Siena festival to focus on Italian language

Siena - 'Parole in cammino' is an Italian language festival that will take place in Siena on April 7-9. The event has been organised to shed light on the origins of the Italian language, from Latin to the modern expressions used by rappers, examining its journey through poetry, music and 'journalese', in all its declinations. The event will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Fondazione della Scuola di Lingua Italiana per Stranieri.

The initiative stems from an idea of the association 'La parola non muore' [Words do not die], promoted by Siena's University for Foreigners, and supported by the Municipality of Siena, the University of Siena and the regional government of Tuscany. Massimo Arcangeli, the creator of the festival (which could become a yearly event), said it is "an initiative which sheds light on the contemporary aspects and the 'sound health' of the Italian language. It is considered an itinerary to track down its past, present and future, with the invaluable contribution of the history of the social and cultural linguistics of the country, including all the other languages spoken on its territory." These other languages are the dialects, minority languages, youth and technological jargons.

The three-day event will focus on these issues along with the participation of academics, intellectuals, poets, writers, and journalists, including: Maurizio Bettini, a Latinist; Massimo Cacciari, a philosopher; the journalists Massimo Sinibaldi, Francesco Giorgino, Tommaso di Cerno, and Enrico Mentana; the sociologist Mario Morcellini; and the linguist Francesco Sabatini who is also an honorary president of the Accademia della Crusca [Society of Italian language scholars and linguists]. The event will be attended by high school and university students. An award will be given to a young boy, Matteo T., and also to his teacher, Margherita Aurora, for the new word he coined, 'petaloso' [with petals].