Unit LINGUISTICS
- Course
- Foreign languages and cultures
- Study-unit Code
- GP004906
- Curriculum
- In all curricula
- Teacher
- Diana Peppoloni
- Teachers
-
- Diana Peppoloni
- Hours
- 54 ore - Diana Peppoloni
- CFU
- 9
- Course Regulation
- Coorte 2026
- Offered
- 2026/27
- Learning activities
- Base
- Area
- Linguistica, semiotica e didattica delle lingue
- Sector
- GLOT-01/A
- Type of study-unit
- Obbligatorio (Required)
- Type of learning activities
- Attività formativa monodisciplinare
- Language of instruction
- Italian
- Contents
- The course presents the fundamental concepts and methods of linguistics, along with a detailed analysis of different linguistic levels. Linguistic researches are seen in close relationship with human sciences and philosophical and historical disciplines. The course offers reflections on metalanguage, communication, computational resources useful in the study of foreign modern languages and digital language processing.
- Reference texts
- Reference texts for the first module: GOBBER, G. & MORANI, M., Linguistica generale, McGraw-Hill, 2026 (chapters 1-7).
Reference texts for the second module: GOBBER, G. & MORANI, M., Linguistica generale, McGraw-Hill, 2026 (chapters 8-14).
Reference texts for the third module: LENCI, A., AURIEMMA, S. & MILIANI, M., Linguistica computazionale, Hoepli, 2025 (chapters 1-8).
Students with disabilities and/or with SLD who, having completed regular accreditation through SOL, have obtained access to University services, can apply for the compensatory tools ensured by law (e.g. textbooks in digital format; teaching materials in accessible formats: presentations, handouts, workbooks, provided if necessary in advance of the lessons), for which consult https://www.unipg.it/disabilita-e-dsa. For the request, students are invited to ask the teacher, who will put them in contact with the Disability and/or DSA Department Coordinator (prof. Alessandra Di Pilla: alessandra.dipilla@unipg.it).
For working or non-attending students, no additional materials are provided. - Educational objectives
- The course has the following learning objectives: (1) knowledge of fundamental concepts and methods of modern linguistics, with specific references to human sciences and philosophical and historical disciplines; (2) knowledge of metalinguistic tools useful to describe natural languages; (3) knowledge of the main methods and tools for the collection, organization and analysis of linguistic data in digital format, with particular reference to linguistic corpora, electronic resources and applications of computational linguistics in the human sciences. The main skills (i.e. the abilities to apply acquired knowledge) will be: (1) describe the linguistic units at different levels (from the phonetic/phonological to semantic and textual level) with suitable formal tools, particularly mathematical; (2) use the categories of traditional grammar and rhetoric as tools, with the awareness of their limitations and socio-historical relevance. (3) find, organize, and interpret linguistic and textual data through the use of corpora, digital resources, and analysis tools developed in computational linguistics.
- Prerequisites
- It should be useful the recovery of "traditional grammar" and of mathematical concepts used in years of schooling, because they will be relevant in linguistic analysis.
- Teaching methods
- It should be useful the recovery of "traditional grammar" and of mathematical concepts used in years of schooling, because they will be relevant in linguistic analysis.
The course is organized as follows:
In addition to frontal lessons, practical exercises are planned, held with the support of subject experts and collaborators, and in-depth seminars.
Students with disabilities and/or SLD must consult the lecturer and may request any teaching materials in accessible formats (presentations, handouts, workbooks), provided if necessary in advance of the lectures, as well as the use of other technological tools to facilitate study. For general information, consult the page https://www.unipg.it/disabilita-e-dsa and contact the Disability and/or SLD Department Coordinator (prof. Alessandra Di Pilla: alessandra.dipilla@unipg.it). - Other information
- For all information on lessons and exams, please visit the Department's website http://www.lettere.unipg.it/didattica. The attendance at the course is strongly advised. Working or non-attending students are invited to contact the lecturer for guidance and explanations on the syllabus and exam preparation. Students with disabilities and/or SLD: for any information on University services, consult the page https://lettere.unipg.it/home/disabilita-e-dsa and contact the Disability and/or DSA Department Coordinator (prof. Alessandra Di Pilla: alessandra.dipilla@unipg.it).
