This course is an historical and contemporary “anatomy” of Italian, examining the sound system and its development, the morphosemantic system (gender, verbal tense, aspect and mood, marking of elements such as verbs, nouns and adjectives). Included are discussion of the origins of Italian – is Italian Florentine? Tuscan? – and understanding of the linguistic landscape of Italy over time, concentrating on the modern sociolinguistic status of lingua and dialetto.