Overview

What do Cesare Pavese, Beppe Fenoglio and Primo Levi have in common? Apart from their obvious Piedmontese origins, they and other writers coming from this Italian region share a certain tendency towards multilingualism, which is a characteristic that has not been comprehensively investigated over the years. This study presents a linguistic analysis of a group of modern and contemporary narratives written by Piedmontese authors. The novels and short stories here examined are notable for the intriguing way in which they move between a variety of idioms – Standard Italian, regional vernaculars, English and pastiches (with rare excursions into French). With the support of linguistic and philosophical theories on the relation between identity, alterity and language, the book demonstrates how the use of non-standard parlances is fundamental in both reinforcing the sense of belonging to specific social groups and highlighting the presence of dissimilar identities and 'other' cultures. A sociolinguistic study and an analysis of the political and historical context of the region are also provided in order to illustrate how the combination of different varieties in literature reflects the region's peripheral position, as well as the political and social changes that have occurred in Piedmont since the nineteenth century. This book fills a notable gap, and casts new light on Piedmontese literature.

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9781443899642

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Andrea Raimondi graduated in European and American Languages and Literatures from the University of Eastern Piedmont, Italy, with a thesis entitled Vigny traduttore di Shakespeare: 'Le More de Venise'. He received his PhD in Italian Studies from University College Cork, Ireland, with a research project on the multilingualism of modern and contemporary Piedmontese writers. His academic interests focus on linguistically-oriented literary research, with a particular attention given to some translation issues, as well as the influence of English language and literature on Italian writers (namely Cesare Pavese and Beppe Fenoglio). His publications include ""Le Langhe tempestose del giovane Fenoglio"" in Rivista di Letterature Moderne e Comparate 3 (2011); ""The Birthday Boys di Beryl Bainbridge"" in Atelier 68 (2012); and ""Dialetto e identità nei racconti di Beppe Fenoglio"" in L'Analisi Linguistica e Letteraria 21 (2013).

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