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Prosody and the information functions of Topic in spoken Chinese according to Language into Act Theory
No full textThis research, framed within the Language into Act Theory (L-AcT; Cresti 2000), presents an initial analysis with both qualitative and quantitative data on Topics derived from a new, spontaneous spoken Chinese corpus (C-ORAL-ZHONG). C-ORAL-ZHONG encompasses formal and informal communication exchanges and is structured to capture dia-phasic and dia-stratic variation. The recordings in the corpus are transcribed into Chinese characters and Pinyin, aligning text and sound for each utterance. They are systematically annotated according to the L-AcT tagset and translated into Italian and English. The Topic is defined as an information unit functioning as the field of application of the illocutionary force, necessarily performed through a dedicated prosodic unit. Prosodic analysis, indeed, reveals that the Topic is systematically marked through a prefix unit, signalled by prosodic reset, pauses, or sentence-final particles. The methodology enables the provision of quantitative data. Topics play a crucial role in information structuring, occurring in nearly 20% of the reference units. This finding aligns with the traditional assumption that Chinese is a Topic-prominent language, as posited in earlier studies (Li & Thompson 1976). Examining the morphosyntactic constituents filling the Topics indicates a predominance of noun phrases (58%) and clauses (over 20%), confirming previous findings (Morbiato 2020). Considering the semantic nature of Topics, the distinctions between referential (87.8%) and modal (12.2%) Topics, and the Given (71.2%)/ New (28.8%) Topics, reveal quantitative correlations. The semantic complexity of Topics in Chinese spontaneous speech contributes to a more nuanced understanding of discourse structure and meaning
Topicality and the problem of “topic” in American Sign Language discourse
No full textAmerican Sign Language (ASL) has been characterized as a topic-comment or as a topic-prominent language. But studies based on actual usage reveal a great deal of variation, leading to the proposal here that the very idea of a definable category of topic should be re-examined.
Janzen (2007) proposes a topicality hierarchy for constructions in ASL, finding that the higher degree of topicality an expression has, the less likely it would be found as a marked topic. Only expressions at the lowest levels of the topicality scale occur as marked topics in topic-comment constructions. When the topic content is nominal, marked topic phrases are typically explicit noun phrases or full clauses. Relatedly, marked topics indicate topic shift rather than topic maintenance.
In line with Langacker’s (2008, 2013) analysis of topic expressions as reference-point constructions, topics in ASL are subjectively chosen by signers as a pragmatic framing mechanism, given that the signer might have multiple viable reference points from which to choose. It is also an intersubjective choice, taking into account assumptions regarding the addressee’s knowledge store. If “topic” is a language-specific notion, characterizing topic as a cross-linguistic category may be problematic. It is within this context that “topic” is explored in this study of ASL
Attanasio Elisa (a cura di), Ai margini dell’umano. Luoghi, scrittura e pensiero di Anna Maria Ortese, Firenze, Franco Cesati, 2025
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To My Dear Friend: Furuhashi Teiji’s 1992 Letter and the Subversion of AIDS
No full textAIDS activism in Japan was long suppressed by silence among activists and officials after the virus first emerged in Japan in 1985, owing to fears of social ostracization for its initial association with Japan’s then-marginalized gay community. As attitudes shifted and AIDS became a more mainstream concern – a move prompted by the rise in cases among the heterosexual Japanese, as well as misogyny and xenophobia – stereotypes about women, male homosexuals and foreigners came to be associated with the virus. Concurrently, new modes of activism emerged through art and performance. In this context, Kyoto-based artist Furuhashi Teiji’s 1992 letter, in which he ‘came out’ with his HIV diagnosis, sparked discussions within Japan’s queer community. Connecting the letter to the wider artistic production of Furuhashi’s final years, such as S/N (1994) and the drag show Diamonds Are Forever, this study examines the artist’s reaction to his new status as HIV-positive, as well as his reframing of the virus as an agent of counterculture. Through his reading of AIDS, Furuhashi subverted the categories and stereotypes imposed by Japanese society on non-conforming bodies and individuals, offering an alternative to popular narratives on AIDS and an outlet of resistance against stigma. Examining the letter in combination with Furuhashi’s activity, both within and without Kyoto, this work thus also hints at how the artist’s impact extended beyond the 1990s, surviving to this day in the spaces and events that he set up in the last few years of his life
Casa e spazio domestico nel Memoriale di Angela da Foligno
No full textThe paper offers an analysis of the role of domestic space in Memoriale by Angela of Foligno, highlighting how, in the saint’s mystical journey, the home becomes a central place of revelation and spiritual transformation. Through a close reading of the texts, it shows how Angela’s most intense experiences are rooted in the everyday – simple gestures and familial relationships – reinterpreted in the light of her encounter with God. The home is not merely a biographical backdrop but a theological environment, an interior cell, and a nuptial space. Angela’s spiritual experience thus provides a key to rethinking the relationship between space, body, and the divine in the context of medieval sanctity.
