Italian Words: A Practical Introduction to the Italian Lexical System

Italian Words: A Practical Introduction to the Italian Lexical System offers a detailed description of the Italian lexicon, explaining the organization of Italian words in a system and the function of this system.
What is a word and what is typical of Italian words? How are words’ meaning described and how are words assigned to objects? How are words (seen as lexical items) connected? How was the first dictionary of Italian created? What can we learn about the world and about the speaker through the words used? The book provides answers to these, and other similar questions.
Key features: - words in a system: the book provides readers with a theoretical framework integrated with practical strategies and effective exercises to enhance readers’ vocabulary acquisition and to develop analytic skills and linguistic competence; - cross-linguistic comparisons: the book offers a broad perspective on language lexical system (in general) and highlights the specific features of the Italian words, comparing them with English, French, and Norwegian words; - cultural insights: the book demonstrates the interconnectedness of language and culture and describes some features of Italian society through the lens of the words analyzed in the book.
This book is ideal for intermediate to advanced students of Italian and can be used alongside a grammar or textbook. It will also be a valuable read for anyone interested in or looking to learn more about the Italian language and culture.

Elizaveta Khachaturyan is Associate Professor of Italian at the University of Oslo, Norway.