Living Memory : The Social Aesthetics of Language in a Northern Italian Town

Living Memory investigates the complex question of language and its place at the heart of Bergamasco culture in northern Italy. • Integrates extensive participant observation with sociolinguistic data collection • Reveals the political and social dynamics of a national language (Italian) and a local dialect (Bergamasco) struggling for survival • Introduces the original concept of the “social aesthetics of language”: the interweaving of culturally-shaped and emotionally felt dimensions of language-choice • Written to be accessible to students and specialists alike • Part of the Blackwell Studies in Discourse and Culture Series "Living Memory investigates the complex question of language and its place at the heart of Bergamasco culture in northern Italy. As in other multilingual nation-states in Europe and elsewhere, linguistic revival and survival represent the promise of local solidarity, but also a threat to larger social and political relationships and unification. Jillian Cavanaugh describes how emotional and complex debates in Bergamo highlight the meaning and use of the Italian language and of Bergamasco, the local vernacular that is valued for its links to a particular local past, and its unique and powerful expression in poetry and plays. She compares and connects these debates and genres to everyday language practices, which are most often mixed or bivalent."--Jacket Introduction Bergamasco in use: the feel of everyday speaking Gendering language Bergamasco on stage: poetry and theater Modern campanilismo : the value of place Bergamo, Italy, Europe: speaking contextualized Conclusion.