Research

The AlpiLink project, initiated by the universities of Verona, Trento, Bolzano, Turin, and Valle d’Aosta, is dedicated to the promotion and preservation of the Germanic and Romance linguistic varieties in Northern Italy. It investigates fourteen distinct language varieties across Valle d’Aosta, Piedmont, Lombardy, Veneto, Trentino-Alto Adige, and Friuli-Venezia Giulia.The project actively encourages speakers of dialects or minority languages from these regions to engage in the preservation efforts by contributing their insights and recording their responses to questionnaires available on the project’s platform. AlpiLink is financially supported by the Ministry of University and Research under the PRIN 2020 program, designated as project no. 2020SYSYBS, and is recognized as a project of substantial national significance.

Researchers involved: Ermenegildo Bidese, Patrizia Cordin, Serena Bissolo

The project aims to explore the discursive and pragmatic characteristics of the cultural mediation of oral testimonies that are exhibited in historical museums. The French museum institution has in fact provided access to a vast collection of interviews with men and women who participated in the French Resistance during the Second World War.

Researchers involved: Jean Paul Dufiet, Elisa Ravazzolo

This project seeks to enhance teacher education by implementing an innovative cooperation model among participating institutions. It aims to provide education students with opportunities to develop teaching competencies suited for linguistically and culturally diverse environments.

Researchers involved: Federica Ricci Garotti, Marco Magnani, Katharina Salzmann

This project explores the textual transmission and European circulation of Early Modern Spanish theater between 1570 and 1700, with a focus on creating new digital resources for research and education. Coordinated by Fausta Antonucci with contributions from the University of Trento team led by Claudia Demattè, the project seeks to develop comprehensive digital archives and tools to support the study and dissemination of Spanish theatrical texts within a European context. The project is recognized as an initiative of national relevance by the Italian Ministry of University and Research (MUR).

Researchers involved: Claudia Demattè

The HÍLICA – Hibridismo literario y cultura áurea research group is an ongoing initiative dedicated to the study of literary hybridity and cultural phenomena during the Spanish Golden Age. Based at the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM Santander), the group is led by Professor E. Borrego and comprises an international team of scholars who explore the dynamic intersections of literature and culture in the early modern period. Claudia Demattè has been an active international member of this group since July 2018, contributing to its interdisciplinary research and collaborative projects.

Researchers involved: Claudia Demattè

The Iberian Books of Chivalry in English Translation Series (IBCETS) is an ongoing research initiative spearheaded by the Arizona Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies. This series aims to provide English translations of significant Iberian chivalric texts, facilitating broader accessibility and scholarly engagement. The project is led by Professor Jordi Sánchez-Martí from the Universidad de Alicante. Since 2017, Claudia Demattè has served as a member of the scientific committee, contributing to the strategic oversight and academic rigor of the translation process.

Researchers involved: Claudia Demattè

This program seeks to establish a multidisciplinary international scientific network of scholars engaged in the study of language in education. The network aims to encompass a broad spectrum of perspectives including language education, applied linguistics, language didactics, and disciplinary didactics. Its core objective is to promote research focused on the role of language in teaching across various disciplines, whether in mother tongue or additional languages.

Researchers involved: Fabiana Rosi, Giulia Tomasi

This project aims to establish a national network focused on German as a foreign language within Italy, with the potential for future expansion to include other universities and international entities engaged in similar pursuits. This network involves prestigious institutions such as Villa Vigoni, Fondazione Bruno Kessler, and universities in Trento, Milan, Macerata, Udine, and Padova.

The primary objectives of this project are multifaceted: a) to build a national network specifically dedicated to German as a foreign language specifically in Italy, not excluding possible future enlargement to other universities and international bodies dealing with the same topic; b) to promote research in the field of German didactics from different perspectives: language education, multilingual didactics, multilingualism, specialized didactics, linguistic-communicative skills at different levels with reference to the European Framework of Reference; c) to promote research and analysis of textbooks, manuals, multimedia teaching tools and materials developed by international bodies devoted to DaF, d) to promote research-action projects in the territory concerning the teaching/learning of the German language, in order to constitute a repertoire of good practices.

Researchers involved: Federica Ricci Garotti

This program seeks to establish a multidisciplinary international scientific network of scholars engaged in the study of language in education. The network aims to encompass a broad spectrum of perspectives including language education, applied linguistics, language didactics, and disciplinary didactics. Its core objective is to promote research focused on the role of language in teaching across various disciplines, whether in mother tongue or additional languages.

Researchers involved: Fabiana Rosi, Federica Ricci Garotti, Marco Magnani, Katharina Salzmann

The project investigates the linguistic complexity of Northeastern Italy, focusing on the centuries-long contact between the Italian-Romance varieties of Trentino and the Germanic varieties historically spoken in the area. By examining this interaction through the lens of language contact, the research highlights the linguistic dynamics shaped by the coexistence of diverse populations. Using innovative measurement tools, such as the index_g and gradient lines, the project models the spread of Germanic linguistic features during the medieval colonization of Alpine regions by German-speaking groups. Combining sociolinguistic data with historical analyses of ancient vernaculars from Trentino, Veronese, and Venetian, the study refines dynamic models and tests their reliability. This interdisciplinary approach complements traditional methods from history and sociology. Ultimately, by quantifying the linguistic imprint left by Germanic populations, the project reconstructs the direction, intensity, and extent of their contact with Romance dialects in Northeastern Italy.