L’articolo presenta un’analisi del ruolo dello spazio domestico nel Memoriale di Angela da Foligno, mettendo in luce come la casa diventi, nel percorso mistico della santa, un luogo centrale di rivelazione e trasformazione spirituale. Attraverso una lettura ravvicinata dei testi, si mostra come le esperienze più intense di Angela si radichino nel quotidiano, nei gesti semplici e nelle relazioni familiari, risignificati alla luce dell’incontro con Dio. La casa non è solo sfondo biografico, ma ambiente teologico, cella interiore e spazio nuziale. L’esperienza spirituale di Angela offre così una chiave per ripensare la relazione tra spazio, corpo e divino nel contesto della santità medievale.
A Museum on the March: Neighborhood Circulating Exhibitions at The Met, Their Evolution, Reception, and Influence
No full textThis essay addresses the Met’s commitment to reaching local communities through circulating exhibitions. It traces the evolution, reception, and influence of the Neighborhood Circulating Exhibitions program, a series of exhibitions sent to public libraries, settlement houses, and high schools in poorer communities around New York City between 1933 and 1942. It also examines the pivotal role played by museum staff in the program’s development and success. The Met’s continued dedication to local communities outside its walls is further demonstrated by discussing later circulating exhibition initiatives, including an exhibition focused on medieval art and culture from the late 1940s. This case study illustrates how objects were chosen, displayed, and reviews educational materials sent with the works of art. Finally, a comparison of The Met’s activities with other museums situates its endeavors within the larger context of circulating exhibition programs during the twentieth century.Il saggio affronta l’impegno del Met nel raggiungere le comunità locali attraverso le mostre itineranti. Sono analizzate l’evoluzione, la ricezione e l’influenza del programma Neighborhood Circulating Exhibitions, una serie di mostre inviate a biblioteche pubbliche, case di accoglienza e scuole superiori situate in comunità più povere di New York City tra il 1933 e il 1942. È inoltre esaminato il ruolo fondamentale svolto dal personale del museo nello sviluppo e nel successo del programma. La costante dedizione del Met verso le comunità locali al di fuori delle proprie mura è ulteriormente dimostrata attraverso l’analisi di iniziative successive di esposizioni itineranti, tra cui una mostra sull’arte e la cultura medievale alla fine degli anni Quaranta. Questo caso di studio illustra le modalità di selezione e di esposizione delle opere, nonché i materiali educativi inviati insieme ai manufatti artistici. Infine, un confronto tra le attività del Met e quelle di altri musei colloca i suoi sforzi nel più ampio contesto dei programmi di mostre itineranti del XX secolo
Travelling exhibitions between past and present: Dialogue with the curator of A Designed Life
No full textFrom the point of view of both curators, architects and designers, the challenges presented by travelling exhibitions are as unique as they are complex. As such, this interview with Peggy Re wants to give voice to her insights, gained during her curatorial experience with the exhibition A Designed Life: Contemporary American Textiles, Wallpapers and Containers & Packaging, 1951-1954, not only toward the historical retrospective of three showcases organized by the U.S. Traveling Exhibition Service between 1951 and 1954, but also in consideration of today design practice. We will explore how, throughout its historical evolution, the design of travelling exhibitions has always intersected with issues related to identity, soft power, technology, manufacturing and the relationship with the public. Dal punto di vista dei curatori, degli architetti e dei designer, le sfide poste dalle mostre itineranti sono tanto uniche quanto complesse. In questa prospettiva, l’intervista a Peggy Re vuole dare voce alle sue intuizioni, acquisite durante la sua esperienza curatoriale con la mostra A Designed Life: Contemporary American Textiles, Wallpapers and Containers & Packaging, 1951-1954, non solo in relazione alla storia di tre mostre organizzate dall’U.S. Traveling Exhibition Service tra il 1951 e il 1954, ma anche rispetto ad una pratica di progettazione espositiva contemporanea. Verrà approfondito come, nel corso della sua evoluzione storica, la progettazione espositiva di mostre itineranti si sia sempre incrociata con tematiche legate all’identità, al soft-power, alle tecnologie e al rapporto con il pubblico
