Language and the Grand Tour : Linguistic Experiences of Travelling in Early Modern Europe

The Grand Tour was the classical continental trip to France and Italy, undertaken by young aristocratic men in early modern Europe, ostensibly for educational purposes. Using amusing stories and vivid quotations collected from travellers' writings, Arturo Tosi charts the rise of modern vernaculars and the standardisation of European languages. The travellers' writings provide a valuable source of information about language contact, and illuminate how socialisation with the locals led, on the one hand, to conscious borrowings from prestigious foreign peers and, on the other, to linguistic disorientation when confronted with lower-class speech and rural vernaculars. The first of its kind to approach the Grand Tour from a linguistic perspective, this book is a timely addition to this burgeoning area of study, presenting a unique case study of population movement, language change and education in early modern Europe.ISBN : 9781108487276 "As it is widely believed that successful language learning depends on positive motivation, the first question we need to address is the relationship between motivation for language acquisition and attitudes to foreigners. It is therefore appropriate to begin with an overview of that vast terrain of stereotypical representations of foreign cultures that were in circulation in Europe at the time of the Grand Tour. A preliminary consideration is that travellers' attitudes differ from those of ordinary people who know their own communities but tend to generalise attributes of populations in countries they have never visited"-- Provided by publisher Cover Half-title page Title page Copyright page Dedication Epigraph Contents List of Figures Preface Acknowledgements Chronology Introduction Part I Attitudes and Aptitudes 1 Images and Stereotypes 2 Attractions, Affectations, Aberrations 3 Linguistic Training at Home Part II Encounters and Exchanges 4 Language Acquisition and Learning Abroad 5 Aids, Strategies and Facilitators 6 Latin and Other Lingua Francas Part III Contrasts and Collisions 7 Perceptions of Linguistic Diversity 8 Instances of Language Contact 9 Women Travellers and Gender Issues 10 Conclusion References Index of Names Subject Index Language is still a relatively under-researched aspect of the Grand Tour. This book offers a comprehensive introduction enriched by the amusing stories and vivid quotations collected from travellers' writings, providing crucial insights into the rise of modern vernaculars and the standardisation of European languages.