courses consists of an oral examination lasting approximately 30 minutes, aimed at verifying the acquisition of knowledge and understanding of the relevant topics (those included in the objectives and the expected learning outcomes) and the use of appropriate scientific terminology. The overall evaluation will take the final grades of the two individual exams into account and will be based on the assessment of the whole degree of insightfulness of knowledge and of the degree of autonomy in applying it.
For both exams, grades are assigned according to the following criteria:
A. Marks in the 18–22 range will be awarded for:
- sufficient knowledge and understanding of theoretical and methodological principles of cognitive linguistics and historical pragmatics;
- limited ability to formulate independent critical judgments in the analysis of linguistic data and case studies through the application of knowledge acquired within the field of cognitive linguistics and historical pragmatics;
- sufficient communication skills, particularly regarding the use of specific scientific terminology.
B. Marks in the 23–26 range will be awarded for:
- satisfactory knowledge and understanding of theoretical and methodological principles of cognitive linguistics and historical pragmatics;
- satisfactory ability to formulate independent critical judgments in the analysis of linguistic data and case studies through the application of knowledge acquired within the field of cognitive linguistics and historical pragmatics;
- satisfactory communication skills, particularly regarding the use of specific scientific terminology;
C. Marks in the 27–30 range will be awarded for:
- good or excellent knowledge and understanding of theoretical and methodological principles of cognitive linguistics and historical pragmatics;
- good or excellent ability to formulate independent critical judgments in the analysis of linguistic data and case studies through the application of knowledge acquired within the field of cognitive linguistics and historical pragmatics;
- excellent communication skills, fully appropriate and consistent with specific scientific terminology.
D. Honours (cum laude) will be awarded based on an assessment of accuracy, depth, and the ability to elaborate on the responses.

Further information for Cognitive Linguistics II level
During the exam, at least one question will require students to discuss a specific case study in which the cognitive approach is applied either to the investigation of linguistic situations from the past or to the analysis of linguistic change.
The final grade will be based on: mastery of fundamental concepts (50%); ability to apply acquired knowledge to describe or analyze concrete linguistic phenomena (35%); use of scientific terminology when presenting arguments (15%).

Further information for Advanced Historical Linguistics
The final exam is structured into 3 Sections: Sect. 1 = questions on fundamental issues concerning historical pragmatics, with a focus on the different pragmatic phenomena analyzed; Sect. 2 = discussion of data on which to test both the theoretical and methodological knowledge acquired and the ability of applying it empirically (mainly on the basis of the material examined during the course and put on DIR); Sect. 3 = didactic methodologies for teaching linguistics.
The final evaluation will be based on the following criteria: use of appropriate scientific terminology = 10%; answers to questions from Section 1 = 40%; answers to questions from Section 2 = 40%; answers to questions from Section 3 = 10%.

The course examines different issues in the domains of Cognitive Linguistics and Historical pragmatics and analyzes several case studies and data taken from various types of texts and online resources.

Cognitive Linguistics II level
In the first part of the course, the foundational principles of Cognitive Linguistics will be explored. After a brief historical overview, the lessons will delve into key concepts, including frames and prototypes, and examine the essential elements that underpin the processes of categorization and conceptualization of experience. The cognitive approach’s contribution (and limits) to lexical semantics will be illustrated and discussed, with particular attention to embodied cognition. A significant portion of the course will focus on metaphor as a fundamental mechanism for conceptualizing reality and its role in language.
The second part of the course, through specific case studies, will show how core assumptions of Cognitive Linguistics can be effectively applied to investigating past linguistic situations and analyzing linguistic change. Additionally, valuable resources for exploring the semantic and cognitive dimension of language, e.g. FrameNet, will be presented and utilized during lectures.


Advanced Historical Linguistics
We will examine how speaker intentions, (inter)subjective relation with the hearer, context and social norms have influenced language use across different eras, taking into account internal structural factors and their influence on language change.

Part I, Introduction to pragmatics and historical pragmatics
Unit 1. Basic pragmatic notions: context, speech acts, the cooperative principle and conversational maxims.
Unit 2. From pragmatics to historical pragmatics: objects, methods, and challenges.

Part II, Data analysis

Unit 3. Analysis of case studies related to pragmatic phenomena from a historical perspective, such as speech acts and (im)politeness, deixis, discourse markers, and changes that may have affected them.
Unit 4. Pragmatic analysis of literary texts through the DIADIta corpus (https://www.diadita.it/il-corpus/).
Unit 5. Gender mainstreaming: ‘feminine’ speech acts?
Unit 6. Didactic methods for teaching historical linguistics.

To achieve a basic level of knowledge and skills students are required to show what follows:
Knowledge and understanding:
To know and understand the basic notions and main aspects related to the domains of Cognitive Linguistics and Historical Pragmatics.
To be acquainted with didactic methods for teaching Historical and General Linguistics.

Ability to apply knowledge and understanding:
- to be able to apply the learned notions to the analysis of different case studies, identifying pragmatic phenomena and change through the investigation of texts.

- to be able to plan simple teaching activities concerning Historical and General Linguistics.

Autonomy of judgment:
To demonstrate an initial level of autonomy in making critical judgments on synchronic and diachronic data.

Communicative skills:
To use specific scientific terminology in an appropriate manner.

Learning ability:
To develop sufficient theoretical and methodological knowledge, while enhancing skills in the empirical analysis of data, at least with regard to some case studies relevant to the main topics of the courses.
In order to achieve a more advanced level, students are required to show what follows:
(i) to have acquired a solid knowledge of cognitive linguistics and historical pragmatics; (ii) to be able to confidently apply knowledge and understanding to data analysis; (iii) to demonstrate full autonomy in expressing well-articulated, critical judgments on linguistic phenomena influenced by cognitive and pragmatic factors; (iv) to express oneself exclusively through specific scientific terminology; (v) to combine the theoretical learning of concepts and methodologies with direct observation of empirical data, demonstrating a high level of applied competence.