Researchers involved: Ermenegildo Bidese (PI), Simone Barco

The PRIN project “LITI – Lingua Tedesca in Italia –  German Language in Italy: Where We Are and Where We Want to Go” is focused on enhancing German language education in Italy. The objectives include mapping the demographics of students learning German, analyzing German as a foreign language textbooks, and developing strategies to improve teaching efficacy beyond the intermediate (B1) level. Collaborating institutions are Università di Trento, Università di Padova, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Università di Macerata, Università della Calabria, and Università di Cagliari, with Prof. Federica Ricci Garotti serving as the Principal Investigator.

The LITI project consists of three actions balanced with each other and combines objectives of theoretical research on the acquisition process with concrete operational applications for the practice of teaching/learning German. Starting from an objective survey through the collection of data on the number of learners and teachers of German language in Italy, on the average skills generally obtained and on the demands of language skills in German for the labor market, the project then branches out into two tracks of qualitative research that question, respectively, i. the factors that create difficulties in achieving the minimum level of language survival (Level B1 according to the CEFR) and ii. the overcoming of this level to ensure high skills, beyond B1 (B2, C1, C2).

Researchers involved: Federica Ricci Garotti, Katharina Salzmann

The aim of the MeMoRam database is to collect and study the motifs of printed Castilian books of chivalry of the 16th and 17th century by applying Digital Humanities resources.

Partners: Instituto Universitario de Investigación en Estudios Medievales y del Siglo de Oro “Miguel de Cervantes” (University of Alcalá); Research Group Clarisel (University of Zaragoza); Reichenberger (Kassel).

Researchers involved: research unit of the University of Trento: MeMoRam. Base de datos de motivos caballerescos (dir. Claudia Demattè and Giulia Tomasi).

Uses of the discourse marker “en fait” in spoken French. Observations from teaching it to Italian-speaking FFL learners. This research focuses on the conversational uses of the discourse markers and interjections of French and Italian talk-in-interaction (MarDisCo, Marqueurs discursifs du français et de l’italien dans une perspective comparée et appliquée). The aim of the project is to work on a sequential and pragmatic categorisation of certain discourse markers in French and in Italian and to propose avenues for didactic interventions, starting from extracts of spoken language in interaction, taking into account the results of interactional analyses.

Researchers involved: Elisa Ravazzolo

The Observatoire de la langue française contemporaine project explores the transformations of contemporary French language through the analysis of theatrical texts from the second half of the 20th century.

Researchers involved: Jean Paul Dufiet

Modal particles (MPs) are small but significant words that the RUM project investigates, revealing a speaker’s attitude. Through a systematic comparison of German MPs and their Italian counterparts, the project aims to uncover the way these particles interact with syntax, prosody, and gestures. To explore the role of MPs in communication, the research will generate comprehensive multimodal corpora for both languages. In addition, the project aims to produce inventive materials for teaching German MPs.

Partners: Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, University of Bergamo, University of Piemonte Orientale, and University of Messina.

Researchers involved: Manuela Caterina Moroni, Paula Rebecca Schreiber

The SyllaRus project (05/10/2023 – 04/10/2025) investigates the reception, testing, and extension of a teaching syllabus for the Russian language, with a focus on its academic implementation and adaptation. Coordinated by the University of Verona, the project involves partners from the University of Trento and the University of Padova.

Researchers involved: Marco Magnani

The paratexts of the French translations of Ruzante’s plays. This research, which focuses on the very difficult and fundamentally aporetic issue of translating the dialect literature, is conducted as a part of the project Discourses surrounding the translation of the theatre texts coordinated by Prof. Jean-Paul Dufiet.

Researchers involved: Jean Paul Dufiet, Elisa Ravazzolo

The project Un autor madrileño recuperado: Juan Pérez de Montalbán aims to recover and promote the complete dramatic works of Juan Pérez de Montalbán, a significant playwright of the Spanish Golden Age. Initiated in collaboration with the City Council of Madrid, the Municipal Historical Library of Madrid, the Complutense University of Madrid, the Centro de Estudios Cervantinos in Alcalá de Henares, and the University of Trento, the project focuses on the publication of the full collection of Montalbán’s plays, accompanied by a series of scholarly essays examining his life, work, and the cultural context of early 17th-century Madrid.

Researchers involved: Claudia Demattè, Giulia Tomasi

This trilateral research project, involving partners from Italy, France, and Germany, focuses on studying digitally mediated videoconferences such as lectures, academic talks, oral exams, and consultation hours within the field of German studies. The goal is to improve the understanding of digital communication in academic settings. The project includes collaboration between the University of Pisa, University of Siegen, and University of Montpellier, under the coordination of Prof. Marina Foschi Albert, Prof. Michel Lefèvre, and Prof. Torsten Steinhoff.

Researchers involved: Katharina Salzmann