ITALIAN SIGN LANGUAGE 1

Main objective of the course is to develop the awareness of the linguistic similarities and differences between spoken and sign languages. The course aims at stimulating the metalinguistic knowledge of Italian Sign Language (LIS), especially in the phonological domain, in a comparative perspective with Italian and other languages. Furthermore, the course aims at developing the basic grammatical and lexical competence of LIS.

1. Knowledge and understanding:
The student understands the functional equivalent of the phonology of sign languages and of LIS, in particular.
The student knows the basic terminology of the phonology of LIS.
The student knows and understands the phonological processes of LIS and is able to compare them with those of other sign and spoken languages.
The student knows the diachronic lexical variation and understands the phonological phenomena of sociolinguistic variation of LIS.
The student knows the basic lexicon and grammar of LIS. The student understands some regional lexical variations.

2. Applying knowledge and understanding:
The student is able to adequately use the terminology concerning the phonology of LIS.
The student recognizes and describes the basic elements of the phonology of LIS and its phonological phenomena.
The student is able to provide concrete examples of the basic phonological units and phenomena.
The student understands and produces basic communicative interactions in Italian Sign Language concerning everyday life situations in different contexts (family, work, study, free time).

3. Making judgments:
The student is able to judge the well-formedness of phonological units and phenomena in other sign languages by comparing them to linguistic units and phenomena typical of LIS.
The student is able to express grammatical judgments on simple signs and basic grammatical structures of LIS.
The student is able to find the bibliographical references the professor indicates.

4. Communication:
The student is able to describe the main differences between vocal and sign languages by using the specific terminology and s/he is, furthermore, able to argue in favor of the linguistic status of sign languages.
The student is able to describe the phonological characteristics of LIS by discussing concrete linguistic examples.
The student shows to be able to interact with the peers, the professor and the tutor in a critical and respectful way.
The student is able to interact in LIS in basic communicative situations.

5. Learning skills:
The student is able to take notes and participates actively in class.
The student is able to apply the method of critical thinking and cross-linguistic comparison.
The student is able to consult the literature present in the texts and articles indicated by the professor.

No prerequisite is required for this course.

The course of Italian Sign Language 1 is divided into the theoretical module held in the second semester and the yearly linguistic practice ('lettorato').

Theoretical module:
1. Introduction to LIS and a brief overview of the Deaf Community
2. Terminological issues and false beliefs regarding sign languages
3. A brief overview of the history of linguistic research on LIS
4. Principle and parameters in world languages and in LIS
5. The phonology of sign languages: cheremes, phonological parameters, and minimal pairs
6. The phonology of sign languages: free variants and allochers
7. Suprasegmental features
8. Mouthings and mouth gestures
9. Prosody
10. Phonological processes in LIS
11. Some notions on sociolinguistic variation in LIS

Linguistic practice:
1. Acquisition of basic phonological and phonetic competences
2. Acquisition of basic lexical competencies divided into thematic areas: family, free time, work, study
3. Acquisition of personal pronouns, possessive adjectives and pronouns, interrogative pronouns, cardinal numbers, and verbal typologies
4. Acquisition of basic grammatical competencies concerning the declarative, interrogative and negative sentence
5. Acquisition of the ability to use and discriminate classifiers of shape, dimension and perimeter
6. Ability to use the basic non-manual components at the phonological, morphological and syntactic level

Theoretical module:
- Notes of the lectures and study material provided by the professor.
- Caselli M.C., Maragna S., Volterra V. 2006. Linguaggio e sordità. Gesti, segni e parole nello sviluppo e nell'educazione. Bologna: Il Mulino. ONLY CHAPTER 1
- Volterra V. , Roccaforte M., Di Renzo A., Fontana S. 2019. Descrivere la lingua dei segni italiana. Una prospettiva cognitiva e sociosemiotica. Bologna, Il Mulino. ONLY CHAPTERS 2 AND 5.
- Volterra V. 2011. La ricerca sulla lingua dei segni in Italia: passato, presente e prospettive future. In A. Cardinaletti, C. Cecchetto & C. Donati (eds.), Grammatica, lessico e dimensioni di variazione nella LIS, pp. 27–44. Milano: Franco Angeli.
- Mantovan, L. (in print). PARTE 2 Fonologia. In: C. Branchini & L. Mantovan (eds.), Grammatica della lingua dei segni italiana (LIS). Venezia: Edizioni Ca’ Foscari.
- Radutzky E. 2009. Il cambiamento fonologico storico della Lingua dei Segni Italiana. In: C. Bertone, A. Cardinaletti (eds.), Alcuni capitoli della grammatica della LIS. Atti dell'incontro di studio 'La grammatica della Lingua dei Segni Italiana', pp. 17-42. Venezia: Cafoscarina.

Linguistic practice:
- DVD, "Pa-Pa" (Cultura Sorda, Ironia, Barzellette e Storia dei sordi), monologue by Gabriele Caia
- DVD, la lingua dei Segni Italiana: corso elementare. http://www.deafmedia.eu/dvdshop/lis1/lis1.html
- Other material might be suggested by the teacher during lectures.
- I primi 400 segni. Piccolo dizionario della Lingua dei segni italiana per comunicare con i sordi. 2008. A cura di Natalia Angelini, Rossano Borgioli, Anna Folchi, Matteo Mastromatteo. Carocci.

Students will be evaluated through three different stages: 1) a written examination consisting of about 8 open questions/exercises aiming at verifying the ability to apply and connect the theoretical knowledge acquired during the theoretical module as well as the student’s use of the specific terminology, 2) a written examination aiming at verifying the comprehension skills in LIS, and 3) an oral examination aiming at verifying the production skills in LIS.

In order to be able to take the oral production examination, the student will have to pass the written examination about linguistic comprehension. To pass the course, the student must pass the three stages of the final examination. The final score is the mean of the three scores obtained during the three examinations described above.

The theoretical module is blended, and it is organized as follows: 8 synchronous face-to-face classes and 7 asynchronous online classes.
Moodle classroom.
Linguistic practice (both individually and in groups).
An extensive range of video-recorded material in LIS will be used and analyzed.

Italian

Students will be divided into smaller groups in order to attend linguistic practices of LIS. The division will guarantee no overlapping of classes with the other foreign language. Where no indication of the other foreign language is provided, students can freely sign up to one of the groups available.

- Group A: students taking English, American English, German, French.
- Group B: students taking Spanish, Russian, Portuguese, Swedish.
- Students taking a different language from the ones mentioned above may sign up to one of the two groups depending on the class schedule of the other foreign language.

Attendance is highly recommended. Should a student miss class, s/he is expected to keep informed about the progress of the class.

written and oral

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Poverty and inequalities" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development