LFU:online

Students

• have advanced knowledge of various linguistic inclusion strategies and corresponding current trends in Italian and can apply this knowledge in their own language use;
• are aware of the linguistic and social relevance of inclusive language use and are able to critically and scientifically analyse it;
• have gained a greater awareness of how closely language is linked to human perception and cognition and influences our thinking, from which the importance of inclusive language use is derived;
• have acquired in-depth scientific presentation and writing skills in the foreign language (Italian).

The topic of linguistic inclusion, which attempts to meet the linguistic needs of a socially diverse and increasingly multilingual society, has recently become a growing focus of linguistic research, including in the field of Italian studies. On the one hand, this entails non-discriminatory language use that aims to include different social groups equally (e.g. through gender-neutral wording and the avoidance of potentially derogatory terms), but on the other hand, it also involves the use of clearly understandable language that, for example, enables or facilitates linguistic participation for migrants, L2 learners and people with disabilities, learning difficulties or neurodegenerative diseases. The seminar deals with both aspects of linguistic inclusion, taking into account theoretical approaches and concepts as well as practical examples and empirical studies. With regard to the first aspect, we will first look at the origins of linguistic inclusion efforts in Italian, which can be traced back to the mid-1980s in publications by Alma Sabatini on linguistic (non-)discrimination against women, up to more recent proposals for gender-neutral language use, which include also non-binary, queer and trans people. With regard to the second aspect, research will be discussed that concerns Easy Language (Lingua Facile) and Plain Language (Lingua Semplice), but also institutional communication, in which the high relevance of comprehensible language use has become particularly acute, not least during the coronavirus pandemic. In student presentations, specific topics are addressed, which may concern, for example, the use of inclusive language in certain texts (schoolbooks, etc.), the language attitudes of speakers, or a comparison of the guidelines of Easy Language regulations with the productive language use of various target groups in corresponding corpora.

In the first part of the seminar, there will be some frontal input from the lecturer, accompanied by readings of relevant secondary literature, partner/group work and discussions; in the second part, students will independently work on a selected research topic, including empirically based parts (e.g. corpus analysis, comparison of AI outputs, etc.).

Attendance and active participation, including reading selected texts (compulsory reading) and participating in discussions; presentation on a selected topic, followed by a written seminar paper (due by 15 March 2026 at the latest).

Completed BA studies in Italian

It is planned to carry out activities related to the "PromptLab" project (https://www.uibk.ac.at/en/projects/promptlab/) during the course.