Origine e sviluppo storico della lingua danese

Monday, 22nd April 2024, 10-12; 14-16
Co-working room, Università di Verona
Ph.D. Course in Linguistics

Origine e sviluppo storico della lingua danese
Luca Panieri, Università IULM
luca.panieri@iulm.it

The geographical area in which Denmark is located is a privileged observatory for those who deal with the history of Germanic languages, since it, together with Scandinavia, has left us the first written documents in a Germanic language. Just at the beginning of the year, archaeologists in Odense found a new runic inscription on a knife blade dating back almost 2,000 years. This is perhaps the oldest inscription written in a Germanic language, or at least one of the oldest found so far.
During the lessons we will retrace the fundamental stages of the history of the Danish language starting from the proto-Germanic origins up to the modern stage of the language. Particular attention will be given to the development of the phonological system, but other aspects will also be touched upon, in order to better characterize the various stages of development of the language throughout its history. Our journey
through time will also give us the opportunity to observe once again how the linguistic and cultural phenomena are closely connected.
The Danish language began to differentiate itself clearly from other Nordic languages after the Viking period, i.e. after the 11th century, and since then its evolution has occurred at a rather rapid pace. The last 150 years have also been characterized by notable changes in the phonological system. However, we will observe that the Danish language, alongside its numerous innovative features, also presents "unexpected" conservatisms. Both will be taken into consideration in this short series of lessons.

Professors and students are welcome.
The seminar will be held in Italian.
Coordinator of the Ph.D. Course in Linguistics: Prof. Stefan Rabanus
Proposer: Prof. Maria Adele Cipolla