“Ministra o ministro?”-Addressing and referring to women between politics and grammar

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Meeting ID: 837 0429 9415
Passcode: 541171

Speaker
Anna Thornton
Università degli Studi de l’Aquila

In Italy and in Italian today there is wide variation in the choice of nouns used to address or refer to women who hold traditionally male positions or professions: for example, to refer to a woman lawyer the three forms avvocato, avvocata and avvocatessa are attested. The debate on which form is preferable often takes on heated tones, and the (real or supposed) “rules of Italian grammar” are brandished as weapons by both sides. The lecture will illustrate some data and an overview of the grammatical and linguistic issues at stake.

Coordinators
Miriam Voghera
Claudio Iacobini
Università degli Studi di Salerno