THE ITALIAN LANGUAGE

The Italian Language - Bibliography

Literature. —Fernow in the third volume of his Römische Studien (Zurich, 1806-8) gave a good survey of the dialects of Italy. The dawn of rigorously scientific methods had not then appeared ; but Fernow's view is wide and genial. Similar praise is due to Biondelli's work Sui dialetti gallo-italici (Milan, 1853), which, however, is still ignorant of Diez. Fuchs, between Fernow and Biondelli, had made himself so far acquainted with the new methods ; but his exploration (lieber die sogenannten unregelmässigcn Zeitwörter in den Romanischen Sprachen, nebst Andeutungen über die viichtigsten romanischen Mundarten, Berlin, 1840), though certainly of utility, was not very successful. Nor can the rapid survey of the Italian dialects given by Diez be ranked among the happiest portions of his great masterpiece. Among the followers of Diez who distinguished themselves in this department the first outside of Italy were certainly Mussafia, a cautious and clear continuator of the master, and the singularly acute Schuchardt. Next came the Archivio glottologico italiano (Rome, from 1873).—In historical study applied specially to the literary language Nannucci prepared the way with much sagacity and breadth of view ; it is enough to mention his Analisi critica dei verbi italiani (Flor., 1844). Among the works of the disciples of the modern method may here be noted Canello, "Gli allotropiitaliani" {Arch., iii. 285-419) and Caix, Originidella lingua poetica italiana (Florence, 1880), which resolves itself into an accurate historical examination of the dialectal forms that occur in the old poetry.—For almost a quarter of a century a matchless investigator, Giovanni Fleehia, has devoted assiduous, keen, and genial labour to the history and description both of the dialects and of the literary language (see Arch., ii. 396, iii. 176).—Biondelli's book is of no small service also for the numerous translations which it contains of the Prodigal Son into Lombard, Piedmontese, and Emilian dialects. A dialogue translated into the vernaculars of all parts of Italy will be found in Zuccagni Orlandini's Raccolta di dialetti italiani con illustrazioni etnologiche (Florence, 1864). And every dialectal division is abundantly represented in a series of versions of a short novel of Boccaccio's, which Papanti has published under the title Iparlari italiani in Oertaldo, &c. (Leghorn, 1875). (G. I. A.)






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