Riflessioni sull'insegnamento linguistico del Greco antico e del Latino nella scuola italiana

Abstract

Criticism of the teaching of ancient Greek and Latin languages in Italian classical high schools has remote origins, if one is aware that one of the most famous exponents of this current is even Pascoli; over the last twenty years, however, the extensive querelle that has arisen around classical studies has led a large number of intellectuals not only to question the usefulness and relevance of tradere and declensions, but also to reflect on the possibility of questioning the teaching methods, attempting to overcome the secular paradigm of the so-called “traditional” method by adopting innovative techniques and assumptions: this is the case, for example, of the “natura” method, devised by the Danish latinist Ørberg in the 1950s. The fervent reflections conducted on Latin and Greek have so far led to a polarisation of positions around “traditionalism”, among whose ranks one can count those who persist in teaching the classical languages by maintaining as a reference the antiquated modus docendi overflowing with philology and devoid of glottodidactics, and to “naturalism”, a trend born of the insights of Ørberg, and before him Berlitz, based on the paradoxical principle of teaching the ghlóssai in the same way as English, French, or any other living language. The present study is entrusted with the task of synthesising both factiones, highlighting the strengths of both methods, with the aim of providing a rationalised, objective and fruitful field of investigation for the continuation of the intellectual debate on Greek and Latin, in the hope of reaching a unanimous consensus on the indispensable importance of classical studies, particularly linguistic and literary studies, for the construction of a critical and aware democratic society.