Fenomeni (ne)učtivosti u XVIII stoljeću: Analiza udžbenika italijanskog jezika za anglofone govornike
THE PHENOMENA OF (IM)POLITENESS IN THE 18TH CENTURY: AN ANALYSIS OF ITALIAN LANGUAGE TEXTBOOKS FOR ANGLOPHONE SPEAKERS

Summary/Abstract: This study examines the phenomena of (im)politeness in 18th‐century Italian language textbooks designed for Anglophone speakers. The analysis focuses on three textbooks: Casotti’s A New Method of Teaching the Italian Tongue to Ladies and Gentlemen (1709), Palermo’s A Grammar of the Italian Language. In Two Parts (1755), and Baretti’s Easy Phraseology for the Use of Young Ladies who Intend to Learn the Colloquial Part of the Italian Language (1775). These textbooks prioritize spoken Italian and include dialogues that implicitly reflect the sociopragmatic norms of politeness relevant to both Italian and English‐speaking cultures of the time. Given the influence of Italian culture in England during this period, the study aims to determine how these textbooks balance Italian norms of politeness, their English interpretations, and the broader linguistic universals governing polite discourse. The research adopts a methodological framework based on historical etiquette manuals, specifically Galateo (1558) by Giovanni Della Casa and Principles of Politeness (1776) by Philip Stanhope. These etiquette books serve as reference points for analyzing the norms of politeness in 18th‐century society. The study employs both traditional and postmodern theories of politeness to research mitigation, upgrading, downgrading or modification of potentially impolite speech acts such as refusals, questions, and insults. The findings indicate that offensive conversational acts tend to be mitigated, and overt insults appear mainly in the context of discussing absent individuals or banter. Furthermore, there is a significant overlap between Italian and English politeness norms, suggesting common underlying principles in both linguistic cultures. These insights contribute to fields such as didactics, sociology, history, and linguistics by providing a deeper understanding of historical pragmatics and the evolution of politeness.

• Details
• Contents