- Learning verification modality
- The exam includes a written test on the contents of the first two modules of the course and a subsequent oral test on the contents of the third module of the course. To access the oral test students must first pass the written one, with a score of at least 18/30. The test aims at verifying the student's knowledge of the theoretical, applied and methodological contents indicated in the program and illustrated during the course.
Working or non-attending students are invited to contact the lecturer for guidance and explanations on the syllabus and exam preparation. Students with disabilities and/or with SLD who, having completed regular accreditation through SOL, have obtained access to university services, can apply for compensatory tools, dispensatory measures and inclusive technologies ensured by law, to be requested and agreed with the teacher well in advance of tests and exams. For general information, consult the page https://www.unipg.it/disabilita-e-dsa and contact the Disability and/or SLD Department Coordinator (prof. Alessandra Di Pilla: alessandra.dipilla@unipg.it). - Extended program
- The course systematically presents the fundamental concepts, methods, and findings of linguistics. Research on natural language and verbal languages is discussed in relation to the human sciences (anthropology, psychology, sociology, pedagogy) and philosophical and historical disciplines. Special attention is paid to the grammatical, stylistic, and rhetorical traditions, which represent an important yet often poorly understood field of knowledge. The course consists of three modules: the first two focus on general aspects, while the third explores the topic of automatic data collection and processing.
FIRST MODULE
The first part of the course introduces students to the theoretical and methodological foundations of general linguistics as a scientific discipline that studies human language and historical-natural languages. After a reflection on the status of linguistics as a human science, the characteristics of language, and the main methods of linguistic data analysis, the fundamental structures of languages will be presented.
The module will progressively address the different levels of organization of the linguistic system: phonetics and phonology, dedicated to the study of speech sounds and their organization in languages; morphology, relating to word structure and the processes of lexical formation; lexicon, with particular reference to the concepts of lexicology and lexicography; syntax, understood as the study of the relationships between words within sentences; and finally, semantics and pragmatics, which analyze linguistic meaning and the use of language in communicative contexts, respectively.
The goal of the module is to provide students with the conceptual and descriptive tools necessary to understand the functioning of languages and to analyze linguistic phenomena at different levels of organization.
SECOND MODULE
The second module delves into the historical-social and typological dimensions of language, extending the analysis from linguistic structures to the dynamics of language variation, evolution, and classification.
Particular attention will be paid to textual linguistics, which studies the principles of text and discourse organization, and to linguistic variation, analyzed from a geographical, social, situational, and historical perspective. From this perspective, the main varieties of contemporary Italian and the relationships between language, society, and communicative context will be examined.
The module will also address the criteria used to classify world languages, the characteristics of the main writing systems, and the processes of linguistic change that affect languages over time. Finally, the fundamental concepts of areal linguistics will be introduced, analyzing language contact phenomena and the structural convergences that develop between languages belonging to the same geographical and cultural area.
The objective of the module is to develop in students an understanding of language as a dynamic, historically situated, and socially variable phenomenon, providing the theoretical tools necessary to interpret linguistic diversity across time and space.
THIRD MODULE The third module introduces students to the fundamental principles of computational linguistics and the linguistic data analysis methodologies developed in the field of Digital Humanities. After a reflection on the relationship between language, formalization, and computation, the main models for representing linguistic information and the techniques used for automatic processing of natural languages will be presented.
Special attention will be paid to linguistic corpora, digital lexical resources, and computer tools for analyzing textual data. Students will be introduced to the procedures for collecting, annotating, and querying corpora, as well as the main levels of computational language analysis, from morphosyntactic segmentation and classification to semantic and pragmatic analysis.
The module will also address some of the main contemporary applications of computational linguistics, including machine translation systems, information retrieval, automatic text analysis, and artificial intelligence linguistic models. The goal is to provide students with a basic understanding of computational methodologies for studying language and develop skills useful for the empirical analysis of linguistic data in various fields of the humanities. - Obiettivi Agenda 2030 per lo sviluppo sostenibile
- The course contributes to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda goals regarding quality education, reducing inequalities, and promoting innovation. Through the scientific study of language and historical-natural languages, the course fosters the development of critical and analytical skills useful for understanding linguistic and cultural diversity, promoting inclusive and informed attitudes toward the plurality of linguistic repertoires and communication practices. The introduction to computational linguistics methods and digital analysis of linguistic data also contributes to the development of methodological and digital skills, increasingly relevant in research contexts and in the humanities, in line with the technological transformations of contemporary society.