An Italian Grammarian between Paris and London: tradition, competition and methods of pedagogic transmission in the works of Vincenzo Peretti (1795–1803)

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper offers some thoughts on Vincenzo Peretti’s Italian Grammar (1795). We shall see how Peretti promotes the legitimacy of his work on the basis of an explicit ‘horizon de retrospection‘ made up of the most representative authors of the tradition, notably Benedetto Buommattei, author of Della Lingua toscana (1643). Peretti’s respect for the auctoritates is accompanied by a commentary on the inadequacy of the competition (Veneroni’s Maître Italien). Our aim is to identify both the language model as presented in the Italian Grammar and its relationship with its reference model, and we will also account for the treatment of two categories that Buommattei had elevated to the rank of ‘parts of speech‘: ’segnacaso’ and ’ripieno’. Finally, we will conclude with an analysis of the pedagogical methods proposed by Peretti.