Living Memory

Living Memory investigates the complex question of language and its place at the heart of Bergamasco culture in northern Italy. • Integrates extensive participant observation with sociolinguistic data collection • Reveals the political and social dynamics of a national language (Italian) and a local dialect (Bergamasco) struggling for survival • Introduces the original concept of the “social aesthetics of language”: the interweaving of culturally-shaped and emotionally felt dimensions of language-choice • Written to be accessible to students and specialists alike • Part of the Blackwell Studies in Discourse and Culture Series

Series Editor’s Preface vi Preface viii Constructing Transcripts: Orthographic Conventions and Transcription Processes xiii 1. Introduction 1 2. Bergamasco in Use: The Feel of Everyday Speaking 27 3. Gendering Language 64 4. Bergamasco on Stage: Poetry and Theater 83 5. Modern Campanilismo: The Value of Place 120 6. Bergamo, Italy, Europe: Speaking Contextualized 156 7. Conclusion 189 Notes 206 References 216