Escodamè. Un mistero futurista... con risvolti carducciani
No full textThe paper provides a short Michele Leskovic’s biography, thanks to the unpublished, and mostly unknown, materials discovered by the author and her research on Futurism over decades. Born in Udine and better known as Escodamè, he works with Marinetti and some of the protagonists of the second period of Futurism being very active for two decades in producing poems and papers of different kind. In the late Thirties, however, he suddenly leaves the Avand-garde and simply disappears so that friends have believed him dead. The closeness between Marinetti and Escodamè also allows the author to open a window on the relationship between Marinetti and Carducci but then to highlight unexpected ties which connect Escodamè and Carducci too. Partendo dalle ricerche decennali svolte dall’autrice sia sul futurismo sia sull’epistolario carducciano, l’intervento traccia sinteticamente l’attività svolta in seno al futurismo dal giovane udinese Michele Leskovic, noto col nome di Escodamè. Sebbene molto attivo all’interno del movimento avanguardista – tanto dal punto di vista creativo quanto culturale, ricoprendo anche il ruolo di segretario privato e stretto collaboratore di Marinetti –, di Escodamè si sono perse le tracce sin dalla fine degli anni Trenta e solamente il ritrovamento e lo studio, da parte dell’autrice, del suo intero archivio privato hanno permesso di ricostruire le tappe salienti del suo impegno futurista. Data la vicinanza e i rapporti con Marinetti, la vicenda del futurista udinese induce anche ad aprire una finestra su taluni legami tra il fondatore del movimento, il mondo classico e Carducci stesso, rivelando anche qualche inaspettato legame tra il giovane udinese e il poeta maremmano
La Montarana: un insediamento tra Bronzo Recente e Finale presso Tarquinia (Viterbo). Con Appendice sui resti faunistici
No full textA series of surveys carried out between 1970 and 1987 by volunteers of the Gruppo Archeologico Romano collected a significant quantity of pottery sherds on the Montarana hill, located on the hilly slopes opposite to the city of Tarquinia. This contribution presents around 200 significant fragments from the more than the 1000 of those collected, with their typological and chronological classification. Most of them belong to the Subapennine Late Bronze Age and the Protovillanovan Final Bronze Age. Some sherds also appear which can be better dated to older phases of the Bronze Age. The lack of fragments referable to the final phase of the Final Bronze Age suggests that the settlement of Montarana early contributed to the emergence of the nearby site of Civita di Tarquinia as the dominant center of the territory even before the beginning of the Iron Age.Una serie di ricognizioni condotte tra il 1970 e il 1987 da volontari del Gruppo Archeologico Romano ha raccolto una significativa quantità di frammenti ceramici sull’altura di Montarana, posta sulle prime propaggini collinari di fronte alla città di Tarquinia. In questo contributo si presentano circa 200 frammenti significativi dal migliaio di quelli raccolti, con il loro inquadramento tipologico e cronologico. La maggior parte appartiene al Bronzo Recente subappenninico e al Bronzo Finale protovillanoviano. Compaiono anche alcuni frammenti che sono meglio inquadrabili in fasi più antiche dell’età del Bronzo. La mancanza di frammenti riferibili alle ultime fasi del Bronzo Finale suggerisce che l’insediamento di Montarana abbia precocemente contribuito all’emergere del vicino sito della Civita di Tarquinia come centro dominante del territorio già prima dell’inizio dell’età del Ferro